English basketball club coming to Sisters

For the second year running, Sisters Park & Recreation District's summer basketball camps will have a distinctly international flavor.

Once again, the coaching will be undertaken by the Southend Swifts basketball club from Essex, England under their Head Coach Steve Pearl.

The club has had an outstanding season, with no less than four of their teams making the English national play-offs with their three girls teams at the under-14, 16, and 18 age level making the Final Fours. No less than 15 players from those finals are making the trip, including six who were on the title winning under-16 squad.

Liam Hughes, executive director of Sisters Park & Recreation District, said, "We are very excited to again be welcoming Coach Pearl and his players to staff our summer camps. Steve has won at least nine English national titles that I am aware of, and does it without a playbook. His teams do not have a large array of offenses; instead they focus on developing the fundamental skills of each of their players and insisting on team-first basketball. Although Steve's teaching of the fundamentals is impressive, his true strength as a coach is his ability to inspire players to be better than they ever thought they could be."

The summer camps are for incoming first- through eighth-graders and are being held August 2-5 at Sisters High School.

For more information visit www.sistersrecreation.com or call 541-549-2091.