St. Pius School - Summer Basketball Camp

Daily Themes

Military Monday - A fun and fast introduction to camp, your coach and new teammates! We call it "Military Monday" because we run a tight (positive) ship on Monday to get shirts passed out, teams divided and everyone organized.

Gatorade Tuesday - Gatorade day, for a lot of campers and coaches is the highlight of the week! Not for the sports drink you can buy anywhere, but for the fun competitions, high energy and teaching involved. All day, teams will be competing for stars - enthusiasm, sportsmanship, hustle, listening skills, winning competitions, cheering on a teammate or opponent - and the team at the end of the day (in each gym) will win a drink for their entire team. This provides a GREAT teaching opportunity for us, as everyone does not win, and this is intentional. We teach that while you cannot always BE the best, you can always DO your best! We praise those that tried their best, and reward that as well. Reaching your goals requires hard work and set backs are part of the journey - success lies in the way you navigate the journey not in any temporary destination. Every hand goes up when we asked who had fun, both those that won and lost as competing with your team to the best of your ability feels good!

Wacky Wednesday - This is a fun day for any camper K-3 (or older) where they can dress as wacky as they can think up. Think Halloween meets spirit day - costumes, bright colors, mismatch, crazy hair - everything works! Please be sure to wear/bring athletic shoes and clothes that your camper can participate in camp while wearing.

Jersey Wednesday - This is fun free dress day for any camper 4th-8th (or younger) to wear any jersey they have. Could be one of theirs from a team they played on or their favorite athlete - anything goes.

Put Up Friday - A lot of places wait for a camper/player to do it wrong and then yell at them to correct the behavior. We do the opposite, we try to "catch them doing it right" and praise the behavior so they and their peers will want to do it more often. This creates a positive association and helps them feel good about themselves, while gaining the confidence necessary to be successful. On Put Up day we take it a step further and set aside time to play the "Put Up Game" where players and coaches point out something positive about their teammates. All too often we communicate in a negative way, or give each other a "hard time," this game is the creates a very different situation. This is an activity Coach Legarza used to do with his college players at the end of each practice - a tradition that helped him set the highest 10 year winning percentage of any college coach in California.

Put Up Thursday - A lot of places wait for a camper/player to do it wrong and then yell at them to correct the behavior. We do the opposite, we try to "catch them doing it right" and praise the behavior so they and their peers will want to do it more often. This creates a positive association and helps them feel good about themselves, while gaining the confidence necessary to be successful. On Put Up day we take it a step further and set aside time to play the "Put Up Game" where players and coaches point out something positive about their teammates. All too often we communicate in a negative way, or give each other a "hard time," this game is the creates a very different situation. This is an activity Coach Legarza used to do with his college players at the end of each practice - a tradition that helped him set the highest 10 year winning percentage of any college coach in California.

Soak Your Coach Thursday - Soak your coach is a fan favorite! On this day the winners of a few select competitions (of each age group) will get to choose a coach to soak with a GIANT water balloon! We will also choose campers of the week based on their attitude, effort and sportsmanship to do the honors. This is a fun day as coaches compete not to get soaked and the whole camp will rally behind which coaches they want to see soaked.

Popsicle Thursday - Our popsicle competition takes all the fun and high energy of our Gatorade day, but with a twist. Instead of competing with all the other teams, you're only competing with yourself. If you can surpass the number set earlier in the week your team can earn popsicles regardless of anyone else. This is a fun day, complete with lots of competitions using all the skills we've been learning for the week!

Bring a Friend Friday - We encourage campers to bring their friends to camp on this day. A fun way to close out the week and show off your new skills and friends. Limit 1 per camper and may be closed at our larger sites - your site director will advise if that is the case. We recommend someone of the same or similar age, but welcome everyone K-8th grade.