TAMPA, Fla. — Matt and Trevor Glassman have the skills and resume to help young hoopers discover the love of the game.
The brothers are hosting a summer basketball camp this week at PickUp USA Fitness.
“I started playing basketball in the second grade and (Trevor) was pretty much my mentor,” Matt said.
WATCH: Glassman brothers inspire youth through basketball camp
Matt followed his big brother’s footsteps as a walk-on at Manhattan University, eventually becoming captain and earning a Division I scholarship.
Trevor finished his college basketball career at the University of Missouri after winning a pair of Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) championships at Manhattan.
“This is a dream come true for me,” Matt said. “I’ve always wanted to have a basketball camp, and to have my brother to help out, coach and run it, it’s amazing.”
“Matt has put a lot of time in and making sure that the youth in Tampa can not just enjoy basketball, but also understand what it takes to work hard and believe in yourself,” Trevor said. “That’s the message of this camp. We want players to get better, but also have confidence and have a fun time.”
It’s a full-circle moment for Matt, who is also the girls varsity head coach at Alonso High School.
The Glassmans are hosting a four-day camp for second-grade through ninth-grade students.
“They’re going to teach me about all the stuff for basketball li,ke the journey, the adventure to be a better player,” camper Anay Seth, 9, said.
Matt and Trevor also want to use this camp to inspire kids to chase their dreams. That’s why each camper is wearing a wristband that reads, “I did it. You can, too!”
“As a seventh grader, I had a teacher ask me what I wanted to do in my life,” Matt recalled. “I told him, my goal was ‘to be a Division-I basketball player.’ And, he laughed in front of the class, in front of all my peers.”
Matt hopes his own experiences can prepare the next generation for success both on and off the court.
“The whole reason I put that message on this wristband is that these kids can do whatever they want,” Matt said. “That moment in seventh grade stuck with me.”
“Coach, from every moment he had has made it clear that he was pursued his dreams and what he thinks is going to be the best way to come about that,” camper Georgia Price, a junior at Alonso, said. “Even more than that, his philosophy is never giving up on somebody, that’s made abundantly clear within his program.”
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