Meet Darren Bell, Basketball Coach in Residence
“I work with athletes on their movement, confidence, and performance. My dream was to travel and teach sports. Something I set out for myself was, how can I share a gift I know I’m really good at, teaching and connecting with any age group. Basketball is a really great way to do that. I know what basketball feels like when you play well.
My philosophy of teaching is about connection, meeting the campers where they’re at and about challenging them. It works well here because even though not all of the campers here have the highest skill level, some do though, and when you connect with them and get on their level, they respond.
Working with some of the sports staff on their own methods, I put myself in the shoes of the student and walked with them and listened to them and prepared with them, to see how they do things first.
Even the best and most experienced teachers out there, if they can teach the fundamentals, they can teach any level. You don’t have to make it complex to be effective. It’s the delivery, it’s the storytelling, it’s the connection.
What I noticed about the campers at Camp Ramah versus other groups that I’ve worked with is that they’re actually very competitive. They want to win. They want to succeed. They want to do their best. Sometimes it’s just finding the key to unlock it.
After one of the lessons, one of the camper’s feedback was, ‘Wow I feel my footwork getting better already.’ To me that speaks highly of Ramah, because the campers don’t have cell phones, which to me shows that they spend time out here with themselves and with others and they’re willing to take on a skill and feel the progression. That was a high compliment for me. That felt really good.
This has been a really amazing experience for me [not just as a coach in residence but also] because of the…values here. I internalized those. Because how you do one thing is how you do everything. So I’m not just thinking about how I play basketball, I’m also thinking about how clean I leave my room when I leave? Do I eat all of the food on my plate? It’s about teaching the whole child.”
Darren Bell is a former collegiate basketball & football athlete turned sports performance/confidence coach. Currently located in Chicago, Darren helps athletes develop athleticism, skills and confidence in their respective sport.
Meet Zach Rosen, Basketball Coach in Residence
“This summer I ran a basketball intensive for eight campers in Machon. I’m a Division 3 athlete, and I wanted to teach the kids what commitment is like to be great at something and not necessarily basketball, really in every aspect in life. To show them and to give them a two-week mini simulation of the commitment, discipline, principals, sacrifice and the focus that it takes to pursue something.
During the intensive I treated them as college athletes, I held them to that standard. When I ran drills I was on top of them about paying attention to detail. They really picked it up quickly. I was explaining a very complicated concept in basketball during a Machon clinic, and while they didn’t get it at first, you eventually see them make the right play. I also wanted to teach them to hate losing, if that makes sense. I wanted to make it competitive. I wanted them to feel good pressure so they can respond and be comfortable with it. So it was sort of like mimicking what I go through and they really responded well to the good pressure.
So I came in here with the intention of holding them to a higher standard and they responded very well.”
Zach Rosen is currently a Divison III athlete at Grinnell College. He’s pursuing coaching AAU with a program called Barnstormers in Iowa. He’s USA coaching certified and works with kids on player development.
