GIRLS' YOUTH BASKETBALL
Welcome to the Recreation Department’s Girls' Youth Basketball program!
Program Information
Registration for 2009-10 season: Monday, September 14 through Friday, October 30th
For all divisions except for Suburban Basketball, your coach will contact you regarding your first practice time (we cannot accept requests for days of the week due to the amount of kids in the program). The number of practices a team has each week may vary due to gym availability and age level. Our rules are specifically designed for your child’s age group and/or ability level. We will do our best to avoid scheduling games or practices during your child’s St. Pats or St. Teresa’s religious education classes. Players are not permitted to play for both St. Pats and a Recreation Department team (per both programs rules).
If practice or a game is canceled, the coach will contact you within an appropriate time period. You can also call the cancellation hotline at 538-5005 in cases of extreme weather. Please do not call the Recreation Department office as we will not know your coaches plans during marginal weather. Due to school policy, if school is closed due to weather, holidays or any other reason, practices or games will be cancelled during the evening unless your coach notifies you otherwise. Vacation week practices may be held during the morning as the schools are only available until 2pm.
Several different basketball options exist for South Hadley Recreation participants. Please review each to decide which is best for your child:
Kindergarten/First Grade/Second Grade: Scores and standings will not be kept for these games as the focus is having fun and instruction. Playing games will allow the kids an opportunity to have fun and learn the basic concepts of basketball. Teams will meet 1-3 times per week with the majority of their play held on Saturday mornings/afternoons (depending on the age group) at the Plains/Mosier schools. If there are a sufficient number of participants, each grade level will have their own division. Grade levels may be combined (i.e. Kindergarten with first grade) if registration numbers are low. We will not combine all three age groups to form one large K-2 division. All games will be held in-town against other South Hadley teams. All participants will receive a team tee shirt.
Grade 3/4: This division allows the players to expand upon the concepts they learned in previous years. Teams will be split up by gender and they will play games and keep score; however the emphasis is still on having fun and learning the game of basketball. The kids will play 2-3 times per week at the Middle, Mosier or Plains schools. There may be some travel involved if we do not have enough teams to have a South Hadley only league. All participants will receive a team tee shirt.
In an attempt to balance the teams (ability levels and player size), we will hold evaluation nights at the Middle School. The kids will play games and do some basic drills. Due to the size of the gym and the amount of kids that will be playing, parents/siblings will not be permitted to stay in the gym during the session. Evaluators/coaches will watch the kids in an attempt to split the teams fairly.
Grades 5-8: The Recreation Department offers two levels of play for the players in grades 5-8. There is Suburban Basketball, which is our travel basketball offering (information included in Suburban Basketball packet) and we have Recreation Basketball, which is our less competitive option.
Grades 5-8 basketball is split up into two divisions by gender; 5/6th and 7/8th grade. The teams will play 2-4 times per week beginning sometime after the coaches meeting. The season should run until late February/early March. The teams will play against other teams from South Hadley, Belchertown, Granby and various other local towns. All participants will receive a team tee shirt.
There will be an evaluation night held to evaluate the players to make the teams even and fair. For this reason, we cannot accommodate any requests for team placement.
DARE Basketball: For information regarding our high school intramural program, please refer to our DARE information sheet.
Coaches: If interested in coaching, please indicate intentions on registration forms or contact the Recreation Dept
Gym Rules: The following rules need to be followed by all participants and spectators when using a South Hadley gymnasium:
Do not drop kids off too early for practices if they are unsupervised. They should remain in the gym area and should not wander the halls. Please keep track of younger siblings that might be in the building.
Do not bring balls, food or drink (other than water) into the gymnasium. The Recreation Department will supply all needed basketball equipment.
Spectators are not permitted to drink coffee, possess food, etc…when they are in the gym. Violators will be asked to leave the gym.
Players should wear appropriate athletic attire including a change of clean sneakers (sand gets tracked in from the parking lots).
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