Connection Made: Kyle Manary Youth Basketball Camp Wraps up on Thursday

Date:

Angelina College head men’s basketball coach Kyle Manary, his staff and players spent all last summer and fall connecting with area youth. The goal at the time was to foster the types of relationships that would build continued interest in the AC program while helping fuel even more passion for the game.
Angelina College assistant coach Nick Wade (left) shows campers a ball-handling drill during Wednesday’s session at the Kyle Manary Youth Basketball Camp held at Shands Gymnasium on the Angelina College campus. The camp for girls and boys ages 8-18 wraps up on Thursday. (AC Press photo/Gary Stallard)
This week, Manary and his crew got the opportunity to work with the fruits of those labors.
The Kyle Manary Youth Basketball Camp held at Angelina College’s Shands Gymnasium opened on Tuesday and will wrap up on Thursday. On Wednesday, girls and boys ages 8-18 covered the gymnasium floor, receiving instruction from AC assistant coaches Nick Wade (camp director) and Eric Colbert, along with local high school athletes such as Central High School standout Riley Dewitz.
Those in attendance ran numerous drills ending in scrimmages, with plenty of one-on-one instruction from the instructors.
Manary said the big turnout is proof the program and the community have formed what he hopes will be a lasting relationship.
“We’re excited that we’ve had such a good turnout,” Manary said. “It just shows how the effort, the energy and the investment that our players from last year put into the community is starting to pay dividends. We’re starting to get a lot of kids from the area back in the gym at Angelina College, and that’s what we’ve been looking for.
“They’re having a ton of fun doing station work and a lot of drills and a lot of games. Nick Wade is doing a tremendous job running everything as the camp director. We’re thrilled to have all these young people back here with us.”
The camp runs from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. on Thursday.
The e-mail address for AC’s Sports Information Director is gstallard@angelina.edu.
Gary Stallard
Sports Information Director Gary Stallard, who also serves as a Liberal Arts Instructor, begins his eleventh season with Angelina College. Following a career as a U.S. Marine, Stallard completed his bachelor’s degree at Stephen F. Austin University, where he majored in English and Journalism. For more than 16 years, he has worked as a sports writer/columnist/photographer for the Lufkin Daily News; he continues to contribute free-lance articles on occasion. Stallard has won several awards for writing, including the Golden Hoops Award for basketball writing in 2003, Regional Sports Writer of the Year in 2004, and the Texas Press Association’s first-place award for column writing in 2007 and in 2014. He has also done basketball, football and baseball radio and live streaming play-by- play and color commentary for an ESPN affiliate. Currently Stallard serves as play-by-play broadcaster for AC basketball, baseball and softball games. Prior to arriving at Angelina College, Stallard taught English at Lufkin High School for four years. He currently teaches Developmental Writing classes at AC. He and his wife Susan live in Lufkin.

Share post:

Subscribe

Popular

More like this
Related

Minor Sting Operation

In an effort to decrease the dangers and consequences...

Angelina College Athletics Weekly Update

This week in AC Athletics featured plenty of action...

A Permanent Seat to the Game

Roadrunner Baseball Pays Tribute to Former Manager RayburnA Permanent...

Closures Expected on US 59 for Diboll Relief Route

LUFKIN – Closures are expected to begin next week on...