NBC Sports Camps Takes Local Basketball Players Back to the Fundamentals

Mike Huff’s first experience with NBC Camps came over 20 years ago when he signed on as a counselor and coach. The work he did early on helping kids on the west coast improve their hoops game have stuck with him over the years and he decided last year to bring NBC Camps to the East. Now in its sixth year, Mike’s team of coaches and counselors will be helping players with two five day camps in July. The overnight camp is open to kids aged 9 – 18 and will be held on the campus of Elon University. The boys camp runs July 20 – 24 and the girl’s camps is July 25 – 29.

While NBC Camps might be relatively new to the Triangle, it’s the largest residential sports camp company in the country according to Huff. “I’ve been involved with them as a coach after my sophomore year in college and it made a huge impact in my life and I wanted to bring it to the area,” says Huff. “We teach with intensity, the kids get a lot of repetition and focus on basketball fundamentals.”

Huff believes that another aspect of NBC Camps that sets them apart is their focus on the complete player, even discussing life goals such as the importance of family, being successful at school, faith, setting goals and other life issues that matter to teens.

Huff adds, “Part of what’s happened with basketball is that it has become a very individualist sport with emphasis on style. We start with the fundamentals. When our campers first get up, even before breakfast, we have them in the gym working on ball handling skills. We focus on all elements of the game from passing to post play. We also talk about all the different elements of being a basketball player which includes a focus on what it means to be on a team. Everyone gets equal playing time and we’re big believers in sportsmanship.”

The camp draws from players across the state and region and last year had several international players from as far away as Russia, Spain and Iceland. This year Huff expects between 180 – 200 total between the two weeks.

Another key benefit to attending NBC Camps is that players have the ability to try out for international travel teams that are pulled from different NBC camps around the country. This feature enables kids to test their skills around the world with some of the best players from the US.

Huff is the Head Basketball Coach at Trinity School in Durham, NC. He formerly worked in the Coach K Lab at Duke University. He has also served as Assistant Basketball Coach at the Master’s College in Southern California. Mike has been involved with NBC Camps since 1980 including four years on full-time staff.

For more information on NBC Sports Camps, please visit http://www.nbccamps.com/sites/pages/eu.htm.