What’s the first thing a parent wants to do when they have a talented grammar school player? They look for status and attention. The pretend that it’s all about there kid being happy. See I have been around so I know the drill. I know the kids on the right track and I know the kids, where it’s just a matter of time before things go side ways. Folks I AM NEVER WRONG…EVER! See once a young player is talented and everyone see’s the talent. Things can get dicey. You will notice, the parents start talking about playing up. Why? The kids in their age group are not good enough and holding the back( those are voices on the outside giving them the poison). Well then why are not dominating their age group? See it doesn’t matter, their kid has to look better and appear better, more important and more in demand. Then the changing of AAU teams start taking place, this is all about status. Trying too separate themselves in a special way. The problem is nobody except them are buying. See in most case it’s people in the parents ears and it’s parent drama, which take kids to crazy land. These things are not changing anytime soon. It been this way forever and that’s the way it is, and we have lost some talented kids because of this and that’s not changing either. This is also why Cam Begley is one the real refreshing stories you will hear about.
Cam Begley if you didn’t know it is just a regular kid who likes playing sports and being around friends. She doesn’t say much but loves to smile. There is no way you would know she is one of if not the best 7th grader in the state. That’s because she is often in the shadows. But once you she her play, you know this is something different. She clearly doesn’t want attention or need attention. Her parents are rarely seen and when you do see them. They stay as far away from crazy land as possible. I have been watching Cam play since 4th grade. She is long and athletic, she is the closet thing I have seen to former McDonald All American Justine Pissott, I have seen in a very long time. But what’s different is how she is has got to this point. She got where she is today by not seeking status and hype. She got her in a most unusual way.
https://twitter.com/Shoreshots2029/status/1498045860944486404
Hank Weiss is Cam Begley’s AAU coach. I remember the first time he called me about Cam. He told me he had a girl that just may be the best grammar school player he has seen in years. He asked me to watch tape of a game. I watched the tape and saw something very special. You didn’t have to be a coach to understand how talented and gifted Cam Begley was. She was head and shoulders better than anyone on the court. I told Hank to try and get her to my training. I asked him to invite her to NBS. But he told me he wasn’t sure if she had time to do training. I finally got to meet Cam and train her. The first thing that took me back was everyone was trying to protect her. I remember people telling me not to yell at her or push too hard. So I told “Cam, you are not going to reach your potential. Everyone is afraid to put pressure one you”. She just looked at me and didn’t say a word. I didn’t see much of Cam. I saw her once in a while, her father would say she would be coming down soon. Folks, if I had a dime for every time a parent told me their daughter would be coming around soon… I’D BE BILL GATES!
Hank Weiss, has been around and has seen a lot of basketball in his days. His daughter Molly was a great player. Molly also was one of the toughest and mentally strong kids, I have ever coached. To say I coached Molly hard is an insult, I crushed her day in and day out. But she responded in a way that was shocking to me at times. Hank Weiss, told me, take your time with Cam, she will come around. You just have to give her time and work with her when ever she shows up. HANK WEISS is very smart, I guess that’s why he graduated from UPENN. Because he was right on the money. Cam started to come around more. She also started to show signs of a thick skin. She also started showing signs of wanting to be the best. Her competitive nature started to grown. Her game started to expand, she was clearly moving in the right direction.
See because Cam was never in the the muddy waters, here is what happened. First the snakes couldn’t get her. Nobody was telling her to play up, nobody was giving her special treatment. Nobody was good advicing her to take advantage of her talent. Her parents weren’t involved with her every basketball move. They weren’t concerned with status. This has allowed her to play the game and learn what is truly important. Not status and hype but substance and right now Cam is all substance over nonsense. There is no doubt Cam Begley is on the fast track to greatness. That’s because she has been very lucky along the way. She hasn’t been to crazy world, chasing the things that never have or will matter in the end.
These days a light has gone off for Cam Begley, just like her coach Hank Weiss said it would. She is excuse free and working like all future rock stars do with a sense of urgency and energy. Last weekend her explosiveness at Core Skills shocked me. It was if a cannon had gone off in the gym. No grammar school kid I have seen in the 7th and 8th grade class can match her explosiveness at the rim. But what I like most is her decision making and unselfish play. You see Cam Begley has something all kids need. The 5’10” long for days guard is dripping with confidence and she has matured. College coaches I tell you this, you’re going to have to look long and far to find a 7th or 8th graders with her talent, skill package, personally and parents. I say this not as talk but as a fact. Cam Begley has seen the light and there is really isn’t anyway to turn that light out.
See, call it what you want. But Cam Begley has grown so much as a player. I zero idea, when Cam will attend high school. I recently had someone say this to me. No way she is going to “RBC or SJV, she is not built for that” I laughed and said, “CAM IS BUILT FOR ANYTHING THESE DAYS” That’s because wherever she goes she will find greatness and here is why most of all. First she is a true leader in the gym. Something I just couldn’t picture 3 years ago. Next she is a player begging to be coached up. She told me “I can take hard coaching” and she has backed it up in a big way. She doesn’t miss a day in the gym. She gets to any training that is available. Cam Begley is trying to squeeze every drop of talent out of her body. She is hungry for greatness. This is a talent, a great talent who is drama free. No nonsense off or on the court. She shows up and just plays and plays hard…. CAM BEGLEY WON’T TELL YOU THIS… BUT SHE IS ON A MISSION TO BE THE BEST OF THE BEST…. and she just might be proving that right now!
NBS SUMMER CAMPS….SIGN UP NOW
