Family, education, and sports are a perfect combination to succeed in life, which former NBA pro Darrick Martin knows first-hand.

At an early age, his parents instilled in him the importance of setting priorities, especially when they saw his sports-driven personality.

"If you want to play sports it's OK with me, but you have to bring me a school diploma," his mother Pamela told her son.

Today, the mother of five adult children, all of them with degrees in higher education, declares, "I'm glad that basketball went good for him, I'm proud of his basketball, but I'm even more proud that he is a good man and has a good character."

That type of mentality is what inspired the basketball professional player to found the Darrick Martin Foundation that for the last 12 summers has hosted a free Basketball and Book Camp, the last three years at St. Anthony High School in Long Beach, where Martin graduated in 1988.

This year the event was held Aug. 3-7 at the school's elementary and high school facilities. More than 200 students ages 7-17 attended, including public school students from surrounding cities.

The first nine years the book camp was held at Compton College -the Martins were Compton residents for many years - until Michael McBride, a sports coach, promoter, fundraiser and former classmate of Martin at the Catholic school, told him "it was time to go back to St. Anthony."

In 2008 Martin also created the Darrick Martin Scholarship Fund to help alleviate the financial burden of parents who desire to enroll their children at St. Anthony High School.

During the one-week camp, four groups of children ages 7-9 rotated through different workshops before learning basketball techniques, including basic economics, where they were instructed in basic negotiation and money-saving techniques through popular games like rock-paper-scissors.

"Address and greet people, look them in the eye, give a firm handshake and introduce yourself saying your name," instructor Edgar Salmingo told the group of about 60 children.

Pamela Martin was responsible for the study skills workshop. After raising five children (one of them with special needs), she says she learned to master the "art of studying."

"I love that idea!" she exclaimed, when a boy shared with the group of young students how their parents taught him to use a planner to keep track of his school activities.

"Darrick had to work very hard at your age," she shared with the kids. "Next year we are going to start checking grades," she added, encouraging students to make their school activities a priority.

She acknowledged that students, especially the ones living in at-risk areas, need a strong support system to succeed in life.

"We tell the parents that to make their and their children's dreams happen they have to start now," said Martin, herself the oldest of six children raised by a single mom who had great faith in God.

During the 45-minute workshop Martin highlighted the importance of organization and learning to listen. "You have to listen in order to take good notes and learn to organize your notebooks and your backpacks," she told the group of more than 30 students.

"Not paying attention is the number one reason for getting bad grades," she added. "If you are talking you don't pay attention, so learn to focus."

'Sharing life skills'
When 38-year-old Darrick Martin had the vision to give back to the community, he thought of children and of what his parents had instilled in him.

"I didn't want a normal basketball camp; I thought more of sharing life skills," he told The Tidings.

When growing up he remembers his mother made clear that his first priority was school and then everything else followed. While succeeding in college basketball he earned a degree in political science from UCLA.

"I wanted to play sports, so I obeyed my parents in order to achieve what I wanted," he said.

Faith in God was very important in the Baptist family life, he said. "I start and end my day by reading the Bible. I read it daily," he commented.

And he also believes that the study environment his parents created at home contributed to his success.

At three years old, Martin started throwing a small ball into a flower pot and since then he has not stopped. "I slept with the ball," he said.

He followed his father's footsteps as well as an uncle's. His father had played football in high school and his uncle was a former baseball player.

Martin also played football and baseball in school, but basketball was his first love. At nine years old he set his mind to becoming a professional basketball player and started focusing toward that goal. He watched as many games as he could on T.V.; during the summer he got up at 6 in the morning to practice his shooting; and he played four to five hours daily with friends.

"I know you can achieve anything you want to," he noted. "There were obstacles on the way, but I never deterred." Martin says he is now instilling the same principles in his 8-year-old daughter Bailey.

He admitted that he is very goal-oriented and his mind is set on coaching for an NBA team.

Applications to the free Darrick Martin Summer Basketball and Book Camp at St. Anthony High School are placed online at www.longbeachsaints.org by the end of the school year.