VISTA — From Pop Warner football to Little League baseball, Vista’s kids have lots of opportunities to play sports, yet there is still a basketball-sized hole in young children’s athletics.

The Vista Boys & Girls Club is stepping forward to fill that gap with the creation of a new co-ed basketball program for children ages 6 to 9.

Four months ago, Executive Director Matt Koumaras secured a $23,000 grant from the LA84 foundation, the same group that also helped pay for the club’s baseball field.

The grant will pay for uniforms, equipment, staff, awards and gym renovations that will include a new scoreboard.

In addition, North Coast Church donated a fresh coat of paint for the club’s gymnasium.

Koumaras said his previous basketball program at the Santa Cruz Boys & Girls Club motivated him to bring a similar program to Vista.

“It was really successful. (The kids) get to learn the skills and then take them on to other schools down the road,” Koumaras said.

The club will start the program with 80 children in eight teams of 10 that will practice on the weekdays and play against each other on the weekend.

The program will open up in April at no additional cost beyond the annual club fee of $50.

“Eventually, it’d be nice to go against some other Boys & Girls clubs and some (YMCAs),” Koumaras said.

Jamie Tobin, a 13-year Navy veteran, will instruct the players.

“I’ll teach the kids the fundamentals, making sure that they’re learning to shoot the ball the right way, learning that they have to dribble the ball, not run with it like it’s a football,” Tobin said. “There are too many kids that end up in junior high and high school and never learn the basics.”

The plan is for the program to eventually include boys and girls divisions for older children, which would dovetail with existing middle and high school basketball leagues.

“The goal is to go to the school sites and talk to the principals and say, ‘How about if the Boys & Girls Clubs can start a basketball program for the sixth graders?’” Program Director Raul Castillo said.

Castillo sees basketball as a lynchpin in the effort to attract the community to the club through as diverse a programming schedule as possible.

“Sometimes, people cannot get their talents out. They’re here wandering around, and the activities are not creative for them,” Castillo said.

He hopes that once kids are who are drawn to basketball are engaged, they may also find themselves interested in the club’s other artistic and educational programs.

Children at the club recently said they are excited about the new program.

“I think it’s fun, it’s active, and ... you get to be with your friends,” Chloe Beasley, 8, said.

“Want to be on a cool team? Like the Chargers?” Alan Miranda, 8, asked his friends in an attempt to sell them on the program.

For more information on the basketball program, contact Program Director Raul Castillo at (760) 724-6606 or visit www.bgcvista. org.