Vince Carter Youth Basketball Academy highlights 29 years of family and friendships

The NBA legend started his annual camp at Mainland High School to help give others the opportunities he's had.

  • By Michele Meyers
  • | 8:30 a.m. August 6, 2026
  • Ormond Beach Observer
  • Sports
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NBA legend Vince Carter stood in the lobby of the Vince Carter Athletic Center at Mainland High School on Tuesday, July 28. It was the second day of his youth basketball academy, which meant media day.

He conversed comfortably with local reporters and photographers, as he has done throughout his storied NBA career — a journey that began as a first-round draft pick and draft-day trade to the Toronto Raptors and ended a then-record 22 seasons later with the Atlanta Hawks, his eighth team. 

His pro basketball career was preceded by three epic seasons, including two Final Four appearances with the University of North Carolina, and Mainland’s celebrated 34-2 season and its state championship victory over Fort Lauderdale Dillard in 1995.

“Once I started getting a little notoriety, a little opportunity, I wanted to make sure to ride the wave of notoriety, but I wanted to also bring that back here for other guys and bring opportunities for them, so they get looks at college,” Carter said.

“That’s just how it started,” he said of his annual basketball academy. "And here we are … still doing the same thing. I enjoy doing this.”

The Vince Carter Youth Basketball Academy over the past 29 years has paralleled Carter’s success. There was only a two-year break in the summers of 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

THE START

Carter’s high school basketball coach, Charles Brinkerhoff, started the basketball camp the summer Carter headed to the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. It was the Charles Brinkerhoff Basketball Academy starring Vince Carter for two years before Brinkerhoff handed it off to Carter.

“We started (the academy) through Coach Brinkerhoff,” Carter said. “Brink was one of those guys who was willing to do anything for me. We built the bond probably my freshman year when he was an assistant coach, and then sophomore year he took over, and we just spent a lot of time in the gym, having a lot of conversations.”

When he got his first coaching job at Mainland, Brinkerhoff said he was fortunate that a young guy named Vince Carter on the team, fresh off a 5-inch growth spurt.

“It was a confluence,” Brinkerhoff said. “It was a perfect, perfect storm. There were so many similarities. His mom was a teacher. I’m a teacher. We have similar faith backgrounds. We had similar philosophies. We just clicked.”

This year, Brinkerhoff coached the 14-year-olds and continues to be the academy historian.

“I bring the history (to the academy) and try not to overdo it,” he said. “I want the kids to know Joe [Giddens] and Vince were once like them. We want them to have some connection to what we did. It’s a little ‘Buc Pride Never Dies’ rah, rah.”

A contributing factor to the longevity of the camp is the enduring relationships that have been established between family and friends throughout the years, Brinkerhoff said.

“When you become Vince Carter, you don’t know who to trust,” he said. “He knows he can trust us. He knows at the end of the day, we’re not going to try to profit from him. We’re not going to try to sell his autograph. He knows we are true, and he knows that our relationship is not transactional.”

LIFELONG FRIENDS

Giddens, who is now Mainland's head boys basketball coach, and Carter went to South Daytona Elementary School, Campbell Middle School and then Mainland together. Giddens’ mom worked at the Nova Community Center, and he remembers going to the Carters’ house for dinner a few times.

“I’ll never forget going to his house, eating there, and his mom and dad treating me like I was their own son,” Giddens said.

“Basketball has kept me going on the right path,” Giddens said. “It’s shown me how to become a man, how to become a leader. That’s what Vince and his mom are trying to instill in the kids now, because what this camp is about is not just basketball, but what happens when the ball stops bouncing.”

Mainland had a freshman, junior varsity, and varsity basketball teams when Giddens started high school. He started on JV his freshman year. His sophomore year, he was on the varsity team and was not supposed to start.

“There was going to be a senior to start over me, and this senior missed the first game,” Giddens said. “With him missing the first game, Vince went to Coach Brink and said, ‘Hey, I need Joe on the court with me because we’ve got chemistry,’ and the rest is history. I have been starting ever since then.”

That was the year before they won the state championship together.

Basketball has kept me going on the right path. It’s shown me how to become a man, how to become a leader. That’s what Vince and his mom are trying to instill in the kids now, because what this camp is about is not just basketball, but what happens when the ball stops bouncing.
— JOE GIDDENS, Mainland boys basketball coach

In 1998, Carter was just beginning his professional basketball career with the Raptors and uncertain about its trajectory. He convinced his mother, Dr. Michelle Carter, to retire from teaching secondary and higher education to oversee his business affairs, allowing him to focus on his career.

At the time, he was also interested in starting a business that would benefit young children. His initial thought was to open a nursery school. Michelle said taking on the responsibilities as her son’s business manager would require her to run the nursery, and she was not comfortable taking on such a daunting task.

“I suggested that possibly starting a non-profit organization that would focus on the needs of parents and their children might be a better fit,” she said. “Vince agreed. Thus, the Embassy of Hope was born.”

Carter's Embassy of Hope Foundation is a charity organization focusing on assisting families in need and helping children reach their potential. The foundation’s slogan, “Believing in Your Dreams,” represents Carter’s lifelong commitment to perseverance and achievement, according to the website.

Carter said he wants the foundation to remain consistent and relevant. Currently, proceeds from the Embassy of Hope Gala support the Believing in Your Dreams Scholarship Fund and community outreach.

“I started the foundation, and that’s something that’s been near and dear to me because we get the opportunity to do this,” he said. “I want to help, but I want to educate and help people learn how to continue to get better, how to grow. I don’t want to always say, ‘Here you go, here you go’ without the teaching, guidance, and coaching that comes with it.”

Michelle grew up in Miami, where her father was a banker and her mother was an elementary school teacher. She noticed that her parents were always helping others.

“As youngsters, Vince and his brother, Christopher, would help out their friends that didn’t have jackets, shoes, notebooks, even rides home after school or community events,” she said. “I suppose helping comes naturally for this family. I feel that it is my purpose in life.”

When the Embassy of Hope Foundation was started, all of the advisory board members had a direct tie to Vince, Michelle said. The late Tim Huth, his high school principal; Ann Smith, his seventh-grade language arts teacher; and Brinkerhoff were some of the founding board members.

Giddens has been coaching at his Carter's academy since its inception. He said Michelle has always taught Carter to give back to the community and that the little details make a difference.

“Basketball has kept me going on the right path,” Giddens said. “It’s shown me how to become a man, how to become a leader. That’s what Vince and his mom are trying to instill in the kids now, because what this camp is about is not just basketball, but what happens when the ball stops bouncing.”

Carter and Giddens stay in touch on a regular basis. Giddens frequently drives to Orlando to watch his friend’s son Vince Carter Jr. play in sporting events.

“I’ve been able to go to the Hall of Fame (for Carter's induction),” Giddens said. “I’ve been able to go to his jersey retirement in Toronto, when they raised his jersey in Brooklyn and all that stuff. To me, it’s amazing to have your high school teammate, childhood friend do that. But if he wasn’t who he was, I still would be his right-hand man, no matter what.”

 

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