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By Brian Verdi
bobcats.com
Matt Rochinski / bobcats.com
The Achievements Unlimited basketball camp celebrated its
25th anniversary in 2009 |
July 18, 2009
AU Camp Video | AU Camp Gallery
Over the course of 25 years, Bobcats President & Chief Operating Officer Fred Whitfield has touched the lives of over 8,000 children in more ways than one. His widely-acclaimed Achievements Unlimited Basketball School was started in his hometown of Greensboro, North Carolina to instill all the right recipes of success in its participants.
"It’s really hard to believe that it has been 25 years, but it is great to see so many of these kids going on to do great things in life such as getting college scholarships," Whitfield said at the Greensboro Sportsplex this week.
The camp has become one of the most unique and elite camps in the country since its establishment in 1984. The focus of the camp is to teach young athletes the game of basketball while preaching the importance of doing well in school and staying drug-free.
As a way to explain the importance of education, 10 challenging vocabulary words are given to each camper at the beginning of the week. Campers are required to define, study and memorize each word before they are all given a test at the end of the week.
"Every time I walk by a kid and they tell me they made a 100 on their vocabulary test and they seem to be just as proud about that as they do winning a free throw contest - to me, that is what it’s all about," said Whitfield.
AU campers are also exposed to dedicated and experienced staff members. Many of the same coaches and staff have been around since the inception of the camp.
"I believe my staff is the best staff in the country, and I’ve worked a lot of camps," Whitfield stated. "They are committed to coming here and working hard every day, giving every kid individualized instructions and making them study their vocabulary words."
Some of the biggest thrills the children get are from the many guest appearances that are made over the course of the week. Throughout its history, over 125 current and former professional athletes have come to AU to speak to the campers about how to be successful on and off the court.
This year’s guests included Gerald Wallace, Raymond Felton and D.J. Augustin of the Charlotte Bobcats, Chris Paul of the New Orleans Hornets, and former NASCAR driver and current broadcaster, Kyle Petty.
"You don’t want kids to just put all of their focus into sports," said Wallace. "You want them to have an education as something to fall back on. It is great to divide it up 50/50. You give them a chance to play basketball, but at the same time, teach them that you need an education to get to where you want to be."
Whitfield feels the presence of these athletes has a tremendous impact on his campers.
"I can’t say enough about the pro athletes that could be doing anything in their spare time in the off-season but be in Greensboro, North Carolina," he said. "For them to fly in from all over the country, want to spend the day here with our kids and talk to them about how they became successful just means more than I can ever put into words."
Another perk of the camp is that instead of trophies or medals, campers receive dictionaries signed by each one of the week’s guest speakers as awards for being tops in their age group on and off the court. It serves as a reminder that in order to be successful in basketball, you must also work hard in the classroom.
Even Whitfield could not have imagined the success that AU would enjoy 25 years after it was created, and he doesn’t see any reason why it will decline in the near future.
"I just want to do it as long as I can and as long as the kids are having fun. In my opinion, there is no need to stop touching kids’ lives."
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