2015-07-26 【Aiden in English】 Basketball, up until now, became a game in which everything was fun and nothing was challenging. But at a summer camp of kids who all wish for a challenge, where each and every kid plays his heart out, it gets difficult. The 76ers Overnight Camp is really a hardcore, pure, all-basketball camp that requires a camper to sleep over in a room with a roommate, and the daily routine runs from 8 o’clock in the morning to 9:45pm at night.
The first day was all about settling into the camp’s programs and surroundings. The 76ers borrowed Valley Forge Military Academy for the camp, using its dorms and courts. There were a total of 12 operational courts, four of which are indoors. The place also has a mess hall and a canteen. The canteen is another word for “lounge” since it has TVs and video games, and kids can buy snacks with their own money. There also is a pool and paintball, but I wasn’t interested in either. What I was pretty curious about was the setup of the games. Later, an announcement was made about leagues. There were 4 leagues: ACC, Metro, Big Ten, and the NBA. Each was for different age groups. ACC was for 9 to 12, Metro for 13 to 14, Big Ten for 15 to 16, and NBA for 17 to 18. At the NBA level, people practically can dunk on regular 10-foot/3-meter nets. Anyhow, the week is set up with playoffs on the last two days of the camp and seven regular-season games to determine the team’s seed.
The ACC had four teams of nine or ten, which were UNC, UVA, Duke, and GA-Tech. The draft was basically four coaches picking their players in turns, and each one studied us to play for their selection. The GA-Tech coach got me randomly since the coaches can only select three picks. Looking at my team, I saw ones at 12 years old and nine years old, tall and small, and no middle. Was this good or bad? I had no clue. All I knew was that this team was fast. I saw a ton of runners, and so did the coach, which was why all his picks were fast people.
This camp also invited international people, which sounded so cool. Socially, it could show our life to foreigners. But seriously, is it really worth it to fly across the oceans for this camp? There were people from China, Turkey, and the UK, just to name a few. Not to mention 27 states. There were a bunch of kids from NYC, which got me questioning why they didn’t go to the Knicks’ camp. Maybe it’s just the fact that they’re a fan of the 76ers.
This is a beginning to an epic week. This will up my basketball skill a ton and is going to be fun. Nevertheless, I’m looking forward to it.
【红霞译文】 直到现在篮球才变得好玩起来，大家只求开心快活，不管胜负输赢。可是，一旦置身于这么一个夏令营，人人争强好胜，恨不能拿出吃奶的力气比试高低，玩中取乐反倒成了难题。
费城七六人队寄宿营可谓地地道道纯粹以篮球为中心的夏令营，两位营员同住一个宿舍，每天从早上八点钟开始活动，晚上九点四十五分才收工歇息。 第一天全部用来了解活动安排熟悉环境，“七六人队”借用福吉谷军事学校学生宿舍楼及其活动场所，偌大的校园设置了十二个篮球场地，其中四个为室内篮球馆；同时还提供大小两个食堂，小食堂跟休息室差不多，里面不乏电视和视频游戏之类的娱乐器材，同伴们能花钱买些自己喜欢吃的零食打打牙祭；另有游泳池和玩彩弹的地方，不过我对后面两项游艺都不感冒，相反却好奇比赛如何进行，稍后才被告知联队组成。这次一共分为四支队伍：大西洋沿岸联盟、大都会联盟、十大联盟和美篮协会，各队按年龄分组，大西洋沿岸联盟队九到十二岁，大都会联盟队为十三到十四岁，十大联盟队为十五到十六岁，美篮协会队为十七到十八岁，而参加美篮协会的营员真能在标准10英尺／3米高篮网下扣篮。总而言之，本周最后两天将根据七场常规赛的名次决定哪个队参加决赛。
大西洋沿岸联盟队下设四支分队，每队九到十位球员，即北卡大学、弗吉尼亚大学、杜克大学和乔治亚理工学院，队员基本上由四名教练根据场上表现轮流选拔而来，因为每位教练只有三次挑选机会，所以“乔治亚理工学院”教练随机看中了我。我所在的球队都是十二岁和九岁的孩子，身材要么高要么矮，两极分化极其严重，是好是坏？我无从得知。不过有一点十分明显，队里许多人速度奇快，甚至包括教练，这大概就是他选人的标准。
费城七六人队寄宿营同时收罗了世界多国营员，乍听起来实在不错，从社会角度来看，这样有助于外来朋友了解本地同伴的生活。但仔细想一想，人们值得远渡重洋专门为这个夏令营飞到宾州吗？中国人、土耳其人、英国人等汇聚于此，且不说还有美国其它廿七个州的参加者，更有甚者，他们中间有不少来自纽约，我禁不住想问为什么不去“尼克队”营，看来他们真是“七六人队”球迷。 今天不过是具有史诗般意味的夏令周头一天，历经五天锤炼之后，想必本人的篮球技艺定将突飞猛进，球坛乐趣也会应运而生。无论谈及哪一方面，我都十分期待。 Today in History(历史上的今天): 2013: Drama Camp-5(戏剧夏令营之五) 
Dormitory @ Valley Forge Military Academy (福吉谷军事学院·学生宿舍 07-26-2015) 
Sendoff to 76ers O/N Camp @ Valley Forge Military Academy (福吉谷军事学院·七六人队篮球寄宿营送别 07-26-2015) 
Court @ Valley Forge Military Academy (福吉谷军事学院·球场 07-26-2015) 
Basketball Fans (篮球迷 07-26-2015)
Crosslink(相关博文): 6th Grade(初中一年级) |
