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In many ways this year’s camp was very different to any of the previous years although there were many things the same. On day one you could see excitement on the younger one’s faces and the energy that everyone had. After the warm up on that very same day there was already a drop out due to injury and then another later that day. Despite these injuries the first day was very up beat and a cheerful day, it was also the time when we realised that the camp was going to be somewhat different this year. There were new coaches, the hot shot was very different and also the circuits were no longer being done, to some people’s great relief!
At the end of the first day when the first 2 games had been played, it was already obvious to me that the Pacers were going to win the NBA competition! Another thing that was obvious at the end of the day was that the older players knew how many pulled muscles and possible injuries they would have in the morning.
On day two the energy level had gone down but when it came to drills and playing the games every player tried their hardest and on the most part forgot their injuries. This was also the day when forfeits for leaving things behind began. I think the forfeits that everyone will remember most were Niall’s, which included “Baa Baa Black Sheep” and acting like a tractor with cones on his head and hands. This was also the day when Chris Rook started the drill that I think became known as the “Pride Drill”. This drill involved us setting a score and trying to beat it next time. At the start of the week we were set a target of 40 scores in 3 minutes and by the end of the week all of us had improved and went from struggling to reach this target to achieving a highest score in the low 60s! I felt that this drill did make the whole camp pull together and it did help towards creating the community feeling that was there at this year’s camp, even more so than in any other year.
There were some toilet issues later on in the week, which caused some concern from some people – we didn’t have any! However this negative was countered by a very enjoyable lunch time for the younger children who played cricket with some of the players from AFC Bournemouth who were receiving physio and training at Canford School.
On the final day there was a lot of fun to be had with a lot more games than on the previous 4 days of the week. The first game that everyone got to sit down and enjoy was the game between the NCAA All-Stars and the NBA Rookies. The NCAA All-Stars had won all the previous encounters, and this year was no different with the NCAA All-Stars winning (with a little help from a couple of coaches). After this game was the NBA All-Star game, where the NBA All-Star team played against the coaches. The coaches received a MASSIVE loss of over 20 points to us last year so they had a point to prove. And I’m sad to say they did, however to be fair we (the NBA All-Stars) didn’t really get into the game until after the first quarter because the game did start immediately after lunch. If we had time for a longer warm up then we would defiantly have won that game again. Next came the biggest game of the week for me; the NBA Final, which was between the Pacers and the Lakers. It was a tight game but in the final quarter the Pacers were able to gain a comfortable lead and hold on to it until the end. That for me was the best part of the week. This was the moment that our whole team had worked for and our coach, Mark Harris has wanted for the three previous years he’d been coaching.
After this came the award presentations and there was much speculation over who would receive the MVP award as it was the most open it had been since the camp began. Before the winner was announced my team mate, Steve Livesey had bet me I would win the award and I’m quite happy now we didn’t put any money on it because when Chris said I had won it I really didn’t expect it. I am still extremely grateful that I was given the award, as it was the first individual MVP award I’ve won.
I would just like to take this opportunity to say thank you to all the coaches for their effort and making the camp as great as it was and I would also like to say a big thank you to Jill and Luke for making the camp possible in the first place.
Finally I want to say one more thank you, which is to all the other players who made the camp a lot of fun for me, and I hope each other, through all their effort and personality.
For pictures of the 2005 camp, see the photo gallery link. The above report was written by camper Michael Brake.
Most Valuable Player: Michael Brake
Most Improved Player: David Reynolds
Best Defensive Player: Steven Livesey
Grizzlies Coach Award: Oliver Robinson
Pacers Coach Award: James Hilton
Lakers Coach Award: Scott Eggertsen
Bulls Coach Award: Arran Morgan
NBA All Star Players: 1) Michael Brake
2) Adam Cran
3) Aaron Devine
4) Louis Gibson
5) Steven Livesey
6) John Price
7) Sam Prior
NBA All Rookie Players: 1) Reece Barker
2) Lewis Clarke
3) Mitchell Hack
4) Ben Harris
5) Richard Tite
6) Peter Thomson
Most Valuable Player: Alex Lander
Most Improved Player: Jake Williams
Best Defensive Player: Matthew Lawson
North Carolina Coach Award: Daniel Kelly
Illinois Coach Award: Georgina Worsfold
Alabama Coach Award: Josh Turner
NCAA All Star Players: 1) Thomas Duffy
2) Alex Lander
3) Matthew Lawson
4) Billy Merrick
5) Joel Osborne
6) Tom Thomson
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