Hoop camp teaches youths fundamentals of basketball
BY DAVE BENJAMIN Staff Writer

JACKSON — Basketball players between the ages of 6 and 14 recently received some training, tips and expertise at the St. Aloysius All-Star Basketball Camp.

Held at the St. Aloysius School gymnasium, Bennetts Mill Road, the summer basketball camp for boys and girls had its 2008 opening session from July 28 through Aug. 1. About 20 boys and girls attended the first session.

A second session will be held from Aug. 18-22. The camp runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Registration is still being accepted.

The basketball camp is directed by Nick "The Quick" Werkman and Bob Mahala.

"This is the first year we're running the camp together at St. Aloysius," said Mahala, whose son, Robert, 8, and twins Matthew and Ryan, 6, attend school there. "Father Scott approached me and asked if I would run a basketball camp with Nick Werkman and I'm loving every minute of it."

Mahala has coached at the college level and has done personal training with basketball players from Louisville, Seton Hall, Missouri, Houston and Boston College.

Basketball skills were the order of the day at a recent camp session.

"The kids are having fun," Mahala said. "They're enthusiastic and at the same time we're making it competitive. But most of all, we're teaching the kids the right way to play the game and they're learning the fundamentals of the game. We're not just rolling the balls out and letting them play five on five.

"Everything I'm teaching these kids, I would teach my college players, but the bottom line is they have to go out and practice," he said. "Some of these kids are being introduced to the game and others are having their skill levels fine-tuned."

Werkman was a member of state championship teams at Trenton Catholic High School in the late 1950s and went on to stardom at Seton Hall University. He led the nation in scoring in 1963 and was eventually drafted by the Boston Celtics.

Werkman has run basketball camps for 16 years, but this is the first year he is working with Mahala.

"Mahala really impressed me and when I hooked up with him it turned out to be something special," Werkman said. "My camp was oriented to running a lot of drills and he does a lot more teaching and we're putting it all together. These kids are really working hard. They are really enthusiastic."

Teaming up with Mahala and Werkman is Rodney Garman, a parent who shares the work and makes the experience for the youngest group of players exciting and filled with fun. Garman also runs sessions on keeping the youngsters free from drugs, alcohol and tobacco.

Also involved in the camp program is parent Vicki Carrier, who keeps shooting records, scoring records, runs the clock and records other kinds of statistics.

"It's a fantastic program they've put together," Carrier said. "It's run very well. The kids learn a lot and have progressed a lot. I'm very happy with it. There's not a better camp around."

Brian Madden, who recently graduated from St. Aloysius and will be attending Christian Brothers Academy in Lincroft, was also helping to teach the children basketball skills.

The basketball camp is open to all children who live in Jackson. Registration for the second session can be made by calling 732-833-1273 or by registering at the door on Aug. 18, the first day of the second session.