If you are going to talk about basketball in South Florida, few people have the ties to colleges and pro levels than that of Art “Pilin” Alvarez. Alvarez and his crew of coaches enter this year with the 20th rendition of the Miami Tropics basketball camp. The camp will run this summer from June 21-25, 2021 at Dade Christian School in Miami.
Among those that have gone through the Miami Tropics camp include such names as former NBA players J.J. Barea, Guillermo Diaz, Denis Clemente, Gian Clavell, as well as current and former NCAA players such as Josue Soto, David Huertas, Carlos Rivera, Sammy Hernandez, Felipe Haase, Neftali Alvarez, Diego Rivera, Gaby Belardo, Isaac Sosa, Javy Gonzalez, Jesus Verdejo, K.J. Maura and Norchad Omier and that is just to name a few of the over 4,000 kids that have participated over the previous 19 installments.
Alvarez, who was part of five state championships at Miami Christian, is now the President of Miami Prep School, a post-grad school that has amassed 95 wins in its first two seasons. Among those that have coached in the Tropics program include current Miami Prep coach Juan Cardona, who himself has two state titles at Miami Christian and spent some time at Mercer University before coming back to home to coach the Tornadoes to a state runner-up finish this past season.
“20 years just proves how good the camp is and the exposure that these kids get while attending,” said Alvarez, who is expecting another 125 kids this summer. “These camps started out as a fun project that has turned into staple in the community.”
Since starting the camps in 1999, Alvarez has used his connections and has had numerous guest speakers from NCAA Division I and Division II programs from around the country come speak to the kids. On top of that will all the kids that have gone on to play college and pro ball will sometimes come back to speak to the kid during the camp, which features training sessions, games and an awards ceremony and is open to both boys and girls ages 8-19.
For more information on the camp you can contact Alvarez via email at miamitropics2007@yahoo.com or you can call 305-205-3886.
