Mike and Joe Rocca are starting up a youth basketball camp in Sarnia.
The Rocca Elite Basketball Academy will run out of the gymnasium at Sarnia Christian School during the last week of July, with a focus on developing skill sets for players preparing for high school.
Mike spent last year with the University of Windsor, while Joe won a national championship with Carleton University and began his pro basketball career with the National Basketball League of Canada's Niagara River Lions.
Sarnia's Mike Rocca (Photo courtesy of Windsor Lancers)
Mike says they've been fortunate enough to play under some great coaches, and wanted to share some of that experience.
"We played for two of the top coaches in Canada, and we feel like we have the knowledge to give kids in Sarnia that next level training. It's not just the on court stuff, but the mental side of the game as well. It's a lot of stuff we wish we would have known coming out of high school."
He says a lot of the training will be focused on decision making and problem solving, adding that they won't focus to much on position based drills.
"It doesn't really matter how tall you are, you need to be a basketball player, you need those intangibles that the players have at the next level", says the fifth year guard for the Windsor Lancers. "There's a trend nowadays where big guys are shooting threes, you need to have all these skill sets. Whether you're a forward or a guard coming to our camp, we're going to teach you to be a basketball player."
His older brother Joe, who just wrapped up his collegiate career, says it's important to develop those basic basketball skills at a young age.
Sarnia's Joe Rocca (Photo courtesy of Carleton Athletics)
"You want to teach them these skills when they are young, so they have something to build on and as they grow up and develop through their high school years."
The camp will be split into a pair of age groups, grades four to six and seven to nine. Joe says this way they can focus on each group, and work on drills better suited to their age and ability.
"We wanted to split them up into two age groups so we could focus on specific skills for each, it's something that should benefit the kids."
The Rocca Elite Basketball Academy runs from July 24th-28th at Sarnia Christian school gymnasium. You can find out more information or register on the Academy's Twitter and Facebook pages.