The summer season means summer camps. Not in the vein of going to the north woods, but going to a coach’s-for-money camp for improving your athletic ability.

It also means it’s the season for the PTL, better known as the Prime Time League, where collegians and ex-pros and players gather in North Liberty to pursue their basketball dreams. The Prime Time League also is a time for fans come to see the Hawkeyes of 2011-2012, and it’s nice to note there is more interest in the Hawks than in the last few years.

My question is, does this sort of activity - camps and summer leagues - really improve the people who are  participating in them?

It seems to me that, yes, there is a great positive out of this, but how much teaching and coaching really goes on at camp or in a league? That is a subjective topic that can’t really be identified.

But I have noted that, especially in basketball, there is a tendency for bad habits to develop in passing, shooting, screening - the little things that might make a player better that are overlooked.

Most coaches who have been around a long time will tell you that the three months of June, July and August were times for reflection and vacation. But today’s coaches are on the hunt for talent non-stop. And the summer is filled with more activities than they would have during the regular season.

With all the pressures to succeed and all of the demands on players and coaches, it makes one wonder if this isn’t an exercise in diminished returns. Just a thought for the summer season.

I hope the players and coaches take a little time away from their sport and the pressure of it, and that the players have some time to go swimming.