Chipola’s Donnie Tyndall Camp returns for year two

MARIANNA, Fla. ( WMBB ) — ‘The Donnie Tyndall Basketball Camp’ returned to Chipola College for year two.

The camp has grown since last year, with around 50 athletes in attendance this week.

“It’s nice to see it grow,” Tyndall said. “It’s always nice when you see some of these young kids come back and they look forward to it.”

The camp is led by Chipola Men’s basketball head coach Donnie Tyndall, his coaching staff, and his players.

“The fact that they get to be so close with our players,” Tyndall said. “These guys are going to be at Division One schools in a year or two. They’ll be watching them on TV and they’ll be able to say, hey, I worked with that guy at camp.”

Many of the campers watch the Chipola players during the season and say this camp is a special opportunity.

“I got it’s pretty cool because it’s an experience that a lot of people don’t get to have,” First-year camper Tristen Guidas said.

The focus is on the fundamentals during the three-day camp. Tyndall wants to start with the basics because this is a lot of the campers’ first time playing basketball.

“We’re trying to teach them how to pass,” Tyndall said. “A lot of them don’t know how to pass and don’t want to pass. Kinda like my team early in the year.”

These kids signed up for the camp to learn about basketball, but there are a lot of other incentives. The camp store is at the top of the list for many of the athletes.

“They look more forward to going to the camp store and getting a snack than they probably do five-on-five games,” Tyndall said.

Some of the coaches are getting involved in the camp store excitement and offering some friendly wagers on the court.

“I tell them if you make a shot, I’ll give you money,” Chipola sophomore guard Markel Freeman said. “One just hit a shot in the corner and I have to give them five dollars.”

At the end of the day, the main goal is to create relationships with the community.

“It’s a way to grow our reputation, let our community get to know us in Mariana and Jackson County,” Tyndall said.

The camp started on Monday morning and will wrap up Wednesday afternoon.

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