Photo by Jake Olson: Minnesota State University, Mankato girls basketball head coach Emilee Thiesse demonstrates a drill during Monday afternoon's basketball camp held at Fairmont High School's Cardinal gymnasium.

FAIRMONT – The Minnesota State University, Mankato girls’ basketball camp returned to Fairmont High School for the first time in over 10 years.

From Monday morning to mid-afternoon, MSU head coach Emilee Thiesse and a handful of staff members, including former Fairmont and future Maverick player Brylee Miller, helped coach two camp sessions in the Cardinal gymnasium. A total of 55 participants signed up for this free service organized by Angie Toothaker and the rest of the Fairmont Girls Basketball Association. The last appearance of this camp in Fairmont was in 2014.

“When I first got the job at MSU, I had some family and connections in Fairmont, so I just worked with some of that family, and we decided to put a camp here early on,” Thiesse said. “We kind of moved away from it and focused a little more on our camps. But when the Fairmont Basketball Association reached out to us this year and offered an opportunity to come back and host a camp, we jumped at it.”

Grades nine through 12 attended the morning session from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., while athletes in grades four through eight attended the afternoon session from 1:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., respectively. Participants came from different areas other than Fairmont. Toothaker mentioned seeing sign-ups from North Union, Truman, Granada and Northrop athletes.

Individuals were separated into different sections of the gym, with different coaches relaying the previously said drill from Thiesse. It was a combined effort to make sure each participant got worked with properly.

“We, as an association, are always trying to bring opportunities to Fairmont, so the kids don’t have to travel. And what better opportunity than MSU?” Toothaker said. “An incredible coaching staff that’s so high level. The thing is to bring something for girls of all skill levels. Just ways they can improve their game and stuff they can work on outside of the camp as well. Anytime spent in the gym is great, but what they do outside of the gym is obviously equally important.”

Thiesse said she organized the camp structure similarly to how she runs her practices in Mankato. Each drill was built on the previous one, continuing to evolve the demonstrated skills and how they can coexist within the bigger picture of the sport.

“It was important for us to spend a lot of time on the skill without the super basics of the skill,” Thiesse said. “We didn’t want to just keep it super basic. We wanted to give them an opportunity to see that they can apply their skills to the bigger picture of the game. It was a lot of build-up from that idea.”

Toothaker and the FGBA even provided a Mental Skills Training session for grades seven through 12, hosted by CJ Johnson, owner of Cutting Edge Fitness. This took place from 12:15 to 12:45 p.m.

“I think anyone who’s played sports knows the mental part is just equally, if not more, important,” Toothaker said. “So he graciously agreed to come in and talk about adversity, resilience, and confidence. All the things that can help us on and off the court.”

The event was a success in Toothaker’s eyes. Not only was this an opportunity for athletes to hear Thiesse’s coaching methods and practice strategies, but it was also a chance to grow even closer to the sport.

“I think this was a huge opportunity for the girls,” Toothaker said. “Sometimes we have parents or friends of parents who coach, and this just opens your eyes to different perspectives. At the end of the day, we want to create passion for these kids. And we had some of these [MSU] coaches and Brylee in the gym to help create that passion. Because at the end of the day, their internal drive is what has to make them better.”