Basketball: Legacy of mentorship as Falcon Camp celebrates 50 years

For years in San Anselmo, Pete Hayward coached some of the most powerful high school boys basketball teams in Marin County at former Sir Francis Drake — now Archie Williams High) — even winning a state championship, but the legendary roster of talent he mentored went beyond school colors. And the legacy he started continues to this day.

“Coming up, the camp was the highlight of the summer,” said Paul Trevor, currently the head men’s basketball coach at Stanislaus State. “I wanted to be coached by Cap Lavin, by Bret Tovani, by Paul Ferreboeuf. It was instructive, but also competitive.”

This month marks the 50th anniversary of the Falcon/Pirate Basketball Camp, which “has been a cornerstone of Marin sports,” according to current camp director Reed Nottingham. A ceremony has been scheduled for July 19, 1-4 p.m., at the Archie Williams High gym, with former camp coaches and players coming back to join the celebration.

“The camp has meant a lot to me,” Nottingham said. “I moved to the Fairfax area in my sixth-grade year, and it was then that the camp was brought to my attention. Cap Lavin was my first coach. ‘Legend’ is the only word I can use to describe him. I watched the state champion teams at Drake play, then we’d do skill drills with Steve Lavin. Coach Pete Hayward was my high school coach and as I got older I started coaching at camp. That started my trajectory and career in basketball.”

Hayward founded the Pirate camp, and Doug Donnellan eventually took over as camp director before handing the reins to Nottingham, who has been involved in the camp as a player, coach and director for four decades.

“Pete Hayward started the camp for boys and girls to learn the game of basketball and have fun doing it, and to make it affordable so that anyone who wanted to participate could,” Nottingham said. “Those ideals stand true today. The Falcon Camp has withstood changes in sports. Over the years, more camps have developed, and clubs and AAU basketball have come in. But this camp remains one of the great opportunities for the youth of Marin County.”

Hayward, who coached the Sir Francis Drake boys basketball program from 1973-1992, led the Pirates to a record-setting stretch that saw the team bring home the state title in 1982. The 1981 Pirates squad went 31-1 to win the NorCal title, then came back to claim the inaugural CIF Division II state championship in a crowning 34-0 season.

Little surprise that the stars from that championship 1982 team had put in hours of extra work in the summer during Hayward’s camp. The starting lineup included camp alumni Jim Saia, Dan Hunt, Steve Kenilvort and Chris Fulton, as well as Doug Dibley.

The roster also included Steve Lavin, who went through the camp and learned the game from two of the best coaches around, his father and Hayward. Lavin, who was head coach at UCLA (1996-2003) and St. John’s (2010-15) is currently head coach at national powerhouse San Diego.

The camp has a reputation for taking young, raw basketball talent and creating not only a solid foundation for success, but also for instilling a lifelong passion for the game. Returning high school players are given the chance to coach and officiate during camp, opening the possibilities to new careers.

“What the Pirate (Falcon) Camp did for me was it got me to fall in love with basketball and do something with basketball for the rest of my life,” said Mike Saia, who left Marin Catholic after last season.

His brother Jim Saia, is coaching at Cal State Los Angeles. Mike’s daughter, Ashley, a former Marin Catholic girls basketball head coach, is also a Falcon Camp alum.

“I remember my sister and I would drop off our kids with our parents and for a few weeks shuttle all six of them to basketball camp,” Mike Saia recalled.

Playing and coaching careers took root during the camp for the likes of WNBA star Brooke Smith, Alex Pribble (Idaho head coach), Kenny Woodard (24/8 Elite Basketball Academy founder), Tyler Gaffaney (San Domenico boys basketball coach), coaches Jeff Skaggs, Dave Levine, Kayden Korst, Karen Horstmeyer, Stevie Johnson, Zach Borello, even current Chicago White Sox manager Will Venable, to name just a few.

“It all traces back to the camp,” Mike Saia said. “Coach Hayward built it figuring we would come. It was not a place to get the best of the best. It was a program for the county to say here’s where you can come for five weeks out of the year where you can learn basketball and be around others who enjoy basketball.”