BY JANNA MURPHY
Swarthmore Recreation Association (SRA), launched two new, highly-anticipated camps at the start of August, one for budding basketball stars and the other for ultimate frisbee players.
More Moore Fun Basketball Camp, directed by Swarthmorean Durell Moore, focused primarily on building the campers’ skills and camaraderie. The campers spent most of their time on the basketball courts of Swarthmore Rutledge School under the direction of Mr. Moore. “Camp is really good,” Mr. Moore said, still out of breath from running with the campers. Everett Miller, a camper on a water break, agreed completely. “Camp’s pretty fun,” he said before rushing back onto the court. Campers Riley and Kabir were equally rushed in their responses, both affirming that camp was “good” before darting back to the action, all smiles and exhaustion. The August camp was the second of two basketball camps run this summer by Mr. Moore in conjunction with SRA. The camps, run by his coaches at More Moore FUNdamentals, were one more way that Mr. Moore, who is also an assistant varsity coach at Chester High School, has been working to improve the quality of basketball in Swarthmore and to improve Nether-Swarthmore Hoops, one of SRA’s marquee programs. Mr. Moore also plans to host small group training sessions this fall for interested ball players.
On the other side of Swarthmore, on Rutgers Field, another new camp was underway, this one run by the Philadelphia Phoenix Ultimate team, a professional team based in Philadelphia and a member of the East Division of the American Ultimate Disc League (AUDL). Phoenix players Morey Averill called the camp “a blast for all ages. Everyone has fun!” The camp, the second of its kind this summer, consisted of skills training for players of all ability levels and plenty of chances to chat with friends and Phoenix players as well. Camper Marco Flower said the camp “helped me become a better ultimate frisbee player.” Desmond Fuccillo, who is new to the sport, said “It’s amazing. I’ve learned lots of different kinds of throws and techniques.” Jacob Sacker said that the camp is “a fun way to learn,” and Nathan Sacker explained the camp’s main technique for teaching as “each game helps you with one thing.” Plus, there’s nothing quite like learning from a professional player. At the end of the day, campers gathered around the Phoenix players to gather signatures on their camp shirts. The Phoenix will be back in Swarthmore this fall for Advanced Ultimate Frisbee Clinics for middle and high school players.