Champions’ Camp

STAR CITY — Coach Becky Brown usually expects a good turnout for the annual Star City girls basketball camp.

The camp, which started on Tuesday, saw a slight uptick in attendance, though. A newly minted state championship can do that.

“It’s a little bigger this year,” Brown said. “It’s maybe the state championship, and it’s been a good turnout.”

Sixty girls converged at Star City High School’s gymnasium to start the three-day camp. The camp started at 8 a.m. and ran until 11 a.m.

“We are excited about them coming in and having three good days of basketball,” Brown said. “Just excited about camp and hope we can teach a lot of basketball in three days.”

The camp was so big this year that Brown had to open up the Star City Middle School gym to provide more space to practice.

The ages ranged from first grade to freshmen and the girls came from Warren, Rison, Fordyce, Hermitage, Woodlawn and Star City, of course.

Brown said she enjoys having players from other towns participate in the camp.

“It’s good for kids to be able to make friends with kids from out of town and see a different style of ball,” she said.

The camp runs until Thursday and players can still sign-up. The original cost was $50, but Brown said the price goes down after the first day of the camp. The players also get a T-shirt.

Different skills are taught during all three days of the camp.

“We will cover different fundamentals each day and focus on skills,” she said. “It’s very important for them to start at an early age. The older they get, the more they know and it makes them that much more advanced.”

The camp was also the start of Star City’s girls basketball summer season. Just because the Lady Bulldogs won a state title does not mean the players get the summer off.

Many of the players were at the camp helping out.

“We do expect them to be here and this is part of their work this summer,” Brown said. “This teaches them how to work with the youth.”

Star City has to deal with the loss of four seniors and the suspension of senior-to-be Octavian Reedy. Brown would not comment on Reedy’s suspension.

“Our younger kids have really had to step up this offseason and they are going to prepare themselves this summer,” Brown said. “They were here an hour and a half before this came and they are going to play AAU ball this summer, so they are going to do what it takes to step up.”

This is the only girls camp Star City hosts during the summer, but Brown said there is an open gym five days a week in Star City that her players can go to.

Also, the team is signed up for three more camps this summer — one at Ouachita Baptist, one at Arkansas Tech and another at Arkansas-Little Rock.

“We have a busy summer,” Brown said. “They have the opportunity to learn and get better. It helps the younger kids gain experience.”

Even with the loss of five key players, things like the summer camp at Star City are what makes the Lady Bulldogs a consistent threat for a title every year.

“It speaks a lot of for the tradition at Star City,” Brown said. “This is their summer vacation and they come in, work out and do what they need to do to get better. I think that is one of the reasons why we are successful.”