Taylor Independent School District had another successful week of summer activities as the second annual Lady Ducks Youth Basketball Camp under girls varsity basketball head coach Lawrence Bailey went from June 5-8. The four-day camp for the younger group of second through fifth graders went in the auxiliary gym first followed by the older group camp of second through ninth graders afterward in the main gym.
“I think it’s going in the right direction,” said Bailey of the Taylor basketball program. “They always say to leave the program in a better situation than when you arrived, so I think I’ve done a great job of that so far. It’s gotten better and better each year with this being my second year doing it. The numbers increased dramatically.”
Both the younger camp and the group of older kids were a successful bunch throughout the week and Bailey was especially appreciative of his assistant coaches Jay Reed and Jeff Fisher for the work they put in.
“My coaches are doing a great job,” Bailey said. “I have my assistants running it and I’m behind the scenes. The parents are loving it and they’re asking us to do another session.”
The younger group of kids had a blast and ran plenty of skill drills, scrimmages, and other games with one another. However, the older camp was more focused on fundamentals and improving mental skills.
“Their camp is more getting them ready for middle school sports,” Bailey said of the older group. “A lot of these girls who show up here want to make the A-Team in seventh grade or eighth grade so they’re getting that opportunity here with some actual practical skills here with my other assistant coaches. They do a little bit of games but a lot of theirs is getting them ready for the next level.”
There was a special emphasis on getting the older group of girls ready for a leadership role in the Lady Ducks basketball program.
“I’m just trying to teach them a word per day. For the big kids, it’s going to be integrity. How do you handle yourself when we’re not looking? So if we walk away, what are we going to be seeing you doing? So that’s something that we want to push for them is when your coaches aren’t there, somebody needs to step up and lead and show you how things are supposed to be done.”
