Nellis youth exhibit skills with NBA Published July 21, 2010 By Caitlin Fairchild Nellis Public Affairs NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. -- The crowd of roughly 5,000 cheers as 14 children from the Nellis Youth Center run up and down the 94-foot court, hoping to score some baskets. They have four minutes to demonstrate their skills during the half time of a game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Chicago Bulls. Eight-year-old Olivia Graham, the team's only girl, takes a shot and the crowd goes wild. Even though she misses, the fans continue to cheer. This encouragement, to "give it your best shot," has been an important lesson of the Nellis Youth Center's recent basketball camp, held July 12-16. The game and the half time in between, played at the Cox Pavilion Friday evening July 16, was a part of the National Basketball Association's Summer League. The Summer League features newly drafted players playing 58 games in 10 days to hone their skills for the upcoming season. The NBA contacted the Nellis Youth Basketball Camp and other local youth organizations with the opportunity to play during half times. With guidance from coaches Staff Sgt. Marcio Gray, a contracting specialist with the 99th Contracting Squadron; Mr. Maurice Hicks, a family counselor with Opportunity Village; and Mr. DeJanaria Austin, the Nellis youth sports director, the group of 14 has worked hard this week learning the fundamentals of basketball and practicing their skills. The four-day camp emphasized physical training and running to augment their skills. "It's fun, but we try to make it pretty tough," Sergeant Gray said. Additionally, the coaches have focused on building teamwork and good sportsmanship. Many of the drills require the players to depend on communication with a partner to get from one end of the court to the other. The team also works on encouraging each other, offering two claps for making a basket, and one clap for trying and missing. "When a player falls down, the kids run straight to them and help them up." said Mr. Austin. "We've tried to instill this attitude in them." Arguably, the most exciting part of this basketball camp has been getting the opportunity to display their skills on the court. "They were nervous about being in front of so many people, so they practiced a lot, but they were excited and ready to go," Mr. Austin said, "especially since they're big fans of the NBA." With basketballs and jerseys ready for signing, the children had the opportunity to meet with John Wall of the Washington Wizards, and the NBA's number one draft pick. The Summer League has also involved Nellis in other ways for several years, with the Honor Guard presenting the colors and a representative from the base coming to sing the national anthem. This year, Staff Sgt. Jennifer Byrd, a computer systems adminstrator with the 556th Test and Evaluation Squadron, sang July 9 to open the Summer League. "We are all about the Las Vegas community, and Nellis is a huge part of that," said Ms. Carole Hatter, the community relations director for the Summer League. "This year, we thought about what we could do to get the youth involved." Ms. Hatter also said she would like to see Nellis even more involved in the future. Sergeant Gray agreed, and hopes to expand programming as well. "Hopefully we can do this again next summer," he said. "And hopefully we can run more basketball camps, since it's been hugely beneficial for the kids."
