Between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. every Monday through Friday, the sound of what seems like a million basketballs bouncing to the rhythm of high-pitched voices and assembled laughs, echoes throughout Worthen Arena and Irving Gym. That sound is the joy of local children - 33 to be exact - enjoying basketball.
While the children play basketball and sweat all day, Ball State men's basketball coach Tim Buckley said the purpose of the camp is about more than increasing basketball skill.
"I don't think (the camp) just gives back to the community," Buckley said, "but it gets young people on a college campus where you hope they will aspire in the future to go and lead productive lives and continue to make Ball State the great institution it already is."
The popularity of basketball summer camps around the nation continues to grow, and Buckley said Ball State tweaked its own camp to expand which he hopes will continue.
"This year we instituted a new program where we offered camp scholarships that were funded by various businesses and people in the community," Buckley said. "We were able to bring in 33 underprivileged children to come and participate in camp and get the opportunity to do something that normally they aren't able to. Thus far, it's been a very successful program and we hope to expand it in the future."
Buckley said the camp is a great way for him and his coaching staff to show appreciation for the opportunities presented by Ball State. They are more than happy to involve the community in sharing in this joy.
"Well, I would say our coaching staff feels it is a privilege and an honor to be able to work with Ball State University," he said. "(It's also a privilege) to have this opportunity to do something that we really enjoy and then to be able to get the community involved in something that we love and have a lot of passion for."
However, Buckley knows the draw card of the children. He is aware that the while the kids may not understand college and preparing for the future now, he does know why they choose to attend the camp, and he is positive this camp satisfies their athletic appetites.
"The first thing is that the campers have fun, so that they enjoy themselves and they enjoy the game," he said. "At this stage of their careers, it's just a matter of getting them excited about what they are doing as opposed to making it a specialization of just basketball at this point in their life because there are a lot of things they can choose from at such a young age."
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