BIDDEFORD — In the summer months, it can be a little quiet on a college campus. Classes are out of session and the students return home until August when a new academic year begins. For University of New England head mens basketball coach Ed Silva, the summer brings a different group of kids eager to learn.
For the past six summers, Silva has hosted a basketball camp for kids ranging from eight-to-14 years old in the Harold Alfond Forum on UNE’s campus. The camp is driven to help kids work on their game, but it is also much more than that.
“The number one thing we work on is having fun. We try and get the kids to develop a lifelong love for the game,” said Silva.
On top of the fun, the camp consists of skill development and learning the little nuances of the art of basketball. For Silva, who is in the midst of his first session of the summer, the camp has been a huge success.
“For session one, we have a little over 80 kids, which is the most we have ever had — it’s great,” said Silva. “The kids come all the way from Kittery to Newport and Augusta.”

In the past six years, this camp has allowed Silva to really build relationships in the community.
“It is a little bit of a fundraiser, but the one reason we do it is for community engagement. The university is open and we have a lot of opportunity to do different things,” said Silva.
Silva is really appreciative of the kids in the camp and their willingness to get better at the game of basketball. The UNE coach teaches the fundamentals, but also finds a way to bring some of the college game to his campers.
“We always say we are about fun and fundamentals. We work on all the basics and some of the advanced stuff, especially with the older kids,” said Silva. “We do a lot of competitions for the kids to work on throughout the week.”
The tools basketball can provide for life is also something Silva wants to show these young players. Before coaching, Silva played at Eastern Connecticut and knows how the sport can help you grow as a person. The camp is his chance to give back.
“Every day there is a message that we think is valuable in basketball, but (also) in life,” said Silva.
Monday’s message was “feel comfortable being uncomfortable” and Tuesday’s message was “impact the game in other ways.”
For the campers, Silva hopes they take these skills and use them long after his camp. At days end, the players that represent the daily message are awarded an old Nor’easters jersey.
With the younger division, these messages help because it allows them to believe that there is more to the game than just scoring. So, Silva and his staff preach being a complete player. At Tuesday’s camp, kids were hustling for loose balls, making the extra pass and playing solid defense — and that is a product of Silva’s instruction.
With all the fun that these young basketball players have at Silva’s camp, he sees a lot of them outside of the summer. They come back and support Silva’s team, when they take the hardwood in November for their collegiate season.
The message of Silva’s camp is more than basketball. It is about giving back to the local community and also having fun. The campers seem to cherish the experience in Silva’s gym in June because he sees his work pay off.
“I’ll see these kids out and they will remember some of the things we say. That is a really cool experience,” Silva acknowledged.
— Sports Writer Brandon Eckles can be reached at beckles@journaltribune.com or at 282-1535 ext. 323. Follow the Journal Tribune Sports Department on Twitter @JournalTsports.