UVA Women’s Basketball Team surprises YMCA girls basketball camp

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - The UVA Women’s Basketball Team prepared a surprise for a group of young ladies at the Piedmont YMCA.

The campers got to spend their final day of camp playing basketball with a few of their idols.

“It was really cool and they were really nice and they were really good at basketball,” Annie Waddell said.

The team did all kinds of drills with the girls: dribbling, shooting, and defense.

“Having a camp, it’s nice for kids to see someone that’s older and a role model. Especially when its someone from here in the community,” Sports Director Brandon Edwards said.

The team coached fundamentals with the campers; the same drills they were taught when they were younger.

“I loved looking up to the older girls. They were inspiring to me, so hopefully that’s what we can do for these kids,” Sam Brunelle said.

The team also taught the girls about the importance of teamwork and communication, both on and off the court.

“It was really cool. My favorite part was the definitely the part about teamwork,” Zemiraah Hartman said.

“Teach them just to have fun. When you get to that point where you want to do something for real, go to college or high school, pros. Of course you tell them work hard, be consistent and resilient, but don’t forget to have fun,” Camryn Taylor said.

In the past the YMCA has held camps for boys basketball, but this year’s was one of the first for girls.

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