The drone of new-fangled synthesized “music” filled the air in the gym, heralding the beginning of basketball class. The doors swung open, and in charged 24 campers from dorms 1B and 4B, ready to take on basketball instructor Joshua Sloan and his assistants: Charles Wittsell, Paris Turgeon and Victoria Terrell. The campers ran laps around the court and then gathered together for stretching exercises.

The staff asked about the activities the dorms had participated in already that day: “What did you have this morning?” A confident yet misguided reply came from a camper: “Eggs!” The gym erupted in laughter.

Sloan then put the dorms through drills emphasizing three different skill sets—a group with himself to practice “give-and-go,” a group with Turgeon and Terrell to practice rebounding, and a group with Wittsell to practice dribbling. I asked about the workings of 1B from their assistant counselor, AC freshman Daniel Westerbaan.

This pyc is Westerbaan’s first. Given his empathy for the plight of some of the first-time campers in his dorm, Westerbaan has been pleased with the leadership shown by the older campers. “The older guys, they’re really leading by example … and it’s really drawing out a lot of participation from some of the younger campers,” he said. “They’re helping them feel more comfortable.” At this point, I was able to face up to him in a one-on-one dribbling drill, to which he competently put me in my place.

After the groups switched stations, and I talked with 1B’s counselor, sophomore Michael Cocomise. “I have a really mature, focused and dedicated dorm, which I think makes my job a lot easier,” he said. “It’s encouraging to me to see the impact the parents, their teachers, and their past counselors have made. So I want to have that kind of impact on them as well.”

Partway into the class, camp director Wayne Turgeon walked into the gym and took a seat, watching the progress of the campers while preparing notes. After making a hilarious comment about his daughter Paris (which shall not be reproduced here!), the dorms were finished at their stations, and gathered together to learn the ins and outs of an offensive drill known as “read and react” (which involves a lot of “inning” and “outing”).

Basketball head honcho Sloan emphasizes teamwork to the campers: “In the nba, it’s all about superstars against superstars, rather than getting teams involved, so that’s what we want to instill into the campers here at pyc.”

After the “read and react” exercise, the campers engaged in a dribbling relay race—up and down the court, in and out of cones, and past the fearsome defenders, Turgeon and Terrell. I joined 4B in the race, but unfortunately, 1B squeaked by us for the victory.

The basketball class was finally winding down for the day. Or rather, wound back up, as Turgeon and Terrell cranked up the music again and led the campers in a dance routine, heralding the tickets for the class—to Zechariah of 4B and Kyle of 1B. Several cheers later saw 1B off on their way to experience the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune at James Brandon’s archery class.