Dozens of up-and-coming basketball stars sharpened their skills while raising money for a good cause on Sunday, May 6.

Approximately 35 players ranging from six to 15 years old participated in drills and other training exercises at the Wareham Intermediate Courts, located near the Multi-Service Center off of Marion Road.

The event was a fundraiser for two 15-and-under Amateur Athletic Union teams, which will enter a state-wide tournament at the end of May at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston. The clinic brought in $280 for the team.

"We did pretty well...it's good because it all goes towards the state tournament," Santos said.

Santos said that playing in tournaments gives a chance for youth to continue playing competitive basketball after the high school season is over.

"A lot of the kids have only been able to play during the high school season," said Wareham High School boys basketball Assistant Coach Colbey Santos, who ran the clinic. "This is giving them a chance to see there's other basketball out there."

The Amateur Athletic Union is a nonprofit organization that conducts tournaments in sports ranging from basketball to wrestling.

Santos started a 15-and-under Amateur Athletic Union team last year, and continued it this year with two teams and 22 players. About half the players are from the Wareham area.

The tournaments are often expensive, however, costing between $400 and $600 for each team to enter.

The teams play after the high school basketball season ends in March until August, and have competed in four local regional tournaments so far, Santos said.

"This group I have right now, they are one of the hardest working groups I have," Santos said. "That's what keeps me motivated to do it, they show the passion that I used to have."

The approximately 35 clinic participants showed that passion as they practiced shooting, moving, and defensive drills designed to make them sweat.

About a half an hour into the clinic, Santos made the participants stand in 8 lines for a drill he called the "8 Lines of Fun."

Students in each line practiced a specific drill, which ranged from sit ups and push ups to jumping drills, before they moved into the next line to cycle through all 8 drills.

"There are a lot of camps that just literally throw the kids out and ask them to play," said Santos. "I do more practicing the skill set, and then at the end I let them play."

Some of the participants were private students of Santos, who runs "Basketball School LLC," a player-development and personal training program.

Others were members of the 15-and-under team Amateur Athletic Union teams that Santos coaches, and still others were youth that showed up for the first time.

Paris Pires, a 14-year-old freshman at Wareham High School who also plays on the 15 and under team, said he appreciated doing the drills and being on the team.

"It helps me play basketball and it help me stay out of trouble and it helps me in school," he said. "Colbey is a good coach, because he explains things good and he's a great basketball player."

Santos, who is originally from Wareham, said that many of the students bring their own motivation to the training sessions and the 15-and-under team.

"This is one of the most athletic towns around," he said, adding that students often head to the Gleason Family YMCA after the school day is over to play basketball. "They are going to have to replace the YMCA floor every 2 years the way they play."