The goal of every Illinois high school girls basketball player is to get to Redbird Arena in late February or early March for the IHSA Tournaments. But work on those dreams starts early, so Illinois State coach Robin Pingeton has cleared six days in June to help those young players improve their skills at the Illinois State Basketball Camps in Redbird Arena.
Pingeton enjoys seeing young players improve and has geared her camps to meet the needs of youngsters with a passion to play.
Camp is an exciting opportunity for our coaching staff to do what we all love to do: work with youngsters and teach basketball, said Pingeton. Our camps also are an opportunity for outstanding players, most of whom will come from the state of Illinois, to have the experience of playing in Redbird Arena. We as coaches also can see those outstanding players, including some potential Redbird players, for ourselves. We want our camps to be an excellent experience for all players.
The Shooting and Position Camp is June 5. It will feature the same techniques which Pingeton and her staff used to take a Redbird team which averaged 59 points per game and 3.9 three-point baskets per game in 2002-03 and built it into the No. 4 team in the nation in three-point baskets (8.1 per game) while averaging more than 72 points per game.
June 9 and 10 is the Early Bird Shoot-Out, which features two days of competitive games for high school varsity and junior varsity teams.
The Individual Skills Camp is June 20-22 and will emphasize the same fundamental approach to individual skills that helped make Illinois State one of the nations most improved basketball teams in 2003-04.
For the Shooting and Position Camp and the Individual Skills Camp, girls entering grades 4 through 12 are eligible to enroll. For more information, contact the Redbird womens basketball office at (309) 438-2567.
