The landscape of basketball in Omaha has drastically changed in the past few months. Have you ever seen the elite basketball prospects in the nation work out in Omaha? Have you ever seen several NBA players work a basketball camp in Omaha, much less Nebraska? Well folks, with the opening of the Omaha Health and Wellness Academy, there may be a lot more of this happening here in Omaha.
The Omaha Health and Wellness Academy is providing personal development in the areas of athletic training, skill-set development, education, and nutrition. By incorporating exclusive business procedures with professionally established wellness programs and recreational activities, the OHWA provides the greater Omaha area with affordable opportunities that encourage physical and mental health advancement. The OHWA works with professional, collegiate, and high school players throughout the region. In fact, with the new off-season training program that you have been reading about this summer that the Jays have been taking part in, the OHWA is a large part of that program.
Now you may ask, what does this have to do with Creighton Basketball and why am I even posting about it? It has EVERYTHING to do with Creighton Basketball. Keep these things in mind:
- Top High School talent will come here to take part in several developmental camps which can help recruiting. Showcasing their skills in Omaha and bringing the recruits here can let them become acclimated to Omaha and want to come here.
- Continued work with current and professional basketball players. The OHWA works with many NBA players and many have expressed coming to Omaha to continue to develop their game.
- Developing local talent from grade school into high school to develop more potential recruits from Nebraska, thus opportunities for Creighton to keep local talent is increased.
- There are partner programs related to this new one in Omaha located in Texas and California. So having Nebraska third on the list provides a great opportunity for Omaha.
One of their many upcoming events includes a Midwest Spotlight and Developmental Combine July 21-23. This combine was supposed to be last week, but due to the overwhelming response, the dates have been changed for this to July 23rd-25th and there is still an opportunity to take part. Here are the different things that are going on:
Midwest Spotlight and Developmental Combine
(Listen to the radio spot)
- OHWA Midwest Middle School Select Spotlight – July 23-25th where 7th and 8th graders get to work with NBA Legend John Lucas
- OHWA Advanced Skills and Drills – July 23-25th with professional OHWA Staff Adam Barnes and Kevin Melcher- (Grades 6-11 – Boys) and Professional Consultant and Houston Jaguars Coach Louis Ray / Tiffany Jones (Grades 6-11 – Girls). It sounds like a couple of Top 100 players will be in attendance which would be a first for Omaha.
- OHWA Advanced Skills Academy for College/Pro Players – July 23-25th. Creighton players and some NBA players will be taking part in this part of the combine.
- OHWA Dedication Day Camp – July 25th which would be for 1st-5th grade boys and Girls
Then to cap off the day, there will be a Charity All-Star Exhibition at 6:30PM on the 25th at Omaha South High School. As basketball fans and Creighton fans, you will want to take part in this. Rosters are being finalized and names of who will be playing will be released over the next few weeks. It will feature numerous celebrities, professional players, and the area’s top talent. Spud Webb is confirmed at this point, and there will be former Nebraska and Creighton players also on the roster. If there are any former Creighton players that will be playing, I’ll be sure to get that out there. But get your tickets now because I can imagine that the gym will be packed for this one. Tickets are only $10.
The whole combine will be based at Omaha South, but when the Academy gets their new facility built, the Omaha Health and Wellness Academy will be able to have their programs at their peak level. This combine is only one of many events that will be brought to the Midwest. They focus strictly on camps, clinics, small group work, and 1 on 1 development. Exposure is great, but it means nothing if you don’t have the talent to perform. This first event is a great opportunity for the people of Omaha and Nebraska to show that we want this type of thing in town. Plus it is affordable. I for one welcome it and hope you do too. Sign up your kids for the combine, get the chance to work with professional players and sit back and enjoy a great night of basketball. Currently with the relationship Creighton has already made with this organization, in the long run they will have the opportunity to reap the benefits..
