The Matt Barnes’ Basketball Camp marked its 7th year with a return to the Electronic Arts (EA) Sports Campus in Redwood City, California from August 4th through the 8th. Even though he no longer plays with the local team (The Warriors), the Los Angeles Clippers small forward reserves some of his summertime to spend with young basketball enthusiasts and pass along his knowledge of the game.
An overflow crowd of 170 children – some hailing from as far away as Europe – were accommodated for this week long event. Two groups of children were sponsored by The Barnes’ Athletes vs. Cancer foundation (http://www.athletesversuscancer.org) – The Rebels are based in San Francisco while The Black Top Models came from East Palo Alto. Fellow UCLA player Ryan “Moose” Bailey returned again this year as camp director and current/former players Jelani McCoy, Kris Johnson and Ray Young and Stevie Boyd as assistant coaches.
Clinics were organized to instruct the youths on basketball technique, strategy and dribbling/shooting in addition to the importance of playing as a team. Special celebrity appearances were made by pro ball handler Dribble2Much, Blake Griffin, Jamal Crawford, and Baron David.
Healthy snacks and full lunches were provided along with a BodyArmor sport drink. Participants had the opportunity to test out the latest EA Sports NBA release as part of the camp activities. Each of the children received a sports bag with an autographed photo of Matt Barnes, a video game, a BodyArmor sports drink and other goodies.
The final day’s lunch was followed by dj’ed music and an impromptu dance party. Everyone had a great time. One of the highlights was watching Matt Barnes and his fellow coaches play against each other that afternoon. A real treat for the kids to watch their sports hero in action. Award ceremonies closed out the day with some children taking home autographed basketballs and related memorabilia.
No child was overlooked. Matt posed for pictures and autographed memorabilia until every last child had left for home. Rare does an athlete stay until the kids go home. I was impressed with that.
Please visit the foundation’s website for upcoming events and follow them on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Event Quotes…
I&S: How did the camp get started?
Matt Barnes: It started seven years ago when my friend Roy Stigall who works for Electronic Arts suggested I have a camp at his work location. This was convenient as I was playing for the Golden State Warriors (out of Oakland, CA) at the time. We enjoyed our first camp so much we just kept going.
And from the participants…
Jayden Nolan is from Sacramento and returned to the cap for his second year. His favorite part of the camp was “the Championships.”
Jayden Boudreaux, age 9, is attending his first camp this year. When asked his favorite part, he said “Testing the game.”
Tyler Flores is from Los Angeles and is in his third year at the camp. The off-court activities were his favorite this year as he liked “Playing the game.”
Nelianne Warner (Oakland, CA) attended her first camp this year. She particularly like the skill drills.