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Its been a few years since Tom Sparks and Jonathan Fontanez learned basketball at instructional camps. Now the former Notre Dame of Fairfield stars are teaching the game to future high school hoopsters.
Sparks and Fontanez taught shooting, passing and other basketball fundamentals along with former NBA player Frank Oleynick at the Future Stars Basketball Academy camp Thursday at Notre Dame. The three-hour session for boys and girls attracted over 30 kids eager to improve their basketball skills. Thursday's camp was for players in sixth, seventh and eighth grades. Future Stars also held a camp earlier in the week at St. Thomas Aquinas in Fairfield for players in grades 4-8.
"It's a blast,'' said Sparks, a 2006 Notre Dame graduate. "We teach them other things besides basketball. We teach them things they can translate into real-life situations."
While the focus is on fundamentals, camp director Oleynick also wants children to play games. There's only so much that can be learned through teaching. "We also give them goals to reach,'' said Fontanez, an all-state player who graduated from Notre Dame in 2007. "We want them to have fun. That's the most important thing."
One of the advantages of having young instructors such as Sparks and Fontanez is that they still have skills that draw the admiration of campers. There's nothing like an awesome dunk or a consistent stroke from 3-point territory to impress young players.
"They understand we're able to do it because we're a little older than they are,'' Sparks said. "They all want to do things that we're able to do. It takes time."
Fontanez is impressed by the young players' passion. The youngsters remained focused as the instructors talked to them. "They want to play and they have big dreams,'' he said. "They all see how hard work can help their games. It's fun to teach them little things that make the game easier."
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