Parker Graff: Passing the Love of Basketball
For Wessington Springs High School senior Parker Graff, his senior project brought basketball off the scoreboard and into the next generation.
Graff organized a youth basketball camp for students in fifth and sixth grades and seventh and eighth grades, welcoming players from Wessington Springs and Woonsocket.
“I’ve loved working with young kids since I was young,” Graff said. “I did travel ball, and some of my coaches were like NBA players. They taught me so much, and I just wanted the kids to have what I had — to get those chances and learn things they might not normally get to do.”
The first session included 10 campers, while the second had eight. Graff’s mentor, Joey Mitchell, Wessington Springs boys head basketball coach, helped him plan the format and pace of the camp.
“I kind of knew what I wanted to do,” Graff said. “Joey more or less organized it so everything would go smoothly.”
Campers rotated through ball-handling, shooting, passing and game-situation drills, with an emphasis on using proper technique in realtime scenarios. “I’d show them a move, then have them use it in a one-on-one situation,” he said. “So they actually see what it’s like in a game.”
Graff said he noticed growth right away.
“I saw improvement almost immediately,” he said. “But the most important thing is that they had fun and learned something by the end.”
He enjoyed working with both age groups, saying the younger players benefited from fundamentals, while the older campers were ready for more advanced skills.
“The younger kids haven’t developed as much yet, and I like teaching them things they can use all through high school,” he said. “With the older ones, I can push them a little more.”
The biggest challenge, Graff said, was time management — making sure drills stayed on pace while still filling the twohour sessions.
Looking ahead, Graff plans to attend Dakota Wesleyan University, where he will study physical therapy and continue playing basketball.
“I’m happy some of these kids look up to me and want to get better,” he said. “I’m just glad I can be the one to show them how to get better and make them like the game.”