Ventura Wildcat Basketball Inc.

Photo by Anthony Plascencia

Wildcat league celebrates nearly 20 years

By Rich Romine

Published VCstaronline.com  Monday, May 14, 2012

and Ventura County Star Newspaper, May 15, 2012

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Santa Barbara City College women’s assistant basketball coach Melissa Gutierrez Jimenez returned to her Ventura Wildcat roots last Monday to lead the 19th annual clinic as several local Vaqueros teaching the young girls the fundamentals.

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Jimenez was an original Wildcat League player in 1993, when Bob Albrant started the girls development league. Albrant’s daughter, Lindsay, also was playing the first season of the league.

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Albrant was excited to have Vaqueros leading the drills.

“SBCC is an outstanding program with high energy, great people and coaches,” Albrant.

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May 15, 2012 Ventura County Star

Youth Sports section

(Coach Melissa purchased several copies of this edition

and put them in the Santa Barbara College team room)

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Jimenez played for Santa Barbara from 2004 to 2006 seasons and her teams went 39-23. She was All-Western State Conference and she transferred to Cal State Monterey Bay, where she lettered in basketball.

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Jimenez, a former Ventura High star, said she was 7 years old when she started playing Wildcat ball.   “Bob taught me the fundamentals,” she said, “It was fun and the league was fun.”

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Jimenez said it was her third time leading a Wildcat clinic.    “It’s about giving back to the community,” said the Ventura resident.

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She’s finishing her degree in Kinesiology at Cal State Northridge and will graduate this month. Her next step is to study for a master’s degree and pursue a head coaching position in community college women’s basketball.

Jimenez and her husband, Danny, have a 2-year-old-son, Gavin.

She said the motto at SBCC is “mental toughness, extra effort,”

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The Wildcat motto from the beginning is “development, encouragement, fun,” said Albrant.

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Other local SBCC players helping with the clinic included Katie Grande (Ventura), Keia Nobles (Oxnard), Whitney Shirley (Santa Clara) and Roni Velasquez (Ventura).

Also helping were SBCC’s Elia Salazar, Courtney Houston, Jen Thompson, Michelle Herrera, Lex McCord and Jessica Valadez.

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Jimenez has enjoyed playing and coaching with head coach Sandrine Krul. The other assistant coach is Ashley Alderton, from Royal High and Moorpark College.

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Buena girls basketball coach David Guenther, high school and travel ball players guided Tuesday’s clinic at Anacapa Middle School. Joe Vaughan, the former Buena girls basketball coach and athletic director, has been a longtime supporter of the clinic, but missed this year’s because he was in Wisconsin.

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The clinic attracted 60 girls, 50 of those will play on five teams starting in June on Saturdays.

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Information: www.venturawildcats.com.

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