Jr.76ers Summer Hoops Tour kicks off in Camden with some special guests

CAMDEN — A gymnasium here turned into a sea of red, white and blue as the Philadelphia 76ers kicked off a program to teach basketball skills to summer campers.

Groups of eager kids, aged 6 to 14, entered the gym through a tunnel of high-fives at the Ray & Joan Kroc Corps Community Center.

They wore new 76ers T-shirts, reaching the ankles of some of the younger kids and perfectly complementing their light-up sneakers.

Fresh in their new duds, the group got a surprise visit from the 76ers' mascot, Franklin, who was sure to stir up some trouble by not following directions and running around the gym.

The team's drumline, the Sixers Stixers, also performed alongside dance team Squad 76, who brought gasps and cheers from the excited campers.

Exercises, instruction and relay races were led by Aris Watson, the team's social responsibility coordinator.

Music pumped through the gym, matched with the sounds of encouragement from camp volunteers and laughter from kids running through the different drills as basketballs (in Sixers colors, of course) took flight.

For two hours, campers scrambled between exercises for passing, dribbling, shooting and agility, even using an outside set of hoops in the 88-degree weather. A visit from an ice cream truck at the end of the afternoon surely made it easier to beat the summer heat in addition to a 76ers "swag bag."

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More than basketball

For organizers from the 76ers and Kroc Center alike, the day was about much more than teaching kids how to make a shot or dribble a ball.

Major Richard Sanchez, the center's administrator, shared that he grew up as an inner-city kid in Brooklyn, where an opportunity like the July 9 event seemed unreachable.

"NBA potential or NBA dreams seemed far away," he said. "But you have kids here in Camden, and a major NBA team comes over here; I think it instills in them a potential to dream even bigger."

The Camden center was the first of 10 stops for the Jr. 76ers Summer Hoops Tour at parks, playgrounds and community centers in the tri-state area.

"We try to deliver the 76ers experience to kids who otherwise wouldn't get it," explained Fan Development Coordinator Christopher Adams. This summer marked the third season of the Jr.76ers tour.

"[There's] nothing like you make a basket or you make a good pass, and you get encouragement from your coach," he said. "It really instills confidence to go on, you know, not just when we're here but when we leave as well."

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Kaitlyn McCormick writes about trending issues and community news across South Jersey for the Courier-Post, The Daily Journal and the Burlington County Times. If you have a story she should tell, email her at kmccormick@gannett.com. And subscribe to stay up to date on the news you need.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Camden kids learn basketball, teamwork from 76ers skills workshop