Each summer for the past several years, Bishop Fenwick girls basketball coach Adam DeBaggis hosts a girls basketball camp for girls ages nine through 14 at the Fenwick gym. But this year, things will be a bit different.
The biggest difference is that the camp will be held at Danvers Indoor Sports this year due to some work going on at the Fenwick gym. But the likely most impactful difference is the guest instructors that DeBaggis will be bringing to the camp.
Former Fenwick stars including Colleen Corcoran, Sydney Brennan and Sam Mancinelli, all of whom were a part of Fenwick’s rise to prominence in Division 3 over the past several years, will all take part in helping to teach the next generation of girls basketball players. All three are currently playing college basketball, with Corcoran attending Division II Le Moyne College, Brennan playing at Division III Regis College and Mancinelli playing at Division III Roger Williams University.
“To me, they’re the best of the best,” DeBaggis said of his former players. “They all contributed so much to our program, and they really took us to the next level over the years they spent here. They’re a big reason why we went from being a team that was always pretty good to one of the better programs around.”
All three were members of the 2015-2016 Fenwick team that won the Division 3 state championship. Corcoran and Brennan were both senior captains on that team, while Mancinelli was a junior. Mancinelli became a captain the following year.
“They were all incredible leaders in addition to being great basketball players, and that’s what they can bring to the younger players at this camp,” said DeBaggis. “I can’t think of many better players to bring in as instructors for this camp.”
As for the camp, it’s an opportunity for DeBaggis to both teach the next generation of young basketball players and also get a look at potential stars for future Fenwick girls basketball teams. DeBaggis says that eight to 10 of the girls attending this year’s camp will be attending Fenwick as incoming freshmen. Many of the younger players have their eyes set on attending Fenwick in the future.
“Most of these girls coming to this camp, at the very least they have Fenwick on the radar as far as where they want to go,” said DeBaggis. “With those girls and the girls who are going to be attending Fenwick as freshmen this year, it’s good to be able to meet them early and get a feel for how they play. And, obviously, we can show them how we play.”
DeBaggis preaches a mix of teaching basketball skills, leadership skills and how to have fun playing the game at his camp. After splitting up the group based on a combination of age and skill level, DeBaggis says the camp teaches the girls “how we do things,” meaning how his Fenwick teams operate. That means a lot of work on defense, be it individual defense, team defense or help defense. It also means working on how to be a good teammate and a good leader of a team.
“We preach heart and hustle on our team, and that’s what we teach at the camp,” said DeBaggis. “We show them how to be a good teammate, how to be a good leader. We teach them about our style of play and how to be tenacious on defense. It’s a good mix of basketball skills and leadership skills.”
The Bishop Fenwick girls basketball camp will run July 23 to July 26 (9 a.m. to 1 p.m. each day) at Danvers Indoor Sports.
“We love doing this camp every year, it’s always great,” said DeBaggis. “We’re expecting another very positive week this year.”
