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About Jeff Goodman Jeff Goodman is a senior college basketball writer for FOXSports.com. He can be reached at GoodmanonFOX@aol.com. MORE BY Jeff Goodman: • Summer camps to stress skill development • Smith won't have to sit out transfer year • Johnson's future in doubt after physical See all articles >   MOST ROOTED FOR STORIES   Lottery results a surprise to Oden   Donovan makes no excuses for reversal   Eighth grader commits to USC   Mock draft: A third take, picks 1-30   Smith won't have to sit out transfer year   A year later, little has changed   Youth movement a scary trend   Summer camps to stress skill development   Donovan will be bigger than ever in Gainesville   Porter was bigger than life View all headlines... • Just for laughs: funniest cities in America • How your hormones can make you strong & smart • When bosses attack: real office horror stories FOX SPORTS STORE View the FOX Sports Store >

Summer camps to stress skill development

Jeff Goodman FOXSports.com, Updated 20 hours ago  STORY TOOLS:                         print send blog RSS LIKE THIS STORY?

No longer will there be 550 or so kids camping. Hopefully, that will also result in fewer college coaches shaking their heads in disbelief at the selfish play in early July.

The shoe companies have all decided to make wholesale changes to their early-July schedule — and each did it with the same focus: Improving the skill development of young players.

After the abysmal performance of the United States in the Olympics, it's fairly clear that our American-bred young players are losing ground to the European countries.

To try and rectify the problem, Nike, adidas and Reebok have all chosen to shake things up. It won't be a quick fix, but it will help.

"It's a small step," said Jeff Rogers, Nike Elite Youth Basketball Director. "But we are going to continue to evaluate and change every year."

No one has done it with more fanfare than Nike.

Kobe Bryant will hold a Skills Academy in Los Angeles later this month. ( / Getty Images)

The Swoosh has employed its benchmark names to work with the country's elite young players in four positional camps that will be capped off by the LeBron James U.S. Skills Academy from July 6-9 in James' hometown of Akron, Ohio.

It'll start later this month, though, when the Kobe Bryant and Vince Carter Skills Academies get underway from June 25-28 in Los Angeles and Orlando. Then Steve Nash will work with the top 20 or so point guards in New Jersey and Amare Stoudamire will tutor the elite post players in Phoenix from June 29-July 2.

"These guys are role models, so it's been an easy sell," said Rogers. ``We're not going to get everyone, but we feel like we'll get most of the top kids to come."

Rogers said that the elite players have been invited, regardless of shoe affiliation.

"We feel like we have a lot to offer — more than anyone else in the summer," Rogers added. "It will benefit every kid — it doesn't matter what they're wearing."

Each camp will have minimal scrimmaging. Conditioning and nutrition will be addressed and media will only be allowed to watch the final day of each positional camp in an attempt to better keep the kids focused. However, the LeBron Camp will be open to college coaches and media throughout — and will also have some of the top current college basketball players and also NBA personnel in attendance.

Adidas has changed its approach as well. Its primary platform is the adidas Nations, a pair of teams — one comprised of many of the top players from the Class of 2008 (including Tyreke Evans and Jrue Holliday) and another featuring elite players in the Class of 2009 (including Dexter Strickland and Lance Stephenson) — that will play together in the hopes of developing more team-oriented skills.

Paul Silas is coaching the teams, which have met twice so far for practice sessions and squared off against each other in an exhibition game in Portland last weekend.

Adidas has also decided to go with a team-oriented event in early July instead of a camp that would focus on individuals. Adidas' Darren Kalish said that the adidas Take 5 Classic will be held in Cincinnati.

"We're not trying to go head-up against the other show companies. We felt that kids will look better playing with their own teams," Kalish said. "It should be a better caliber of basketball."

Will all of this improve the development of young American players? We'll see.

"I'm not really sure what they are doing, but I've heard that Nike has changed its format and adidas isn't going to have a camp," USA Basketball Executive Director Jim Tooley said. "Whatever the shoe companies are doing, they're doing it on their own. However, there's certainly a need for an emphasis on skill development — and it appears as though they are going in the right direction."

Chris Rivers, who has taken over in the post-Vaccaro era at Reebok, has decided to stick with the camp approach — with a twist. It'll now be located in Philadelphia, will be limited to about 120 campers and much of the company's focus is finding under-the-radar players since the majority of the elite kids won't turn down the opportunity to work with LeBron.

"Nike's done a great job with the approach they've taken," Rivers said. "We're going to get plenty of high-major kids and also kids who haven't been seen. It'll be fun to hear who's number 67 rather than what number is O.J. wearing."

In addition to moving the camp, which is now called RBK U., to Philly, Rivers is also focusing on life-skill themes such as cultural skills. For example, he recently left with a group of elite players for a 10-day trip to Italy during which they will see the country, train and also play a few games against teams from other countries.

"Winning is not the issue," Rivers said.

Reebok has already run many of the 18 Headliner Tryout Camps around the country in which kids pay to have a chance at earning a spot at the RBK U Camp. There is also an underclassman camp with about 120 players from June 22-24 in Chicago with rising juniors and sophomores.

The RBK U Camp will include a handful of off-court seminars — media relations, a financial component and something on image building. There will also be more difficult individual work and college coaches won't be allowed in until July 8th, so that kids get a chance to adapt to the environment and become familiar with their teammates.

Rivers has also decided to go with just two games at a time, and a camp championship game instead of a pair of all-star games — as has been the case in the past.

The rest of the summer won't look much different. Coaches will still flock to the Nike Peach Jam and other events in the middle of the summer and then the majority will convene in Las Vegas from July 22-26 for a trio of tournaments courtesy of each of the three sneaker companies.

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"The landscape was looking for a change," Rogers said. "We're hesitant to take a giant leap forward, but what we were giving kids wasn't enough."

This may not be quite enough, either. But it's a step in the right direction.

July's Key Events

July 6-9 — LeBron James U.S. Skills Academy (Akron, Ohio)

July 6-8 — adidas Take 5 Classic (Cincinnati, Ohio)

July 6-10 — RBK U. (Philadelphia)

July 12-15 — Nike Peach Jam (North Augusta, S.C.)

July 22-26 — Nike Main Event (Las Vegas)

July 22-26 — adidas Super 64 (Las Vegas)

July 22-26 — Reebok Summer Championships (Las Vegas)

Jeff Goodman is a senior college basketball writer for FOXSports.com. He can be reached at GoodmanonFOX@aol.com.