UH and Kalaheo Standout Alika Smith Hosts B-ball Camp
By Jack Danilewicz
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Del.icio.usLong before he became one of the most decorated players in the University of Hawaii’s basketball annals, Alika Smith recalls being a wide-eyed kid trying to find his way at the Merv Lopes Basketball Camp at McCabe gym.
He need not have worried. Soon he was getting the better of older kids.
“One of the things he (Lopes) did was put younger kids against older kids in contests,” said Smith, who was a standout at Kalaheo before moving on to UH. “You might be 7 or 8 years old competing in free throws with someone 13 or 14. To win was very gratifying. It was competitive.
“Growing up, there were always four of us at every camp - Jarinn Akana, Brandyn Akana, my brother Josh (Smith) and me,” Smith added.“I looked forward to those camps every summer. The main objective was always to have fun - that’s what my dad (the late Pete Smith) taught us at his own camp. But the competitiveness of the sport eventually took over. Those (basketball) camps helped me tremendously.”
With his own childhood experiences in fond memory, Alika Smith hopes the return of the Pete Smith Basketball Camp this week can have a similar effect on the Windward community. Pete Smith, who coached Kalaheo to 14 OIA championships and three state titles, passed away in October of 2006. From 1992-2002, he conducted the camp every summer. If all goes according to plan, under Alika’s guidance, the camp will now be held as often as four times a year - once in each season - with talk of future camps on the Neighbor Islands as well.
The current camp coincides with spring break for Oahu schools. It began Monday and runs through Friday at Kalaheo High School. Another session begins next Monday and will run through Friday. The camp is open to boys and girls ages 5-18.
“We thought the opportunity was perfect right now with the kids having two weeks off of school,” said Smith, a former assistant coach at UH-Manoa and UH-Hilo.“I’ve heard some parents complain that some of the leagues are too short also, so this will help keep them involved (in basketball).”
Among the coach-instructors are UH-Hilo head coach Jeff Law, Kalaheo boys coach Chico Furtado (second session) and Darrell Matsui, a longtime assistant at both Hawaii Pacific and Chaminade, among others. Alika Smith’s brothers Josh and Kea also will coach at the camp, with fundamentals as the primary focus.
“A foundation of the game is the biggest thing they’ll take from it,” said Smith.“If you look around the state, you won’t find many camps that take 5-year-olds, but my dad liked to do it. He wanted to reach out to the young kids, and he helped a lot of people. The summer camps were some of his most gratifying times (in basketball).
During his own playing days, Alika never wavered in his commitment to repetition when it came to practicing the basics of the game.
“They say you have to crawl before you can walk. If you practice something and practice something, you’re going to know how to do it.You can be taught the right way to shoot. It’s your job to go out there and practice it.”
Entry fee is $175 per session. Each child will receive a camp shirt and photo. (Parents should provide lunch for their child each day.) Campers are separated by age group.
For more information, call 688-8085 or send an e-mail to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
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