Mere weeks ago, Arella Guirantes played on Team Puerto Rico at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Now, the Bellport native has returned to teach her second annual basketball clinic at Long Island Lutheran Middle and High School in Brookville.
“I knew this was something I wanted to continue to do, passing down knowledge and experience down to the next generations,” Guirantes said.
Guirantes taught 21 students the foundations of basketball and hosted a camp-wide tournament on Friday, Aug. 30. This is the second clinic she’s hosted as a professional basketball player, and she is happy to help teach younger kids the skills that she’s learned in her career so far.
Guirantes said her experience in Paris was “a powerful feeling.”
She said she started playing basketball as a child and knew from a young age that she wanted to become a professional athlete.
“I started when I was nine years old,” she said. “I grew up in a basketball family.”
Both her parents coached basketball.
“I decided when I was a kid, I was gonna be a pro and be in the WNBA,” she said.
Guirantes said she was a competitive kid, which inspired her to keep improving.
“Everything inspired me because I was always a competitive kid. I wanted to win and be the best at everything,” she said.
Once she started traveling with the Amateur Athletic Union she saw another side of the sport.
“I got to see places I had never seen before and built bonds with teammates from other states,” Guirantes said. “I saw how fun the basketball world could be, and I knew I wanted this to be my lifestyle.”
Now, years later, Guirantes has achieved her goal of being a professional athlete, and her time in Paris this summer is proof of that.
“My experience in Paris was life-changing. I got to be around greatness,” Guirantes said. “It was exciting, fulfilling, inspiring.”
She hopes to teach aspiring basketball players the skills and techniques she learned in her career.
The camp was a three-hour-long event that led students through warm-ups, demonstrations, and competitions. All campers received free t-shirts with registration, and tournament winners received prizes such as new sneakers, basketballs and backpacks.
Teaching is not new to Guirantes, she said. She has helped her father train players in the past, and last summer, she hosted her first camp as a professional basketball player.
“It was my rookie year, and it was very successful,” she said.
This year, 21 basketball players joined Guirantes in the LuHi gymnasium for three hours of basketball practice. Coaches encouraged students to uplift each other, no matter their abilities.
“The energy you put into this is what you’re going to get out of it,” one coach told campers.
Coaches led students across the gym in warm-ups and demonstrated the foundational skills of basketball before hosting a camp-wide tournament. The camp was a high-energy and supportive environment that went over basics and taught new techniques.
Looking forward, Guirantes said she hopes to continue to run camps in the future.
“I have a heart for giving back and plan to do a lot more in the future, God willing,” she said.
