Week 4 of the One Shot program, Brought you by Hoop For All, featured some extraordinary workshops and the campers battling in the heat during the basketball portion of the program. The workshop portion of the day was led by Mental Health America, which focused on health and nutrition. At the same time, the Washington Commanders and the Washington Wizards stopped by to speak about sports administration.
Mental Health America spoke with the campers about the importance of maintaining and understanding their mental health. Being mindful of encouraging the teenagers and volunteers in attendance to speak up when they needed help. They also encouraged campers and volunteers to figure out a self-care routine and to give themselves grace while going through difficult times. During the sports administration session, employees from the Wizards and Commanders spoke with campers about life beyond playing sports and how they can stay within the sport they love. Think John Thompson’s legendary flatball speech.
The highlight players of the week were Jamie Taylor for the girls and Andres Angola Gonzales.
Taylor was amongst the hardest workers on the court during ball handling drills and as Coach Johnnie Shuler ran the campers through scripted play scenarios. During the scrimmage portion, Taylor ran the floor well and took advantage of her many opportunities to score at the rim in transition.
Gonzales received plenty of hard coaching during Week 4; he accepted it and used it as motivation to improve throughout the day. During the scrimmages, Gonzales was a force on the defensive end, forcing plenty of turnovers while working on seeing the floor and seeing his teammates streaking down the floor for easy layups.