The Sacramento Asian Sports Foundation (SASF) is committed to promoting and supporting sports programs for youth and young adults that develop character, leadership, citizenship, and sportsmanship.
With this in mind the summer league program was uniquely built on a concept coined by its originator Robert Fong, called "the circle of life." It is our desire to teach, show, and instill in our youth a passion for community and giving back.
Our summer league is an opportunity for our youth to enjoy the "sport" of basketball, develop new friendships, minimize the emphasis on "winning" and max out the idea of "family and fun". It is our dream that kids who play in the Rookie and Lower divisions will find the confidence to cycle back in, become a coach, and at some point a future leader who will keep the program going thus fulfilling "the circle of life."
The majority of our youth participate in different levels of competitive sports that involve a high level of commitment, work and dedication to become the best and to win. Many are in programs that work-out and train year-round. The SASF program was consciously built to provide a positive experience and environment for both competitive and non-competitive players.
How are we unique? The coaches, referees, score and timekeepers are teens and college students from our community. Teams are drafted by the coaches to ensure a mixture of players from different organizations and skill level. The Summer League Director and Division Coordinators are always present but stay in the background to provide support and guidance to our youth who are learning and developing new skills.
Parents who usually sit on opposing sides now sit together to cheer for their children. Siblings run around. Grandparents, aunties and uncles come out to watch. New friendships are made at every age level and old friendships are renewed.
For us, success is measured by the laughter, the hugs and handshakes, the adulation in the eyes of a 2nd grader when their 9th grade coach gives a high-five, the excitement and nervousness of a first-time coach, the confidence from our youth referees. We are building our youth for the future...the circle of life. Our program is unique, not better, but we truly believe it's good for our kids and community. We hope you agree and that you will enjoy being part of our family.
SASF's Summer League was the brainchild of Robert Fong and was started back in 1997 with 3 levels of play. Rookies is a co-ed division for players in Kindergarten to 3rd grade. Lower Boys and Lower Girls is for players in 4th to 6th grade. Upper Boys and Upper Girls is for players in 7th to 9th grade. At peak capacity the program supports over 500 players. Post-covid we are currently building back with just the Rookie and Lower Divisions.