If you’ve watched a Bishop Fenwick girls basketball game, there are a few things on display most nights: heart and hustle.
Head coach Adam DeBaggis just completed his 10th Annual summer basketball camp for girls ages 9-14, which teaches them the game and helps improve their skills.
“I started the camp when I was within my first few years of coaching. I wanted to try and grow the program and someone mentioned to me that I should run a camp,” DeBaggis said.
Ever since he started the camp, he’s had a consistent number of participants.
“I think in the first year, we had 35-40 kids. This year, we had 60. We average, probably, around 50 kids each year,” DeBaggis said.
Some campers that he’s coached make their way to Bishop Fenwick for high school basketball. Watching them grow as players and people are some of his favorite aspects of camp – even if they choose a rival school instead.
“A couple of kids on the team now were in this camp a few years ago. I get to see a lot of kids who I might coach in the future and see them grow,” DeBaggis said. “I see them improve throughout the years and it’s great to see that. Sometimes, they end up being opponents. We had a couple of girls elsewhere, like St. Mary’s, where I’ll tease them a little bit, but I still want the same for them – to grow and get better. We had a few kids play at Beverly and Peabody, too.”
Caitlin Boyle, Kyleigh Pidgeon, and Abby Jenkins were all campers. DeBaggis spoke about each one and how much they’ve developed.
“Abby and Kyleigh, in particular, have been there since they were 9 years old. Both of them were just little kids who could barely dribble, and now are on the varsity team, which is cool to see,” DeBaggis said. “Caitlin Boyle right now is getting offers to play at Division I schools and she’s going into her junior year. She was definitely one of the girls I was hoping would eventually come to Fenwick and, thankfully, she did and she’s a junior captain.”
“I remember Pidgeon being a bit out of control and couldn’t get her skills right. She came to our tryouts last year as a freshman and my assistant coaches and I kept looking at each other and couldn’t believe how much she’s improved,” DeBaggis said.
In addition to development, DeBaggis enjoys getting to know people around the community.
“I like meeting people from the community. It’s great to meet parents and I can learn more about the kids in the surrounding towns,” DeBaggis said. “We see kids improve so much by the time the end of the camp concludes. I received an email from a camper’s parent who said their kid played with a lot of confidence in their game on Friday. I don’t know how much that is attributed to us, but we strive to make the girls better on the court and also try to teach them life lessons. We talk a lot about what it takes to be a leader and a great teammate. It’s always great to receive those types of emails.”
Although it’s been 10 years, DeBaggis felt a little different this year.
“This year, I had this feeling of how much I love coaching,” he said. “I forgot how much I love coaching and teaching because, during the summer as a teacher (English at Georgetown High), this is my first time where I’m getting back into coaching and teaching since the end of the school year, so when the camp starts, this year particularly, I got a real feeling of love for what I do.”
DeBaggis also gave praise to players who helped him run the camp, in addition to some of his assistant coaches: Lianne Mimmo, Bill O’Donnell, Sam Gulla, and Bridget Corcoran.
