12th-annual Camp Bowers underway in Columbia, featuring strong contingent of Mizzou coaches

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Camp Bowers has become a staple of summer in Columbia, over the course of the last 12 years. Year-in and year-out, campers pack into the Columbia Sports Fieldhouse to learn more about basketball from former Mizzou hoops standout Laurence Bowers, himself, as well as some local college stars.

For the camp's dozenth anniversary, Bowers has 565 campers hitting the hardwood over the course of the next three days. On Monday, he told ABC 17 that the biggest thing that keeps him coming back for more, each year, is the joy that it brings to local kids.

"When you're here and you actually see what's going on, the smiles on the kids faces, just knowing that we're setting the foundation for some of these kids, who may have never played. But, also just further enhancing the development of the ones that have played, so it's basketball, right? Basketball is a love language for everybody that's here," Bowers said. "Just being able to make the impact year-in, year-out is what keeps me going."

You can watch the full interview with Bowers in the video player below.

The camp has grown quite a bit since its first summer, back in 2015. In that inaugural year, the Bowers' camp welcomed 105 campers and had 10 total sponsors. Now, fast-forwarding to 2026, the camp has grown exponentially, averaging more than 500 campers per summer and securing more than 75 sponsors.

It's also grown in the support that Mizzou Athletics provides, each summer. In their first year, Bowers said he had maybe two or three student-athletes that came out to help coach. But now, the entire Mizzou men's and women's basketball teams, as well as some stars from other local colleges, are an annual fixture at Camp Bowers.

"I always tell my campers, you know, we were all in your in your in your spot, right? Well, that was me. I was a Mizzou player, working camps and things like that, so it's kind of full circle. You know, when I text all of these guys and girls, I told them that I hope that this inspires [them] to do the exact same thing," Bowers said. "A lot of the kids eyes lit up when they saw Jason Crowe Jr., obviously Trent Burns is astonishing in person when you see him, right? So, it's great and having Grace Slaughter, who has been here for four years and been a great player all four years. I think the girls really look up to her as well."

Slaughter and Tiger men's basketball veteran Trent Pierce have been in Columbia for all four years of their college careers, and have spent each summer working at Camp Bowers.

"I feel like now I've gotten to the point where I'm seeing these kids grow up, Slaughter said. "So, it's so fun to come back and, you know, see the kids the next year and then, on top of that, you see them at games, you see them out in public and it's the best feeling whenever you have a kid be like, 'oh, that was my coach.' It's just so fun to give back to the community, and especially in a basketball environment where we really can give back."

You can watch the full interview with Slaughter in the video player below.

"It's very special," Pierce said. "You see how excited these kids are just to learn from people that they look up to, that they watch on TV, so just being able to see the energy from the kids and to kind of give back to them was always a good feeling...They're always asking for pictures of autographs, ask about basketball. So no, I love it."

You can watch the full interview with Pierce in the video player below.

Bowers said it's so important to have these players out at his camp, each summer, because it provides a realistic source of inspiration for all of the campers that come out.

"When you see somebody doing something and you actually feel like you can reach them and touch them, right? Like it resonates a little bit more than just having somebody, you know, yelling through a microphone or somebody that hadn't played in a long time, but to actually have the guys and girls that they go and watch on the nightly basis that play from Mizzou here, I mean, that's what puts the camp over the top," he said.

From day one, Camp Bowers' main goal has been to make an immediate impact in the lives of local kids, as - in the words of Bowers, himself - they motivate them to 'never settle with being average.'

Bowers and his camp staff work to help their campers enhance their passion for the game, but also their fundamental skills, as they all agreed that's one of the most important thing a kid can walk away with.

"I think playing off of two feet," Bowers said, when asked what he feels like is one of the most important skills his campers need to walk away with. "I think understanding that mid-range, it shouldn't be a lost art. You know, nowadays kids only want to shoot 3-pointers or layups, you know, it's kind of diminished, right? So, just here working on every aspect of the game, obviously I have a great group of coaches with the men's and women's basketball player from Mizzou and then, you know, some of my personal friends who I grew up playing ball with and just teaching overall game. I think a lot of kids try to make the game a little bit more fancy than it needs to be, so just honing in on the fundamentals."

I think just like kind of the simple task of like learning the basics [is important for campers]," Slaughter said. "Really, I feel like Laurence does a great job of teaching kids that and so when we get to be here and help them learn, just form shooting, dribbling with their left hand, which I love to do, those little things...I think mastering the basics is so important before you move on."

"I think the most important thing [for campers], that I'm still learning, is just to have fun," Pierce said. "You know, we're all out here, at the end of the day because we love the game of basketball. Just come out here and have fun, you're going to learn the skills and continue to work with those skills, but if you're having fun, that's going to keep you going."

Camp Bowers will run for two more days, going from July 13-15, at the Columbia Sports Fieldhouse.