For Douglas girls' basketball coach Werner Christen, the school's annual Tiger Camp has become such a hallmark of the summer season that he sometimes has to address it from the first meeting he has with his team every year.
"The kids in the community love this camp," he said. "We have kids that are counselors now that have come all the way up the chain.
"They always say they can't wait to be counselors at the camp, because they've been coming to it since they were little. We have to make sure we have the dates set aside for it early on so we can tell them when it will be. The kids in the community love it. It's something we really look forward to every summer."
The camp annually draws hundreds of participants from the Valley, and has been known to feature surprise cameo guests in the past, such as former University of Nevada standouts Nick Fazekas and Garry Hill-Thomas.
"You never know who is going to show up," Christen said. "It's always a surprise."
What he knows for sure is that a number of Douglas' all-leaguers and all-region honorees from the last season, including Keith Olson, Mike Gransbery, Jessica Waggoner and Bridget Maestretti will be on hand as counselors.
"All the younger kids get to watch the older kids play during the winter and then they get to come out and hang out with them in the summer," Christen said. "It's a blast. It's a busy week. There are basketballs flying all over the place and we run them through all kinds of drills. We have a lot of fun."
The camp this year is set for June 19-21 for boys and girls in first through seventh grades. Sessions will run from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day with drills, individual and team competitions, games and special guest clinics.
It's designed to help build a solid foundation for beginners and a stronger challenge for more advanced players.
Players will be coached in ball handling, passing, footwork, defense, rebounding and shooting.
Among the clinicians will be Christen, former Douglas boys' coach Rob Streeter, assistants Andy Hughes, Dave Pfaffenberger, Phil Emm, Joe Bertelone and Randy Green and Double-Pump West Cost All-Star Camp clinician Aubrey McCreary.
Cost is $110 per player and $90 for each additional member of the household. The cost goes up to $120 after June 4.
The proceeds from the camp go directly into the high school basketball program.
"The purpose of the camp is two-fold for us," Christen said. "It feeds our program because we're able to get a good look at the kids that are coming up and we get a couple days to coach them. It's also our main fundraiser for the year for both the boys' and girls' teams.
"But really, that is all secondary. We just enjoy coaching the kids. We get excited every year to do this."
Registration forms can be picked up at the Douglas High School athletic department office or at Big Daddy's bicycle shop in Gardnerville.
