Campers compete in a scrimmage on the final day of Goochland's basketball camp held on June 10.

The campers, counselors and coaches come together during the final day of a three-day summer camp hosted at Goochland’s high school and middle school gymnasiums on June 10.

Guest speaker and 2018 Goochland graduate Dallas Holmes speaks to campers on their final day of camp

Goochland boys basketball head coach Preston Gordon is always looking for ways to get Goochland kids into the gym for a game of basketball.

Whether it be as a fan in the stands cheering on their hometown heroes on the high school team or stepping on the floor themselves to hopefully be on that team, Gordon has kept a focus on keeping the game of basketball alive and well even during the offseason and with his basketball summer camp taking place at both Goochland’s high school and middle school gyms from June 8-10, he’s once helping kids fall in love with the game.

Gordon — who has been holding basketball games since 2011 — had 60 campers attend the three-day long camp that saw them learn from Gordon and his assistants B.J. Snead and Kenny Johnson as well as multiple current and former Goochland basketball players.

“It’s essentially run by our returning high school players,” Gordon said. “Those guys are the ones that really make this a success, and their attitude, their joy, how they have fun with the campers and their encouragement is really fun. It’s really cool to see the younger guys respond.”

The chance for current players to act as counselors to the younger campers is something Gordon feels creates a sense of leadership and responsibility within his Bulldog players, who get the chance to build relationships with kids that could become future Bulldogs themselves.

“It’s just progressed and gotten better and better,” Gordon said of his camps.

With campers aging from rising second-graders all the way to incoming high school freshman, Gordon didn’t want his camp to just be a form of babysitting, but a chance to teach kids the game through drills that are used in all levels of basketball, such as the shell drill, which teaches defensive positioning concepts, as well as 3v3 scrimmages and pivoting drills that help teach on-ball creation as a driver and as a passer.

For the incoming freshmen hoping to make the varsity or JV team, Gordon hopes the camp provides a sample of what to expect from their usual training sessions.

The camp also featured multiple guest speakers, including 2018 Goochland graduate Dallas Holmes as well as 2020 grad Devin McCray.

Gordon says that he looks for speakers who can be honest with the campers, and can openly discuss the good and the bad aspects of being college-level or professional athletes and what it takes to get to those levels of play.

“I think it’s vital to have a guest speaker to talk to the players,” he said. “The youth are always excited to see some legends and heroes and athletes that these current campers as well as the high school players can look up to.”

While Gordon and his staff have been able to run these camps like a well-oiled machine for years, he says he couldn’t do it without the help of the current and former Bulldogs who take the time to attend multiple days of camp to give insight and help to the campers in attendance.

Gordon says 22 athletes came to the camp to help, including: Darius Carroll, JJ Cox, Omarion Quarles, Nik Cotner, Wyatt Davis, Justin Morton, Jamason Pryor, Hayden Raley, Malachi Tyler, Luke Manno, Kedrick Quarles, Darius Rivers, Lucas Weaver, Henry Vazales, Jake Tickle, Jackson Beam, Wyatt Dameron, Will Geyer, D.J. Jones, Zach Summers, Owen Walton and Carson Murray.

Coming off a 4-16 season and losing six valued senior contributors, the Bulldogs are looking to come back strong within the Jefferson District both in the immediate future and beyond.

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Campers compete in a scrimmage on the final day of Goochland's basketball camp held on June 10.

The campers, counselors and coaches come together during the final day of a three-day summer camp hosted at Goochland’s high school and middle school gymnasiums on June 10.

Guest speaker and 2018 Goochland graduate Dallas Holmes speaks to campers on their final day of camp

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