NIC is home court for the holidays
With a week of vacation down and the remaining seven days slowly ticking by, some parents found a healthy alternative to the cabin fever that sets in halfway through winter break.
“I’ve got three boys. We do need to get them out of the house,” said Mike Valente, a 39-year-old Post Falls father who registered two of his sons for a basketball camp at North Idaho College this week.
His sons, Trystan and Taylor Valente, were among about 90 boys and girls from kindergarten through ninth grade attending morning and afternoon sessions at the college. Camps started Monday and run through Wednesday, providing an alternative to cartoons and video games.
On Monday morning, 43 kids clad in T-shirts and shorts arrived at the gym. The budding basketball stars burned off pent-up holiday energy while some of their parents took a breather.
“A lot of moms want to go shopping and drop the kids off,” said Jared Phay, head men’s basketball coach and a camp organizer.
Jesse Paschane, a fourth-grader from Garwood Elementary School in Rathdrum, said if it weren’t for the basketball camp, he’d likely be home playing his new video game, “Need for Speed Underground 2.” Instead, he met up with fellow Garwood Elementary students Devon Clark and Patrick Schwartz and played some ball.
“I went last year, so I thought it would be a lot of fun to come again. It beats staying home,” said 10-year-old Schwartz, who lamented that his television viewing is limited at home.
Now in its fourth year, the camp uses the expertise of players and coaches from North Idaho Cardinals’ men’s and women’s basketball teams. Among the players helping with the camp were sophomores Megan McIntyre and Stephanie Jones, freshman Scotty Stockwell, and sophomore Darin Nagle. At 6 feet 10 inches, Nagle was a towering presence whom kids literally looked up to.
Having local talent was a draw for Valente’s kids. The family regularly attends Cardinals’ games.
Valente said he grew up playing impromptu basketball games with friends. During the winter they’d shovel snow to uncover the basketball court. But times are different. So, the former high school athlete works hard to motivate his own children toward sports.
“What better place to hang out than in a gym?” Valente said.
Many of the participants play on basketball teams and were honing their skills. Still another group was trying the sport on for size.
Monica Frohn, a 35-year-old Hayden Lake resident, wanted her son Nicholas Judd, 6, to get a feel for whether he liked the game. She stayed while her son practiced dribbling with other kids his age.
“I figured this would be a good way for him to see what basketball is about and see if he likes it,” Frohn said.
“We have to get him some exercise so he’s not just sitting around playing the video game he got for Christmas.”