Andrew Milner was a silent leader — one you would follow unequivocally.
“He put the team first,” said Jacob Sheffar, a long-time friend of Milner’s before his passing.
“Sometimes he wasn’t always the most vocal but he led by example and he was just a guy you would follow into the dark and you felt cool with that.”
Andrew Milner died in a canoeing accident in April 2019. He was just 19 years old.
The Antigonish, N.S., native was a rising star on the local basketball scene, winning three national championships through both Basketball Nova Scotia and the University of Calgary Dinos.
Soon after his passing, his friends started the 4AM — or For Andrew Milner — Basketball Camp to keep his legacy alive. All proceeds go towards a scholarship fund in Milner’s name for a young local basketball player.
Since his passing, they’ve raised over $10,000.
“Just seeing it progress and seeing it grow is encouraging,” Sheffar said. “It gives us future plans and future ideas to keeping growing and really turn this into something special.”
The 4 AM Basketball Camp takes place from Monday to Thursday from 7-9 p.m. at the basketball courts outside Caledonia Junior High School in Dartmouth.
Even though the registration may be closed, Sheffar said they won’t turn anyone away.
“We want to make this the best camp possible for the coaches, the athletes, the parents,” Sheffar said. “We want to make this something special and something the kids find value in.”
The camp is mainly for high school athletes. There are two groups, one for those in Grades 9 and 10 and another for Grades 11 and 12.
Though much of the focus is on skills on the court, there’s also a significant focus on skills off.
“We like to put (4AM) on our shirt and around the gym because this is our ‘why,’ this is why we do this,” Sheffar said. “When we look around the gym or we look around the courts and we see other people wearing the same logo, and representing the same thing we’re representing, it’s really encouraging.”
For more information the 4 AM Basketball Camp, visit www.4ambasketball.com.