SOUR LAKE, Texas — Five days of nothing but dribbling, shooting, maybe some duck duck goose, and a lot of, “Jumping. Running,” one camper said.
“It’s basketball all day long and that’s what they’re here for,” Hawk coach Clay Davis said.
That’s Hardin-Jefferson basketball camp for you.
“You get to learn how to shoot hoops,” camper Charlotte said.
However, this week isn’t just about the little ones, the older kids get the chance to play on the court they’ll see in a few years.
“It’s helped me to learn how to communicate with my other basketball players and it’s helped me make friends so I can play in HJ,” camper Eva East said.
“The competition is good, and I get to be with a lot of my friends, so it’s also fun. I want to go here and play basketball. Try to get an offer,” camper Ethan Simon said.
That love and passion for the game is created by camps like Hardin-Jefferson's. It’s a part of the Hawk culture that’s past down through generations.
“Who is this?”
“My daddy,” camper Leila said.
“What does he do?”
“He coaches,” Leila said.
“My daddy brings me to camp cause I need to do a lot of basketball practice,” Leila said.
“Having her here means a lot, Hawk coach Xavier Broussard said. "She loves it. She’s been going to games since she was born so it’s just kind of a thing for her now, a normal thing.”
Leila’s growing up in a community that supports girls basketball unlike any other, a fact HJ graduate Jada Pleasant realized after moving from Seattle to Southeast Texas.
“I’ve never been like around a community that supported girls basketball, or like even cared that much about their younger kids in general, so it was, like kind of, heartwarming to see,” Pleasant said.
Investing in the future generations continues with 2023 graduates.
“It helps me motivate myself every morning, do what I keep doing," HJ graduate Isaiah Melvo said. "Helps me motivate like help kids push forward to become what I was and better.”
That’s why close to 300 kids so up each year, and hawk hospitality will keep them coming.