By CHRIS LACLAIR
Eagle Times Staff
CASTLETON, Vt. — What started off as a small tournament several years ago for Vermont State as Castleton’s Head Coach for Paul Culpo, has grown into one of the premiere camps in the area.
“I think we have been doing this for close to 15 years, maybe 13 or 14,” said Culpo. “It was another good weekend of competition. Most everyone seemed very happy with things.”
Not only does the camp provide one of the most unique environments for team bonding since players stay in the dorms together, but it also provides a training ground for referees who are training toward earning their patches as certified referees.
“Used to be done just with my team reffing the games,” said Culpo. “That was tough, so we started to bring in officials and then eventually the officials decided they could run a camp within the event that I think really helped.”
This summer, 39 teams played in the tournament bracket. There were 16 teams in the open bracket varsity bracket that represented the larger schools that were in attendance. In the smaller varsity bracket, Stevens, Fall Mountain, Newport, Springfield and Vermont were with a group of 16 teams from smaller high schools. Windsor was the lone junior varsity program in the JV bracket of seven teams from the Eagle Times coverage area.
Springfield Cosmos Head Coach Kraig Harlow entered his team into the camp for the first time this summer. His Cosmos had a breakout season this winter with an 8-13 record that earned them a trip to the VPA playoffs. Harlow hopes that he can add to the momentum that his Cosmos carry over from last season.
“Castleton Camp was a great opportunity for our underclassman to show their skills,” said Harlow. “We played hard all weekend and learned a lot of valuable lessons. Our players benefit with living with each other overnight and spent a lot of time hanging out with each other. Guys played pickup, hung out in the dorms. Played a round of disc golf and went to the pool together. Those things really matter when we’re trying to build camaraderie as a basketball program.”
Fall Mountain Wildcats Head Coach Nate Haskell returned to the camp for a second summer after using last summer’s camp to gel with his team after being named their new head coach. The camp was a continuation of a lot of off-season basketball for his team as they prepare to make a deep run into the playoffs this upcoming winter season.
“The bonding experience the last two years has helped Fall Mountain a ton,” said Haskell. “The kids seeing the value of it has been tremendous and being a New Hampshire team with so many other Vermont, Maine, New York teams; it’s been very competitive and fun.
“In the two years we have done this we have one, made the playoffs at Fall Mountain for the first time in seven years and two, had a .500 record for the first time in 10 years. So, the bonding in every aspect matters. The best part is the players are the ones who make it happen. It’s a coach’s dream really.”
Stevens Cardinal Head Coach Matthew Dancosse was also a first-year coach at Castleton. Stevens had teams in the tournament the last two seasons under a previous coach including a coop with the Newport Tigers last summer. Dancosse lost several key seniors to graduation but has a nice young core built around Owen Wilkinson who will turn a lot of heads this winter as he leads his team toward the playoffs.
“Our experience was invaluable,” said Dancosse. “We learned who we want to be on the court, our strengths and weaknesses. However, more importantly we learned that we are a group that can have fun together. We genuinely enjoy each other’s company.
“The most beneficial things to take away from the camp are all the things that happened outside of the basketball lines.
“It is an experience I hope our players reflect on through challenging times and remind them why they participate in the after-school activities that they choose. There is nothing more rewarding than being a member of a team and contributing to success.”
Windsor Yellow Jackets Head Coach Larry Dougher is a staple at the camp as he brings a team each summer. He brought a JV team with him as well this summer as he looks to rebuild this winter after losing key seniors and losing Noah Jenks back to Hartford High School.
“Our experience this weekend, to me, was part of our overall summer experience, which was very good this year,” said Dougher. “We competed well in our summer league, open gyms, and had enough of a commitment to bring an underclassmen group to Team Camp for the first time. And that group acquitted themselves quite well with wins over Mascoma and advancing in bracket play. It was quite an achievement when there were only seven teams in the JV bracket out of the 32 total programs involved in Team Camp.
“While we have a couple open gyms left, the team camp and our summer league has made clear the things we will want to coach up and clean up this winter. This has been the best summer in terms of attendance and commitment from the players since I’ve been a head coach at Windsor.
“It has allowed us to get a jumpstart with some on-court things while also bond as a program, grades 9-12, for things like our varsity cheering on the JVs in bracket play or a team dinner at a local restaurant where we can enjoy time together.
“It’s important that even us coaches realize that only one team per division ends their season the way we all want to so our first priority is to give our student-athletes a great experience.”
And of course, as I write this article, I can’t forget to include my team thoughts. I had the honor of bringing the Newport Tigers team to camp for the second summer in a row. This is by far the best coaching experience I have each year that I have marked on my calendar well ahead of time. As the Eagle Times Sports Editor, I had to give up my coaching duties as my time doesn’t allow for both. This camp gives me the rare opportunity to coach and bond with the players who were my son’s teammates before he graduated last year. It’s a blessing to spend team bonding time together and this is the perfect opportunity environment for it.
Hats off to Coach Culpo for creating such an amazing camp and tournament.
