By Rick Assad
There are two and perhaps three more St. Finbar MVP Basketball Camps remaining this summer.
The camps are for boys and girls between the ages six and 14 and run from July 15 through July 19.
The other five-day camp will run from August 5 through August 9.
The two-hour camps commence at 5:30 p.m. and end at 7:30 p.m. each day and the price per camper is $125.00.
If parents are interested in sending their children to the camps, and need more information, they can email www.mgraceffo@stfinbar.org.
St. Finbar Athletic Director, camp director and coach, Mike Graceffo, believes these camps will be instructional if a young person wants to learn the fundamentals of the game which will in turn build confidence.
“During the summer is the best time to get better and more confident,” he noted. “Summer is the best time to work on basketball fundamentals such as ball handling, footwork, the proper way to shoot and the proper way to pass.”
Besides basketball, the camps offer several other fun and popular sports like baseball, softball, football, soccer, volleyball and for the younger campers, T-Ball.
Recently, Graceffo, who is working his third St. Finbar hoops camp, recalled a parent who complimented the camp and he agreed.
“You can see how much better he is now than two weeks ago,” he said.
This makes the camp worthwhile for Graceffo, who has worked numerous camps including the Michael Jordan camps in Southern California and outside Chicago and the MVP camps in Burbank which brought together as many as 70 boys and girls.
“For the amount of kids we have, they are getting the attention and confidence they need,” he said.
Graceffo has enlisted former players as coaches, pointed out they are good with the kids, and they love to help.
One matter Graceffo wants to impress is what St. Finbar Parish School has to offer.
“We want to get the word out that St. Finbar is a very good all-around school with a good sports program,” he noted.
Graceffo said it’s about giving back to the city that has been so nice to him.
“The community of Burbank has been good to me, and I want to give something back to the community,” he said. “This way I get to do something that I love and that is to coach and teach.”
