Norcal Courts

We had our NCVA Girls Power League #2 volleyball tournament here on Saturday, March 12, 2016.
The positives:
–there were 4 courts with 3 teams on each (2 playing, 1 working)
–there was a net that prevented balls from going between the front 2 courts and the back 2 courts
–TAILGATING IS ALLOWED but only around the sidewalks of the building and not in the parking lot
The negatives:
–the bleachers only sat two rows and were hard and cold. Not enough seating especially when the 3^rd team of girls and their parents are sitting in the bleachers
–there isn’t much of a «snack bar» area: only one table and vending machines. Absolutely NO food so plan on tailgating or buying food in downtown Martinez
–they only sell sports drinks at the check-​in counter
–bathrooms need improvements. Only 1 useable urinal in men’s bathroom
–only one water fountain was working
–unless you are in the back courts, there is a lot of foot traffic getting in & out of the building. This is distracting to the girls who are playing and to the spectators sitting on the cold bleachers

They have basketball pickleball and bocce ball! Pretty nice facility and friendly people too. Look at their website to see the times they offer different sports!

COMPLETE GUIDE to their 1-​week Summer Basketball Camp.
The website doesn’t list the daily timeframe for the camp, kind of annoying bordering on disorganized & unprofessional, but I made a simple phone call during hours of operation, and an employee was able to provide the info: 9am — noon. Costing $ 110, this worked out to be just under $ 7.50 /​hour.
The facility is huge & very clean (particularly the restrooms which were fully stocked & immaculate!). Their business is newer (3 years old or so), and fully updated with the latest n greatest as well as plenty of parking. They sell Gatorade ($ 2 for a small bottle) and water ($ 1 for a small Crystal Geyser), so you might wanna bring your own drinks, but nice if you forget. They also have a separate little café area with vending machines, tables & chairs, and small sales counter for freezies & other food items. There are bleachers for parents to watch games.
The daily routine was, surprisingly, well-​organized with each day having a slight change or addition of a new skill /​drill. They have a short break where a small snack is provided (granola bar, rice crispy treat, etc.), and the kids can rest awhile. They end the day with a couple of scrimmage games to try implementing what they’ve learned.
Children at this particular camp ranged from 3^rd grade to 8^th grade (couldn’t find the official age limits or acceptable grade range posted anywhere on their website). For parents with the younger kiddos: they ALL play together (and every big kid isn’t exactly nice, just fyi). I mean, during a game this one older kid (a girl) repeatedly «stole» the ball from the little ones by just coming from behind and reaching over their heads! Seriously? If that was my small child, I’d GO OFF! Everyone PAID to learn & play, so even the little ones should have an opportunity to try out their new skills!
Coaches & staff were all really nice, knowledgeable, and great at engaging even the least athletic kids in attendance. Some coaches appeared quite young, like high school-​age, haha, but I asked (yes, totally nosy!) and they’re actually mid 20’s and now assisting coaches of high school teams.
So far, mid way through our week of camp, he’s had fun and there have been no major issues. A couple of same-​aged girls teasing (which is normal), and one slightly older, aggressive girl scratched his face «accidentally» as well as smacked him pretty good on his neck /​back area (evidenced by a large red mark), then with a few seconds left on the scrimmage game clock, she literally held his arms down so he couldn’t shoot the ball!!! Guess they don’t call fouls AT ALL, according to my son. So it was kind of a supervised free for all, at times.
Some of the boys (including mine) asked for more scrimmage game time since they only play for the last 15 — 20 minutes of each day, and 3 kids on each team had to sit out /​sub in… they were told that «scrimmages are a privilege» and only if everyone listens throughout the day. Uumm, it’s not a privilege if we’ve PAID for it! Further, we have no control over whether other children listen, behave, or otherwise engage, so yeah that was weird.
Overall (so far), we would attend this camp again, and I’d recommend it to others as well as the business itself (they offer tons of other activities for adults).