Central Coast, center court: Historic Oakland Soldiers announce Santa Barbara franchise
The Central Coast’s sports scene is known for its competitive prowess in water sports such as water polo, surfing, etc. But in a few years, kids of all ages might be drawn to a much more competitive brand of basketball that is taking form in Santa Barbara.
On Oct. 18, the Oakland Soldiers, a highly regarded youth basketball program based in the Bay Area that competes in the Amateur Athletic Union circuit, announced the launch of the Central Coast Soldiers, an offshoot franchise that will be based in Santa Barbara and will compete in Nike’s exclusive and impressive Elite Youth Basketball League.
Mark Olivier, the president and executive director of the Oakland Soldiers franchise, was on location for the announcement of the franchise on Oct. 17.
“For 35 years, the Oakland Soldiers AAU Program has been elevating basketball participation and development in communities throughout California. Basketball on the Central Coast has been underserved for many years now, but we know the talent, resources and the local support are very much here,” said Olivier. “We couldn’t be more excited to bring the Soldiers Basketball program to Santa Barbara and the entire Central Coast.”
In addition to the franchise, the Central Coast Soldiers also announced that it will be hosting its “Soldier Day” at UC Santa Barbara’s Thunderdome on April 18. The event will bring nearly 100 teams and up to 10 athletes per team throughout the Soldiers system to the Central Coast.
It is expected that at least 6,000 people from throughout the state will be in attendance, providing a significant boost to tourism in the month of April for Santa Barbara.
“Santa Barbara is right in the middle, which makes it perfect for us to host a big event like this right here,” Olivier said, adding that he “loves this town.”
Established in 1990, the Soldiers organization has helped produce nearly 70 NBA and professional players, such as Aaron Gordon, LeBron James, Kendrick Perkins, Andrew Gooden and Leon Powe. The organization has also supported the development of hundreds of international professional players and Division 1 student-athletes, including several former UCSB men’s basketball players.
One of those players includes Gabe Vincent, the former UCSB standout and current Los Angeles Lakers starting guard.
A group of local parents helped bring this program together, with one putting up the original $50,000 investment and over $200,000 over the last five years.
The Central Coast Soldiers will be directed by Darnell Campbell, founder of LevelUp and a basketball coach at Laguna Blanca High School.
Campbell has helped develop some of Santa Barbara’s most talented ballers over the last decade and helped coach a tournament team called the Prospects. It was kids on that Prospects team who wanted to play on the national circuit that helped bring the idea for the Soldiers.
“There’s just great talent here, and that’s what we discovered. The talent is here. We just needed the infrastructure and I think partnering up with the Oakland soldiers to bring that here is going to get the guys the exposure they need to make it to the next level,” Campbell told the Business Times. “I’m so excited to be in this role.”
Former Santa Barbara standouts will be involved in the franchise. Cassandra Gordon, the Santa Barbara High legend, star at Georgetown and Loyola Marymount universities, and European professional basketball player, Eric Lee, coach and co-owner of The Void on State Street and in Ventura, and Taylor Adnan, coach and CEO of Rad Sourcing, a U.S.-based boutique manufacturing firm, will all providing both elite coaching, as well as support for players and families off the court.
“That’s what culture is all about, creating something and having people come back, and that’s the type of culture we’re trying to develop here,” Campbell said.
Campbell noted that the Central Coast Soldiers will try to follow the blueprint laid by the San Diego expansion franchise, which started eight years ago.
DeAndre Walker is the director of the San Diego offshoot and told the Business Times that San Diego was always known as a football town, but by its fifth year, “we became much more known, we put guys through college, we got a couple guys into the pros and we really solidified ourselves as one of the top programs, nd not just in San Diego, but California.”
He added that the success of a program like the Soldiers has a positive effect on the local business scene.
“It’s almost unbelievable at times,” he said.
“In just eight years, they had two pros coming out of their San Diego franchise, and when he said that, that literally inspired me,” Campbell said.
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