News & Updates

Special team camp comes to New Castle in June

April 22, 2012

(New Castle) – The Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame and DistinXion are proud to announce a one of a kind event that will take place in New Castle on Saturday, June 23 and Sunday, June 24.

The two organizations will partner to host a 16-team boys high school team camp at locations including the New Castle Fieldhouse, New Castle Middle School and New Castle Henry County YMCA.

DistinXion is a non-profit organization formed by the Zeller family of Washington, Indiana – the only family to produce three Indianapolis Star Indiana Mr. Basketball award winners. The DistinXion mission is to provide positive role models and a positive learning environment for youth to learn life values and character through basketball.

The theme of the event is -Teaching and Demonstrating Fundamentals that Transcend Time.-

Over the course of two days, the 16 teams will play a total of 50 games, but beyond games, an emphasis will be placed on skill and character development.

A special character development session at 6:15 PM on Saturday, June 23 will include members of the Zeller family and the DistinXion staff sharing advice and life lessons that are applicable beyond just basketball.

-Our entire family has had success, but we have had so many great people go out of their way to share with us all across this amazing basketball state,- says President of DistinXion Luke Zeller. -We want to be able to pay it forward and pass on to the next generation. We truly believe that we can share our mistakes and successes with others in order to give many Indiana youth the amazing opportunities we have had.-

-I think this will be a very special feature of a unique event,- says Hall of Fame executive director Chris May. -Whether you are a youth sports participant, a parent of an athlete, or a community member, the Zellers have been successful people, not just in basketball, and can relay their experiences into ways that you can apply to everyday life.-

Over the course of the weekend each team will get at least one game on the main floor at the 9,314 capacity New Castle Fieldhouse and each team will get a guided tour of the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame museum.

-We feel it-s important for these young men to get a history lesson and grasp the tradition of Indiana high school basketball while they are here,- May says. -It is a mission of ours to expose as many people as possible to our museum and the great history basketball has in our state.-

Games at each of the venues will be open to the public with an admission charge. -We are incredibly excited to create a once in a lifetime event,- Zeller says. -We want to create CHAMPIONS on and off the court and believe this event will create at atmosphere that can help each individual and team take a step towards that!-

Organizers are looking for volunteers to staff the games and for sponsors to help absorb the costs of running the event. Anyone interested in volunteering or sponsorship may contact Chris May at (765) 529-1891 x105.