Jump Athletic girls teams had a big day today as the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade teams took 1st place in the AAU State Championships! Jump Athletic is now home to the reigning AAU state champions in 6th, 7th and 8th grade.

What a great accomplishment for Jump Athletic and the coaches and players as the girls program has come so far in its two year existence. The Jump Athletic club basketball program has been around for over 4 years but the girls program got started later. The girls teams are having a great deal of success from 6th grade through the varsity team playing in and out of state.

Coach Meisha Fox has brought these girls along so far and new coaches such as Coach Chantel are doing a tremendous job. This summer is going to be loaded with a ton of tournaments in Arizona, California, and in Las Vegas. Watch out for Jump Athletic girls teams!! They are on fire….

The biggest benefit of youth sports is obvious: the physical exercise. Any parent knows that getting your child outside or on the court is far better for your child’s health than sitting in from of the television playing XBox. Calories aside, there are several other reasons to get your child involved in youth sports that can benefit them positively in a long term way, both on the court and in your household:

1. “We” Mentality: Any parent knows their child can be egocentric at times. That “my way or the highway” attitude is hard to ignore and even harder to battle against. Enrolling your child in a team sport forces them to think of others in order to be successful. One team member does not carry the entire team, even in the most professional of sports. Teaching children to think in terms of benefiting a team instead of just for themselves will to carry off the court and into their every day lives.

2. Positive Mentors: Dedicated, thoughtful, positive coaches can have a huge impact on children. Objective and consistant mentoring can sometimes create more of a response than if the critique had been from a parent. Children walk onto the court expecting to learn from those they trust – that willingness to learn translates into powerful examples of how a constant role model can prove beneficial in a child’s every day life. 

3. Family Time: You may not think it, but watching from the side lines as your child participates in a sporting event can be the most rewarding family time of all. And while the only time spent together may be in the car on the way to practices or tournaments, your show of support in the busy schedule of your own life can be the opportunity to cultivate an even greater bond in your family.

We may be biased, but being a part of youth basketball is more valuable than we could ever write about. If you’d like to sign up for a free class to see why Jump Athletic can be a benefit to your child’s every day life, click here. 

We’ve recently finished a video that tells the story of Jump Athletic youth basketball program. What started as a small program in Phoenix has turned into one of the premier boys and girls basketball training grounds in the Southwest. Check it out and tell us what you think! Plus, here’s a transcript of of the video too. Enjoy!  

“I started Jump Athletic because of my passion for these kids and the development on and off the court,” says Brian Sacks, Founder of Jump Athletic. “Jump Athletic is a youth basketball training academy and a club, which means we offer Training Academy twice a week – Tuesday and Thursday nights – to work on the fundamentals of basketball. In addition, kids have the opportunity to try out and play for competitive basketball teams. The ages range from seven to seventeen, boys and girls.”

“First of all, there are so many life skills that basketball brings to the table,” says Coach Reggie Fox, Director of Basketball Operations. “Dedication, sacrifice, discipline! We use basketball as a vehicle to teach some of these life skills as well. What makes us unique is that it’s very easy to say ‘Get a rebound a kick it out.’ We break the game down and build it back up. What we do is we teach you every step of the way through those fundamentals. We teach you why it works, why it doesn’t work. We want to make sure that not only while we’re teaching you the drills, that we’re educating you and teaching you why these things work. We’re very detailed with the fundamental aspect of the game first. Many kids come here and they barely understand the fundamentals so we teach you and train you. And that starts with fundamentals!”

Adds Brian Sacks: “It’s dribbling, it’s shooting, it’s defense, it’s boxing out, it’s footwork, it’s conditioning. It’s learning how to play the game of basketball, not just stepping on a court and trying to shoot three pointers. It’s really just learning the skill set you want to improve upon and perfect, day in and day out. We work on those things each and every night in Training Academy.”

Brian Sacks continues: “What I love about the parents and their responses to us and their reactions to us is when they see these kids develop on and off the court – not only just their skill set development but also having a good time and developing life long friendships.”

“I have a major passion for Jump Athletic, I love these kids,” says Brian Sacks. “Seeing these kids develop in front of your eyes, on and off the court, it’s really special. We have kids that have started with us and been with us for two years now and to see them develop and actually start high school – their personalities develop but also their basketball game – to take it to the next level and see them have that success is real special for me.”

The Jump Athletic 2011 summer basketball camp was a great success! It was four action-packed days of fundamental skills training and tons of fun. Campers were separated out into five groups by age and each group had a trainer. Each group worked on different skill sets such as shooting, ball handling, rebounding and more. In addition the kids got a chance to play 3 on 3, knock out, buzzer beater, and other games. Each day the trainers started the kids out with a warm-up and then the kids went into their groups. The day consisted of skills training, watching inspirational basketball videos, the Game Truck and then games to round out the day. The kids had a morning snack and lunch time to relax and refuel.

Our incredible trainers kept track of each child’s achievements each day with the final day including a competition to see who would receive a medal for their age group.It was really great to see the interaction between the kids and the trainers. There was a lot of laughter, but also serious training from the coaches. Check out video highlights of Summer Camp and see what kids had to say about it.

When I spoke to some of the kids they shared with me what they enjoyed about camp and many of them said that the patience the trainers had and the time the trainers took to help them with a particular skill is what stood out the most. We are able to share some of the summer camp with you with the video and pictures on our website. We want to thank all the parents for allowing their kids to share the week with us and the trainers and kids for making this summer camp so special. Also thank you to Powerade who was a sponsor of our camp. We look forward to next summer as due to popular demand we will be adding additional camp sessions! We plan on announcing our summer camp schedule in early March.

The 5th grade black and 8th grade black teams are headed to Las Vegas today for a big tournament against some of the top teams in the country. Our 5th grade team went to San Diego for the Memorial Day weekend tournament and now Vegas. Our 14U black team has been to Anaheim, San Diego and now Vegas in the past six months. This is not just about basketball, winning and losing, but about life experiences for these kids on and off the court. Jump Athletic has been providing these experiences for the past two and half years and will continue to do so!

Coming off of a great weekend of game play across our club basketball teams in Jump Athletic, I’m especially excited to share news about our Girls Teams. Check out this video we put together. As you can see, these girls have heart and hussle on the court. Under Coach Meisha Fox’s guidance, they’ll become force to reckon with! Enjoy the video.

Jump Athletic is pleased to announce the formation of girls teams! We expect to have the same success that we have had with our boys teams. We;re looking for players ages 8-15 who are ready to hone their skills beyond what recreational basketball has given them. We have a great group of trainers that will be working with the girls led by Coach Meisha Fox, that combines exceptional fundamentals training, leadership skill-building and fun.

If you are interested in being a part of the premier youth basketball program in Arizona and trying out for a girls team email us at info@jumpathletic.com or give us a call at 602-540-7669.