By Stephen Ward

STATELINE — Advantage Basketball Camps, a national traveling camp that aims to teach children effective methods on the basketball court and beyond, is captivating the attention and spirit of Northern Nevada’s youth.

The camp emphasizes teaching kids to handle the ball, along with proper shooting techniques. Looking around Kahle Community Center, the 27 kids in attendance Tuesday were all engaged in some sort of activity, whether it was a scrimmage with others or a shooting exercise supervised by one of the coaches. Despite the substantial size of the center’s basketball area, the boys and girls were utilizing six hoops, with two additional 7-foot basketball hoops for the younger kids.

Youth learn basketball skills at Kahle on June 29. Photo/Stephen Ward

Gil Llewellyn, the main trainer of the camp and a seven-year member of the organization, described his take on the focus of the camp and the lessons he hopes participants walk away with.

“For me, it’s about the bigger picture,” Llewellyn said. “We’re using basketball to teach these kids about the game of life, and how to push through things that are hard to learn … it’s really about persistence.”

Llewellyn also detailed the methods he and his associate use to cater to the needs of the kids.

“There are definitely levels to our teaching,” Llewellyn said as he began to weave the basketball through his legs. “For the more advanced players, we work on speed and endurance. For those who can’t quite get the motion down, we have them dribble the ball through their legs and catch it. For the younger kids or those just getting acquainted with the sport, we just have them roll the ball between their legs.”

Llewellyn ends his demonstration by using his foot to put a stop to the ball that was revolving around his legs seconds earlier.

Two days into the camp, the youth are already professing their approval of the program.

“I love the scrimmages and shooting games,” said Cole Snyder, an 11-year-old from the North Shore.

Alex Tessmann, a 13-year-old who plays for Carson Valley Middle School’s basketball team, favors the more technical lessons he’s learning from Llewellyn.

“I’m learning a lot about hustle and finding openings,” Tessmann said. “Coach Gil has taught me a lot of useful moves for driving the hole.”

Overall, the camp is receiving great reviews from Tahoe’s youth, primarily for its consideration of everyone’s ability level, and the attention given to each participant during the eight-hour day.

The Advantage Basketball Camp is available to ages 6-18, and will be at Kahle Community Center in Stateline until July 1. The walk-in rate is $40 per day. Sign-ups start at 9am in the lobby of the community center.

Advantage Basketball Camps are nationally recognized, with programs in most states. The next closest camp to Lake Tahoe is in late July in Rocklin. For more information about these camps, click here.