Although a fairly new member of the Hayward community, Dream Courts has grown rapidly in attendance and prominence for athletes young and old, signifying a growing trend of health and wellness in the city.

After opening its doors in 2010, Dream Courts has become one of the most popular indoor facilities in the East Bay, hosting various tournaments, clinics, leagues and camps.

One camp and coach in particular, focuses on helping youth from ages 4 to 17 increase their athletic abilities and trains them in basic fundamental skills.

The goal of the camp, according to Dream Courts coach Ken McDaniels, known locally as “Coach K,” and currently the summer camp coordinator, is to build character on and off the courts and focus on building listening-and-response skills for the players, as well as making sure the athletes are in peak shape through repetition of sound fundamental skills. The name of the camp has been dubbed as the “Coach K Camp.”

“Heaven, this is exactly what I want with my life, the more young athletes I can positively influence the more accomplished I will feel,” McDaniels said.

“My whole world is kids,” he said. “That’s where my heart and soul is, I’d die for them.”

As a coach for over 30 years, McDaniels says he realizes the added benefits a place like Dream Courts could have for inner-city youth.

McDaniels, who says most of the kids are from Hayward and Oakland, recognizes the importance of the center for kids to find a place to stay fit and find an activity they can enjoy, and essentially keep them focused on healthy disciplines.

“The streets doesn’t have anything to offer anymore,” said McDaniels. The parks are filled with drug dealers. Everything is a drug deal. Kids can’t go swing anymore because we got thugs in there.”

“This place, even for a small fee, helps these kids find somewhere else, somewhere better to go.”

His passion becomes obvious within minutes of speaking to McDaniels, as he reflected on a trip to China where he saw students diligently studying martial arts and said after noticing their dedication he knew it was more than possible to achieve with many kids back home.

The camp hopes to make the players leaders on their team on and off the court. With this being McDaniels’ first summer in running the camp, he hopes it grows more next year and looks forward to coaching every day. One of the main focuses for McDaniels is to get kids to a level where they can be active and highly competitive.

“We’re trying to save all these kids so by the time they get out of elementary and get into junior high, high school, they have a real strong grip on the sport,” said McDaniels. “I’m here to make stars because they deserve that kind of attention.”

Dream Courts has seven full-size indoor basketball courts and a full work out facility, where youth mini camps have been hosted all summer long for the first time for ages 7 to 16.

McDaniels’ camp also deals with nutrition, which he notes as an important aspect of health that is generally not addressed at many facilities.

In addition, Dream Courts has become a practice facility for Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) teams, as Dream Courts employee Pat Kimble notes, “the Dream Courts have become the most popular AAU destination in the East Bay.”

AAU is an off-season traveling team that many athletes will play to develop their skills. Tournaments are typically on the weekend at large-scale facilities that can hold several games at once.

Two Hayward teams, the Hayward Swoosh and Bay Area Lions have made this their official practice facility.

In the end, McDaniels says the added benefit to the program is its accessibility in the community. Yet, he adds not enough is being done to advertise the program as he said he truly believes it can impart a lot of benefits to a lot of kids in the city.

“I don’t think enough kids know about this place,” said McDaniels. “They need this kind of activity. They really need it.”

Natalia Aldana and Joseph Geha contributed to this report.