May 21-22 7th Grade Division Champs

Playing in the middle 7th grade division against unfamiliar opponents was going to be a challenge for the DAWGS Black team. Expecting a full squad for the tournament, the DAWGS were confident as always going into the first game against the Ballin' Ambassadors. The DAWGS offense didn't click like it normally does, but their defense picked up the slack and the DAWGS won 58-36.


Playing against the Chico Tarheels in the second game, the game plan was to apply ball pressure everywhere. The defense turned into easy offense, and the DAWGS completely dominated the game. In the end, the DAWGS posted a 70-38 victory.

In the championship game on Sunday against E-Time Hoops, the DAWGS didn't seem to show up against a formidable opponent. Their usually reliable defense was "porous", and their offense was stagnant. In a low scoring contest, the DAWGS needed contributions from everyone to be in the game. They had to fight back from being behind, and their willingness to play scared allowed E-Time to control the rebounds. After a "very quiet" tongue lashing from the coach (coach lost his voice that weekend), the DAWGS dug deep and held on for a 30-29 win.

Overall, it was a good tournament championship for the team. Good momentum going into the Reno tournament and winning while playing a grade up is always fun. The coaching staff is really having fun coaching this great group of boys. They are competitors on the court and friends off it. The coaching staff has been blessed with a talented group of players and can't wait to see the results from Reno!

April 23rd Tournament Champions in 7th Grade Division

The 6th Grade DAWGS Black team welcomed back Alex Schneider who was out with a knee injury for 3 months. Although Alex was limited in his time, he was glad to be back and the DAWGS were glad to have him back!


In the one day tournament, the DAWGS played in the 7th grade division. Without their "Big Man" in the middle, they knew they would have their work cut our for them early. Facing an E-Time Hoops 7th grade team that beat the DAWGS on a last second 3-pointer weeks back, the DAWGS were ready for the challenge. With outstanding defense and great fundamental boxing out, the DAWGS went up by as many as 20 and ended up winning the game by 13.

The second game of the day was against an unknown Each One Teach One 7th grade team from the Bay Area. The DAWGS were clearly outsized in this match up, and played intimidated early on. The DAWGS found themselves down 14-2 early and things were not looking good. But an adjustment on defense, and with their outside shots heating up, the DAWGS came from behind early to win by 11. As a team, the DAWGS shot 11/24 (45%) from three point range, and used swarming defense to presure their guards into turnovers. Both Keys to their wins.

Beginning the day at 10:00AM, and finally getting to their last game at 6:45PM, the DAWGS had a long day! In what was their Championship game, they faced a very gritty Davis Wildcats 7th grade team. The DAWGS proved they still had some "gas in the tank" and turned up the pressure on the Wildcats. Led by Jashon's 10 points and 13 rebounds, and using all-around great play from every team member, the DAWGS won by 13.

Playing a grade up is physically demanding, and though the DAWGS are overflowing with talent, they worked VERY hard for these wins, and the coaches are very proud of them. We always say we are in preparation for the Reno tournament, and what better way to prepare than beating older, bigger teams? GREAT JOB!!!

April 16-17 6th Grade Champions!

Dawgs Win In 7th Grade Division-March 26-27

Playing in the 7th grade division for the 2nd week in a row, the DAWGS again found themselves playing in a bracket of unknowns. New teams and new players meant it was going to be a fun weekend for the DAWGS.

The DAWGS faced the Reno Ballers 7th grade team the first game and came out strong. Mixing up their defense and using incredible passing and teamwork, the team handled the team from Reno easily for a 70-30 win.

The second game of the day was against E-Time Hoops 7th grade team. Thought the team played an E-Time Hoops 7th grade last week, this was yet another team. Suffocating defense again was the key, and the DAWGS used their strong guard play and beat the E-Time team 61-28.

The Sunday Championship was againt the Folsom Rage. A team that had also "walked" through their first two games. The DAWGS found themselves down eight points early in the game, and it appeared as if it was going to be tough to comeback as the opposition was playing controlled basketball. Switching up the defense, and applying more pressure to push the tempo of the game, the DAWGS began to chip away at the score.

The defense led to easy baskets, and with some key play from the "bigs" inside, the DAWGS were able to take the lead and hold off the Folsom team for a 41-36 win. Our 6th Grade Dawgs went undefeated in the 7th grade division!

Air Jayden

Here he is...Air Jayden!!  The tiniest kid on the floor, the only one in the air!  Here he is pictured playing against 4th graders who tower over him. 

Jayden's idol is Michael "Air" Jordan and in the photo, he almost looks like the famous jumpman logo that is on almost every article of clothing that Jayden owns!

You go Jayden!!!

Triple Threat

 I believe Joshua is a triple threat player: 1...he has a beautiful shot and is known for his 3's!! 2...he has great defense, and super fast feet. 3...he has major "hops"!  He is usually the smallest kid on the floor but jumps the highest!

Basketball Fever Tournament-March 12-13

After one month of not playing, the Dawgs were excited to get back to Hardwood and play some ball!  They faced a couple of teams that they never played before and didn't know what to expect. The outcome was the same as in the previous tourneys as they went 3-0 again.

Dawgs 65 vs. Gladiators 31.  Dawgs 54 vs. Nevada Nets 29.  Dawgs 51 vs. Wolf Pack 30.

In the championship game, Joshua hit 5 3 pointers!  One 3 pointer was so far that the opposing coach thought he was actually out of bounds when he shot it!  He was joking of course, but he couldn't believe how far Joshua shot from and yes, it was nothing but net!!

Great job again!

Hearts and Hoops Tournament February 12-13

Another trophy to add to their collection!  The Dawgs went 3-0 again beating Cal Reign 65 to 16, Folsom Force 61 to 45, and the Predators 44 to 22.

Great job again!

Joshua and Jayden's "Big Brother" Darrell

What can we say about Darrell Polee, Jr.?  He's become such an important person in our household.  He is a Senior in highschool, an extremely talented basketball player, an excellent student, a tremendous role model for our boys, and an outstanding young man in general. 

Joshua and Jayden look up to him and think he's the coolest guys they know!  Darrell has always been so good to both of our boys.  He always has time for them, he always makes them feel special, and is so positive, encouraging and supportive! 

Darrell has a 3.9 GPA and is ranked #1  scorer in the Sac-Joaquin county, 3rd in the State of California, and 20th in the nation with a 31.3 PPG.  He's currently being recruited by multiple colleges! 

We attended many of Darrell's highschool games and at his senior night, we made posters and cheered him on!  It was a lot of fun!  He had his own little fan club-the "Polee Posse"!

We wish Darrell the very best and know he'll go far and accomplish anything and everything he sets his mind to. 

Full Court Press Tournament-January 22, 2011

Joshua's team had another victory at the Hardwood Palace.  They played against the local rivals, the Rocktown Ballers and beat them 66 to 20.  Next they played the Folsom Force and beat them 66 to 31.  The Championship game was against the Hurricanes and they beat them 71 to 32.  Congrats YBA Dawgs Black!!

Jayden and the Kings

Handre, Riley, and Jayden

Jayden getting Demarcus Cousins autograph

At the beginning of the year, Jayden's friend, Riley invited him to go to a Kid's Night event at Arco Arena.  Jayden went with Riley, Handre, and Riley's Dad.  The kids got to shoot around on the King's home court and even got some autographs!  It was a fun night for Jayden and his buddies from his team.  Thanks Zack and Riley for the invite!!

Christmas Break Camp 2010

In December, we hosted our annual Next Level Basketball Training Christmas Break Camp.  We had over 150 campers!  This was the first camp that we actually had to turn away campers!  We were full over a week before the camp started.  I had to start a wait list and we kept getting calls and emails from parents begging us to let their kids in!  It was tough turning away so many families, but we didn't want to overbook and not be able to accommodate everyone.  No matter how big or small our camps are, we always want to provide the best most organized camp.  We take pride in each camp/clinic/training session we put on.

The camp was a success yet again!  It was fun, organized, and the kids worked hard and learned a lot!

Thank you to all of our coaching staff and volunteers!  Thank you to Royce and Hardwood Palace for being our biggest supporters and always accommodating our needs!

Amazing 6th Grade "Black Team" Dawgs

We're so proud of our 6th Grade Dawgs BlackTeam (previously, the 'blue team'). Throughout the summer and fall, they played up in the 7th grade division and did really well. In fact, they took 1st place in two 7th grade tournaments this year. What a great accomplishment as there is a tremendous difference in size, strength, speed, and maturity in 7th grade boys compared to 6th grade boys. Our boys showed that they can keep up with the big boys by playing smart, strong, and together. Each one of these boys are leaders and true teammates. We've never seen a team so unselfish. Amazing!


Congratulations to our boys for their continued success in playing the game they love. These boys always play with their hearts and give it their all. And most importantly, they truly respect each other and their coaches and have such a strong, heartfelt bond!

Here's to another successful year to our 6th Grade Black Team Dawgs! You boys are awesome individually and together as a unit.

Thanksgiving Camp 2010

We (Next Level Basketball Training) hosted our 2nd annual Thanksgiving Week Basketball camp at the Hardwood Palace.  This was by far our largest camp with 110 campers! Our goal was to reach 100 and we did it!  It was another successful camp.  Campers and parents were happy with their experience and said it was fun and very well organized, and said they can't wait for our next one.

We had our biggest turn out for the girls this time and we owe that to Yolanda Griffith for drawing in the interest.  Soon, Yolanda will need to have a separate camp of her own just for girls!

Next up, our annual Christmas Break Skillz Camp!

Introducing the new...Next Level Training Academy

It's been a little over one year after bringing the Next Level Basketball Training to the Hardwood Palace, and over 2 years of being in business.  Earlier this month, we officially launched our new Next Level Training Academy.  In addition to basketball training, we now offer  fitness/core/strength training with Robert Sanchez (ISSA Certified, Focus is Strength, Agility and Power).  We've also added a girl's basketball training program with former WNBA pro athlete, Yolanda Griffith.  For those of you who don't know Yolanda Griffith, here are her credentials: 2-Time Olympic Gold Medalist, WNBA World Champion, WNBA Finals MVP, Former WNBA League MVP,Seven-time WNBA All-Star,Former WNBA Defensive Player of the year. 

Harold Pressley has also been added to our lineup as well. (Former Professional Player for the Sacramento Kings. 1985 NCAA Champion)

With the continued support of Hardwod Palace owner, Royce Browning and business partner, Harold Pressley, we have taken our business to the "next level"!  We have built a strong relationship with Royce and Harold and are so thankful they gave us this huge opportunity.  Royce has believed in us from the very start and we truly appreciate all he has done for us!  We are growing and our name is really reaching the masses.  We are now considered the "premier training academy in Northern California!". 

This all started with an idea I had to encourage Lance to do something he was passionate about...coaching and teaching the right things in the game of basketball. Together Lance and I have set the groundwork and continue to bring quality training, organization, heart and passion to the business.  Lance is an amazing coach/trainer and has all it takes to bring success to any child he trains.  His knowledge, patience, and heart come through and kids respond so well to him and his teachings. 

We'd like to take this opportunity to also thank all of our wonderful and supportive Next Level clients and families.  Without them, we would not have the success we now have.   

We are so excited and extremely blessed to be where we are today and know that we are heading in the right direction.

Click here to catch up on more exciting news and upcoming events.  Next Level Basketball Training

Girl's Night Out

Grace, Terri, Tye, Patti, and Kris

Birthday girls...our 25th birthday (again)!

Tye and her best bottles oops I meant friends...lol

Limo Ride

Last Friday I had my first Girl's Night Out in ages! We went out to celebrate my and also Tye's birthday. We had a limo service and dinner at the Melting Pot in Sacramento. It was a lot of fun. Thank you to Royce, Harold, Steve, Tom, and Ed from the Hardwood Palace who provided the limo and dinner! The evening was filled with fun, laughter, good friends, and delicious food. Thank you to Kris and Tye for planning the evening! And, thank you to all the girls for celebrating our bdays and for the great gifts as well! You girls are the best!

Happy 11th Birthday

Eljay, Keith, Jake, Ja, Davis, Alex, Alex M., Bry, Brendyn and Jaelen

Joshua celebrated his birthday with 10 of his good friends (most from his DAWGS team, but a couple from school).  We were fortunate enough to get to use Hardwood Palace and have the place all to ourselves for about 3 hours.  Joshua had so much fun with his friends doing what he loves to most....playing basketball! 

Here's another fantastic creation from Angela Santos and her Simply Sweet Creation.  It was LeBron's Miami Heat Jersey(vanilla with chocolate mousse), a LeBron Basketball (made of Joshua's new favorite...red velvet), and a LeBron Soldier II Shoe(made of rice krispy treat).  Amazing as always!  Thank you Angela!!

Another great birthday celebration!

Joshua and LeBron!

Check out these cool photos...Joshua in the game with LeBron??  Cavs and DAWGS? 

Thanks to Jeff who created these awesome photos for Joshua!!  Classic!

Jayden's Game Winner

In Jayden's undefeated Championship game of the season, he led his team to a victory and brought home the 1st place trophy!  It was a proud day for us all. 

Imagine this, it was the final quarter with only 16.2 seconds left in the game, we were down by 2!  Riley took a shot, and missed it. Both teams were fighting to get that ball back.  Finally, with only 2 seconds left, Alex gets a hold of the ball and throws it out, Jayden catches and shoots(with a defender in his face!) and BAM...made the shot which tied us up and led us into OT!  If Jayden had missed the shot, we would have lost in this very important championship game.  The crowd went WILD!  Izzy, the Dad who video taped the game created this awesome video and even included a slow-mo of Jayden's shot where you can hear him screaming and cheering!  It was classic.

Please enjoy this clip!  Fast forward to about 4 min., and 44 seconds. Click here to view: Championship Game

Finally Caught One!

A couple weeks ago, Joshua went to Donner Lake with his friends to celebrate Bryson's birthday.  They went fishing (still trying to catch one).  At 9pm, Joshua felt a tug but had thought it was just another 'snag'.  To his surprise, and the rest of the boys, it was a FISH! Yay! His first fish all summer/fall this year.  Apparently, Bryson's Dad said it was the first fish caught in the past 5 days.  Joshua was the lucky one.  He was so proud!