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About Us

About NJB

National Junior Basketball is a nonprofit organization that was founded by Dennis Murphy, Jr. in 1984. Murphy was previously a coach at Garden Grove High School when he had vision of a youth basketball league based on sportsmanship and player development. NJB has blossomed into a national youth league with over 25,000 participants in 6 states. The program offers four divisions for boys and girls in first through 8th grade. Rookie division is for 1st and 2nd graders, stressing fundamental skills and personal growth.  NJB offers the All-Net Program for the advance players grades 6th - 8th through their chapters. This division prepares the athlete for high school competition.

To find out more about the National Junior Basketball organization, visit their website at www.njbl.org


Los Alamitos NJB Overview

Los Alamitos/Seal Beach NJB invites boys and girls grades 1 through 8 to play basketball. Our program includes regular season games, playoffs, all-star programs, pictures, insurance, and certified referees. Our season typically runs from November through March, which includes a regular season of approximately 8 games followed by a playoff tournament. The tournament includes all teams and are seeded according to their regular season standing. Trophies are awarded to the 1st & 2nd place teams at the conclusion of the regular season. Trophies are also awarded to the 1st & 2nd place teams in the playoff tournament.


History of Los Al Youth Basketball

Youth basketball began in the Los Alamitos, Rossmoor and Seal Beach area in 1969 when Lew Webb, a Rossmoor resident well on his way to owning a chain of car dealerships, spearheaded the Los Alamitos Youth Athletic Association which that year began leagues in football and basketball.

The basketball program was open to local youths in three divisions, ranging from 3rd through eighth grade, and 24 teams competed in that first year.

Division I (7th-8th grade) had six teams (Lakers, Bucks, Royals, Celtics, Bullets & Hawks), as did Division III (3rd- 4th grades with Broncos, Indians, Tigers, Dons, Panthers and Aggies), while the 5th-6th Grade bracket had twelve teams in two divisions — the Big 10 Division with the Spartans, Buckeyes, Gophers, Badgers, Hawkeyes and Wildcats) and the Pac-8 Division with the Huskies, Beavers, Bruins, Bears, Trojans, and Cougars.

All the games were played at Los Al High, but a year later the younger teams began to play at the gym at the Los Al Navy Base (now the Joint Forces Training Base). They continued to play at the base for some years.   

In the late 1980s, under the suggestion of Los Al High basketball coach Steve Brooks (who was on the league board of directors), the LAYAA began its affiliation with the then relatively new National Junior Basketball league, which had been founded in 1984 by Dennis Murphy, who Brooks met when Murphy coached at Garden Grove High School.

Except for some minor rules changes, the new affiliation had little affect on the local league’s regular season, but the NJB program provided greater opportunities for all-star play against other community all-star teams from throughout California and other states, as well as “All-Net” level competitive play for the more advanced players, and a girls division.

Locally, the teams in the Los Al league usually numbered around 20-24 through the late 1990s, but over the past 3-4 years, NJB has numbered over 50 boys teams and as many as nine girls teams.

A large number of local NJB players have gone on to great success at Los Al High and other area high schools, and a significant number have played in the college ranks.