Christian Laettner, a member of the 1992 Olympic gold-medal winning U.S. “Dream Team” and two-time NCAA tournament champion at Duke, will host a basketball skills camp at Shawano Community High School from Oct. 23-25.
Laettner will share with campers how he prepared for, developed and maintained his storybook career, which included starts in four consecutive Final Fours and 13 years in the NBA.
The Christian Laettner Basketball Academy provides training and instruction to male and female players from grade school to college levels across the U.S.
“I work really hard, but I love doing it. It’s easy for me because I get to teach the game I love,” Laettner said. “I get to share some of the knowledge some of the things I’ve learned over the years from some great coaches, like my father when I was young, Coach (Mike Krzyzewski) when I was in college and some of the good NBA coaches I had.
“I’m working the clinic the whole time. I’m coaching the kids myself the whole time. I do it because I love it. My father was a coach, so I think it’s in my blood.”
Laettner said all successful basketball players are great at four main skills: catching a basketball, dribbling a basketball, shooting a basketball and making layups.
“I was working on those four main skills every day of my life between 4 and 14, and that’s where the skill and development comes,” he said. “That’s where being excellent at those four skills really helps you become a good basketball player.”
Passing is vital, Laettner said, noting that the two best teams in college basketball last season, Duke and Wisconsin, were both great passing teams, as is perennial NBA Western Conference contender San Antonio.
SCHS boys basketball head coach Dave Ambrosius said the camp will be a great opportunity for all Shawano basketball players to learn from a professional who has stood his ground on the college, professional and world stages.
“Besides the fact that it is just going to be a great experience for the kids, I think having somebody with the amount of experience that he has, is definitely is going to be advantageous for us because he is going to be able to teach and share experiences with those kids at a level in a level that which most high-school athletes don’t,” Ambrosius said.
Randy Panzer, who got to know Laettner through a fundraising event in Illinois in the past, worked with him to schedule the three-day camp.
“He is actually 100 percent active, demonstrating the skills, working directly with all the athletes, which isn’t what you always get, especially with a professional athlete or an elite athlete,” Panzer said. “A lot of times, they do a lot of talking and not as much hands-on. He’s right out there, hands-on, working with the athletes. It’s a pretty neat experience.”
Laettner also plans to find time to fish on Shawano Lake. He said he has a passion for muskie fishing.
Participants who register by Oct. 15 will receive a shirt. Campers also will be able to get a photo with Laettner and his autograph.
Registration can be completed online at www.theclba.com. Proceeds from the camp will benefit Sacred Heart Catholic School Athletics.
For information, email Panzer at shawanolaettnercamp@gmail.com.
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