IRRIGON — When Nancy Rodriguez signed up her children Leah and Trey for the bilingual basketball camp in Irrigon, she failed to mention all the goodies that awaited them.

“Our family is a soccer family, but my daughter, Leah, is a basketball player,” the Boardman mom said. “When we were leaving, they said they could keep their basketballs. She was so excited. There aren’t really a lot of camps in the area, or ones that are free. In our community, we need more of that.”

There were 160 players who signed up for the free bilingual basketball camp Saturday and Sunday, July 31 and Aug. 1, at A.C. Houghton Elementary School, and the few stragglers who came at the last minute were welcomed as the camp directors did not turn anyone away.

The two-day event was a huge success, according to camp directors Adrian Romero and Mitch Thompson.

“It has gone really well,” said Romero during a break between age groups. “We had a lot of little ones. They have so much energy and are super excited. Their energy is contagious and makes for a good environment. Everyone has enjoyed themselves.”

Romero’s former Irrigon basketball teammates Fredy Vera, AJ Timpy, Anthony Landeros and Xavier Rambo helped with the camp, as did former Hermiston standout Jazlyn Romero, and former Hermiston sharpshooter Cesar Ortiz, now at Blue Mountain Community College.

“Jazlyn did a great job,” said Romero of his younger sister. “The kids know her. They were getting their picture taken with her.”

In addition to the camp, the players went home with a basketball, T-shirt and school supplies. They also could get a free haircut, which eight kids took advantage of.

“Everything was on point,” said Rodriguez, whose son Trey, 11, sat for a haircut. “The whole thing was positive and organized well. It’s awesome to be part of something like this.”

The camp was directed in English and Spanish to make everyone feel welcome.

“All of our instructions were in English and Spanish,” Thompson said. “Kids who only speak English, hopefully we were able to teach them some things in Spanish. All the kids were receptive to instructions in both languages.”

While the camp was a hit locally, freelance videographer Nick Goodwin from Omaha, Nebraska, was on hand to capture the uniqueness of the event.

“Mitch and and I have a mutual friend,” Goodwin said of his involvement. “The plan is to make it a bigger project. They need to have this story told and hopefully recreate something like this in other places. The enthusiasm is very real.”

Antonio Salinas, who grew up in Zillah, Washington, and now plays at Western Oregon University, worked with the kids at the camp on July 31, and left them with a piece of advice from one small-town kid to another.

“He told them they can ‘do what they want to do and go where they want to go,’” Goodwin said. “Even if you don’t end up doing anything in sports, you learn life lessons.”

With the success of the camp, Romero and Thompson are looking to come back next year.

“That is the goal, to have something like this for the community,” Romero said. “It shows you can grow up here and still do good things.”

There are heroes in every community, in Irrigon, they wear basketball shoes.