Veteran Lafourche councilman seeking re-election
September 2, 2015
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September 4, 2015
Summertime is annually loaded with basketball camps that aim to teach the sport’s fundamentals and basics to youth.
The camps are often useful, according to coaches. But they can also be pricey – sometimes costing upwards of several hundreds of dollars to attend.
But for kids who live in the south Lafourche Parish community, a weekly summer basketball school exists that has a price that can’t be beat. It’s free. It’s also helping to raise the sport’s popularity in that community, as well.
The Drill’em Basketball Camp took place on most Thursday nights throughout the summer at the Cut Off Youth Center. Started by veteran coach Greg Curole and supported by several coaches throughout the community, the camp was routinely attended by 20-30 kids on an average session. On the busiest night, Curole said he had more than 100 kids attend – something he said he never envisioned when making his idea a reality in 2014.
“This is a slow process in the development of kids,” Curole said. “But as we see every year, the kids who attend on a consistent basis show signs of improvement because of the work that they did with us over the summer. The old saying goes that hard work will pay off in the end, and kids that continue to work hard at any sport will prosper over those who don’t put in the time.”
The idea for the camp is one that was in Curole’s mind long before it ever officially became a reality.
Curole said that when he took over as the girls’ basketball coach at South Lafourche High School several seasons ago, he started thinking about doing the camp as a way of molding younger players and getting them ready for school ball.
“I really thought that it would ease somewhat the teaching process at the high school level if the kids would understand basic fundamentals of the game,” Curole said. “That would let the coaches concentrate more on advanced things that need to be taught at the high school level.”
With that seed in his mind, Curole said that he and fellow veteran coach Glenda Curole started doing private group training sessions about eight years ago in an effort to take test that theory and see how much better things would be if players had greater access to the game.
Curole said his numbers were low at those initial private sessions, but the kids who attended were loyal and progressively got better.
When Curole stepped aside from high school basketball and got involved in the South Lafourche Biddy Basketball Organization in 2014, that’s when he had the idea to take his camp and make it one that would be open to the public – free of charge.
The support he received from the public was “amazing,” Curole said. That community outreach is why the camp is able to thrive – two summers running.
Curole said he wanted to thank his wife Toni and his employer ANS Engines for supporting his efforts – each allowing him the opportunity to dedicate hours to his craft. The coach said he also wanted to thank all of the volunteers who routinely help out either by coaching or donating supplies.
“The Cut Off Youth Center and South Lafourche Biddy Basketball have been such a blessing to the Drill’em Camp,” Curole said. “Both staffs have been supportive to all our needs and have given me the green light on anything that I need. There’s so many people I can thank. Dustan Adams has supplied Gatorade for the kids to drink. Many, many coaches have dedicated their time to this cause, and I appreciate everything that they’ve all done so much.”
“Drill’em Camp is an awesome thing, and it’s something that the kids really love,” COYC Director D’Lynn Givens added. “We’re happy to help out and support what Coach Greg is doing as best that we can.”
DRILL’EM PART OF GROWING BASKETBALL SPIKE IN LAFOURCHE
Drill’em Camp, combined with the community’s local biddy basketball program have helped to make the sport as popular as it’s arguably ever been in the south Lafourche area.
The 2015 South Lafourche Biddy Basketball season will begin this weekend, and it will do so with a record number of participants in the program.
According to South Lafourche Biddy President Damien St. Pierre, more than 530 kids have signed up to play youth basketball this year – a number that beats last year’s mark of just over 500 participants.
Curole coaches several teams in South Lafourche Biddy and several of the other volunteers who take part in the camp like Mandy Martin, Molly Bourgeois, Savannah Lerille, Nick Hebert, Trevor Creel, Jobie Cantrelle and others do so, as well.
Curole said he believes through giving kids easy, free access to basketball, that popularity surge will spike even more in the future. The cycle also should eventually pay dividends to the high school level, as well, as the young players of today will enter high school ball with more experience and a greater skillset.
St. Pierre agreed and said that Curole’s efforts are huge for our area’s youth.
“Basketball is year-round now,” St. Pierre said. “Not everyone has the means to play all summer. What Coach Greg Curole is doing provides an opportunity for kids that want to get better. All they need to be equipped with is the want to do it.”
The Drill’em Camp is done for the summer, and all of Curole’s spare time will now be spent coaching Biddy ball. But the coach said he’s already thinking about next summer and how he can continue to make the Drill’em experience better.
“I hope to continue this effort for many years to come,” Curole said. “I love to see the benefits this gives to our children through what we are able to give to them from our loving community. There’s no better feeling than that.”
