Moran camps a go for July

Drills will be modified to meet state guidelines

Mike Moran isn’t sure how old his summer youth basketball camp is — “pretty soon going on 50 years,” he said — but the good news for the area is the streak continues in July.

The Mike Moran Basketball Camp is set for the last three weeks of July at Lost Nation Sports Park in Willoughby.

There are modifications for the camps. All camp dates are set for Lost Nation. In previous years, the camp was split between Lost Nation and John Carroll, where Moran was the longtime men’s basketball coach and his son Pete is now the head coach.

JCU’s campus and facilities remain closed amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Before the start of the summer, the Moran family feared the basketball camps would need to be canceled. But the recent re-openings statewide helped ease those concerns.

Also, Mike Moran said in February he and his sons conducted one-on-one training sessions with youngsters that stressed more on fundamentals, and that provided a type of blueprint for what the 2020 summer camps might look like.

“That really helped us, so we’re going to use that format,” said Mike Moran.

“We’ll stress the fundamentals and drills. It will be like a long practice.”

In normal years, the Moran camp consisted of two sessions for each camper with drills and scrimmages. This year, there will be morning and afternoon sessions, and campers have the choice of either.

Campers can sign up for the morning and afternoon sessions during the same week but they will have to move to a separate area to eat lunch so that the camp area and equipment can be disinfected.

“We will follow all the state guidelines,” said Mike Moran.

Pete Moran said details about the camp are being finalized but the goal is to limit each session to about 70 to 75 campers. Each camper will use their own basketball.

The camps are open to boys and girls ages 7 to 14. Campers will work with college coaches and players, as well as high school coaches.

Camp days and times at Lost Nation include:

• July 13 through 17

• July 20 through 24

• July 27 through 31

Morning sessions will be from 8:30 to 11 a.m., and afternoon from noon to 2:30 p.m.

Mike Moran is thrilled to host the camps in 2020. At the least, it allows young players the opportunity to get out of the house following months of stay-at-home orders while learning the fundamentals of the game. That might have been taken for granted before March, but not anymore.

“Every day, you talk to these parents and the kids are chomping to get outside,” said Mike Moran. “It’s healthy for the kids to get out, and get some exercise. But at the same time we’ll be as careful as you can be.”

The price is $100 per camper for the week for either the morning session or afternoon session, or $200 per camper for the week for both sessions during the same week.

Online registration details will begin later this week at morancamps.com. For more information, call 440-338-8092.