Basketball clinic aims to prepare area youths
<p>Payton Fields participates in the Zootown basketball clinic held at Plains High School last week. The clinic aimed to help young players improve their sills on the court.</p>
PLAINS - The high school in Plains played host to a basketball clinic last week put on by former college level players from the Zootown Academy based in Missoula. Basketball players of all ages from Hot Springs, Thompson Falls and Plains gathered to learn what it takes to perform at the next level.
Former college players Ceylon Elgin-Caylor and Jason Icenhower took the students through drills designed to enhance and develop skills necessary to excel at the fast-paced game of basketball.
Icenhower said the four day clinic that was divided into two sessions, one for younger players and one for high school aged athletes, was designed to teach students advanced techniques. Icenhower said the clinic would help the students develop skills required to move on in the game.
“We are going to be working on developing their skills, concentration, discipline, all the things that go into being a good basketball player,” said Icenhower.
In its third year, the Zootown Academy has been conducting clinics all around the region, preparing athletes to compete at higher levels of competition. Icenhower has been coaching for two years. Elgin-Caylor created the academy three years ago to provide players with an opportunity to enhance their natural abilities.
“We are going to be working on strength, agility and speed drills. Then we will work on ball handling and shooting skills,” said Elgin-Caylor.
The athletes spent four days working out with the two coaches for half a day. The younger players worked out in the morning followed by the high school athletes in the afternoon.
On the fourth day, the younger athletes were rewarded with a lighter workout consisting of several games that were still designed to teach them about basketball. The first involved dividing the group into two teams.
The teams then faced off at about the free-throw line trying to beat the other player to the basket. The game was intended to teach players about the fast paced nature of basketball.
The second game involved all the athletes and coaches. Kids were instructed that the object of the game was to tag out the coaches as they ran about the gym. The catch was that when the ball was passed to a student, they were not allowed to move, only reach out to try and tag the coach.
The lesson from the second game was to learn that passing was a key component of the game. The kids managed to tag out each coach by rapidly passing the ball to each other, finally cornering and tagging out the coach.
Elgin-Caylor said he hoped that the students would benefit from his coaches’ guidance and the distinctive style of instruction of the Zootown Academy.
“The unique thing about what we do is that this really isn’t so much a clinic as it is a workout,” said Elgin-Caylor. “We are going to give them the tools and show them what it takes to play at the next level.”