It is no secret that the job of a college coach is to teach the
fundamentals of the game while also preaching cohesive teamwork and
stressing the importance of sacrifice for the collective good.
These are all lessons that are imposed upon relatively young
student-athletes who have just made the jump to the collegiate
level.
Over the course of the summer, however, UCLA coaches will be
trying to shape the eager minds and refine the talents of players
who are even younger than those they are used to.
Several coaches are conducting summer sports camps that reach
out to kids looking to improve their sports skills. There are 22
different sports camps, ranging from men’s and women’s
basketball, run by head coaches Ben Howland and Kathy Olivier, to
the less heralded pole vault.
The camps were introduced to the Westwood community 10 years
ago, and over that period of time the instructional programs have
been steadily improved with progressive tutorials. The coaches
teach the children the correct way to approach the game, on and off
the playing field.
Each sports camp features children of varying ages with
different talent levels. The disparity in age and skill level among
the sports campers has created subgroups that provide different
competitive levels.
“Our basketball camp has players ranging from 8 to 18, and
there is a difference in how we approach kids of different
ages,” Howland said. “The older players are looking for
more detailed coaching, while the younger players need more basic
instructional development.”
While the sports camps are divided by the individual sports, the
talent pool also helps to dictate how each coach will conduct his
or her camp session.
For instance, some children might be more advanced in a
particular sport than others and require sophisticated coaching.
But this does not mean less experienced campers will be left
behind, or that the more experienced players will have their
progress slowed down.
“Our camps are dealing with a broad range of kids with
different levels of ability,” Associate Athletic Director Ken
Weiner said. “As a result, we mandate that there is a fair
representation in the camps so none of the kids are left out. Each
camp offers a little bit of something that kids of all levels can
use.”
Making sure the campers receive as much attention as possible
remains a high priority for the sports department and their
coaches, as the camps have grown in size over the last 10
years.
“First and foremost, we are trying to reach out to the
children and build a new generation for the UCLA community,”
sports camp Director Hillary Detmold said. “To do that we
need to help develop these children’s social skills and work
ethic so that we have quality people embracing UCLA
sports.”
While the philanthropic nature of the summer sports camps cannot
be overlooked, there is most certainly another motive the UCLA
coaches have for running their own programs for up-and-coming
student-athletes in Southern California.
In hopes of getting the brand name of UCLA athletics out to the
general public, the sports department is more than happy to
introduce youngsters to the tradition of Bruin sports culture.
By showing these young athletes all the positive aspects of the
UCLA programs and portraying their coaching staff in the best
possible light, UCLA coaches might just be doing a little bit of
early recruitment for potential collegiate athletes three or four
years down the road.
A prime example of the potential success of the summer
camp-turned-recruiting process is the development of Noelle Quinn
as the women’s basketball team’s star player.
Quinn, entering her junior season next year, took part in coach
Olivier’s summer camp as an early teenager. After
experiencing Olivier’s coaching style and becoming familiar
with the UCLA program, Quinn decided to sign a letter of intent and
attend UCLA.
“We definitely want to get the name of UCLA sports out
there in the open and have more and more athletes and their parents
know exactly what UCLA has to offer,” Detmold said.
“The summer sports camp gives us an opportunity to show that
UCLA has so much to offer, and that’s why a lot of parents
pick our camps over other summer programs.”
In order to recruit a new batch of Bruin faithful, regardless of
the reasons why, the camps still must introduce fundamental team
concepts like sacrifice and selflessness that can go a long way in
teaching life lessons beyond the sports world.
“While we stress teamwork because it makes the kids better
players, we are mindful that the sports camps can really be a
maturation process,” Detmold said.