Jordan Farmar is a yoga devotee and is teaching kids why it is beneficial even if they only want to play basketball. That's not all they're learning at Hoop Farm, a children's basketball summer camp located on the campus of UCLA.
A recent addition to the roster of the New Jersey Nets, he is still hanging around Los Angeles to be part of his third annual summer hoops camp, only one of the events backed by his Jordan Farmar Foundation.
Hoop Farm will be in session next week, Aug. 16-19, and unlike other hardwood stars who host camps, Farmar will be in attendance each day and all day to coach, motivate and participate in the other activities featured during the week.
The former Laker guard who became an unrestricted free agent this summer, will take up residence in the New York-New Jersey metropolitan area during the upcoming season, but Jordan Farmar will always call Los Angeles his home.
His playing career as a student at Taft High School made him a star. In his senior year, his scoring average was 27 points a game. He led the team to its first Los Angeles city title. He excelled at UCLA under Coach Ben Howland. In his sophomore year Farmar averaged 13.5 points and 5.1 assists, led the Bruins to the NCAA championship game and was named first team All Pac-10 performer.
After being drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round as the 26th overall pick, he made the team and played for four years, earning two NBA Championship rings prior to signing with the Nets. Wanting more playing time and perhaps an opportunity to start, Jordan signed a sweet three-year $12 million deal to play with the Nets.
There are a couple of ways that Hoop Farm differs from other basketball camps. The first is the utilization of yoga in the daily schedule. The campers engage in a half-hour of yoga instruction prior to even touching a basketball.
The second reason is a daily guest speaker. Prior to lunch, a guest addresses the kids to emphasize the importance of integrating mind, body and spirit in sports and in life. The use of yoga makes sense in that kind of regime.
A typical daily schedule begins at 8:30 am with check-in, followed by yoga and morning basketball station drills. After the speaker and lunch, the campers engage in hoops games and competitions prior to departure time at 3:30.
Hoop Farm invites more than ten to fifteen college and pro-basketball coaches and players to assist with the daily activities at the camp. Special guests this year are Luke Walton of the LA Lakers and Noelle Quinn of the LA Sparks.
For children who can't afford the entrance fee for the camp, the Jordan Farmar Foundation provides scholarships for those who want to attend.