While the Harlingen Cardinals and Harlingen South Hawks are rivals most of the year, there are a few chances they get to come together.
For more than a decade, the Harlingen Rising Stars Basketball Camp has been one of those times.
Now in its 11th year, the camp brought together more than 70 area third through ninth grade students for the four-day clinic, which kicked off Monday, aiming to teach the fundamentals of the game.
HARLINGEN — While the Harlingen Cardinals and Harlingen South Hawks are rivals most of the year, there are a few chances they get to come together.
For more than a decade, the Harlingen Rising Stars Basketball Camp has been one of those times.
Now in its 11th year, the camp brought together more than 70 area third through ninth grade students for the four-day clinic, which kicked off Monday, aiming to teach the fundamentals of the game.
“It’s been really amazing that we can give the campers instruction and have all 70 in the gym and on command,” said Harlingen head basketball coach Greg Yates. “They do their two dribbles, work on their pivots and they get into all kinds of things. It’s really a tribute to them wanting to be here.”
Assisting with the camp is Harlingen South head coach Brian Molina and LarissaMolina, both are regulars to the annual camp.
Former Harlingen, Harlingen South and even McAllen Rowe players are also lending a helping hand at this year’s camp.
“The guys enjoy coming back to help coach,” Yates said. “Brian (Molina) has been here before, but we have new coaches here that have just graduated helping out. LarissaMolina even brought four girls from Nikki Rowe to help out.
“Just being able to have all this help to put this camptogether has been great.”
Players on hand included the likes of South’s Jason Martinez, Harlingen’s Elijah Rhodes, former Cardinal and LindenwoodUniversity basketball player Michael Williams and McAllen Rowe standout and the RGV 6A Girls Athlete of the Year Mayda Garcia.
For Rhodes, the camp has been his way of giving back.
“It’s nice to help these kids out,” Rhodes said. “Because some day, they’re going to be in my shoes where I was at, playing high school basketball.”
Ex-Hawk Martinez echoes the sentiment and also tried to emphasize that it’s more that just on-court skills the campers need to learn.
“It’s more than basketball,” Martinez said. “You have to teach teamwork and how to control yourself during the game and with different situations that occur.”
While basketball was the focal point of the four-day camp, Yates brought in UTRGV Women’s basketball coach Larry Tidwell and magician Oscar Munoz to help inspire the campers on and off the court.
“(Munoz) has a great message because he tries to get the kids to believe in themselves,” Yates said. “Coach Tidwell talks about attitude, academics and definitely your ability to perform out here on the court.
“All those things, as coaches, we are trying to instill in our kids.”
