Coach Ricky Barnes:
Club Founder & President
Coach Barnes have been involved with youth for over 16 years. He develops, train, and motivate youth athletes to be the best they can be. He has won numerous championships as a player and a coach. He focus on team play because he believes "if a player gets better, the team will get better"
Coach Shonti Land 10 & 11U
Coach Shonti Land is product of Yuma Athletics. Born and raised in Yuma Coach Shonti has been involved in youth athletics since returning home from playing football at Whitworth University. During this 13 years of time Coach Shonti has coached everything from soccer to basketball. Coach Shonti’s philosophy is to make the game of basketball as pretty as possible and don’t panic when it gets ugly or scattered. As an educator, Coach Shonti has benefited from quality athletic programs in Yuma like the H.E.A.T program and through coaching he feels that he can give back to the Yuma community.
Coach Jeffery Kay 10 & 11U
Coach Kay, a former professional baseball player in the Montreal Expos organization with the Lethbridge Expos in Lethbridge, Alberta Canada as well as the Corpus Christi Seagulls in Corpus Christi, TX. Coach Kay played a total of 3 years as a pitcher in the minors. He has been with Coca-Cola for over 32 years, and is currently the District Sales Manager at Yuma Coca Cola branch. He graduated with a B.S. in Business Management from the University of Phoenix in 2003. He has been involved in youth sports for over 21 years, coaching baseball and basketball. His involvement over those years has produced several championships teams in LIttle League baseball and youth basketball leagues in TX. In those 21 years, he has developed and coached several youths that are currently in professional baseball ranging from minor league to the major league. His philosophy is, "teach the kids to be team players, develop their skills, be competitive work hard, and be smarter than your oppnent".
Coach Barry Holloway 14U
7 years experience as a junior high and middle school social studies and English teacher and boys and girls basketball teacher/coach
12 years experience as a high school social science teacher and boys and girls basketball coach
15 years post-secondary (college and university level) instructor, lecturer and associate professor and 4 years as head men’s and 4 years head women’s basketball coach. Retired from Arizona Western College 2009.
Volunteer Services
Peace Corps Volunteer (India 1966-68 and Papua New Guinea 1992-94)
Special Olympics Winter Games coordinator (1976-84)
Peace Corps Response Volunteer in Primary Teacher Education (Swaziland 2009-10)
Basketball
Player: high school, university (Idaho State University) and 2 years with the Melbourne Tigers (Australia)
Coaching/teaching include: Co-founder of Mile High Basketball Summer Camp (1973- 92), 35 years experience as a junior high/middle school, high school and college basketball coach (10 years with the Parker Unified Schools, Parker, AZ)
International Basketball Federation coach: Trained the Indian 18 and Under boys’ and girls’ teams for the 1991 Asian tournament, as a Peace Corps Volunteer coached the Papua New Guinea 14 and under girls team from 1992-1994 winning the South Pacific Youth Championship
2009-10 Introduced basketball to the University of Swaziland’s Ngwane Teachers Training College and coached the men and women’s teams.
2009-10 Trained and taught Swaziland’s 18 and under and 20 and under boys’/men’s national teams in preparation for international competition.
Coach Frank Brown 13U
Prior to my residency in Yuma, I volunteered as a youth basketball coach with the YMCA and officiated two years as a high school basketball referee with AIA in Tucson, Arizona. I resumed my coaching status with the Yuma Parks and Recreation in 2008, starting with the Boys Grasshopper Division, Junior High Boys Division for three straight years and coached a 15 to 18 year old boys basketball team during a summer league. I was fortunate to lead a Grasshopper team in 2009 to an undefeated season and ultimately captured a championship. I began the Amateur Athletic Union circuit with my involvement with Team Heat-Yuma formerly known as Yuma Heat since it's existence three years ago, having a short stint as a head basketball coach with the 15U boys team, managed a 12 Under gisrls basketball team and currently an assistant coach with the 13 Under boys basketball team. I have been truly blessed to be a part of this orgranization that Coach Ricky Barnes had envisioned, witnessing the development of our players becoming better people on and off the basketball court in pursuit of making it to the next level, collegiately. I am a firm believer that "If you can believe it, then you can achieve it".
Coach Ron Neal 11U
Ronald D. Neal Jr., born May 9, 1974 in Temple, TX and raised in Peoria IL and Sacramento, CA. He began his coaching career in 2001 with the Blue Bombers soccer team in Okinawa Japan. From then on he has coached various youth soccer, basketball, and tackle football teams ranging from ages 5-12. Coach Neal’s experience comes from his many years of playing sports during his youth, high school and Marine Corps days. He has successfully participated in wrestling, track, football, basketball and baseball. He has lived in Yuma since July 2007 and has been with the United States Marine Corps for 18 years and is currently an Engineer Equipment Officer with MWSS-371 aboard MCAS Yuma. Muhammad Ali said it the best “Champions aren’t made in gyms, champions are made from something they have deep inside them; a desire, a dream, a vision.” I believe it is our responsibility as coaches to inspire and ensure that each one of those qualities are in each and every player.
Coach Tim Smith
Timothy L. Smith was born and raised in Florida and a graduate of Santa Fe High School in Alachua, Florida. He is a member and Deacon of Second Missionary Baptist Church in Yuma, Arizona under the leadership of Pastor Alfred E. Jernigan. He is actively involved in his Church and with the Youth of his Church, as well as in the community. “I believe that with love and positive guidance, any Youth can succeed in life; that if they trust in God and put him first, they can make it through any obstacle that may come their way; that with guidance and reassurance of a helping hand, our Youth can face the current challenges which lies ahead of them.”
“I am one of the coaches assisting with the Yuma Heat Basketball Team. I believe that Basketball is like life. It’s not all about whether you win or lose, it’s about how you play the game. You play your best, show good sportsmanship, play and work hard, and have fun.
