By Chuck Stewart, Jr.
Newburgh - Coach Robert McMillian has created a place for youth looking to hone their basketball skills. It’s called BJK Sports.
It began in 2002, according to Coach Robert McMillian, when he received a vision from the Lord telling him that he could run his own camp focusing on basketball development. McMillian said, "It began with kids that could not afford to go to another camp."
So McMillian, along with his son and daughter started BJK Sports - named after Coach McMillian’s children Bryer, Julian and Konia. Keeping it a family venture, McMillian’s wife and daughter lend a helping hand in the office with the paper work.
McMillian describes BJK Sports as a complete basketball development and training camp that is committed to perfecting youth in the skill of the game. They teach skills such as: ball handling, offensive post moves, offensive perimeter moves, team defensive rules, rebounding and shooting mechanics. "The fundamentals of basketball, that’s what I teach here," McMillian said. "We don’t play any games. We learn all the basics of basketball."
BJK Sports accepts kids of all ages and skill level for their program. Children can participate in one, two or all three sessions which begin in May. Those children, that can’t afford the cost of the camp, receive a scholarship from funds McMillian and his all volunteer staff raise. "We don’t turn any child away who wants to participate in the program," McMillian said.
One of the things Coach McMillian emphasizes is balance. "They need to practice balance. You’ve got to have it like a dancer," McMillian says. He also teaches them how to think in terms of basketball. That means practicing what to do, when and knowing why. "Everybody needs to think so they can have balance and try to remember how to dribble, when to dribble, and to pay attention to the court."
Those basketball techniques McMillian teaches have been so affective that some parents have been returning with their children year after year, some from BJK Sports inception. McMillian tries to keep each session between 20-25 kids so that each receives the personal care and attention they deserve.
The kids that attend BJK Sports camp learn more than basketball skills, they learn life skills as well. Bringing in other coaches, motivational speakers and artists, children receive a different perspective as to what life is all about, off the basketball court. Because for Coach McMillian, "It’s all about the children."
