Nansemond-Suffolk Academy girls’ basketball coach Kim Aston will host her annual Shooting Star basketball camp beginning July 30.

The camp, for ages 6 to 17, emphasizes the development of fundamental skills. The daily instruction and station work are designed to encourage mastery of basic skills. The campers will be separated by age and skill development to compete in games. Lunch will be provided to each camper.

Aston and her camp workers, which will include collegiate and high school players, will break the campers into three groups. The groups will be formed by age and ability. Each day is skill development, and there will be repeats of drills as Aston will keep score of which teams are handling the drills the best.

“We just don’t want to throw the ball out there and let them play,” Aston said. “We want to make sure we give them skills and drills they continue to work on after the camp.”

There will also be winners for competitions such as one-on-one, free throw competition and three-point competitions. On the last day, a tournament will be played and a champion will be crowned in each league. Typically, Aston hosts around 70 to 100 campers, and she has been doing the camp for more than 25 years. Each year is like a new experience for Aston.

“I remember the first year we did it, there were about 30 kids,” she said. “The numbers have obviously grown, but it’s good meeting different kids and working with different kids. We have raised money on the side that we have given out as scholarships for some Suffolk kids. So, it’s nice to have a different blend of kids in the gym each year.”

Aston has coached at both Western Branch High School and NSA. At Western Branch, she helped coach the team to two district titles in 1996 and 2000. At NSA, she has won Tidewater Conference of Independent Schools regular season championships in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017. She has won TCIS tournament championships in 1997, 2014 and 2016.

As a former player, Aston was a scholarship player at Old Dominion University. At ODU, she helped the team make three NCAA tournament appearances while also winning two conference titles. She scored more than 1,500 points in her high school career and was recruited by more than 100 universities.

The camp will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. July 30 to Aug. 3 and will cost $225.

Questions can be directed to 353-2335 or emailed to kaston@nsacademy.org.