A top British youth basketball coach is returning to Pendleton to offer a one-week summer camp.
Coach Steve Pearl started his first basketball club in 1976 , leading teams to numerous national titles in England and coaching players that would go on to play basketball in college and professionally. He has started multiple successful programs across his country and is currently working to create a youth basketball club in an area of the Midlands in England that has never had a strong youth basketball program. Once a year, he brings a group of his British players to coach camps in the United States.
His training camps in Oregon stem directly from one of his former students, who also played basketball in college – Pendleton Parks and Recreation Director Liam Hughes.
“He was one of the coaches who really made it where I could go on to play basketball in college,” Hughes said. “Steve Pearl has a long history of developing high quality basketball players, and we have the opportunity to bring him here to Pendleton. It’s a great opportunity.”
Hughes played basketball in Pearl’s programs until he moved from England to the United States at age 16. They kept in touch, and Pearl has been coaching camps for Hughes’ Parks and Recreation programs for 15 years. Pearl last came to Pendleton in 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic, so this summer’s program marks the revival of the successful program.
Hughes said he is excited to see the program return.
“He’s got an incredible coaching resume, but the key is he helps people become better than they thought they could be,” Hughes said. “It’s not that Steve teaches a jump shot fundamentally different, it’s that he inspires the kids. The kids feel inspired to practice on their own. The kids want to get better at basketball.”
Pearl said his coaching philosophy centers on the fundamentals of the game, such as footwork and shooting technique, but also on encouraging players to take the game seriously.
“Over the years, I have shown that I am able to get players to ‘over-achieve,’ to be better than they might have ever believed. I can change a game from the sideline by altering tactics, formation, playing line-up, but I cannot do anything without the players, and that is why they get my total commitment,” he said.
During the basketball camps, campers will learn the fundamentals of basketball through high repetition drills, along with British humor and inspirational messaging.
Pearl will be bringing part of his youth team with him from England to help with the camps. While in Pendleton, the British teenagers will take a tour of Oregon, experiencing life in the United States.
“The thing about this program is it’s not just a top coach coming here to Pendleton, but it’s also a cultural exchange, meeting kids from another country,” Hughes said.
Basketball Camps with Steve Pearl run Aug. 7-11 at Sunridge Middle School. The morning camp is open for youth age 5-8, and the afternoon camp is for those age 9-13. Cost is $40 for the 5-8 year old camp, and $50 for the 9-13. Registration is now open at online.
