-- Summer League Formed in Partnership with Sacramento Kings, Build.Black. Coalition and Black Child Legacy Campaign to Connect Communities and Create Positive Change in Sacramento --
-- First Game Tips-off Saturday June 1 at Encina Preparatory High School --
-- Eight-week Season Culminates with Tournament at Golden 1 Center on July 23 --
On June 1, the Sacramento Kings, in partnership with the Build.Black. Coalition and the Black Child Legacy Campaign, will tip-off the second season of the highly successful co-ed youth summer basketball league, Kings and Queens Rise, at Encina Preparatory High School. The league seeks to interrupt violence by providing an opportunity for young people to engage in an intercommunity sports activity that provides a caring, productive environment through community building, sportsmanship, and resources for health and safety. The Kings and Queens Rise league saw a 100 percent retention rate of the nearly 200 participating youth in its first season.
“The Kings and Build.Black Coalition share a commitment to profound impact in our local community,” said Sacramento Kings Chairman and Owner Vivek Ranadivé. “We are thrilled to support the second season of Kings and Queens Rise, which will continue to serve youth in the Sacramento region, engaging the community through sport and helping our city grow stronger together.”
“Kings and Queens Rise is so much more than an opportunity for young people to engage in a sports league; it is also a chance for these future leaders to connect with other youth and mentors in their community, outside of the neighborhood boundaries they currently know,” said Chet P. Hewitt, President & CEO of The Center at Sierra Health Foundation and a founding member of the Build.Black. Coalition. “We know that effective intergenerational neighborhood intervention includes family and youth engagement across neighborhoods, with a deep connection to mentorship, services and resources.”
The second season will once again be comprised of 16 teams from eight Sacramento-area neighborhoods: Arden Arcade, Del Paso Heights/North Sacramento, Foothill Farms/North Highlands, Fruitridge/Stockton, Marina Vista, Meadowview, Oak Park and Valley Hi. Each neighborhood will have two co-ed teams – a 7th and 8th-grade team and a 9th and 10th-grade team. The eight-week season will feature weekly tournaments hosted in a different neighborhood each Saturday, culminating in a day-long tournament on July 23 at Golden 1 Center.
The league will host weekly practices for the youth, providing a fun and safe environment for the players to learn fundamental basketball skills, as well as engage in a weekly positive youth development curriculum developed by Project Optimism. In partnership with Jr. Kings, league coaches have been invited to participate in a training with the Positive Coaching Alliance.
For details about the second season of Kings and Queens Rise and the Build.Black. Coalition visit www.buildblack.org.