Basketball Skill Camp Takes Holistic Approach to Education
Whiteville Elementary School (WES) is offering a summer basketball skills camp to its students Monday through Friday, June 10 through June 28, 2024, on the school campus. The basketball skills camp is just another way Principal Sain is accomplishing her goal of taking a holistic approach to education that meets the unique needs of WES students while addressing their emotional, social, ethical, and academic needs.
“As we move forward with the holistic educational approach, it is necessary to provide physical activities for our students’ well-being and activities outside of the regular school hours. The summer basketball camp provides both,” said Principal Casshawndra Sain. “Our school currently offers basketball and cheer, two sports that our students and community love to play and watch. With that in mind, I felt that it would be great to offer a free basketball skill camp specifically for our students.”
The basketball skill camp will be directed by James Shaw, who is a familiar face in the Town of Whiteville community. Mr. Shaw was previously a principal at WES and also has extensive experience in playing and coaching basketball. He played at Bolivar Central High School under Coach Marvin Williams, which led to him receiving various honors and being offered scholarships to play basketball at several junior colleges, as well as back then at Lambuth College, and at Lane College, where he later chose to attend.
“I have coached at the middle school, high school, and the collegiate levels,” said Mr. Shaw, who also coached Principal Sain in basketball when she was a student at Jackson State Community College. “I am grateful to the students that played for me as God allowed us to have success at various levels. Most of my coaching and opportunities came from outside Hardeman County.”
Mr. Shaw grew up in Hardeman County and lived in Whiteville, about five miles from WES, when he was younger. While serving as principal of WES, he received a lot of support from the community to engage the students in activities during and after the school year.
“The community, churches, businesses, police department, mayor’s office, families, were all so kind to me. I will never forget how they supported everything we tried to do, so, this is a special privilege for me,” said Mr. Shaw, who offered a sports camp when he was principal at WES. “This [basketball skill] camp came about at the request of Mrs. Casshawndra Sain. Mrs. Sain was in her own right a very competitive basketball player and one of the best female players I have watched in my 40 years of coaching basketball. She wanted to give her students an opportunity to improve their understanding of the fundamental skills of the game of basketball.”
Summer options for children in Whiteville, just as in many small towns, tend to be limited. The staff at the Lee Ola Roberts library over the past few years has created wonderful programming for students during the school year as well as summer months that includes reading programs, meal programs, and other activities, but opportunities for maintaining physical fitness are usually only available to students during the school year.
“There are numerous benefits of attending the camp. Skill development, knowledge of the game, strength and conditioning, personal development and confidence, teamwork, and promoting mental toughness,” said Principal Sain. “Students need to have a positive mindset, resilience, and a sense of belonging, all of which can be done through the basketball camp and other related activities.”
The camp theme will focus on researching the history of the Town of Whiteville. Students will go to class for 1.5 hours each day. Some of the activities include redesigning the city, roads, streets, streetlights, water systems, power, etc. Their teacher will guide them through the process by connecting and locating offices in the Town of Whiteville.
“My camps are never just about basketball. Students will use ‘hands on materials’ that are supplied to complete this task,” said Mr. Shaw, who hopes the students get more than just a good physical workout during the camp. ”My aim is for students to demonstrate a degree of understanding of how cities are built and grow – housing, water supply, sewer, street drainage- and be able to list at least four positive and four negative effects of the growth of a city. Connect with local government officials to better understand their roles in designing or redesigning a city, and as a group project, build a model of a new Town of Whiteville.
The basketball skills students will learn include fundamentals of the game, proper shooting techniques. Passing, dribbling, rebounding, blocking out, defensive stance, pivoting/pump, fakes, jab steps, crossover, and by-products with teamwork and hard work. The camp will be divided into two sessions with girls from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. and boys from 4:40 p.m. to 6:10 p.m. as well as into three age groups:
Week 1, Ages 6, 7, and 8
Week 2, Ages 9 and 10
Week 3, Ages 11, 12, and 13
“I am grateful for Mayor Bowden, the Town of Whiteville Aldermen, and the Town of Whiteville for sponsoring this event and for the continued support we have received all year. It is evident that we have a shared vision for students to participate in fun and engaging activities in a safe environment. I would also like to thank Dr. Smith and the school board members for their support,” said Principal Sain. “Great things are happening at WES, and we have great students with great potential. They deserve the best, they deserve options and opportunities, and that is what we are striving to provide them with.”
The Basketball Skill Camp begins on Monday, June 8, 2024, and is only for students that attend Whiteville Elementary School. Register your student by contacting WES at (731) 254-8013.
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