ROANOKE, Va. – The Virginia Warriors Elite AAU 14-and-under basketball team from Roanoke safely traveled to Myrtle Beach over the weekend for the National Travel Basketball Association Championship. While there, they defeated teams from the likes of Charlotte, Washington D.C. and even Kentucky to win the NTBA National title.
“We’ve been wanting this for a few years,” said Abu Yarmah, a player for the team.
Tuesday night there was a celebration parade put on for the team outside of Countryside Sportsplex. This is the first ever championship win for the Virginia Warriors program in the gold bracket.
“We started with this group when they were in the second and third grade six years ago,” said head coach Jermaine Hardy.
“We put pieces together every year. It’s special to me to get over that hump.”
The COVID-19 pandemic brought challenges but Hardy and his staff implemented a strict conditioning program beginning in May, that led to the historic win over the weekend.
“We push our kids mentally and challenge them in the classroom. These guys aren’t just athletes, they’re student athletes that have A’s and B’s,” Hardy said.
Up next for the team is another tournament in Atlanta in a few weeks where the team will become “Team Virginia” and compete against top talent from other states once again.