By Robert Griffin

Sports Writer

The gym at the Mike Daniel Recreation Center was abuzz with activity Thursday morning.

Nearly 200 youngsters were on hand to take part in the Atlanta Hawks Kia Summer Hoops Tour, which was kicking off its 20-city tour in LaGrange, the fifth time that the camp has been through town.

“This is our kickoff event for the Kia Summer Hoops tour and we are excited to see this many kids come out and participate,” said Michael Brown, manager of basketball development for the Hawks.

Brown, alongside former Atlanta Hawks guard Charlie Criss, help to lead the camp each year.

Upon arrival to the camp, participants were lined up and participated in warm up drills. In an almost organized chaos routine the kids went through the drills, with smiles and laughter abounding through the gyms walls.

With warm-ups completed the groups broke into four separate groups to work on different drills focusing on all different aspects of the game.

With the gym growing louder and louder with each passing minute of the camp Brown couldn’t help but to crack a smile.

“As long as the kids are having fun, that’s what it is all about,” Brown said. “The biggest thing at this camp are to help the kids work on their fundamentals. We work on shooting, passing, rebounding, and dribbling, and try to make it fun so that the kids will have a good experience, while gaining some knowledge on the game.”

Other than having a good time, and learning some ins and outs of the games Brown said another great thing that the camp helps with is that it gives the participants a chance to get out of the house.

“This camp gives the kids a chance to get out of the house instead of just sitting on the couch, ” Brown said. “It provides a great opportunity for the kids to gain or further a love of basketball as well as a chance to get some exercise.”

As passes were being made, baskets were being sunk and instructions being yelled out any onlooker could see that the kids at the camp were having a great time. When asked if he might have seen some future Atlanta Hawks on the court, Brown smiled again and said, “Absolutely.”