As instructors led campers through a crisp series of opening drills at Righetti’s Warrior Gym Wednesday, the overseers pronounced the Righetti Basketball Camp a success.

The Righetti High School boys and girls basketball programs hosted the annual Righetti Basketball Camp that ran four successive Wednesdays. The last session was Wednesday. Veteran Righetti varsity basketball coaches Desiree Hitch (girls team) and Nick Sauer (boys squad) oversaw the camp.

The camp was for boys and girls who will enter grades four-through-eight this coming school year and, “Forty two (prospective campers) signed up,” said Hitch.

“This is my eighth year doing a Righetti camp. I have girls leading this camp that went to our camp six or seven years years ago as campers,” said Hitch. “That’s really cool.”

Hitch said, “We had a good turnout this year.” 

The veteran Righetti girls basketball coach said the school’s girls and boys basketball programs began running a coed camp together three years ago.

Sauer said, “This is my third Righetti basketball camp, and I did a coed one two years ago.

“It’s exciting,” Righetti’s veteran boys basketball coach said. “The kids are enjoying it. They’re playing games (at the camp) and getting better.”

At one station, instructors Isaiah Andrade and Beaujul Thiam led campers through a shooting drill, with Andrade pantomiming a shooting motion for the campers at one point. Andrade played on Sauer’s Righetti boys varsity squad last season and will be a Righetti senior. Thiam played for the Righetti boys junior varsity last season and will be a junior.

At another station, Tai Hin led campers through a ball-handling drill. “Pick it up,” Hin called to one youngster, telling the camper to increase the speed on the dribble.

“Good job, good job,” Hin called out.  Then, “Try to look up, try to look up!,” when dribbling the ball.

At least one camper expressed displeasure with the result of a shot. “Oh my gosh!,” one youngster shouted as the camper’s shot came up short, hitting the front rim.

At one point during the Righetti camp, Hin, a Righetti senior-to-be, said, “This is my first one. My favorite part of the camp is interacting with the campers, teaching them.”

Hin played for the Righetti boys varsity basketball squad last season. He was also a key player for the 2024 Righetti volleyball team that out-performed its No. 9 seed and reached the semifinals of the CIF Central Section Division 3 playoffs.

Camp instructor Victoria Paul played for the Righetti girls varsity basketball squad last season. She will be a junior next school year. Paul completed her first year as a Righetti camp instructor Wednesday.

“I like just getting to know the campers better, teaching them skills.” Paul said at one point during the camp.

Camper Tristin Hinders, 12, was at his first Righetti Basketball camp. Fellow camper Gracie Payne, 13, was at her second.

“I’ve had a good time,” said Pinders, who plays rec league basketball as a small forward and will go into seventh grade next school year.

“The shooting drills are what I like best. I hope to play basketball in high school.”

Payne played for the Orcutt Junior High School girls basketball team last season as a post player. She was at her second Righetti Basketball Camp Wednesday.

“”I like learning and playing with my friends,” said Payne.

“I would love to play basketball at the high school level.”