Harbor Impact and Detroit Pistons Host Youth Basketball Camp in St. Joseph

ST. JOSEPH, MICH. -- More than 80 students from third through ninth grade gathered at St. Joseph High School this week to participate in a youth basketball camp. The event, organized by the Harbor Impact Foundation, brought together players of all skill levels from across Southwest Michigan, including many who attended at no cost thanks to scholarship support from the organization.

The Harbor Impact Foundation was founded in 2022 with a mission to connect the communities of St. Joseph and Benton Harbor through basketball. Since its launch, the foundation has brought AAU programming, camps, and mentoring opportunities to the community. It has also helped more than 30 students earn full college scholarships.

“It’s bigger than basketball,” said Rodney Alexander Jr., the foundation’s founder, a Benton Harbor Native, and a former professional basketball player. “We didn’t have any camps like this when I was a kid, so it’s very beneficial for this area and for bringing kids together,” he added.

This camp was held in partnership with the Detroit Pistons, who brought their youth programming, that is usually focused in Metro Detroit, to Michigan’s west side for the first time. The Piston’s Extreme Team to put on quite the dunk perform for the campers to end day one.

“There are a lot of Pistons fans in this area, and we know Harbor Impact does great work,” said Aaron Smith, the Pistons’ director of youth engagement and development. “It only made sense to partner together. Basketball should be accessible for everybody.”

In addition to drills and skill building sessions, campers are learning valuable life lessons through the game of basketball.

“Even if you miss a shot, you just have to keep trying harder,” said London, a camper.

ABC57’s Brian Conybeare, serves as president of the Harbor Impact Foundation’s board of directors.

“The Harbor Impact Foundation is helping kids succeed in sports and in life,” said Conybeare. “That’s what we do.”

Each participant will also receive two tickets to a Pistons home game during the upcoming season.

Organizers say they hope this is just the first of many camps to come in the region.