Services · Santa Barbara and the Central Coast
Basketball training in Santa Barbara. Three ways in.
Level Up is Coach Darnell Campbell’s player-development program. Individual sessions, camps and clinics, and teams, all run on the same Core, Craft, Code system, by the same coach. Sessions in Santa Barbara, Montecito and Camarillo; he travels up to 50 miles.
- Beginners to elite
- Kids, teenagers and adults
- Guards, wings and bigs
What every format runs on
Whichever room you pick, the session is built the same way.
Core is the fundamentals: footwork, the handle, the shot, the pass, defending with your feet. Craft is position-specific skill, built per player after an evaluation. Code is mindset, leadership and communication, coached in the gym and not saved for a talk at the end. The system, in full.
Three parts, every time. The only question is the room.
01 · One player
Individual sessions
Who it’s for. Kids, teenagers and adults, beginners to elite. Guards, wings and bigs. The kid who has outgrown the team practice and the player who wants a specific thing fixed before a specific date.
What happens first. An evaluation of where the game actually is. The program is built per player from there, not from the age group.
What gets worked. Whatever the evaluation says, from the list. Every session still runs Core, Craft and Code; a shooting session is also a footwork session and a communication session.
Rates and schedule. By DM. Say the player’s age, position and what you want to work on, and you get a straight answer.
On the list
02 · A gym full
Camps and clinics
The track record. About twenty years of Cleveland Cavaliers youth camps and clinics. Free youth camps in Al Jefferson’s hometown. Seven years of National Basketball Academy camps under Shane Kline-Ruminski. And in 2026, the TMB Level Up Camp in Bandol, on the French coast: new gym, new language, same drills, awards at the end.
Who books one. Schools, clubs and teams in Santa Barbara and the Central Coast. A clinic can be one position, one skill or one age group; a camp runs the whole system.
How to ask. DM @dchoops with the group, the ages and the dates you have in mind.
03 · A roster
Teams
Darnell directs two club programs and coaches a third. Rosters and tryouts come through those programs, not through Level Up, but the coaching is the same.
- Pro/spects. Co-founder and head coach. Local and regional circuits, outside AAU: the place to play real games before the travel-ball decision. prospectsbasketball.org (opens in a new tab).
- Central Coast Soldiers. Director of Basketball. The Oakland Soldiers’ new Santa Barbara team, on the Nike EYBL platform.
- Laguna Blanca School. Head varsity boys basketball coach, from October 2025.
Not sure which fits? DM with the player’s age and where they are now; he’ll point you to the right one.
Questions parents ask
Before the first message.
How do I book a session?
Send a DM to @dchoops on Instagram with three things: the player’s age, their position (or the one they want), and what you want to work on. Coach Darnell takes it from there.
What ages and levels does Level Up train?
Kids, teenagers and adults, from beginners to elite players, across every position: guards, wings and bigs.
Where do sessions happen?
Santa Barbara and the Central Coast. Coach Darnell trains in Santa Barbara, Montecito and Camarillo and travels up to 50 miles.
What happens in a first session?
An evaluation of where the player’s game actually is. The program is built per player from there, not from the age group.
What does training cost?
Rates and schedule come by DM, because they depend on the format (individual session, camp or clinic) and the schedule. Say what you’re working on and you’ll get a straight answer.
Can Level Up run a camp or clinic for my school, club or team?
Yes. Coach Darnell has run camps and clinics for about twenty years, from Cleveland Cavaliers youth camps to the TMB Level Up Camp in Bandol, France. DM to ask.
33 reviews on CoachUp (opens in a new tab)reviews on CoachUp
“Coach Darnell is the best coach my son has ever had.”Parent review, CoachUp
“Darnell is respectful and encouraging.”Review, CoachUp
Every answer above ends the same way. One message.
Start here
Pick the room. Send the message.
The fastest way to reach Coach Darnell is a DM. Pick what fits below and the message writes itself; copy it, open the DM, send. He takes it from there.
If the link doesn’t open the app, search the handle: