WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich. – Greg Kelser has been championing lessons in basketball and life for 48 years.
“It can happen as long as you stick with it, you believe and you remain persistent,” the 1979 national champion and Michigan State alumnus said.
In college and the pros, on the court and on television as an analyst for the Detroit Pistons, Kelser’s basketball camps for kids have been a constant. The roots trace back to two years before Kelser won his title with the Spartans, inside the same West Bloomfield High School gym his camps tip off this week.
“I worked at the Dick Vitale and Bob Lanier basketball camp,” Kelser recalled. “I had so much fun, but the thing I came away with is that I can do this, so the next year I had my own basketball camp.”
Although a lot has changed over five decades, the fundamentals of the game and underlying message instilled by Kelser’s team of coaches remain the same.
“Even if you become a professional athlete like I did, there’s still a shelf life and you’ve got to be able to do other things afterwards,” Kelser said. “When you play in sports, you learn the discipline and dedication it takes to be a solid athlete. All those things will come in handy when you’re an adult with lots of responsibility.”
That’s why kids and the 67-year-old Kelser keep showing up.
“The squeaking of the gym shoes, the noise from the kids, the enthusiasm the coaches yelling instructions—it’s what the gym is supposed to be,” Kelser said with a smile while walking between courts. “It’s all about enthusiasm. You got to have enthusiasm to really enjoy this, and I think we’re accomplishing that goal each day.”
For young athletes aged 7 to 17, camps at West Bloomfield, Southfield A&T High School and the United Wholesale Mortgage Sports Complex might be their first connection to the game.
“We learn a lot of different stuff like dribbling and shooting,” 11-year-old camper Liam Atikian said. “It’s really cool.”
“It just teaches you the foundation of basketball and gives me the confidence I never had at school,” 14-year-old Gabriella Gnatek added.
Camp connections and lessons last generations.
“I can be in California and someone will say, hey, hey, I used to go to your camp,” Kelser recalled. “I always ask, ‘what did you learn?’ And then they’ll give me something. One kid will say, ‘you know what, I wasn’t real big on homework, but you constantly talked about that and I got better at it.’”
Positive development is not just the point of these basketball camps; it’s the whole point of growing up.
“Try to get to know each other. Try to learn each other,” Kelser encouraged. “That’s what we want. We want to have that kind of long, lasting impact on the lives of our community.”