GREENVILLE — The Greenville Lady Wave basketball program, under the direction of second-year head coach Shane Hillard, recently completed a successful three-day youth basketball camp, providing young players an opportunity to develop their skills while learning from current Lady Wave athletes and coaches.
The camp marked an important milestone for Hillard, who was unable to conduct a youth camp during his first season leading the program after being hired late in the offseason.
“For my first year, I wasn’t able to do it last year, so the numbers were pretty good,” Hillard said. “It was a great group of kids. We threw a lot at them in three days.”
Hillard praised the campers for their focus and willingness to learn throughout the event.
“I thought their attention level and their intent to do things right were impressive to me; it makes it easier for us,” Hillard said. “We want to continuously go to the next thing and keep moving on, and not have to tell them to pay attention. When you have a group with that big of an age gap, it gets a little hard sometimes, but this group made it really easy.”
A key component of the camp was the involvement of Greenville’s high school players, who worked alongside the younger athletes and helped demonstrate the culture Hillard is striving to build within the program.
“I told the coaches how much it means to me to have them show up, and it shows the family kind of thing that we’re trying to build,” Hillard said. “They did a good job with the young ones, and it says a lot about what we are trying to do with the program.”
With the camp concluded, the Lady Wave immediately turn their attention to a busy summer schedule that will provide valuable experience for both returning players and newcomers to the program.
“Tomorrow (Thursday), we go to Wittenberg for a shootout,” Hillard said. “We’ll work out twice a week, so tomorrow we’ll go to Wittenberg. The following week, we go to Ohio State for a shootout, the week after that, we go to Indiana Wesleyan and stay for three days on campus and play seven or eight games there. We’ll end the summer at IU East for a shootout there, so we’re going to get a lot of games in. A lot of players are going to have a lot of opportunities to try to figure some things out.”
The summer schedule will also help Greenville’s incoming freshmen transition into the high school program. Hillard believes the newest Lady Wave players will benefit from experienced teammates guiding them through the learning process.
“The incoming freshmen will be coming in, so they’re overwhelmed right now, but they’ll figure it out,” Hillard said. “The good thing they have that the group last year didn’t have is that they have that group when I came in last year and started throwing all this new stuff at them. That group didn’t have anybody to lean on, so I keep telling them, lean on those who have been here.”
“They didn’t have that luxury that you have,” he continued. “Ask them questions, let them tell you. It seems overwhelming, but it’s going to be fine.”
As Greenville prepares for another season under Hillard’s leadership, the coach is optimistic about what the coming months can accomplish for the program.
“It’s a big summer. We’re going to get a lot done,” Hillard said. “I’m anxious to see what it does for us.”
The successful youth camp, combined with an ambitious summer schedule, provides the Lady Wave with an opportunity to continue building momentum and strengthen the program’s foundation from its youngest players to the varsity level.
