TEXAS TOWNSHIP -- A basketball camp in Wayne County this week aims to help kids play better ball and also make better choices when they grow up.
Inside the gym at the Stourbridge Primary Center near Honesdale, boys and girls got to shoot hoops, practice their ball-handling skills and learn what it takes to be better basketball players.
This week's Stand Tall for Basketball camp is four mornings of drills, and four mornings of drilling home the point that good choices off the court are just as important as on the court.
"The idea is absolutely to get them young, get them here, get them busy, keep them busy. If they learn here at a young age, to make good choices and stay away from drugs, stay off the streets," said Wayne County District Attorney Janine Edwards. "Then I think we're ahead of the game."
Edwards knows all too well the drug problems this and other communities face, so parents, like Stacy Box of Honesdale, are happy the camp is not just about basketball.
"It's frightening everyday send him to school and off with friends, teaching him to make good choices when you're not there hovering over them, telling him, that's huge," said Box.
This is now the third year for the Stand Tall for Basketball camp put on by the Wayne County District Attorney's Office. It has grown from 30 to 40 to more than 50 kids now, all learning how to make good decisions in life.
"Because if you don`t, you won`t be able to do stuff you love because you made bad choices," said 10-year-old Tess Meagher.
"Teaches you things on and off the court, teaches you responsibilities, what not to do and what to do, so it`s a good camp," added 12-year-old Joe Scarfallato.
Stand Tall for Basketball costs $25 per child and wraps up Thursday.