SACRAMENTO, Calif. — For King Blackshire, basketball is life. He started playing basketball at 4-years-old and he's loved the sport ever since.
"I started playing basketball with my brothers," said Blackshire. "They were training me and teaching me how to dribble and shoot the ball and stuff."
Now, every Thursday, he plays basketball at Arthur Benjamin Health Professions High School in Sacramento. It's all part of a free basketball clinic nonprofit Ball Out Academy offers at the school for the youth in surrounding neighborhoods.
"When I'm on the court, especially with my friends, I'm used to playing with them," said Blackshire. "But when I'm with other people, I feel like I'm in the zone, especially with the coaches."
Kenneth Duncan founded Ball Out Academy in 2019. The mission is "to improve the self-esteem, academic achievement, and social competence of youth."
Through the basketball clinic and other programs, the organization provides support and mentorship for the youth, especially those in underserved communities. Duncan says he started the organization because he wanted to give back to the youth, just like other mentors who helped him as a child.
"Young Black kids and young brown kids, we do not get a chance," said Duncan. "I had coaches that really poured into me as well and I know that without those positive adults, I would have never started my own business, saving lives, and giving kids a chance."
Some of the players, like Blackshire, also participate in the Kings and Queens Rise Co-Ed Youth Sports and Mentoring League.
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The Sacramento Kings work with community organizations like Ball Out Academy to hold the program every summer. The goal of the program is "to provide young people opportunities to engage in intercommunity activities, which help prevent and interrupt violence."
For the summer league, the Kings also partner with The Center at Sierra Health Foundation's Build.Black.Coalition, Black Child Legacy Campaign and My Brother's Keeper Sacramento programs to successfully meet the mission.
"The Kings and Queens Rise Basketball League is a league we started after the killing of Stephon Clark," explained Duncan. "We realized that we needed more safe spaces for youth."
Eight teams composed of youth from 4th through 10th grade participate in the program, one from each of the following neighborhoods: Arden Arcade, Del Paso Heights-North Sacramento, Foothill Farms-North Highlands, Fruitridge-Stockton, Marina Vista, Meadowview, Oak Park and Valley Hi.
Games and practices take place throughout North and South Sacramento in community locations. The Kings end the eight-week program with a tournament at Golden 1 Center.
"With all the excitement right now in the city with the Kings in the playoffs, the kids — we know at the end of the summer — will get the opportunity to play at Golden 1 and potentially meet a Kings player," said Duncan.
Since 2018, the Kings have held more than 70 events and helped more than 3,000 youth through community programs, including the Kings and Queens Rise Co-ed Youth Sports and Mentoring League.
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