Warriors host East Bay students for one-of-a-kind basketball camp
Warriors treat East Bay students to unique basketball camp
The Golden State Warriors hosted a special basketball camp for East Bay students, blending athletic training with exposure to careers in science and technology. The camp featured drills with the Warriors youth coaching staff, a demonstration of tech-driven training tools, and a surprise visit from former player Adonal Foyle, who also gifted the students tickets to a Warriors game.
WALNUT CREEK, Calif. - The Golden State Warriors treated a group of East Bay students to a unique basketball camp at the Ultimate Fieldhouse in Walnut Creek, blending athletic training with exposure to STEM.
The students, selected by the Richmond-based non-profit Rosie the Riveter Trust, participated in basketball drills with the Warriors' youth coaching staff and learned how technology, such as the Shoot 360 system, can improve their skills.
Among the attendees was 17-year-old Tamari McElroy, a senior at Sylvester Greenwood Academy in Richmond. McElroy, who had struggled academically in the past, is now on track to graduate early.
"Honestly…I can’t believe I’m actually about to do a Warriors workout with some Warriors coaches. That’s something I’ve thought about for a long time," McElroy said. "This is recent, I actually want to go to college and play basketball now at a high level."
Phil Johnson, principal of Sylvester Greenwood Academy, praised the school's impact, noting, "They come to us to get back on track. We want them to experience life outside of Richmond."
Students at the camp also play on the high school basketball team.
"I use sports as a means to try to keep them in school… so they come to practice, they're there every day, and that's the incentive to do well in school," added Johnson.
The students also met former Warriors center Adonal Foyle, who shared his journey from growing up in the Caribbean without a basketball court to playing 10 seasons with the Warriors.
"I was just telling somebody, I grew up and didn’t even have a basketball court, so the idea that not only can you play basketball but that you can integrate technology and all of these other things — it's a complete game changer," Foyle said.
Foyle shared a few pro tips with the young players.
"The impact of going into a community and exposing kids to a world they would never experience otherwise, not just seeing basketball but seeing the other side of basketball, seeing the different places you can work, from the league level down to the team level. You don’t just have to be a basketball player — you can be a coach, you can be a trainer — there are so many things. So I think it’s so important, when you’re talking about young people, to open up their view," Foyle added.
The day ended with a surprise: Foyle gave the students tickets to a Warriors game on February 25th at Chase Center.
"They’ve never done something like this before, and the fact that they get the opportunity to do this... they love the Warriors, it’s a lot for them, it means a lot... tomorrow everybody will be talking about this at school," said Ivonne Malave, a youth mentor from Rosie Service Corps.
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