For years, the Los Angeles Unified School District has teamed up with its Beyond the Bell afterschool program to enable middle schools students to have a variety of sports experiences.
This year, the LAUSD launched a basketball program that mirrors the high school experience with coaches and practices for middle schools that want to participate. It ended on Monday with championship games at one of Intuit Dome’s indoor courts, with Woodland Hills-based Hale Middle School defeating Stephen M. White of Carson 27-22 in the boys’ final. Portola of Tarzana won the girls’ final 34-24 over El Sereno Magnet Charter.
The basketball leagues were launched this fall, with coaches getting paid and games being played on Saturdays. Thirty-two teams advanced through regional play to secure playoff spots.
Sun Valley Poly will dedicate its new gym on Friday to one of its most famous alumnus, the great Gail Goodrich, one of the few in sports history to win a City title, NCAA title with UCLA and NBA title with the Lakers, the triple crown.
LAUSD sports coordinator Trent Cornelius is hopeful the model can be expanded to soccer in the spring, focusing on skill development, structured training and stronger alignment with high school athletics.
It offers students who can’t afford to play club basketball a free opportunity to compete for their local middle school, where transferring is far less an issue than in high school.
Cornelius said the challenge will be finding additional coaches at the middle school level.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
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Eric Sondheimer is the prep sports columnist for the Los Angeles Times. He has been honored seven times by the California Prep Sportswriters Assn. for best prep sports column.
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