PLAINFIELD – 44 aspiring basketball players took advantage of the third Annual Shiloh Basketball Camp provided free of charge by Shiloh Baptist Church in Plainfield. Offered over two separate weekends, hosting two different age groups, the camp focused on teaching discipline and courtesy when on the basketball court.

“One of the main things we are trying to teach is respect.” Camp Coordinator Steve Holmes said. “We stress respect for the coaches and the fellow players.”

A campers’ failure to show the proper respect, to include no fighting or foul language, earned the camper an automatic ejection from the camp.

The camp, held at the multi-purpose cultural activities center in the Church located at 515-521 West Fourth Street, staffed by volunteers of the church, attracted multiple skill levels of players. The varying skill level caused the enactment of certain rules when game play began.

“We had to keep each camper engaged once the games began.” Holmes said. “We made the changes to keep the more skilled players from dominating the game once the ball was in play.”

The special rules were:

• Every player on a team must touch the ball before a shot attempt
• No backcourt pressure
• In one game, zone defenses were mandatory
• In the zone game, there were no fast breaks

Plainfield resident, Brian Wilson, spoke to the 8-12 year-old campers about basketball, school and the importance and impact of God in his life. (Wilson played high school basketball at St. Joseph’s in Metuchen and collegiately at Holy Cross)

Gerard Wilson warned the 13-18 years-old group about keeping their options open. Wilson, now a computer analyst, told the campers how he had basketball dreams from high school through college (William Patterson University), but kept his grades in order just in case sports did not work out.

The campers’ day began at 9am with the reading of the camp regulations, followed by a prayer, then a morning full of individual skill stations. After breaking for lunch (and the speaker of the day), the afternoon was filled with games and individual competitions.