LSB officially started summer 2019 off with a bang, staging another successful, action-packed skills development camp featuring a gym packed from wall-to-wall of hungry young ‘ballers’ ready to learn in the heart of North West London.

LSB Camps have a well-earned reputation as THE place to be if you’re looking to develop basketball skills in a fun and action packed environment – and the full repertoire was once again on display throughout the week at this camp.

The morning sessions each day were packed in with key learning stations led by former GB International Germayne Forbes, alongside LSB lead coaches, giving all players to learn and/or strengthen key basketball fundamentals across ball handling, shooting, passing, rebounding and defensive skills.

“I loved the kids energy this week and appetite to improve and take on learning new things. There’s no question they all got better this week. I said at the start of camp that if you come in and give us your best effort and really want to improve, we’ll give you the gems you need to make that happen. So said, so done.” – Germayne Forbes

The afternoon sessions were set aside for 5 on 5 league games for all of the young players to put their new found skills into action. With the NBA and Jr NBA divisions set up for the two different age groups, each of the players took part in a fun ‘player draft’ where each individual was selected by a popular NBA franchise. The most popular teams chosen by the players were Golden State Warriors, LA Lakers, Boston Celtics and the Toronto Raptors.

In the NBA division, the LA Lakers were the last team standing at the end of the week, while the Boston Celtics won the Jr NBA division.

Amongst a camp full of future stars, big man Kenose Esumobi won the Most Valuable Player Award in the NBA division with an unrivalled mix of raw power, finishes above the rim and a ‘team first’ mentality all week. Coaches also singled out the long-limbed, agile Jayden McPhereson as a young player with huge potential, likely to be heard from in the years to come across London. In the Jr NBA, the standout player was 10 year old Kaya Birsen, a competitive young point guard with advanced IQ for his age who showed excellent decision making and mature composure in leading his team to the Jr NBA championship.

Senior camp coach AJ Roberts was mightily impressed with the potential from all of the players across the camp but more importantly the attitude displayed by all, in line with the the camp’s ethos in ensuring the game is developed the right way.

“These players were HOOPING this week! So many stepped up to compete and really put into the games what we were teaching them in the stations in the morning, which was great to see. Even better for me though, was the attitude throughout the camp. We continued to emphasise all week, striving to be the most valuable teammate and putting the team first. Making the extra pass. Giving up a good shot for a great shot. Helping each other on defence. Constantly high-fiving your teammates so they feel good about themselves and the games in general. That was everywhere this week, which really made this camp experience feel extra special. Can’t wait for the next one!” – AJ Roberts