At the Bath Middle School in Mid-Coast Maine, Maine Red Claws MC Jason Gibbons, a.k.a. White Shadow, is holding a kids basketball camp. Here, he is helping to teach some youngsters, ages 8-13, some very fundamental skills of basketball. But, that is not all.
On this particular day, Wednesday, the theme is setting goals. Shadow opens with a few words of his own. “If you aim at nothing, you’ll hit it every time” is the catchphrase on this day. From the outset, you can see something different.
As Shadow tweets his whistle three times, all the kids run to the floor in front of him and sit down. That is respect, and that, says White Shadow, is the whole point of his camps.
“The game of basketball can teach you so many things about life. The game teaches you respect, the game teaches you discipline, the game teaches you hard work and goal-setting. If you going to be a good basketball player, you need to have a strong character as well.”
After Shadow’s initial jam session, the kids do some drills, running laps, stretching, working on lay ups, free throws, passing, even some defensive drills. They also played lots of Knockout. Knockout is an old-school basketball game where you stand in a line with two basketballs. The purpose: hit the shot before the person behind you does. This game is one tool White Shadow uses to make things fun.
“Basketball is not just about doing drills. If you find the game fun to play, then you’ll do the work to make yourself better.”
The thing that makes this camp interesting is that the kids are fully engaged in what they are being taught. With the help of some teenage counselors, even a ten year-old counselor hand-picked by White Shadow (whom he claims is the best ten year-old around the area), the lessons and drills are being done and put into practice.
The kids in the 8-13 age span all play well together, they cheer each other on, clap for each other when they do well, encourage them when they fail. These are things that seem to be lost in a lot of kids nowadays.
At one point, White Shadow reached out to a friend whom has come into his own as a movie star. His friend, Nate Parker, spent some time in Bath with Jason a long time ago. He aimed for the stars, and became famous. In a letter to the campers, Nate uses a quote by spiritual teacher Marianne Williamson.
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
Thanks to White Shadow55 Outreach, kids in Mid-Coast Maine are getting the lessons they need to be respect and have integrity as adults, while learn the greatest sport ever. Shadow himself, who will return in the 2010-2011 season as the Red Claws MC, will be helping with the Maine Red Claws kids camp in Portland next week. For more info, hit their website.
Thanks, Shadow, for being a mentor to so many.
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