Curtis Hill of the Vancouver Volcanoes said giving back to the community is an important part of the mission for the basketball team. Photo by Paul Valencia

Professional basketball team puts on clinics for beginners

DeNia Goodman-Campbell appreciates what the Vancouver Volcanoes have to offer.

And not just during basketball season.

Vancouver’s professional basketball team doesn’t start playing its season until March, but the team’s brand remains in Clark County throughout the year.

That includes outreach from the coaches to area youth.

Goodman-Campbell’s son is 8-year-old Liam “Jules” Goodman, and Jules has plans every Saturday these days, picking up basketball skills from the Volcanoes at the Marshall Center.

“They’re taking it step by step,” Goodman-Campbell said of the clinic’s approach. This is for children, for beginners. And it is just the basics.

“We aren’t teaching anything advanced right now,” said Curtis Hill, team market owner for the Volcanoes and one of the team’s three head coaches.

“This is his favorite thing of the week,” Goodman-Campbell said.

That is the perfect review for Hill and the Volcanoes.

“We just wanted to get out there in the community and give back to the youth,” Hill said. “This is what we’re all about. It’s bigger than showing up for a game and playing a game. We have to give back to the community, as well.”

Vancouver Volcanoes coaches and basketball beginners meet on Saturdays at the Marshall Center to go over basketball basics at a clinic. Photo by Paul Valencia

This upcoming season will be the second year for the renewed Vancouver Volcanoes. Last season’s return of the franchise got off to a slow start. The pandemic was still a bigger concern after last winter, and the first part of the season was played with no fans for home games.

Year 2 of this version of the Volcanoes should see a full season of fan-friendly entertainment.

But keeping the word out that the Volcanoes remain in town all year is important, too. The coaches run the clinics, and players show up to help out from time to time, as well.

“You always take the time to be able to mentor,” said Calvin Hampton, also a head coach. “This whole thing is geared up through mentorship. Coaches, players, we take time to give back.”

Mary Stade is on board with the Volcanoes this season, too. She is one of the three head coaches. She was an assistant with Salem last year and was the interim head coach for four games.

Now, she is a Volcano, and she appreciates helping out on Saturday’s with the clinic for the younger generation, too.

“Wherever basketball is, that’s where the experience is,” she said.

From the very basics to the professional ranks, it is basketball.

The basketball clinics run through December 17. For more information, go to: https://vancouvervolcanoes.com/youthclinics/