Longtime coaches host camp

Within the four walls of the old Portales Junior High gym, and within four walls of the new PJHS gym, longtime girls coaches are trying to make sure their students don’t hit a wall when it comes to basketball.

About 45 girls are taking part in this week’s girls fundamentals camp, taught by Portales girls head coach, former Eastern New Mexico University girls coach Wayne Moore and current Zia coach Dan Buzard.

Gomez and Moore have done the camp for several years, and Moore enjoys teaching the game even after his retirement.

“If you have good fundamentals there’s no limit to how much you can improve,” Moore said. “If your fundamentals are poor, you’re going to hit a wall. That’s what we’re trying to get across.”

The goal, Moore said, is to give the campers tools that go beyond the four-day camp.

“We we’re doing is teaching basic fundamentals that they can work on,” Moore said. “They can take it out of this camp and work on it at home or in a gym. Nobody’s going to be perfect, but we’re trying to show them that fundamentals are what basketball is all about.”

The campers are broken down by age and skill level. On Wednesday, the older campers worked with Gomez on running offense and the younger campers worked with Moore on shooting.

The dual gyms at PJHS have allowed for an easy separation.

“It’s great to have these facilities and that we’re able to use them,” Gomez said. “It’s helped us a lot. The kids get a good chance to see what they’ll be playing in.”

The camp also allows Gomez an opportunity to familiarize herself with players years before they take the court for the Lady Rams.

“It gets me excited knowing what we’ve got coming. Just to be able to go see them in Little Dribblers, I get to know the kids a little bit better.”