Turner to Host gROw Program

For the third time, and hoping to make it an annual stop, nationally recognized Ro Wiggins will be at the Turner Public School Gymnasium from July 23-24 to put on his gROw Camp for students in grades 3-12. Interested individuals are encouraged to Save the Date for this basketball camp.

The two-day camp for youth in grades 3-8 will begin at 9:00 a.m. and conclude at 11:30. Camp fees for this age category are $80 for both days. Following that group, campers in grades 9-12 will have sessions that extend from noon until 3:00 p.m. on both Tuesday and Wednesday. The fee for this age range is $90.

Camp posters promise “skills, drills, and fun-filled” sessions. Although no pre-registration is required, anyone seeking additional information can contact Darci by calling 406-672-8737.

According to Wiggins, a typical day at gROw Camp looks like “numerous smiles, challenges, and unity. I believe my gift lies in adapting to whoever is in front of me. This means that regardless of personality or skill level—in terms of basketball, I will find a way to ‘speak the language’ of each and every individual who attends the camp. It has to feel more like an experience rather than just a camp. A camp is forgettable; an experience is memorable.”

Wiggins adds: “The same is to be said for the drills. My wife, Jaycee, and I always laugh on our post camp phone calls. I call her after every camp and usually report how well it went and then add: ‘I also just freestyled the entire thing.’ Her response is always a humorous, ‘Of course, you did.’ When I’m in that flow stuff of interpreting the environments, I just know what drills need to be done or what things we can strengthen that the group does not think I’m aware of. These drills differ from camp to camp, as different communities require different things.” As Owner/Founder of the gROw program, Wiggins strives for maximizing the potential of people. Whether he’s working in Turner or in some other community, his objective doesn’t deviate. “The objective is always to add value. I think the best thing any human can do for another is to add value to the good that those people do or to those good things that are already in place. It will be in the form of building confidence, strengthening unity, and overcoming adversity in the realm of basketball challenges in hopes that those lessons translate off the court as well.”

Outlined by Wiggins, the mission and goals of the gROw program are conveyed through the acronym GROW:

G-Getting youth out of their comfort zones and realizing that there is a safe

place to make mistakes within the game they love,

R-Remembering that we were all just kids from somewhere looking for

somebody to believe in us, even if it is a stranger,

O-Overcoming the idea that only basketball skills can be enhanced at a basketball camp (i.e. unity and community),

W-Coaches/trainers are responsible for the progression of an individual’s love for the game, so we create ways to get them to “like it” first.

Given that list, these camps become about more than just basketball. For much of his inspiration in this regard, Wiggins credits his mother: “As I was growing up in Shreveport, Louisiana, my hero worked three jobs just to get us by. My mother was always displaying a work ethic like that of a super-hero. I was able to attend only ONE basketball camp. The camp was okay and I received a t-shirt, but I made the absolute most of those three days of camp because I already knew not only that we were struggling at home but that my mother was just trying to support my dreams, even if it stretched us thin financially.” Despite that knowledge and his circumstances, Wiggins never gave up on his aspirations. “The goal was to see how far this game I started playing to cope with having a single parent would take me. The social skills, humor, skillset for the game, and ability to adapt and teach it to others is all a testament of the ups and downs of my own life gROwing up in a very dangerous environment.” Once his purpose found him, Wiggins’ dreams began to unfold. “gROw came right after, and it has been like living a dream. I have the biggest smile on my face because I know I’m at my best when I’m serving others. The camps have been a great testament to showing up for others in whatever way they need me to—whether it’s to be a mentor, a big brother figure, a calm coach, a coach that respectfully challenges them and holds them accountable, or a coach to make Tik Toks with. For me, this camp is just continuing to heal my inner child and making sure I look in the mirror daily and see someone that I would’ve loved to have had gROwing up. I wouldn’t change my story for the world, though,” Wiggins concluded.

Now, after almost seven years of being self-employed as a Program Director for gROw, Wiggins still has the energy for delivering motivational speeches and coordinating youth engagement activities. “I want to work with any community that wants to work with me. I will travel anywhere. I will work with any player and team at any level. Most would consider me successful. Yet, I wake up every day messaging hundreds, asking for an opportunity, never looking to lose the fire to earn everything. Let’s gROw!”

To satisfy anyone’s curiosity, Wiggins explained that his first name, Ro, is indeed a shortened version of Roozario (Rosa-D-O). “Numerous people butcher my name or never say it properly, so I just stick with RO. Plus, it flows better with the gROw brand!”