February 14th – It’s that time of the year when players and parents start looking towards the next basketball season.
Our various Bombers and Jr. Eagles teams will be wrapping up their Winter League action over the next few weeks. While some teams have enjoyed more success than others on the scoreboard, each and every team has grown and improved.
For some of our players their focus will turn exclusively to baseball / softball, soccer or other activities once the final winter league game is played. Others will take part in our spring and summer basketball program. For more information on our spring program, click HERE.
It’s around this time of year our coaches begin fielding inquiries about the plan for next season. Parents are interested in what team their child might play on next year and / or who will be the coach of their child’s team.
For the sake of ensuring we’re delivering the same message to everyone, here’s the plan as we move towards our traditional “off season”.
In late August we’ll host Player Evaluations for the purpose of determining the best way to assemble teams for our 3rd – 8th grade boys and girls teams. We’ll consider a variety of factors when assembling the teams, including: (in no particular order)
- Skill level of the player
- Existing player to player relationships
- Existing coach to player relationships
- On which team will the player will have the best opportunity to incorporate the new skills learned into game situations
- School attending – Does the player reside in the Liberty High School attendance area?
Our objective is always to form teams that will allow each player the best opportunity to compete at a level that will provide the appropriate challenge while at the same time provide them a fun and rewarding basketball experience.
Similar to this year, we’ll aim to form a team at each grade level that will be able to compete against the top teams in the CNR Basketball League. We’ll also strive to form multiple teams at each grade level capable of competing against the mid level competition in CNR. In adopting this approach we’ll continue to raise the competitive level of the players throughout the program while providing players of varying skill levels the opportunity to learn and enjoy basketball.
Looking at the 2015-16 Winter League – Across the various age levels our teams competed well against their respective competition. We will likely end up with 4 or 5 teams participating on Champions Day in the CNR League, meaning these teams finished among the top 4 in their competitive division.
During the 2014-15 season our teams fared well against mid level competition but struggled against the top teams from the more mature feeder programs. This year, our top teams have more than exceeded expectations, as they regularly have success against the top teams from other GAC schools. We’re seeing the benefit of having coachable and dedicated kids who are embracing the process of getting better.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q: If my son / daughter doesn’t play spring or summer basketball will that impact their chances of making a Bombers / Jr. Eagles team next fall?
A: No. We encourage the kids to play multiple sports. While we offer spring and summer basketball as a convenience to those individuals who want to continue playing, we do so with the understanding that basketball is secondary to “in season” spring sports. That being said, we’re finding that players who end up placed on one of our top competitive teams usually keep basketball a part of their sports activity mix during the spring and summer. Be sure to check out the list of basketball camps and clinics that will be posted on our website in the coming weeks.
Q: Will my son be placed on the same team again next year that he played on this year?
A: We will reshuffle the players and evaluate the group as a whole during our late August player evaluations. At the younger grade levels we’ll make playing with friends a higher priority, whereas with the older teams we’ll align teams with a higher priority of matching skill level.
If you have additional questions feel free to email Dustin Ashby HERE.
