International Camp 2019
This is the message expressed by Andrea Ablatico, president of the Derthona Basketball Lab, at the end of the International High Specialization Camp: ʺHow to measure passion? In metres. 44537 to be precise. These are the meters that my pedometer marked as traveled from Monday to Friday. Probably double those covered by our instructors. Five times as much - at least - as those sweated by our young campers.
It was an engaging, fun, and in some ways even exhilarating week for those who make basketball their mission. Ninety kids on the field, seven instructors from Bertram Derthona, seven internationally renowned coaches from all over the world and four Italian coaches who have made many national finals.
Thank you. I just have to say thank you to everyone. One in particular at Pallacanestro College Borgomanero, without whose push these two years of International Camp would hardly have achieved the success they have had. These are the things that give strength and enthusiasm to continue doing what we are doing.
This was the perfect cap to a season that could hardly have been better for the Derthona Basketball Lab, who had record-breaking numbers and results, both on and off the court, to remember.
A Serie C Silver - in collaboration with friends from Olympia Voghera - which set out to save itself and instead made the playoffs splendidly, two Excellence teams which progressed during the season, one Elite which reached the category Final Four and another second phase and our regional teams who did well. Mini basketball is growing exponentially and is reaching the top of the region, so much so that it has been rewarded by the Federation with the organization and competition of the Beginners' Jamboree at PalaCamagna. We have participated in six national and international tournaments and we have 450 kids in the Derthona Basket orbit, together with Voghera and Castelnuovo.
It seems like a dream.
And now let's move on to next year, already with a flowering of ideas to make available to our kids.
I don't feel like giving personal thanks. I am sure that I would forget someone, because there are many people who contributed to these results, and this would be unforgivable from a sporting point of view and, above all, from a human side.
I just want to give a big, huge hug to all the parents who sacrificed themselves, supported us and encouraged us in a year that should have been, and in reality in part was, a puzzle full of question marks. We were good at turning them into exclamation points thanks to a staff that many envy us, from the communication office to the secretariat right down to the last kid who closes the gym at 10 in the evening, to all our coaches and to those who listened to me until 11pm.
This also helps us grow.
As that guy said, "you will hardly recover from these situations".
It was true.
Because we have never fallen.
But that's a whole other story…
Come on Leoniʺ.
