Colby grad teaches next generation

Recently graduated Colby alumnus Richard Streveler wanted to give back to the sport and community that has meant a good deal to him. But how best to do that? His answer: to teach the next generation of basketball players the skills that served him during his time with the Colby basketball program.

Streveler, the Eastern Cloverbelt Conference Player of the Year and member of the WCBA Academic All-State team, ran a basketball skills camp for boys and girls in grades six through nine. The camp took place over three days, from June 28-30, in the Colby High School gymnasium.

Running the camp by himself was a first for Streveler. He had helped his sister run a similar event years ago, but this time, he was the one in charge. With a little help from the girls varsity basketball coach Terry Schmitt, Streveler was able to devise a program and get word out to the community.

Around twenty attendees participated in drills focused on ball handling and shooting form, key skills for athletes to focus on, regardless of their experience. However, for those in the formative years of their games, these are especially important which is why Streveler wanted to concentrate on them.

As the camp started to wind down on the final day, Streveler had some time to reflect on his first foray into passing his basketball knowledge on to others.

“I think it went really well,” Streveler said as he watched his students play a final game of Lightning, a reward of sorts for all of the work they had put into drills over the last few days. “We had a great group of kids come out. They listened well, worked hard, and hopefully they learned some things.”

The last part of his statement was obviously paramount to Streveler’s hopes for this event.

“I’ve always loved basketball,” Streveler stated when asked about his motivations behind running the camp. “And I figured now that I am out of high school, it would be a fun way to stay connected and to teach the kids something.”

While Streveler will be headed to Minnesota in the fall to attend Winona State University, he clearly intends to remain involved in the local community. Based on the response from the young athletes who attended, there certainly seems to be an opportunity to continue the event in the future.

“Hopefully I can make this an annual thing,” Streveler said.