|  Basketball Breaks the Ice
Even if an older mentor and teenager from different backgrounds don’t know one another and are nervous about meeting, once they play on the same team and feed each other passes to shoot and score, they quickly become supportive team mates and can bond over a shared experience and passion. As HLBC mentor Joe Stetson noted: “Once you give a kid a bounce pass and he scores, he immediately likes and trusts you.” For men who are not great communicators, basketball provides a common language and shared interest through which to connect.
Practices
As soon as HLBC campers have changed into their uniforms (which are free to the kids and which they get to keep), the director introduces the leadership theme of the day and along with experienced high school basketball coaches, leads a basketball practice with drills designed to re-enforce that theme. For example, if the day’s theme is discipline, the campers may practice left handed lay-ups, following their shot, dribbling while looking up and foul shooting.
At HLBC, there are no league standings, championships or all-star teams. The camp focuses on learning leadership and building relationships more than winning.
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