Cass High to host basketball team camp, GHSA officials camp this weekend
The Cass High School basketball program is hosting one of the largest high school basketball team camps in North Georgia this Friday and Saturday at the Colonels’ facilities in White.
Twenty-eight boys teams (14 varsity / 14 junior varsity) will compete in camp-style games on three courts inside the Cass High School facility. The Cass High School main gym converts to two full sized courts with the bleachers retracted and the school has an adjacent auxillary gym with another full sized floor.
“We have a solid field of teams coming in,” said former Cass head coach David Brock (photo) who coordinated the event and is now the head boys coach at Dalton High School. “We have a quality group of the teams playing this weekend including state playoff teams. There should be some really good competition.”
State playoff qualifying teams from last season are highlighted by Class AAAA quarterfinalist LaFayette and include Cass (AAAAA), Calhoun (AAA), Sonoraville (AAA), Coosa (AA), Heritage Christian (A), and Darlington (A).
Other teams at the camp include Dalton, Model, Cornerstone, Excel Christian, Woodland, North Paulding, and Gordon Central.
There will be two full days of competition. Games will begin at 8 a.m. Friday and Saturday and continue until 8 p.m. Friday and 5 p.m. on Saturday. Spectators are welcome to attend and there is no admission fee.
The camp also doubles as one of the 24 Georgia High School Association’s instruction camps for basketball game officials.
Referees during the camp games will represent all parts of the state. The men and women in stripes will be working on their skills and receiving feedback from clinicians while the players and teams work on their games.
The officials portion of the camp is hosted by Cherokee Basketball Offiials Association headquartered in Cartersville and led by Dock Sisk (photo) of the Georgia Mountain Officials Association.
Approximately 60 officials will participate in the camp from all parts of Georgia with at least ten different officiating associations represented.
According to the Cherokee Basketball Officials Association’s Charles Wilson, the attraction of the Cass camp for Georgia high school officials is multi-faceted.
“First and foremost, the officials come for the additional training,” said Wilson. “The experts with the NCAA and NFHS are constantly tweaking the mechanics we use as basketball officials. There is a lot of research that goes into officiating, so by participating in camps our officials learn the latest techniques, positioning, preferred methods, and teamwork.”
The officiating camp also benefits from some of the most respected NCAA officials in the nation.
“Doc Sisk runs the officials portion of the camp for GHSA. He and his wife Nan are among the most highly respected officials in the country,” Wilson continued. "They have officiated at every level of basketball including more than 25 years with the SEC and ACC. Toss in several other D-I conferences, the NCAA Tournament, and the WNBA and you see how valuable they are with training our high school officials."
“Both Dock and Nan have been Atlanta Tip-Off Club Naismith National Officials of the Year, so they not only bring their expertise but they also bring in several other NCAA Division I officials and some of the top GHSA officials in the state to help train the officials at this camp. It is a great opportunity for our officials,” said Wilson.
Clarissa Bagwell, another leader with the Cherokee Basketball Officials Association noted the requirements for Georgia’s high school officials. “GHSA basketball officials are now required to participate in an off-season camp each year to officiate varsity games and the post-season. This on-the-court camp and instruction helps officials progress to work higher-level games or the post-season,” said Bagwell.
“The expertise in training our officials receive at this camp is outstanding,” she added. “The officials get their GHSA credit for participating, but they also have an opportunity to learn from some of the best officials out there at the D-I level. Dock is also the post-season assignor for our part of the state with GHSA,” Bagwell concluded.
