All 2015 Mark Osowski Basketball Clinic pictures have been uploaded to the page.  I hope you enjoy all of them!

I want to say thanks again to all the campers, counselors, and families who made this week so wonderful!  I hope the campers learned a lot and had a lot of fun too.  We enjoyed having all of them and hope to see them back next year!

I would also like to say a special thank you to Annmarie Sargent, Jeff O’Neill, and the entire Leominster Recreation Department.  This week would not have been possible without all of you!  Thanks for all your hard work!

I know Mark was looking down on camp and smiling this week.  He would have loved running around with all these great kids!

What a great day we had today to finish up a great week of camp!

The kids all got their camp shirts in the morning so we could take a camp picture.  We were able to print copies of the picture and send one home with each camper, so if your child did not get one, please contact me.

After the camp picture, the counselors gathered their teams for some final drills and scrimmages.  We also had a special guest speaker, referee and Mark Osowski’s close friend, Mike Bangrazi.  He talked to the kids about how referees do their jobs, reminding kids that referees are humans and it is important that if a referee makes a mistake, the player needs to keep on playing and not get stuck on the call they didn’t get.  It’s a hard job, and they can’t always get it right.  It’s important for players to remember that they are doing their best.  He also talked about his friendship with Mark Osowski and how much he admired him for working hard to reach his goal.  He reminded the kids of Mark’s motto – “Take action on your dreams.”

The kids each got a booklet today containing very valuable information.  There are drills, stretches, conditioning activities, and a biography about Mark Osowski.  The campers took some time today to read through the booklet with their counselors.  Then, they took them home at the end of the day so the can keep practicing at home!

As parents started arriving today for the end of camp, the kids demonstrated various drills they had done throughout the week.  The parents got to see plyometrics, shooting, and defense.  There was a lot of extra energy in the air because the kids knew that their parents were watching!

We gave out daily and weekly awards today.  Congratulations to our daily Hustle Award winners (Edward, Lily, Korrin, and Mackenzie) and daily Sportsmanship Award winners (Kainin, Grace, Cyrus, and Kyra)!  Great job!

Our weekly award winners were as follows:

• Mark Osowski Award – Sean and Olivia
• Most Improved Player Award – Abraham, Dahlia, Thomas, and Madeline
• High Five Award – Joe, Caleigh, Brandon, and Kali
• Great Attitude Award – Jeff, Bianca, Xavier, and Emma
• Hustle Award (for the week) – Jack, Olivia, Luke, and Isabella
• Sportsmanship Award (for the week) – Patrick, Madison, Ryan, and Caroline

Congratulations to all the winners!  We also gave out special basketball pins to all the campers who did not get Hustle or Sportsmanship awards because we felt that all campers really worked hard and cheered on their teammates, so we wanted to do something special for them.

We have lots of pictures from today, so it will take me a day or so to get them all sorted and posted online.  I will have them up by the end of the weekend.  In the meantime, you can enjoy the pictures that are already posted.  If you would like a copy of any of the pictures, please just email me.

Thank again to all for a fantastic week!!!

There were lots of tired faces (and legs!) at camp today, but the kids were all great sports and powered through the day.  They have been working so hard this week!

We started the morning warming up with some ball handling and defensive drills.  Then, Coach Woj came back to share more of his shooting tips.  It was another active lecture, with all the kids up and practicing as he taught.  There was an extra long water break after that talk!  Thanks for sharing your wisdom with us, Coach!

We also had another special visitor today – Coach Dubzinski from Leominster High School.  As always, he had the kids engaged and they were learning and laughing.  He used several of our great counselors (some being his own players) to demonstrate good teamwork.  The kids loved cheering on their counselors and telling Coach Dubzinski about what they observed during the brief game.

Congratulations to our Hustle Award winners (Jeff, Bianca, Ryan, and Charlotte) and Sportsmanship Award winners (Abraham, Tanner, Jessica, and Ashley) for today!  Great job everyone!

Also, congratulations to our Knockout winners for today – Jennifer, Jack, Olivia, Patrick, Charlotte, Brandon, Luke, and Adam!

Tomorrow is our last day of camp.  We will finish our day early at 1:00pm.  We will give out our normal daily awards as well as a few weekly awards.  From about 11:30 until around 12:15, we will have some competitions and drills so parents can see what kids were up to all week.  Then, we will stop the activities to give out awards.  Parents are welcome to come at any time.

Kids do not need a lunch for tomorrow, but they should have a snack to eat in the late morning.  We will give out T-shirts first thing in the morning, then take our camp picture, which everyone will get a copy of before they leave.

We look forward to seeing everyone tomorrow to cap off a great week!

First off – let me apologize for the late hour of this posting.  I teach a night class and was not able to get to my computer until now.

We started our morning off getting warmed up with the ball handling drills we learned yesterday.  After getting warmed up, everyone got down in their defensive stance and did some slides and foot fires.  There was a lot of moving and sweating going on!

We were joined by Coach Woj this morning for a long discussion/demonstration on shooting.  The kids got a chance to get up and try everything Coach was saying as he shared his great wisdom with us.  It is clear how much more everyone gets out of the lectures when they are up and working along with these great speakers.

One of the highlights of the week is always the camp cookout!  The Leominster Recreation Department brought over their grills and cooked more than 150 hot dogs for all the campers.  Yummy, yummy!  And a perfect day for a little picnic!

Other fun things from today include playing some small games, competing in more dribbling relay races, learning the Mikan drill, and watching a memorial video from the Cleveland Cavaliers with clips from Mark Osowski’s final season.  Definitely a full and fun day today!

Congratulations to our Hustle Award winners (Josh, Olivia, Giovanni, and Kassandra) and Sportsmanship Award winners (Patrick, Olivia, Ethan, and Madeline)!  Great job!

Also, congratulations to our Knockout winners – Kassandra, Caroline, Olivia, Clayton, Jack, Ryan, Luke, and Ben!

Don’t forget to check out the camp pictures from this week!

Tomorrow is Blue and White day!  Show your Leominster pride with the school colors!  That should make the Leominster High School boys’ varsity basketball coach happy when he visits us tomorrow afternoon.  See everyone in the morning!

Dribbling and ball handling were the name of the game at the Mark Osowski Basketball Clinic today!  The highlight of the day was an active ball handling demonstration from Coach Dellasanta.  After talking to the kids about the importance of good ball handling skills for a few minutes, he had all the kids up and working with him as he taught them new tricks for strengthening their hands and controlling the ball.  Everyone was involved, active, and having fun!  And even though the kids were all exhausted at the end, many still took a moment to approach Coach Dellasanta and thank him for teaching them – a fact that really impressed the coach.  What great sports we have!

In addition to ball handling, kids also practiced different types of passing and screens.  At the end of the day, they put the skills they learned together with a team competition involving dribbling to a particular cone and passing off to a partner.  Stay tuned for a video showing the excitement!

Congratulations to our Hustle Award winners (Joe, Ava, Daniel, and Isabella) and Sportsmanship Award winners (Jack, Caleigh, Ben, and Jaden) from today!  You all did a great job!

Also, congratulations to today’s knockout winners – Isabella, Olivia, Jennifer, Jack, Evan, Jordan, Luke, and Andy!

Don’t forget to check out the camp pictures from this week!

Tomorrow is another big day!  We will have our camp cookout for lunch.  We will serve hot dogs, chips, and drinks.  Kids should still bring water bottles.  If they don’t want hot dogs, they can bring their own lunch and/or snacks.  Also, tomorrow is Pro Day, so break out those Celtics, Red Sox, Patriots, Bruins, Cavaliers, etc. shirts!  See everyone in the morning!

Monday saw us off to a great start!  The kids all had a blast with their teams!  Here were some of the highlights from day 1:

• Learning how to set screens and make V-cuts
• Practicing proper shooting form
• Hearing about the history of the Mark Osowski Basketball Clinic and Mark himself (the story involves LeBron James, which always gets the kids excited)
• Watching Coach Gary shoot foul shots with his eyes closed, even though it resulted in some kids who didn’t believe he could do it having to run a sprint
• Working on different types of passes (bounce, chest, over the head) with a partner

Congratulations to today’s Hustle Award winners (Hannah, Clayton, Caroline, and Casey) and Sportsmanship Award winners (Madison, Sean, Emma, and Brandon)!  Great job guys!  Keep up the good work throughout the week!

Also, congratulations to our knockout winners – Bianca, Joe, Clayton, Madison, Ashley, Brandon, and Casey!

Don’t forget to check out the camp pictures from this week!

Tomorrow is College Day, so everyone should wear something to represent their favorite college team.  See you all in the morning!

On behalf of the entire Mark Osowski Team and the Leominster Recreation Department, we would like to offer our apologies to those parents who did not get the message that the Mark Osowski Basketball Clinic had been moved from Skyview to Leominster High School.  We understand that this must have caused headaches and delays this morning, so we are very sorry for the mix-up.  We will be at the high school all week.  If this creates a problem for your family in any way, please contact the Leominster Recreation Department at 978-534-7549.

The Mark Osowski Basketball Clinic will start tomorrow!  We are all excited and looking forward to seeing you all there!  A newsletter will be sent home with all parents when they check their children in.  Here is the welcome message and information from the newsletter:

Welcome Basketball Families!

We want to take this opportunity to thank you for allowing your child(ren) to spend the next week with us. We assure you your child will enjoy this week as they learn new skills/drills in basketball, meet new people and listen to different speakers about the topic of offense, defense, rebounding, rules, and more.

The Mark Osowski Basketball Clinic will take place Monday, August 10 – Friday, August 14, 2015 from 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. except for the last day, which ends at 1:00 p.m.

Each day, children should pack a lunch, bring a water bottle and a snack. Gatorade and water will be sold for $1.00 a bottle.

Each day will be a Team Spirit Day which means you should dress according to the theme:

Tuesday – College Day – dress in something that represents your favorite college team

Wednesday – NBA Day – dress in something that represents your favorite NBA team

Thursday – Blue and White – dress in something blue and white

Friday – Mark’s Day – children will wear their camp T-shirts

On Wednesday, August 12 there will be a BBQ for the campers and staff. Hot dogs, chips, and water will be served. If your child has any allergies please let the staff know ahead of time.

Popsicles will be given out each day at the end of the day. Snack time will take place in the morning each day around 10:45.

Each day, daily awards will be given out. The last day will be an awards ceremony and the final competitions. Parents are invited to arrive around 12:00 p.m. and this will run approximately one hour. Camp on the last day will end at 1:00 p.m. If you cannot make the awards ceremony please make sure transportation is provided for 1:00 p.m.

You can follow the clinic’s daily activities and see pictures at www.markosowskibasketball.com. Thank you and we look forward to a fun-filled week!

The Mark Osowski Team