The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

JEFF Rodgers said he only wished that he had taken his Basketball Camp to Georgetown, Exuma, earlier than he did.

Following the closure of his 29th hosting of the camp at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium on Friday, Rodgers decided to take his instructors to Exuma on Monday for the start of a week-long camp and he was quite pleased with the turnout, both from the participants and the spectators.

“The opening night of the camp was very exciting and the one thing that struck me was the response from the people from the community,” Rodgers said. “We had a lot of people from the community, especially the parents, who sat around and watched the camp.

“It was very exciting. The instructors were impressed to see so many little boys and girls. We had youngsters from as young as four and as old as 18 years who participated. So the whole opening and the feedback from the community was very encouraging.”

With that in mind, Rodgers said he’s looking forward to the remainder of the week.

“We have already got a lot of phone calls because the word really got around very strongly in the community and they are going to be busing in a lot of kids from the rest of the settlements. So we are looking forward to a very colourful and exciting camp down here.”

Anthony Moss, the member of parliament for Exuma and Ragged Island, officially opened the camp slated to run 5-8pm daily, closing out on Saturday night when the instructors Rodgers took from Nassau will play an exhibition game against the local players from Exuma.

More than 52 showed up for the opening day and Danny Strachan, who heads the local organising committee, said they are looking forward to the numbers to swell.

“This is the first time that Jeff Rodgers has brought his camp to Exuma and the people here have responded very well,” Strachan said. “It’s a free camp so the children don’t have to worry about any expenses. We just want to make sure that every child gets the opportunity to learn from the host of instructors.

“Many parents were also excited that the camp came to Exuma because many of them wanted to send their kids to the camp in Nassau but just could not afford it,” Strachan said. “The camp is off to a very good start and everyone is excited about the camp being in Exuma.”

Strachan is working with a local committee mafe up of Ken McPhee, Julian Marshall and Cornell Armbrister.

The committee has secured sufficient funding to take care of the expenses for the camp.

The sponsors include the Exuma Foundation - refurbished the basketball court at Harts, Airport Rent-A-Car - Granville Ferguson, Peace & Plenty Club, Darville Lumber Company, John Marshall Guest House, Bahamasair, Island Luck, Paradise Games, Asue Draw, Exuma Markets, Shoprite and the Caribbean Bottling Company Limited - Coca-Cola.

Marshall, who is working directly with Rodgers, said they had anticipated having the camp in Exuma for quite some time, but it’s finally a reality.

“To see it finally happen is a joy,” Marshall said. “We had a lot of kids out, but it was even more encouraging to see so many parents and just people in the community sitting in the bleachers watching what was going on. We expect to see a lot more people come out as the camp goes on.”

Marshall, a former basketball player turned businessman, said as soon as Rodgers confirmed that he was coming to Exuma, the word was spread throughout the community because “everybody in the Bahamas knows about the Jeff Rodgers camp. A lot of kids want to go to the camp in Nassau, but unfortunately the parents can’t afford for them to go. So it’s a real privilege for him to bring the camp here to Exuma. So we are doing whatever we can to make sure that it is a success.”