More than 40 children attended the Annual Hoop It Up Foundation Easter Camp, which also saw the return of Coach Joe Redmond to pass on his knowledge and experience to the participants. Photo: Provided

The camp was conducted for 2 weeks from 9 A.M. to 12 P.M. where 45 boys and girls enjoyed 3 hrs of fun and fundamental basketball skills training with the coaches.

The first week of the camp was conducted by Steve Parillon and Eustace "Boss" Freeman, and in the second week of the camp they were joined by USA coach, Joe Redmond. The camp was split into a 5 - 11 age group and a 12 and over group. The purpose for the separate groups was to allow the coaches to conduct the appropriate drills to accommodate the skill level of the groups. The closing day saw all the campers receive a participation certificate along with a camp T-shirt.

"I am very pleased to be back in Tortola for the 3rd year in a row. I am always amazed by the kindness I receive on the island. I am also so pleased with the strides the campers have made from year to year. I look forward to returning year after year to see the camp and its participants continue to grow," Coach Joe Redmond stated.

"It's always an honour to have a coach like Joe Redmond, who has coached from the NCAA Division 1 level down to the high school level, come to work with the youth of the Virgin Islands. Sometimes it's good for the players to hear a different voice, and see a different style of training. It's also an honour to head an organisation that strives on consistency; since we started our camps in 2011 we have had them available for the youth of the BVI to benefit from them. We have started working on Summer Hoops NBA where we will be bringing some NBA players to the BVI to be guests at the camp, and we are very excited to start this process. To all the parents who have put their trust in our programmes, thank you for giving us the opportunity to work with such lovely children, we can see why you care," President Steve Parillon stated.

The foundation would like to say special thanks to all the sponsors; BVI Tourist Board who has now sponsored the Easter Hoops for the 3rd consecutive year, Harneys who has now sponsored two of the last two Hoop camps, O’Neal Webster and Hon. Mark H. Vanterpool.