T-L Photo/JOSIE BURKHART Children play basketball at the second annual R.L. Strength and Conditioning basketball camp Thursday evening.

BELLAIRE — Children learned basketball skills and discipline while having fun at Bellaire’s second annual basketball camp.

Bellaire had its second annual R.L. Strength and Conditioning basketball camp Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday this week at St. John Central High School.

Boys and girls from second to eighth grade learned basketball skills, such as ball handling, defensive and offensive skills and competed in contests, including a three point contest, foul shot contest and two-on-two contest.

First, second and third place winners of the contests won money, with first place at $50, second place at $20 and third place at $10, awarded by Holistic Cloud owner and camp coach Bill Schmitt.

Seventy children played in a two on two competition on Thursday, 70 children competed in a free throw competition and other drills on Wednesday and 63 children participated in a three point competition and drills on Monday.

Schmitt said he likes to award the athletes prizes because money motivates people.

He said especially with kids being able to win a substantial amount of money, it gives them a reason to work hard and really try to focus and be the best athlete at camp.

“We want them to learn discipline,” he said. “We want them to learn certain skills. We want them to be able to work on a team as well. That’s why we wanted to have the two-on-two competition. So the kids would learn teamwork, that you have to work with somebody sometimes.”

He added the coaches wanted them to learn and find out what they’re good at when it comes to basketball. Children who usually don’t play basketball participated in the camp too, and Schmitt said they can still engage and learn what it’s like to win and be a part of the basketball camp.

Rich Leigh, CEO of R.L. Strength and Conditioning, said the key to building a successful basketball camp is to communicate with the community and use coaches in collaboration, such as Schmitt awarding money for the children as a motivation.

Unique Treats by Jacquie donated ice cream, Mayor Edward Marling donated snacks and Chirp’s Auto Body Repair donated items.

“We put that all together and throw these big events, but we also do a lot of fundraising and donations at the beginning of the year, which helps with the events going forward, leading up to the summer bash,” Leigh said. “So we like to just mesh with the community and take care of the youth.”

The children learned basic basketball drills in dribbling, passing, shooting and pivoting before competing in the contests.

“Hopefully they take away some basketball knowledge, how to share and be competitive and build their confidence,” Leigh said.

Even through a three-day basketball camp, the coaches can be mentors for the children, teaching them life skills and team building, said Remi Markos, program director for Team 304 in Wheeling and assistant men’s basketball coach at Penn State York. He noted how he participated in the camp last year as well and enjoys teaching the children about basketball, so they may take away a love for it.

“I feel that the camp has shown them how to pass, how to dribble, how to be a team member,” Leigh said. “And they can put all of that together, and it’ll help them on their school teams.”