Brownsville to host basketball camp
BROWNSVILLE – Children in the Brownsville area will be given the opportunity to sharpen their basketball skills in a four-week basketball camp, “Step to Success,” to begin next week. Pete Logan, former head coach for the boys’ high school basketball team, will head the program at the Fifth Avenue Playground beginning July 23. The program is open to children in fifth, sixth and seventh grades on Wednesdays from 6 to 8 p.m. and Sundays from 1 to 3 p.m. The camp is free of charge.
“This is a good age group because these kids might have a hard time getting on the courts, the older kids might keep them off. This way they get a couple of hours on the court. This will be their time and they can learn the game,” Logan said.
Logan said through “Step to Success” he will teach kids the fundamentals of basketball. He said the camp will be instructional as well as focusing on conditioning and discipline and other things “needed to be successful in life.”
Logan, who has coached basketball for 20 years, said he used to hold camps for children at the Republic Recreation Center for three years. He said he planned the free camp as a way of giving something back to the community.
“This is where I live, and this is where I want to be a positive influence,” Logan said.
Logan began coaching in the community with the Biddy Basketball League and then the Catholic Youth Organization before he began coaching in the Brownsville Area School District, leading the team to the WPIAL AAA Championship in 2001. He was head coach for the boy’s high school team for four years before resigning this past spring.
“The community was good to our program. They did a lot for the kids, recognized the team and supported them all the way and this is a way of giving back and showing my appreciation,” Logan said.
Logan said he also hopes his camp will help get rid of the negativity in the area.
“Instead of complaining, I want to do the little bit that I can to have a positive effect in the community. I would like to see this camp grow and turn into a recreation center like what Redstone community has. This program is definitely needed for the kids. I’d like to see this continue to the fall,” he said.
Logan said he also wants to inspire the community to bring back the basketball courts to the area.
“We need the courts back in shape. I learned how to play ball on Water Street Park and I want to get that (court) back to have some courts for the kids,” he said adding that he believes borough council is in the process of renovating the park and installing a new basketball court there.
He said he will use his own basket from home to use at Fifth Avenue Playground until council can have one installed.
“I just wanted to get the ball rolling. We can always make improvements, but I wanted to get things started and this is a perfect time because Little League is finishing up and it will be a while before football begins. So this is a dead period and will keep the kids active.”