CAMDEN — The Preble Shawnee boys basketball program held its youth summer camp from June 6-9. New faces were introduced that week, with Dale Spitler Jr. as the new head boys basketball coach.
Spitler coached last season at Tri-County North before taking charge at Preble Shawnee. He is joined by longtime teacher and coach Dale Spitler Sr., who will be his assistant coach.
“We have around 23 for the younger kids, roughly the same for high school side,” said Spitler Jr. “The camp for the youth is about developing skills that they can practice on their own. The camps are only five days long so we teach a lot of skills so we hope a bunch of drills we teach hear can help them out on their own initiative afterwards. We also play some games in order for them to have fun.
“The kids so far has been great,” he added. “Attendance has been good, attitudes have been fun so it’s been fun for the kids.
“We do look for future talent here, but it’s hard to do for the younger levels, so it’s primarily for fun. It’s good to see what the future holds, it’s important for the program to start young so by the time they get to high school, we know what they have to offer and what they can do,” he said.
“This is my second year as a varsity coach, first at TC North then to PS,” Spitler Jr. said. “Last year I was hired on late so I didn’t have a summer program — so this all new. I enjoyed myself up there, it was tough to leave there. My dad’s taught here for 30 years, so he knows everyone here and knows the system. He really knows basketball so he’s been a real help for me at North, so any advice he has, I’ll take.”
Athletic Director Brad Wright was around for the camp and spoke afterwards. “I really like the enthusiasm my two new coaches bring this year. New attitude, and the team is going to be in pretty good shape. The league is going to be wide open this year so we have a good chance to win it. The number of kids coming out have been good for us. So I’m optimistic and things are going to start building up for us in the near future.
“Our Kids Night Out last year had about over 200 participants so youth basketball around here is pretty big. Basketball is continuing to grow and I’m looking forward to our program,” Wright said.
