Members of the Traverse City West High School Titans waited in the stands of Jim Wink
Arena Friday, June 22 prior to facing the Haslett Vikings in their second game of
the day. Their coach, Doug Baumann, sat near a scorer’s table with his Lake Superior
State University classmate, Ferris State University Women’s Basketball Head Coach
Kendra Faustin, exchanging stories and ideas during the two-day team camp hosted in
the Ewigleben Sports Complex.
“We have a lot of young kids, so I want to employ both offensive and defensive concepts while we are here,” Baumann said. His first year leading the program saw the TC West varsity win just three of its 21 games, but the coach said he was very pleased by the growth of his players’ abilities. “Kendra is a good friend, and her camp provides the chance for our team to face larger and smaller schools, a great chance to assess our program.”
Faustin said team camps began on Friday, June 15 and wrapped up on Saturday, June 23. A three-day youth camp for students from kindergarten through the fifth grade began on Monday, June 25 and will be followed by an individual camp that starts Monday, July 9.
“We welcomed 26 teams to campus in this shootout camp, 10 of which had not visited our program or facility before this,” Faustin said. “It is a great opportunity for us, and for the university to showcase what we have to offer.”
Faustin said Ferris’ Admissions office collaborates with the Athletics department, by offering campus tours to teams that are interested and providing Ferris T-shirts to campers during their visit.
“This is our biggest camp and fundraising opportunity for our program,” Faustin said. “Our team is together at this time, working with our campers and each other. Many good things come about as a result of our camp schedule.”
Baumann said he was getting positive feedback from his players and their parents about the camp, which had his girls participating in three games each day.
“Traveling an hour and a half was easy for us, and the camp cost is very reasonable,”
Baumann said. “This is the time for our program to build on its growth and success.
Coming here made sense, in a number of ways.”
PHOTO CAPTION: Traverse City West High School Girls’ Basketball Coach Doug Baumann watches the action Friday, June 22, as his Titans face Haslett in a game during the Team Shootout No. 4 in Ferris State University’s Jim Wink Arena. The camp schedule is a significant fundraising mechanism for the Ferris women’s basketball program.