“I love the sound of the ball swishing through the net and the ball bouncing on the floor. It’s awesome coming here to learn about basketball.”
Nearly 10 minutes into the session, Cooke had the participants, ages 11-17, on the floor working on dribbling. In front of the throng, Cooke instructed Jabourian, 14, to dribble for 10 seconds, something Jabourian accomplished successfully.
Cooke, who led Renaissance Academy to the championship game of the CIF Division V State playoffs in Sacramento in 2008, watched all of the participants go through a variety of drills.
Campers from Glendale to La Crescenta to Sunland to the San Gabriel Valley flocked to the event, which will conclude Friday. All listened carefully to what Cooke had to offer.
“We want to be able to give them some things that are not always covered,” Cooke said, “like catching the ball and then shooting immediately.
“Then there are other things, like hand-eye coordination. Here’s what we tell them: We will give you the information, but you have to be able to put the work into doing it. Just pay attention.”
An emphasis was also placed on various techniques, ranging from proper footwork, rebounding, defense and daily scrimmages so that the athletes can see what they still need to improve.
Adrian Arriola, who will be a sophomore at Temple City High, arrived about 10 minutes before the start of the camp’s second day.
Arriola said he’s already begun doing the drills done at the camp before and after, possibly to help his learning curve accelerate with the hopes of making the school’s varsity squad next season.
“I want to get all of the fundamentals down,” Arriola said. “I want to be better at dribbling and shooting.
“The drills that you do here I then go home and do. I want to be able to try to use them in game situations and teach them to my teammates.”
Cooke had a few former and current Renaissance Academy players on hand to help him run the camp.
“It takes a lot of time and practice, but you will get better,” said Cooke, who piloted the Wildcats to the CIF Southern Section Division III-A semifinal round in 2008. “Again, it’s about putting in the effort and the work.”
