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BUSINESS
Sport City U aims to teach skills kids can use on and off the court
Thirteen-year-old Austin Bauerbach from Waterfoot, W.Va., does Figure 8 crunches for an ab workout at Sports City U Basketball Camp in Hurricane, W.Va., on Tuesday.
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HURRICANE -- At a basketball gym in Sports City Complex in Hurricane, kids get in a circle on the floor. But it's definitely not story time.
The next moment, they're on their backs in a swarm of kicking legs and swinging basketballs as they do an exercise known as "Figure 8 crunches." They strengthen the abs as a player handles the basketball.
"This is what I call the commercial workout," coach Jim Clayton said, as the kids' faces turn to shades of red. "If you're sitting and watching TV, you can get a ball and do this during commercials."
Basketball skills, like other skills, don't come when you focus on games, he said. If you focus on the learning process rather than particular events, you're on your way to success, Clayton said.
That concept has helped propel his business, Sport City U, to success over the past 16 years. Sport City U is a facility that offers personal training and camps to help basketball players -- boys and girls who are knee-high up through high-schoolers -- master the skills of the game.
When Sport City opened in Huntington in the early 1990s, it was unique in that it offered personal training for a team sport. At the time, that kind of training was common in golf, tennis and general fitness, but Sport City U brought to Huntington a facility that taught aspiring basketball players the proper techniques, and it helped more advanced players sharpen their game by working on their speed, flexibility and explosiveness.
It started out at 219 22nd St. near Marshall University Stadium in 1992. Clayton got the business up and running with the help of Mark Cisco, who now works in the Ceredo-Kenova area, teaching basketball as well.
In 1999, Sport City U moved to Hurricane, and it's now located in a complex that offers training for other sports, such as cheerleading, gymnastics, baseball, soccer, weight-training and dance. The camps cost from $195 to $325, depending on the session and whether the kids stay overnight.
Sport City U has been a successful business not only because the players' successes speak for themselves, Clayton said. But the athletic complex in Hurricane is convenient for parents who have kids in different sports.
Sport City also is a way to get kids off the couch, while allowing them to learn both life skills and basketball. Plus they're in a safe environment, he said.
Over the years, it's seen thousands of players move through, including standout O.J. Mayo, and championship teams from Huntington High and schools throughout West Virginia and Ohio. Teams have driven two hours on a weekend for training, Clayton said.
"We've had a lot of the best teams in these states," Clayton said. "And it's gone in a lot of different directions from there. Many players who have received training at Sport City have gotten college scholarships to play ball. Then they've come back to teach at the camps, and some have ended up being college coaches themselves. When they're looking to recruit players for their college teams, they come back to Sport City to scout the talent."
He can't say exactly how many kids have gone through the place, but he knows that often when he goes to the grocery store, a former player will come up and tell him that they remember their days at Sport City.
That's the best part of the business, he said.
"I think back on all the kids who have been here, and I can't remember everything I said to them, but they remember something I said to them," Clayton said. "That's the best part about doing this job."
He really wants to make sure that kids in today's society learn patience and the importance of hard work.
"Kids today -- they're what we call the fast-forward generation," Clayton said.
They're used to instant gratification, and "They want to start Monday and be great on Friday," he said.
Doesn't work like that, he said. It takes time and practice, and the things that kids want most -- to learn skills and be good at something -- are things that can't be bought.
"The same things it takes to be successful on the court, it takes to be successful off the court," Clayton said.
Former college player Karah Cloxton of Winfield, who played ball at the University of Dayton and got training at Sport City as a kid, can attest to that.
"I think (Sport City) really teaches kids the difference between work and play," said Cloxton, who's teaching there now and plans to attend medical school at Marshall. "We work on so many skills -- not just basketball, but footwork and speed. They learn about work and work ethic."
Most of the coaches there were once players, and know how much work it takes to be good, she said.
"We push them past their comfort zone," Cloxton said. "They're not used to that either."
