Four Great Weeks of Instruction

The 19th Annual Watchung Hills Basketball Camp will be conducted at Watchung Hills Regional High School again during the summer season of 2009. The camp offers two boys' only weeks, July 6-10 & July 13-17, 2009. A co-ed session is scheduled for July 20-24,2009. This is the eighth summer of the girls' only week, which will be run July 27- 31, 2009. The camp has always been known for providing diversified basketball instruction in an exciting environment for the campers. The indoor air conditioned program provides safety from the hot sun but still allows for all-day physical activity. The Camp is reasonably priced and conveniently located at the Watchung Hills Regional High School Campus!

From 1991 – 2003 the camp was conducted at WHRHS. During those first 13 years, the camp grew tremendously in popularity and shifted from the original one-week camp to the multiple sessions offered today. In fact, during the 1998-2008 time frame over 425 children attended at least one session of the camp each summer. Major construction at the high school during the summers of 2004-2006, forced the camp to be located at different schools mostly in Warren Township. Some families had children attend camp at two or three separate sites at the same time. In 2007 & 2008, the program returned to Watchung Hills. Having the camp operate at one central location is a tremendous benefit to both camp staff and campers alike. Moreover, a vast majority of campers reside in the WHRHS sending districts of Green Brook, Long Hill, Watchung, & Warren so the camp also provides these families a positive experience at the vast high school campus. Children who have attended the basketball camp, generally feel more comfortable at the large facility when it is time for them to move on to the high school.

The camp was created and continues to be run by Gene McAteer. A 1986 graduate of WHRHS and current Warren resident, McAteer began running the camp in 1991 at the age of 23. During the 1990’s McAteer lived out-of-state and worked as a college basketball assistant coach at four different schools including Divisions I, II, & III. In the fall of 2001, McAteer was hired by WHRHS as a business teacher and boys’ basketball coach. During his seven year tenure at Watchung Hills, the Boys’ Basketball teams qualified for the New Jersey State Tournament seven consecutive times; unprecedented in school history! During that stretch, the teams had an overall won-loss record of 109-62. McAteer was named Somerset County Coach of the Year by the Star Ledger in 2007 and named All-Area Coach of the Year by the Courier News in 2002 and 2008. The 2007-08 Warriors finished the year with a school best 23-4 record. They won the Somerset County Championship and finished the year ranked #15 in the Star-Ledger New Jersey boys basketball Top 20.

In July of 2008, McAteer accepted a teaching position and the basketball coaching job at nearby Bridgewater-Raritan high School. B-R has been the traditional power in local high school basketball for over a decade. In fact, prior the WHRHS winning the 2008 Somerset County Championship, B-R had won the previous four Somerset County Championships from 2004-2007! Coach Mc hopes to maintain B-R's high level of play as he begins a new career path during the 2008-09 year. Despite a new venue as a teacher and coach, Coach Mc plans to continue the Watchung Hills Basketball Camp program which has become so popular over its nearly 20 years of service to the community.

We look forward to working with your son or daughter during the summer of 2009!