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<\/p>\nGOODHUE \u2014 Long before the Goodhue boys basketball varsity players ever took the court at the state tournament, they were once participants in the school\u2019s summer basketball camps.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou want to start somewhere, and so this is where we’re starting,\u201d said Matt Halverson, who took over as the Goodhue boys basketball head coach in 2013.<\/p>\n
Halverson has been hosting a free \u201cBitty Basketball\u201d camp for 4- and 5-year-old boys entering kindergarten for five years. \u201cBitty Basketball\u201d introduces the fundamentals and basic rules of basketball. Goodhue also hosts a main basketball camp for players in grades 1-12 the first week of summer vacation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s not a lot of organized sports when they\u2019re 3 or 4 years old,\u201d Halverson said. \u201cAnd so that\u2019s kind of one of the reasons why we started just to have them get used to coaching, have them get used to playing with other kids and lining up, that sort of thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s \u201cBitty Basketball\u201d camp was held July 6-7 at Goodhue Public Schools. There were 24 campers signed up and parents were invited to assist with running drills and stations.<\/p>\n
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Rising kindergarteners dribble the ball as they run through drills during a \u201cBitty Basketball\u201d summer training camp on Tuesday, July 7, 2026, at Goodhue Public Schools.<\/p>\n
Maya Giron \/ Post Bulletin<\/p>\n
Halverson introduced basic vocabulary words such as baseline and sideline before working with campers on passing, dribbling, pivoting and shooting for about 45 minutes. The final 15 minutes of camp were reserved for \u201copen gym\u201d to allow the boys time for free play.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis might be the first time that they actually shoot in a gym,\u201d Halverson said. \u201cThey\u2019re used to shooting in a barn or at home, but it\u2019s kind of nice to get them in the setting and just get used to being coached and going through stations and playing with someone else, maybe if they don’t have a sibling.\u201d<\/p>\n
Halverson\u2019s Class of 2026 senior players attended the first camp he put on, for grades 1-12, including cousins Luke Roschen and Michael Roschen. Halverson added he remembers his current varsity players standing out as campers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember little (incoming junior) Cody Ryan in third grade had a really nice shot, and I remember (incoming junior) Alex Loos was a really good player, even in second grade,\u201d Halverson said. \u201cYou can just see kids that can kind of develop, and then you get some surprises, too. \u2026 So that’s kind of the fun part, is to see the development over, for me, 12 years of doing this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Halverson\u2019s son, Ben, 5, participated in this year\u2019s camp with a few of his friends. Just like his dad, Ben already adores basketball and loves to play any chance he gets. He\u2019s eager to learn too.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to do crossover between the legs and aim for the magic square (on the backboard),\u201d Ben said of what he learned during camp.<\/p>\n
When the Wildcats played in the Class 2A state tournament and <\/p>\n
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