Lammar Young is Ready To Train the Next Best Basketball Stars at the Young World Basketball Summer Camp–But You Better Be Ready To Work Hard
Lammar Young brings a new meaning to the phrase, “game plan.” Young is the director of the Young World Basketball Summer Camp. But do not let the word “camp” give you the wrong idea. It is anything but just a camp, in the classical sense. Above everything else, Young is looking to ensure that his players improve in order to get the most passion out of the sport of basketball as possible.
Lammar Young’s camp tactics are tough, with intense drills and serious workouts using top of the line equipment. But his high expectations yield amazing results in the form of success in his players and athletes, as well as a tight-knit basketball community. The Montclair Dispatch spoke to Young about the mission of his basketball camp.
“The mission of the camp is to provide a competitive atmosphere of die-hard and serious basketball players that want to improve in different aspects of the game. The summer is a great opportunity for those players to spend as much time working on their craft as they did during the school year working on their education.”
This mindset has allowed Young to propel his gifted athletes to develop their skills as well as reach tangible goals. “Our summer camp survey shows that 96% of our athletes will make their fall basketball teams after tryouts just from the skills and knowledge that we teach. The other 4% are first-time basketball players attending our program.”
“In reference to our teams, we’ve participated in various circuits that offer great competition to ensure our players are being pushed and challenged to the best of their abilities. We’ve placed between 1st or within the top four in any of the events, but success is not measured by wins or losses but progress the players are making under our guidance. Our team’s travels included New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Virginia, Maryland, Indiana, Texas, Atlanta, South Carolina, Ohio and Florida and that’s to name a few. Previous tournaments included YBOA (Youth Basketball of America) States & Nationals, Zero Gravity States & Nationals, AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) States and Nationals, Big Foot, Hoop Group, Agame, Bball Spotlight, Made Hoops (Nike), Boo Williams (Nike), Rose Classic (Nike), NYBL (National Youth Basketball League, Adidas), M.I.T’s (Maryland Invitational Tournament) plus many others.”
“From an off-the-court point of view, the athletes are making lifetime friendships from participating at our program. We’re constantly teaching life lessons from court view and being able to witness our players graduate college and have enough confidence to handle what
the world has to offer are the true success stories.”
Young sees his summer program as an opportunity to dedicate the necessary time and focus on consistent training and progressing on the court. “The program is 80% skills and drills and 20% fun. When a parent invests their hard earned money into our program it’s not just to make their child happy but to get them better in a sport they love. Our integrity will do just that, help the players get better by all means. We focus more on fundamentals than kids playing games, however, the last hour of the program each day, the kids will engage in a scrimmage. If a kid wants to play then they can go to a park to play, but if a kid wants to learn and improve then we are the best fit. As a program, we have a lot of kids with dreams and we strive to make those dreams become reality if the player is committed, focused and determined to accomplish his or her goals.”
The Montclair Dispatch was also lucky enough to attend one of Coach Young’s workout, to meet some coaches, Kieth Robinson, Montique Nedd, and Ed Duncza, to get a first-hand account of his coaching philosophies, and to find out what makes Lammar Young’s methods so unique. We spoke with Coach Kieth Robinson, whose son plays on the YW Ballers 7th grade national team. He’s been a coach with the program for about five years.
“Coach Lammar is very loyal to his players, and would never kick a player out of the gym. If they want to keep working out after practice is over, he’ll stay and let them use the gym time. The program focuses on individual development, whereas other AAU teams are only just looking for the next best player, and have no interest in developing a player from the beginning. Coach Lammar will take any player, and you truly see the growth. Some kids travel from up to an hour away, but we will then use the gym for three hours, and get a tough workout in. The travel is worth it.”
We also spoke with Coach Montique Nedd, who has spent two years with the YW Ballers. He shared similar thoughts about the Young World Ballers program. “Many programs at this age are just out to get rich, or they are fathers who just want to push their sons. But Coach Lammar does not have an agenda, it’s just genuine love for the players. There is a lot of heart and a lot of energy, and it has led to success.”
Towards the end of my time at the workout, Coach Lammar ran a drill to improve team movement and working cohesively through an entire play. The players were on the clock, and they had to score a certain amount of lay-ups without turning over the ball to the coaches/defenders. The team got off to a rocky start, losing the first couple of matches to the coaches, resulting in sprints after the drill. Then they started to pick up steam, beating the coaches by three points on two separate attempts. But Coach Lammar still wasn’t satisfied. The team would continue this drill until they beat the coaches by ten points. Despite the team’s best efforts, they could not make it happen. Not until Coach Lammar called a little meeting, asking the players, “You know that you have to keep doing this drill, or we won’t get better, right?” The team responded with an affirmative, “Yes, Coach.” Within the first 2 minutes of the next round, the team made twenty lay-ups.
After attending a workout, it is more than clear that Coach Lammar puts an enormous amount of heart into his players and his program. But that doesn’t mean it was all fun and games. The 7th and 8th-grade players were participating in high-level circuit workout training, improving hand-eye coordination, stamina, and strength. Coach Lammar definitely wants things done a certain way, and holds a high standard for any player in the program, expecting that they will put in as much work as they possibly can give. He creates an atmosphere where kids are self-motivated, because at the end of the day, for Coach Lammar, it is all about working to the best of your ability to reach your highest level of play.
It is definitely apparent that the Young World Summer camps and programs breed success. If you are looking for a competitive atmosphere with a dedicated staff, there to ensure that your child’s basketball skills are improved to the best of their ability, then Young World is the place for you.
If you are interested in signing your child up for the Young World Basketball Camp, click here.
The author of the article is a Montclair native class of 2017, currently a student at McGill University, studying history and communications within the Faculty of Arts.
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