Over 75 aspiring athletes enrolled in this year’s Coach Ron’s Basketball 101 and Sports Speed Development Camp. The annual summer training event was open to boys and girls grades 2 through 8. Coach Ron Fulenwider has over 47 years of experience in coaching and training young athletes. His summer basketball camp has become an annual tradition for students of the sport. This year’s camp also featured Cameron Wright in a coaching role. Wright, a former student of Coach Ron, is a Southern Illinois native and a Coach Ron’s Basketball 101 and Sports Speed Development Camp focused on fundamentals and speed training. Daily regiments included shooting, dribbling and passing drills that focused on form as well as function, as well as speed drills designed to improve endurance and acceleration. Photo by Benjamin Marxer.Two players participate in the final round of “ball tag,” a dribbling and agility drill where you try to knock away your opponent’s ball while keeping possession of your own. As participants are eliminated, those remaining are corralled into smaller and smaller playing areas until one person remains. Photo by Benjamin Marxer.

Coach Ron’s Basketball 101, Sports Speed camp conducted

Coach Ron’s Basketball 101 and Sports Speed Development Camp was held recently at the Jonesboro Grade School gymnasium.

On June 18, more than 75 student athletes met for a four-day camp on the fundamentals of basketball and speed development related to most all sports.

The groups met in three sessions designed to meet the needs of student athletes of various ages.

In session one the student athletes who were in the 2nd and 3rd grades met from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. Athletes in the 4th and 5th grades attended from 10:30 a.m. to noon. Following a lunch break the 6th, 7th and 8th grades met from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. 

Each session had on a daily basis approximately 22 to 25 student athletes.

The drills that the student athletes practiced are as follows:

Basketball

Passing, shooting, pivoting, techniques of shooting, dribbling against time, loose ball drills, drum dribbling, get ups for acceleration using basketballs, lay-up elimination, ball-tag, 10 second shooting drills.

Speed Drills

Frisbees, ladder drills, z-balls (insane balls), bean bag color games.

Two man z-ball quickness drills.

Eye-hand coordination drills with z-balls, blue balls and bean bags.

Milk carton games using blue balls and z-balls. (Eye-hand coordination drill.)

Coach Ron welcomed with excitement Cameron Wright, who assisted with the 26th basketball-speed development camp.

“Cameron is a five time All-American high jumper from Southern Illinois University. I was so pleased to get Cameron to coach the camp. He is so knowledgeable with the game of basketball and speed development,” Coach Ron stated.

Cameron made the 1996 United States Olympic team that competed in Atlanta with a jump of 7’6’.5.

“Cameron was one of the hardest working players that I ever coached. One could tell that his work ethic would take him to higher levels. He also did more than we asked of him,” Coach Ron said.

 Cameron has conducted many camps in track and basketball over the past 10 years in the Marion area.

Cameron was the head track coach at SIU in the 1990s. He is in the SIU Track and Field “Hall of Fame.”

Cameron is married and has two sons and a daughter. They now reside in Marion.

“I would like to thank the Jonesboro Grade School and staff for the excellent assistance they always provide,” Coach Ron said.

The student coaches who assisted with the camp are as follows: Marlee Smith, Kaya Coleman, Brodie Denny, Jaydon Roberts, Kristin Edmonds, Nate Belcher, Olivia Capel, Ethan Carver and Tori Ehlers.

The adult coaches were Britt Roberts and Cameron Wright.

Coach Ron gave “a special thank you to the staff that provided lunch each day. Tia Roberts, Jaydon Roberts, Britt Roberts, Cameron Wright and Paula Fulenwider.”

“Save-A-Lot provided bottled water each day for the campers. Thank you Sam,” Coach Ron said.

“Thank you to the wonderful parents and grandparents for your support in providing transportation for the children each day. Your commitment was appreciated,” he said.

Team photos will appear in The Gazette-Democrat in the near future.

The Gazette-Democrat

112 Lafayette St.
Anna, Illinois 62906
Office Number: (618) 833-2158
Email: news@annanews.com

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