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San Saba campers gather around Austin Johnson on Wednesday, June 30, during the Elite Skills Camp run by Austin Johnson's Academy of Hoops. The three-day basketball camp was held at Armadillo Arena in San Saba. (Photo courtesy of San Saba All-Sports Booster Club)
San Saba High School was the host of a three-day Elite Skills Camp on June 28-30 that was run by Austin Johnson’s Academy of Hoops.
Two separate camps per day (the first session for second through sixth grade and the second session for seventh through 12th grade) were a great opportunity to learn for kids as they picked up on plenty of skillbuilding and conditioning drills from Austin Johnson himself.
Players were introduced to a wide variety of drills, especially those focused on ball-handling and shooting form. Campers would dribble two basketballs at once around chairs, dribble then shoot the ball from mid-range and in the paint, as well as individual players dribbling the ball while a fellow camper pulled at their waist.
The camp certainly seemed very successful with plenty of smiling faces around the gym as a result of great chemistrybuilding exercises over the course of three days.
“We had 80 athletes who came to improve their skills and were ready to work hard every step of the way,” Johnson said on Facebook. “These kids were encouraging, motivating, and will be true leaders one day with their positive mindsets.”
Johnson was a standout basketball player at Palo Duro High School in the Amarillo area as he finished his high school career as the city’s leading scorer with a whopping 2,602 total points. During his collegiate playing career at the University of Oklahoma from 2006-09, Johnson ranks 12th all-time in Sooners basketball history in assists with 367 in 126 games played, 13th in steals with 133, and 22nd in blocked shots with 66.
Johnson would go on to later play five years overseas and had a standout 2011-12 season playing for Al Moutahed Tripoli in Lebanon with whom he averaged 21.3 points per game, 5.8 assists per game, and 3.9 rebounds per game in 26 contests. He would go on to win a league championship in 2013 while playing in Jordan and decided to return home to Amarillo afterward to begin his Austin Johnson’s Academy of Hoops business.
“I really enjoy mentoring these young athletes on and off the court,” Johnson said via his official website. “I respect them just as much as they respect me. Without these kids, I wouldn’t have this successful business I have now, and I thank each and every one of them and their parents for instilling the trust they have in me to push their athlete to the next level.”
Be sure to check out next week’s edition of the San Saba News & Star for more updates on Dillos and Lady Dillos varsity athletics.
Sports editor Andrew Salmi can be contacted via email at salmi.courier@gmail.com or by cell phone at (818) 645-1115.