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Crossroads basketball camp comes to area

| 17 Jul 2015 | 12:33
    Crossroads Basketball Camp participants practice dribbling the ball.
    Crossroads Basketball Camp participants practice dribbling the ball.
    Matthew Hermes, 10, of Newton, is shown with the ball.
    Matthew Hermes, 10, of Newton, is shown with the ball.
    From left Sussex County Community College head basketball coach Randy Jackson assists Crossroads founder and Blair Academy assistant basketball coach Cornell Thomas in a technique demonstration.
    From left Sussex County Community College head basketball coach Randy Jackson assists Crossroads founder and Blair Academy assistant basketball coach Cornell Thomas in a technique demonstration.
    From left front row Crossroads Basketball Camp founder and coach Cornell Thomas with camp participants and coaches.
    From left front row Crossroads Basketball Camp founder and coach Cornell Thomas with camp participants and coaches.
    Matthew Herman, 12, of Stanhope, New Jersey shoots the ball.
    Matthew Herman, 12, of Stanhope, New Jersey shoots the ball.
    Nine year old Tristan Ortega of Newton shoots the basketball.
    Nine year old Tristan Ortega of Newton shoots the basketball.
    Basketball coach Cornell Thomas (holding ball) teaches camp participants.
    Basketball coach Cornell Thomas (holding ball) teaches camp participants.
    Crossroads Basketball Camp participants coached during a drill.
    Crossroads Basketball Camp participants coached during a drill.

LAFAYETTE — The Crossroads Basketball Camp conducted training drills for elementary school age boys on Monday, July 13, at Lafayette Township School.

The camp is helmed by former basketball player and high school coach Cornell Thomas.

Crossroads is in it's 10th year of operation. Thomas is a former men's basketball coach at Sussex County Community College in Newton. Thomas is an assistant basketball coach at Blair Academy in Blairstown.

Several different programs are held during the course of the summer at Crossroads Basketball Camp.

Each program is customized to cater to gender and age. Boys have a separate day from girls to train. But they can mix during clinic time on a Sunday at a different location in Sussex County. Athletes from elementary to high school age can participate to learn basketball basics and more.

Thomas grew up in Morris County and graduated at Morris Hills High School in Rockaway, New Jersey. He did not begin playing basketball until his junior year. He was inspired to try out for the high school team by a relative who was a star player in Virginia. He saw newspaper clippings of his cousin and decided to begin playing.

— Photos by George Leroy Hunter