CHANGING LIVES THROUGH SPORTS
“When you walk through that door, you’re family.”
The Basketball Warehouse Academy is a non-profit that offers basketball training and academic tutoring for kids in the Tampa Bay area. Our training center in Largo, Florida, welcomes boys and girls of all ages and skill levels.
After-School Tutoring
The Warehouse began as a place where kids could play basketball, get extra help with classroom studies and do their homework after school. That hasn't changed.
Trainings & Programs
Private and group lessons, camps, travel teams and league play, each one built around the individual player. See the full list of programs.
Team & Character Building
More energy, less stress, better focus and improved strength are the goals, along with a kid who knows what they can do.
Our mission
To help boys and girls of all ages develop the tools necessary to succeed in academics, sports, and life by offering basketball training, academic support, and enrichment opportunities.
The Basketball Warehouse Academy was established in April 2011 to give kids a place to play basketball, get extra help in their classroom studies, and do their homework after school. Co-founders Daryl Blume and Allen Williams had coached basketball together at Shorecrest Preparatory School, and they set up TBWA to offer training tailored to each student-athlete’s individual needs.
It started by sheer accident. Shorecrest’s gym was being torn down for a new building, and Coach Daryl wanted somewhere for his son to keep working on his shooting. He showed Coach Allen a vacant warehouse with a concrete floor, one newly installed hoop and a shooting gun. “Wow,” Allen said. “We can really do something with this place.”
Over the years the Academy has grown into a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and a popular destination for teens and tweens with a passion for athletics. If you want to see how the floor looked in the early days, the Time Capsule keeps the before photos.
Coach Allen
University of North Alabama, 1990 to 1991
A Clearwater native, Coach Allen was a two-year starting guard at the University of North Alabama, where his team won the 1991 National Championship. He played professionally in Germany, the Dominican Republic and the United States before coming home to Tampa Bay, coached with Daryl at Shorecrest Prep from 2008 to 2015, and was inducted into the UNA Athletic Hall of Fame in 2011.
Coach Daryl
Francis Marion University
Coach Daryl was a four-year starter, team captain and MVP at Francis Marion University, and he was later inducted into the Francis Marion Athletic Hall of Fame. He was the Shorecrest Preparatory boys’ varsity coach from 2008 to 2015, all while working his day job as President of BCH Mechanical.
Coach Allen’s passion is to teach core values through basketball and academic mentoring. They show up in every lesson and every practice.
Discipline
Perseverance
Respect
Teamwork
Our team has deep experience in coaching, playing competitive basketball and mentoring kids. TBWA coaches teach more than hoops. They promote discipline, teamwork, leadership and good sportsmanship.
Coach Allen
Allen Williams
Director and co-founder. Clearwater native, UNA national champion and the voice on the phone at (727) 235-4726.
Coach Daryl
Daryl Blume
Co-founder. Four-year starter and captain at Francis Marion, and Shorecrest Prep's boys' varsity coach from 2008 to 2015.
Coach Mike
Mike Mitchell
Coach April
April Lopez
Coach Lewis
Lewis Ponds
We’re at Fitzgerald Middle School, 6410 118th Ave N, Largo, FL 33773. Call or text Coach Allen at (727) 235-4726, or read how the programs run first. You can also support the Academy.