NATCHEZ — The Trinity Episcopal basketball program is trying to get a jump on its competition months before the opening tip off.

New coaches Edwin White and Mark Jackson teamed up with Natchez native Reggie Ware to drill the Saints players for three days this week on fundamentals and individual drills.

“It’s really a team camp, but we are focusing on fundamentals,” White said. “We are working on several different exercises to make sure the girls and boys are fundamentally sound.”

White, who is replacing former boys’ coach David King, said one goal was to introduce his system to his new team as early as possible.

He also wants the Trinity players to improve their games individually.

“The camp is designed to get each player to stand on their own,” White said. “We want (them) to create for (themselves) and have the court awareness to create for teammates.”

White said Trinity is bringing back a core group of experienced players this season, and he feels the underclassmen also have quality playing time.

He said he has been impressed with the boys’ team so far in camp.

“We’re hoping as time goes on, what we learn here will show up in practices and games,” White said. “But we’re trying not to over push them right now. We’re just taking steps at each skill and trying to grow and grow.”

White said Ware brings a ton of experience and success to the camp. The Natchez native now lives in Birmingham, Ala., and coached the Midfield High School girls’ basketball team to four-consecutive state championships from 2007-2010.

Ware said he recently retired from high school coaching, but he still does private team camps.

“Trinity is on the cutting edge,” Ware said. “There are not too many teams that are doing this around here.”

Ware said he likes to have both girls and boys teams at the camp together to create a sense of cohesiveness.

“We do individual drills that help teams get on the same page by doing all the same drills,” Ware said. “Our main focus is to give the coaches things they can use throughout the year.”

Ware said he preaches commitment, a code of conduct and work ethic to the players along with basic tips to improve offensively and defensively.

Ware said the Saints had some trouble on the opening day of camp Thursday, but Friday he saw great improvement.

“(Thursday) was rough, but (Friday) they came back and on every drill, the first time they did it, they did it well,” he said. “There is a lot of enthusiasm here. They don’t stop, and they don’t quit.”

Jackson, the first-year girls’ coach, said the camp is valuable for the Lady Saints, because it helps them improve their ability to score the basketball.

“I can tell with the camp we already see improvement from the girls,” Jackson said. “They were having trouble with layups, but now they are making more shots. The fundamentals we are learning at camp are really beneficial to us.”