Thompson to host Elite Skills Camp
Jul. 5—MONTGOMERY — Players at Barr-Reeve have long been familiar with camps and clinics teaching "the Barr-Reeve way" of playing basketball. And over the years that "way" has provided a lot of success.
However, this month head coach Josh Thompson will host a camp open to everyone, boys and girls, in second through ninth grade from all over the area for the Future Stars Basketball Camp hosted at Barr-Reeve High School on July 14-15.
The camp will be focused on individual skills and skill development and will also feature coaching from former Indiana All-Star, UE/South Alabama player and coach at Appalachian State Toby Madison. Madison has a long coaching resume with other teams as well, most recently as an assistant on Thompson's bench.
Also helping will be former Lawrence North and U of E stand out Kwame James of Atlanta. James has an amazing backstory as he was one of the people on a December 2001 flight from Paris to Miami, when he helped subdue terrorist Richard Reid, who tried to blow up the airliner with explosives smuggled in his shoes, and forever earning Reid the moniker "shoe bomber." Thompson was returning from France where he had been playing professionally.
Although he was born in Canada and raised in Trinidad, his wife, Jill (Clements) James, is a former Loogootee student-athlete, and has been a friend of the Thompson family for many years. James is a big part of highly competitive Atlanta AAU scene where he has formed the Atlanta Aces, while his son and daughter are part of the legendary AAU Atlanta Celtics, a program that also featured NBA players Dwight Howard and Josh Smith.
"The things we are going to focus on are individual skills. These are things that kids can go back and work on in their drive way, things that will help them get better," said Thompson. "We have all been in coaching for a while so we want show the importance of how a player can blend individual skills into a team concept."
Thompson said that they already have 110 players signed up but they are accepting registrations through Sunday.
The camp will be an all-day camp on the two days with lunch provided. Each camper will get instruction, a shirt, a ball and a chance to work with outstanding players and coaches at the high school and college level. Go to www.futurestarshoops.com to get a full list of information and to access registration.
