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Page B-4 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, June 30, 2016
By ALEXANDRIA VALDEZ
alexandfia@masoncoun com
They say imitation is the sincerest
form of flattery, and during the High-
climber Youth Camp, the younger
campers tried their best to imitate the
high school players.
"I added the high-schoolers corn:
ing in to make it a mini-camp for
them, so then the young guys can
see them practice and how they per-
form," coach Derek Pringle said.
"They wotfld work onthecourt while
the young ones were being .trained.
They were watching the high-school-
ers and it was fun. They thought it
was a cool thing."
The Shelton High School Mini-Dome
reverberated with basketball dribbles
June 22-24 as Pringle led the High-
climber Youth Camp.
Pringle said 25 players turned out
this year. Last summer there were 21
students, and in 2014, there were 17
kids.
This summer, Pringle decided to
add high school players into the mix.
He called it a "Basketball 101" camp
for incoming freshmen and returning
• sophomores. While an assistant coach
led the high-schoolers, he worked with
the younger players.
The coach's favorite part of camps is
giving back to the community.
"I love gett involved with the kids
and making that connection," Prin-
gle said. "I like h lp'mg the young ones
sharpen their skills. They'll probably
be coming to Stmlton and I want them
to at least have the foundation or de-
velop their foundation or dedication to
working out," ?
One of the youngsters was Pioneer
second-grader Jackson Leth.
"I like to s oot hobps," he said. "...
I like gettiv te see the older high-
schoolers."
Pringle said one of the big focuses
for the camp was ball-handling. He
said they worked on introducing play-
ers to dribbling with their dominant
and non-dominant hands. The .camp
also touched on passing, defense and
rebounding.
It was the first time Southside fifth-
grader Logan West participated in the
camp.
"I love it," said West about the camp.
"You get to learn a lot of new stuff and
it's really fun. I've learned teamwork
and to pass the ball. It makes you a
better player."
Pringle said he hopes the camp can
grow in the future to help bridge the
gap between the community and the
basketball program at Shelton High
School.
Mountain View Elementary
handling skills June 24 at the
Journal photo by Alexandria Valdez
fourth-grader Jaxon Ward works on ball-
Sheltonl High School boys basketball camp.
"! love getting invol
making that connect
young ones shal
D(
with the kids and
ion. ! like helping the
u
)en their skdls,'
"ek Pringle, Shelton basketball coach
By ALEXANDRIA VALDEZ
alexandfia@masoncoun com
Every summer, Aaron Leth is
brought back to his early years. When
he first started teaching, he worked
with elementary school kids. He was
faced with constant questions, short
attention spans and giggling.
While Leth jokes that he would never
go back to teaching elementary school,
he's glad to go back to the basics every
summer at basketball camps.
"I get to see the sanie girls come back
over and over again," he said. "Usually
when they get into about seventh or
eighth grade, they're already involved
in our high school program. So I don't
get to see many of them as campers,
but it's nice to see the same faces and
girls and to say 'Hi' to them in public."
On Monday through Wednesday,
Leth and some of the Highclimbers
girls basketball players held their
girls basketball camp at Shelton High
School.
About 20 girls attended the camp
on Monday. Leth, who led his fifth
camp, said the skill level was simi-
lar this year, so he had the ability
to coach everyone at the same time.
The campers worked on ball-handling
skills and shooting, but teachers
threw in some fun games to keep at-
tendees engaged.
One of the camp's players was Madi-
lyne Nelsen, an incoming fifth-grader
at Grapeview. Nelsen said she plays
basketball at recess with friends and at
home with her family.
"I like dribbling and shooting
through hoops," Nelsen said. "... I
learned a new way to shoot hoops. I
learned to use my fingertips, to put my
right foot a little further than my left
foot and to shoot up. It helped a lot."
This was the first time Nelsen at-
tended the Shelton basketball camp.
One of the high school players help-
ing out was Taylor Rasler, an incom-
ing senior at Shelton High School. This
was the third year Rasler helped at the
basketball camp.
"I really like getting to know the lit-
tle kids and watching them grow," she
said. "Seeing them try new things that
they haven't learned also. I think it's
really good for them."
Amelia Russell, an incoming sixth-(.
the left, chases another camper in a
School girls basketball camp.
"it's nice to see the sa
to say 'Hi' to U
Journal photo by Alexandria Valdez
irader at Olympic Middle School on
game on June 27 at the Shelton High
me faces and gir|s and
lem in public."
Aaron Leth, Shelton basketball coach