‘An awesome opportunity’: Albert Lea student attends prestigious basketball camp
Published 5:03 pm Friday, September 20, 2024
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Albert Lea High School freshman Makenna Oudekerk applied to attend a USA Gold basketball camp and was accepted. She attended the camp at the beginning of September with about 86 other girls from across the nation. Provided
By Ayanna Eckblad
Albert Lea ninth-grader Makenna Oudekerk had the opportunity recently to attend a USA Gold basketball camp.
The head coach and director of the camp is Don Showalter, a 10-time Olympic gold medal coach. It was an amazing opportunity, Makenna said, to participate in the camp, and she learned a lot through the experience.
Makenna is the youngest daughter of Troy and Tammy Oudekerk, and she has one older sister, Katelyn. She has lived in the Albert Lea area her entire life.
Makenna said she has played basketball since she was very young, starting with basketball camps around age 5 and playing the sport at the Albert Lea Family YMCA. She joined a traveling team when she was in third grade. In addition to basketball, Makenna is also involved in soccer and track. However, she said basketball is her favorite.
Makenna became interested in the USA Gold basketball camp when her mother discovered it online. There was a long application process that required Makenna to submit highlight videos of herself, stats, her report card, a letter of recommendation, an essay and other documents. Makenna said when she applied for the camp, she knew it was competitive and did not think she would be one of the athletes chosen.
“She applied really thinking she wasn’t going to get accepted,” her mother said. “She thought it kind of seemed like an elite process, and so she was very shocked when we got the email about it and letter.”
After being accepted, Makenna attended the camp for two days at the beginning of September. The program has separate camps for boys and girls.
“I was a little nervous at first, going, because I didn’t know anyone,” she said.
It was not long, though, before she was able to connect with the other athletes and coaches present.
“There were so many other kids that are really amazing at basketball,” Makenna said. “When I was there, it was so fun getting to know different people and seeing their skills and how they’ve grown over the years, and just playing with them was really fun.”
In total, there were 86 girls from all over the United States at the camp, ranging from seventh grade to 10th grade. Makenna’s age group had about 42 girls.
During the camp, Makenna and the other participants worked with coaches, ran drills, competed in some games and even had classroom time. Every activity was designed to improve the athletes’ skills, performance and attitude on the court.
“It was good to connect with all the coaches because I want to play (in) college when I’m older,” Makenna said.
The camp participants were also given feedback by Showalter, which Tammy described as “a big deal” for the girls. Showalter also took notes on what players to keep an eye out for during junior nationals tryouts.
“I thought it was, really, kind of an honor for her to go …” her mother said. “It was a really awesome opportunity.”
In the upcoming year, Makenna has the option to attend the camp again. She would need to complete the application process a second time.
For now, Makenna said she wants to train to be the best athlete she can be and pursue some of her personal goals in the sport. She has worked hard in the off-season and hopes to make varsity.
Tammy said the camp was a great experience for her daughter.
“To see the talent that is across the United States … I think it pushed her harder,” she said. “She just tries so hard at everything she does.”
