Press
Junior Jazz 1 Hour Basketball Clinic with Jazz Point Guard Randy Livingston
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
CEDAR CITY- Utah Jazz Point Guard Randy Livingston left off playing basketball for a day to play coach to a group of very excited Junior Jazz players during the Cedar City Parks and Recreation Junior Jazz Clinic at the Utah Summer Games in Cedar City on Wednesday.
“It’s great to see the smiles on the kids’ faces,” said Livingston, who was all smiles himself as he directed the players in warm-up exercises to start the clinic off. At times his 6’ 3” height was the only thing that distinguished him from the kids having fun on the court.
The approximately 30 kids, ranging in age from 5 to middle school age (the official age range for Junior Jazz is eight to 18, but a few younger siblings managed to sneak in), worked with Livingston and Utah Jazz Director of Youth Programs Dave Wilson on the basketball court to perfect their basketball skills. The clinic, which lasted one hour, gave the players a chance to team up and compete against each other in dribbling and shooting drills.
The players on the individual teams alternated groaning and cheering as their respective teams surged ahead or fell behind in the various competitions. After the winners of each event were determined, Livingston directed the three losing teams in each event to complete five push-ups while he and the winning team counted off. Even the losing teams seemed to be enjoying the push-ups, and the events Livingston and Wilson put together were diverse enough that almost every player was on the winning team at one point or another.
Stacy Briggs of Cedar City brought her three sons to the event. Dillon and Dallas, 11 and 9 respectively, have each competed in Junior Jazz for several years, and their younger brother, Logan, 5, joined his brothers on the court for the clinic. Briggs said Logan wants to play Junior Jazz as soon as he is old enough.
“[Junior Jazz] is a good program,” said Briggs. “[It’s great] as long as [the kids] get to participate and have a good time. When they are having fun is when they seem to learn the most.” Briggs also said that her three boys were excited to have the chance to meet a real NBA basketball player.
After the drills were finished, Livingston fielded questions from the players. He spoke about the importance of healthy eating for athletes and told them to “Drink your milk.” Livingston and Wilson then gave a brief explanation of the Read To Achieve program sponsored nationally by the NBA, and played a round of basketball trivia with the kids, giving books as prizes.
Each Junior Jazz player who participated received a personally autographed photograph from Livingston. Livingston, however seemed to think it was the things the kids couldn’t see that were the most important things they took with them after leaving the clinic.
“Some of the camps that I attended [when I was younger] have left an impression on me even today,” said Livingston.
So was switching from player to coach a difficult transition for Livingston? He doesn’t seem to think so.
“The position I play is so demanding it’s almost like coaching. Also, I try to mentor the younger rookies on the NBA teams,” Livingston said. He said he hopes to get into coaching at the University level after he retires from the NBA.
“College is the last place you can really develop relationships with the players and help them develop as players,” said Livingston.
Livingston also said he likes giving back to the community by working with the Junior Jazz players.
“It’s great any time you can give back to any community, even if it’s not your own.”
Wilson, founder of the Junior Jazz program, said he and the Utah Jazz players put on around 70 of these short clinics throughout the year for the approximately 60,000 kids in the intermountain region who participate in Junior Jazz basketball.
Labels: Partnerships
