The 3rd Annual Joe Farroba Basketball Camp, held from 11th – 15th August, was attended by over 40 children and youth between the ages of 8-16 years. The camp is the brain-child of Coach Joe Farroba – Head Basketball Coach, Bridgewater State University in Boston; in collaboration with the Anguilla Sports Department and Louis Price at the JC Recreational Centre (JCRC).
Coach Joe Farroba was assisted by a team that included three other coaches from the US – Don Byron, from Oliver Ames High School, Brian Ferris, Assistant Coach at Bridgewater State University and Dave Barrett; along with the following local coaches: Delano Mussington and Ian Connor, from the Department of Sports, Simba Price and Omari Hamilton. Omari, who attended the camp for the first two years, came to the attention of the coaches because of his skills, appreciation of the opportunity to learn, and for displaying the key characteristics that Coach Farroba emphasizes are key to succeeding in life – ATTITUDE and EFFORT.
The children and youth came from various villages around Anguilla as a result of contacts from the previous two camps and other youth contacted through the Department of Sports and the Anguilla Amateur Basketball Association. Several youth were sponsored so that they could attend this year. The pie chart below shows the distribution of the participants.
Throughout the week, the children went through basketball drills, passing techniques and shooting competitions, and learnt how to warm up correctly and cooperate with each other. Coach Joe ended each session with a motivational talk, addressing some aspect of their daily lives – how they relate to their parents, their teachers and each other – to instill in them that the positive attitude and effort that they show can make a difference.
Special thanks go to the basketball coaches: Joe Farroba (US), Dave Barrett (US), Don Byron (US), Ian Connor (AXA), Brian Ferris (US), Omari Hamilton, Delano Mussington (AXA) – who also made a lot of the arrangements for the coaches, and Simba Price (AXA). The coaches from the US paid their own way to come to Anguilla and volunteered their time for the camp so a heartfelt thank you goes to all of this year’s donors who came on board to provide various services during their stay and those who provided sponsorship for the camp, including: Andy’s Car Rental; Cuisinart Golf Resort And Spa; Dad’s Restaurant & Bar; E’s Oven; Jewel Art; Rawlie’s Food Van; Splash Villa; Straw Hat Restaurant; Veya Restaurant; as well as Alma Franklin; Violet Gumbs; Scott Hauser; Nathalie Le Senechal; Doris Mussington; and Laurel Richardson. Sincere thanks are also extended to the Government of Anguilla / Ministry of Sports; the Sports Department; Louis Price and the JC Recreational Centre; Janson Buchanan; Alicia Webster and other friends of the JC Recreational Centre and the Department of Sports that may not have been named here.
At the end of the camp each child received a T-shirt – courtesy of Sunflower Marketing (US); a Certificate of Participation; and a pair of flip flops donated by Cap Juluca. Inspirational speeches were given by Coach Farroba, Rollins Richardson (Acting Director of Sports), and Honorable Jerome Roberts, Minister of Sports. Each coach was awarded with Certificates of Appreciation from the Department of Sports and the JCRC.
Coach Joe Farroba, the Department of Sports and the JC Recreational Centre looks forward to collaborating again next year as the camp grows from strength to strength.
To find out how you can get involved in next year’s camp through donations towards the coaches expenses and sponsorship of a child, please contact the Sports Department or the JC Recreational Centre at jcrecreationalcentre@gmail.com, and visit our website www.jcrecreationalcentre.org to view images of the camp.
Contributed by Jaine Rogers – Director, JC Recreational Centre
(Published without editing by The Anguillian newspaper.)
