2021 Team Preview: The San Diego Slayers: Too Fresh, Too Clean

By: Hardwood Insiders

Do not be fooled, the SD Slayers may be a new team but they are on a mission for greatness. Currently, they are the #2 14u under team in the San Diego Club/AAU Basketball Rankings and #10 in the West , via IndiHoops, and despite being together for only 6 months, they have shown no signs of slowing down in the future. I had the opportunity to interview their head coach, Jalen Lake, to find out more about the team, the organization, and their upcoming season.

The genesis of the San Diego Slayers is uncanny: an NFL player starting an AAU basketball team. Keenan Allen, a wide receiver for the San Diego Chargers, decided the best way to give back to his community was to help his cousin, Coach Lake, start a travel basketball team. “For Keenan, it was all about giving back,” Coach Lake said in regards to his cousin’s selfless act. Those contributions led to Coach Lake naming the organization after Keenan’s nickname, the “Secondary Slayer.”

One thing that Coach Lake did not have to worry about when he began his organization was finding players. What was formerly his recreation team immediately became what is now the Slayers organization. “I knew the kids had what it [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][took] to be the top team in San Diego… everybody on our team considers each other brothers,” declared Coach Lake, “[the players] enjoy being around each other.” This family type atmosphere has allowed the Slayers to develop an unbreakable bond that has resulted in only 2 losses in San Diego, and a 29 game win streak.

For many programs, instilling character and morals in players is not at the forefront; instead, winning is the ultimate goal. As a result, these programs will use tactics such as player borrowing for tournaments and holding student athletes back a grade for eligibility purposes. However, where there is darkness, there will always be light. There are still a few teams that are trying to do it the right way; the Slayers organizations are one of them. Coach Lake emphasizes how his organization develops student athletes, and not athlete students. Because of these principles, the San Diego Slayers hold their kids to high standards in all aspects of the players’ lives – in the classroom, the court, and at home; the outcome has been that the Slayer team boasts all honor roll students, with most of them having a 4.0 grade point average.

Great coaches help players visualize and realize their dreams. This inevitably require coaches to inform players of the work ethic required to achieve those dreams.  For  Coach Lake and the San Diego Slayers, that has never been a problem. “Every single person we bring [the players] around makes sure that they see their goals [and] let[s] them realize how hard it is to get [at the] next level,” stated Coach Lake.  One of the many benefits of having Keenan Allen as the team’s owner is that he is able to invite the players to events (such as the Chargers’ training camp) that show the grueling demands concomitant with becoming a professional athlete. Being exposed to these events has served as major motivation for Coach Lake’s team moving forward.

Not only do the Slayers make sure its players are getting ready for the next level mentally, they prepare their players physical as well. Outside of holding practices twice a week, Coach Lake provides his team with a professional trainer, Michael Williams, owner of “TheWillToTrain.Org.” These workouts have been a large part of the reason Coach Lake’s team has recently gone 4-0 in the Top Gun San Diego Basketball JV Showcase, where his 8^th grade boys is currently playing up against high school boys.

The goals of the San Diego Slayers for this year are to make sure that its players are prepared to compete at the high school level, and to win the Indihoops World Championship, the premier 2021 tournament in the country. To ensure success, the Slayers are competing against the best teams in the country year round; presently, they are participating in the Top Gun Fall League, in the 8^th grade invite only division. The Top Gun League is a San Diego based league where teams from the San Diego region play against each other; it has a reputation for holding some of the best teams that San Diego has to offer. One thing is certain, the Slayers are making their argument for the #1 team in San Diego, and will not stop working until they have that spot.

About the Author: Emmanuel Brown is an intern with Hardwood Insiders. He is currently a senior at Woodstream Christian High School in Maryland with plans of going to college and majoring in sports journalism. He has a passion for sports writing.

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