That is important to Collins, a former Pinecrest basketball star, who, until recently, was the head men's basketball coach at Hampton University in Virginia.
"Wanting to see a smile is like a drug," he said while watching about 100 young campers enjoying some scrimmage time on the second day. "Anytime I see a kid smile, it's awesome."
This is the third year the camp has been held.
Each time, Collins gets closer to his goal of having sponsors for 100 percent of the participants.
About 30 sponsors, including Aberdeen Coca-Cola, Bill Smith Ford, Boles Funeral Home, the Southern Pines Men's Club, Lamont Goins, James McDougald, Neil Stanback, Nathaniel Spencer, Reggie Fuller, and James and Sharon Baldwin, either sponsored kids or donated prizes that produced more smiles.
Leaving Hampton
After spending 11 years at Hampton, the last four as the head coach, Collins is unemployed. He describes the events leading up to his resignation in March as bittersweet.
His team struggled through the regular season with a 12-15 record, before winning the MEAC Conference tournament held at the RBC Center in Raleigh. Making that extra special for Collins was the number of hometown friends in attendance. That earned Hampton an NCAA bid. The Pirates went on to lose 71-49 to Monmouth in the NCAA play-in game to finish the season at 16-16.
"The first thing I reflected on was I wished my mother was here to see it," Collins said of the MEAC title win that came about three years after the passing of his mother, Laura Collins.
The Hampton administration's vision for the men's basketball program was for it to become the "Gonzaga of the East" ever since the Virginia school upset second-seeded Iowa State in the 2001 NCAA tournament. Collins was an assistant coach at the time.
He was the MEAC Coach of the Year in 2005, and left with an overall mark of 65-57. He stepped down just five days after the biggest win of his coaching career -- two days after the loss to Monmouth.
"I was happy at Hampton," he said. "I knew our guys laid it on the line for me. They were guys who believed in me. I hated leaving them. But it felt like it was time to move on.
"They (Hampton) wanted to take it to another level. I'm extremely appreciative of Hampton University affording me the opportunity to be a head coach."
Positive Energy
Although in the midst of a job search now, he wasn't wearing any of those concerns as the scrimmaging continued last Wednesday.
"That's priceless," he said, interrupting a conversation as a youngster ran down the court in his direction, beaming after sinking a jump shot.
Later, he marveled at the effort being put out by camp instructor Tyrone Jackson, another former Pinecrest player and an AAU coach.
"Look at the energy he has," Collins said. "That's what makes him a good coach."
Guest Speakers
In addition to the basketball instruction and play, guest speakers brought messages to the kids about life. The tone is set by the camp T-shirt that contains the words, "If you believe it … you can achieve it" on the back.
Former Major League pitcher and 2000 All Star Game winner, James Baldwin of Southern Pines, spoke to the campers on Tuesday. The speakers on Wednesday included Neil Stanback, Lee Harris and Felton Capel.
Stanback talked about leaving a successful barber shop business he built up for the satisfaction of teaching his profession to others through his own barber school.
"Whatever you dream about is possible," he said echoing the theme on the T-shirt. "If I can do it, you can do it."
Harris talked about a long personal search to find his purpose in life. The author of a recently released book, "From Birth to Eternity," and with several others in the works, he feels he has found his.
"Everybody's purpose isn't basketball or football," he said. "Find out who God is and what his ways are -- he'll reveal to you what your purpose is."
As a part of his message about projecting a positive image, Capel, a business and community leader whose son and several grandsons are enjoying successful careers in basketball, said, "Your attitude more than your aptitude will determine your altitude."
Measuring Success
Phillip McCrimmon, Tramaine Pride, Abril Stroman and Ashley Brooker were among the former and current Pinecrest basketball players helping with the camp. The support he received from the community and the number of young people the camp was able to reach makes Collins want to keep doing it.
He often talks about Charlotte Bobcats' assistant coach Jeff Capel, Felton's son, recruiting him for the Pinecrest basketball team and making a difference in his life. He went on to become an all-conference and all-state player in high school. He then went on to become a four-year player at Eastern Kentucky University.
"I think we all see there are a lot of kids here that need something to do," he said. "Not that one camp is going to do it. But if one kid comes back and is part of the next generation to have a camp like this, my camp is a success."
On Thursday, Collins spoke to a group of summer school students at Aberdeen Middle School.
"That's a part of my spiritual calling I got from my mother and father," he says of his need to give back. "They were so receptive to what I had to say. You could have heard a pin drop."
