A nearly two-decade old youth basketball academy has a new home in Kent.
Emerald City Basketball Academy, founded in 2000 by Jasen Baskett, opened in late October a multisport facility at a former warehouse in north Kent, 19441 66th Ave. S., just north of the Boeing Space Center.
Baskett started the academy at the former Queen Anne High School in Seattle. When that gym was torn down for condos, he moved to another Seattle site and later to the eastside of Seattle. When that lease ended, Baskett and a partner found the new site in Kent that opened this fall.
Emerald City will maintain its focus on basketball, continuing to provide skills training, team training, multiple camps, clinics, tournaments and more, according to an academy news release. But in addition to basketball, the new facility also will support other sports including volleyball, futsal (a type of indoor soccer), rugby, strength and conditioning training. The facility also will be available on a rental basis for scheduling multiple activities.
The site features:
• Two indoor full courts plus two separate half courts for basketball, volleyball, futsal etc.
• Specialized basketball shooting cage with multiple shooting machines
• Weights and conditioning area with free weights, Vertimax and other equipment
• Event seating for well over 200 spectators (with separate lounge area and big screen)
Baskett has a degree in kinesiology (exercise science) from Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, where he also played basketball. He wrote his senior thesis on the human kinetics of shooting a basketball. He is a former Nike shooting coach and an International Sports Sciences Association certified trainer.
Baskett has been coaching and training players for 25 years. He has coached his U17 boys and girls teams from the academy to over 50 national championships. He has personally coached or trained over 400 players who went on to receive NCAA or NAIA basketball scholarships, and has also worked with professional players including local NBA players Isaiah Thomas and Spencer Hawes. He also trained former NBA player Jason Terry.
In addition to running the academy, Baskett is the varsity boys and varsity girls basketball coach at Seattle Christian High School in SeaTac.
Fees at the academy include training classes for $110 a month; 30-minute shooting sessions for $25 a session; and semi-private sessions with Baskett for $200 a month. Fees to play on the academy teams vary. The academy also features elite travel teams that require tryouts.
Baskett is offering a coaching clinic on Saturday, Dec. 21, from 9:30 a.m. to noon to help train basketball coaches for all grades. Coach Baskett will focus on coaching information that applies across all skill levels from recreation to competitive for a minimal charge of $35. The clinic will be at the Kent Commons Recreation Facility, 525 Fourth Ave. N.
Also
• Monday, Dec. 23, 10 a.m. to noon – Open to area rec league players grades K to 8th grade. Free. At the ECBA.
• Thursday, Dec. 26, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. – Winter Shooting Camp with Coach Baskett. Open to players grades 2-12. At the ECBA. Cost for the six-hour camp is $100.
Register for the clinics online at allcityhoops.com (no registrations will be taken at the door)
