After blitzing all opponents in the state under-11 basketball championships and performing creditably at the national level despite injuries to many key players, Broward Warriors, a team of players mainly from Parkland, is looking ahead to an even stronger season next year.

Head coach Steve Israel is confident that next year would bring even better results. “The goal for next year is to repeat as state champions and to win the nationals. Many of our players fell sick when we were playing the nationals; if everyone was fit, we would have won the whole thing or at least finished in the top three.”

Broward Warriors started strongly at the national level, winning its first three games in the Amateur Athletic Union National Tournament in Cocoa Beach, Israel said. “We beat state champs from Louisiana, Alabama and Maryland; it was a great start. We also defeated the team from New York and ended the competition with a 4-2 record. We finished 11 in the nation.”

The team got a chance to compete in the nationals after getting the number 1 ranking in division II of the United States Specialty Sports Association by winning the state championship with a 5–0 record in Lakeland, Florida. Broward Warriors was the only team from the county to compete at the national level.

Hank Hunter, one of the players on the team, said he was happy with his performance. “I played all the six games at the nationals; it was a great experience. We want to do better next year. I love basketball and enjoy being a team member. We are all friends; most of us go the same school.”