SDA 2018 was another fantastic camp where top talent ranging from 14 – 17 years old competed against each other and gained in knowledge, skill and strength on the basketball court. This years camp was targeted at a slightly younger age group than previous years so that a) youth talent can gain from the most Elite Basketball Camp in Ireland and b) global coaches can network and connect with top talent at an earlier stage which may present more opportunities in the future.

This year had a wonderful coaching staff in place including Choate Academy Head Coach Drew Dawson.Drew won the Connecticut State Championship in 2018 and has placed a number of top student-athletes in matching university basketball programmes. SDA 2018 also had John Carrol returning as a coach. John plays Division-1 college basketball wit the Hartford Hawks and led their team in scoring last season. John is one of the best and most promising Irish basketball talents currently playing and shared a wealth of knowledge to the young athletes participating this year. Jason Killeen is one of the top Irish ‘Big Men’ to ever play the game and is still playing for Templeogue Basketball Club. Big Jay is a winning player and coach and leaned on his valuable experience and knowledge from his international and professional career to help support skill development at SDA 2018. Puff Summers is a household name in Irish Basketball both as a player and a coach. Puff played at Davidson College and has been a top professional in Ireland for a number of years. In addition to his talents on court, Puff is a fantastic player development coach and brought his hug energy and expertise to SDA 2018. Rounding out our 2018 staff was Erin Bracken. Erin is a top player for Liffey Celtics and she coaches numerous youth teams and is also involved in the Irish Leinster Academy as a head coach. Erin is one of Ireland’s most promising up and coming youth
coaches and SDA was delighted to have her on board in 2018.

SDA 2018 was a major success and every single invited athlete improved by the end of camp. The energy, effort and competitiveness was top class throughout and once again demonstrated that SDA is the best and most Elite Basketball Camp in Ireland. Now to mention some award winners from SDA 2018. Diego Herlihy won camp MVP and had a fantastic camp on both ends of the floor, specifically showcasing his impressive shooting and scoring ability. Milo Herbst won Camper of the Week for his intelligent decision-making, effort, teamwork and winning attitude. Ronan Creighan had a great camp and won the 1-V-1 competition. Ronan Byrne also had a great camp and won the 3-point competition. Tommy Coogan was the lucky NBA ticket raffle winner and won 2 ticket to go and see the London NBA game in 2019!

SDA 2018 was an excellent camp where top talent competed, improved and got their games noticed. Check out the Sport Dream Academy YouTube channel for player highlights and see www.sda.ie for details about the 2019 SDA Elite Basketball Camp!