Basketball trip quickly turned into a history lesson for Camas girls basketball team in our nation’s capital

Paul Valencia
ClarkCountyToday.com

Most of them had only seen pictures of the monuments. They had only seen the historic landmarks on the news, or in movies.

One of the athletes had been there before, but the rest of the Camas girls basketball players were in for quite an awe-inspiring trip.

Oh sure, there were three basketball games to be played, against excellent competition, too. That was the initial purpose for the trip, after all.

But once the games concluded, it became clear that this journey was so much more than basketball. They became tourists. They also became students of history.

It was a time for the Papermakers to experience Washington, D.C.

None of the pictures or the iconic scenes in movies could prepare them for real life. 

The Papermakers got a tour of the United States Capitol.

“I didn’t know what it was going to look like inside,” said Keirra Thompson. “That first room we went into (the dome) was the room where you could fit the Statue of Liberty. That was really cool.”

The Papermakers walked the National Mall, taking in the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument, the Reflection Pool, and so much more. They also saw the Wright Brothers’ plane at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum.

They saw the Korean War memorial at night. 

“It was super cool, and the sunset made it extra pretty,” Sophie Buzzard said of the entire mall.

The team visited the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and met with survivors. 

“The history there is phenomenal. When you’re actually there, it’s game-changing,” added coach Scott Thompson.

The Papermakers tried some ice skating, too. They said it was fun to watch athletes look not-so-athletic.

And they competed against each other in a photo contest — a contest with a controversial finish

Kendall Mairs, Buzzard, Brianna Forbess, and Eli Gibson won.

“We put in the extra work,” Mairs said, as other Papermakers spoke up in protest.

They entered eight pictures.  

“The limit was four,” another Papermaker claimed.

“We did extra credit,” Mairs said, noting that each and every photo that her group took had “deep meaning” and that’s why they came out on top.

The Papermakers also took in some wildlife. Some big-city wildlife, that is.

A foot-long rat showed up to greet the team.

“Parker (Mairs) screamed bloody murder,” Addison Harris said. “Then it ran in between Bri’s feet. Bri had the most stoic face I’d ever seen.”

After a pause, Harris added: “The White House was cool, too.”

The Papermakers played games in the region on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. They played tourist Saturday afternoon/evening, and again on Sunday and Monday. They arrived back in the Northwest on Tuesday and they were in school Wednesday.

“My classmates were kind of confused as to why I was gone for so long,” Reagan Jamison said. “They thought it was for a club team because normally high school teams don’t go that far for that long. It was just a really cool experience. Not many teams get this opportunity.”

As far as the games, the Papermakers went 1-2 against some of the top teams in the country. Camas is one of the best teams in Washington, and the Papermakers wanted to get some quality competition early this season, to see where they stood.

“All three were close games,” Coach Thompson said. “That third game, we just gave away. That was tough. That’s a game we don’t usually lose. But it was a good experience. I told the girls this is why we’re here. Get these out of the way and learn how to finish, learn how to compete.”

The Papermakers were in basketball mode as soon as they arrived in the D.C. area. It was a “business first” trip, the coach said, so there were walk-throughs and games to be played.

On one of the days, the Papermakers practiced at Alexandria City High School. That name might not mean too much but its former name is famous: T.C. Williams High School, from “Remember the Titans” fame. The school gym still has a shrine to Remember the Titans.

“From a basketball standpoint, even though we took some L’s, it couldn’t have gone better,” Coach Thompson said.

“From a non-basketball standpoint, it was so much fun.”