PSB had an amazing first summer of basketball in China after officially establishing Pro Skills Basketball China this past spring! After a great summer last year in 2016 running a few weeks of Nike Basketball Camps in Hangzhou and Shanghai, China, this summer PSB expanded to run camps in Chengdu, Wenzhou, Hong Kong, and Bengbu.

Chengdu

Pro Skills Basketball China was originally established in Chengdu and is up and running full-time, year-round there now. PSB Denver Director, Ross Schraeder, traveled to Chengdu where he ran two weeks of basketball camps this summer.

[Perhaps it’s also good to note here that “camps” are different in China than in the US. Chinese basketball camps are typically more like clinics or training sessions where they are for 2-3 hours a day for 5-6 days in a row, not all day 9am-3/4pm basketball camps like in the US.]

“After getting the experience of going to Hangzhou and Shanghai last summer to run Nike Basketball Camps, this summer running Pro Skills Basketball camps in Chengdu was a blast. Although it was super hot there in July, the kids got better, and I had a ton of fun coaching them. We’re excited about our upcoming events there starting this fall!”

This fall, we’ll be running after-school training classes as well as doing some clinics and leagues in Chengdu.

Wenzhou

PSB Charlotte Assistant Director, Jason Snow, who is in charge of all of north Charlotte, flew out to Wenzhou for 2 weeks as well and ran 2 camps per day with about 20 kids in each camp.

This was Jason’s first trip to China, and it was quite an experience for him:

“China was a great cultural experience and also a great basketball experience. To see the love of the game of basketball and the eagerness to learn more about the game was eye opening. I’m looking forward to going back some day!”

Hong Kong

BJ Spencer, another coach from the PSB Charlotte team, spent the longest time of the 4 Pro Skills coaches in China. BJ went to Hong Kong for 3 weeks and ran 2 Nike Basketball Camps everyday at 2 different locations around Hong Kong.

BJ stated:

“From a basketball stand point, players were very eager to learn and ask questions. Most players are at a “developmental” stage – still learning the basics and fundamentals of the game. Being there for 3 weeks, I saw some of the same kids that we’re there the 1st day on the last day as well. It was long hours in the gym, but I can’t remember a kid complaining about fatigue. They were just eager to learn the next move or drill!”

BJ also said he really enjoyed the Hong Kong culture, and “it was a great experience – like New York times two. The city never sleeps!”

Bengbu

Coach Brendan Winters, Director of PSB Charlotte, went to the “smallest” city of the four in Bengbu, but it still has 3-4 million people there! In Bengbu, Brendan had 7 days of camp but only one session daily from 9am-12pm. The camp had over 30 kids from ages 7-18 years old.

“I was really surprised by Bengbu as a city. It was really nice and much less overwhelming than a city like Shanghai. The people were really nice, and I got a lot of unique cultural experiences there. Basketball-wise, I had a great time. The kids were extremely eager to learn and willing to be coached. Their improvement from day 1 to day 7 was awesome,” said Brendan.

PSB is excited about a bright future in China and helping the youth basketball culture over there for many years to come!

If you’d like to read/see more about Pro Skills Basketball in China please visit our homepage here.