Ballers 6th-grade team, coached by Boys & Girls Club of Santa Barbara Athletic Director Kim Kjar, left.
The Boys & Girls Club of Santa Barbara’s Ballers dominated at the Swoosh World Championships in Las Vegas at The Mirage Hotel last weekend. Santa Barbara had two teams in the tournament and both came home with championship trophies.
Ballers 4th/5th grade team, coached by Assistant Athletic Director Manny Murillo and Moki Nacario.
The younger Boys & Girls Club team went undefeated and beat the LA Hype in the championship game by 2 points, winning 26-24.
The older team also went undefeated and narrowly beat out the Ventura Heat in the final game to win 54-53. This is the first Las Vegas championship title for the Boys & Girls club.
Coach Manny Murillo had this to say about the win for his younger team: “To watch the Baller program build from the ground up as a former player and now a coach has been one of the most influential experiences in my life. My older brother Robert Allen and current Athletic Director Kim Kjar have put in over 10 years of hard work and dedication to build a program based on family, love and respect and I am blessed to carry on the tradition. I have become extremely close to these young boys and to witness them coming together as brothers in the Baller family and winning in Las Vegas is indescribable. I am so proud of them.”
Kim Kjar, athletic director and coach of the older team had this to say after the game: “We went up against some teams with a lot more height than our guys and we wore them out with our speed, defense and great conditioning. I am very proud of their teamwork and dedication to the program and each other. Winning in Vegas is a big deal to these players and to the whole Boys & Girls club organization.”
To find out more about the Boys & Girls Club of Santa Barbara or the Ballers program, call Kim Kjar at 962-2382 or visit their website.
