Hello AYBA House families.  Welcome to the 2020-2021 basketball season! We are so happy you have chosen to spend your winter playing with the Armstrong Youth Basketball Association!  Armstrong House League teams in grades 3-8 are forming.  The biggest delay is finding coaches for some teams.  If you have any interest in coaching, please contact your respective commissioners.

In our Developmental Program for kids K-2, we have paid coaches at that level to help teach the kids the fundamentals.  We started this program a couple years ago and are really happy with how it’s progressing. 

I also wanted to send this note to give some information about the program and a few changes as to our games.  Starting in 2019, all of our boys and girls, grades 5-8 will be playing in leagues outside of our AYBA program.  The 5th grade boys and all of our girls in grades 5-8 will be playing in the Osseo-Maple Grove Basketball Association league.  Information about that league is posted on our AYBA website: www.armstrongyouthbasketball.com.  

The boys in grades 6-8 will play in the Northwest Metro Rec league against teams from other school districts.  These changes give the kids an opportunity to play a few more games, but also play against other teams.  In years past, due to the number of teams in our programs, it felt like some teams were playing each other too many times.  So, we’re giving our kids this different opportunity this year.  We’ll see how it goes.  We’re happy to accept your feedback on how it goes. 

We are asking all families, grades 3-8 in our House program to help with our fundraising.  We are not going door to door selling anything.  Our only real fundraisers for the Association are through the two travel tournaments we host.  The money we generate through the girls Armstrong  Girls Invitational travel tournament in December and the boys Armstrong Boys Classic in February go to help fund all aspects of our program, particularly including our House program.  We have a lot of expenses in both the travel and house program that the flat registration fees are not adequate to cover.  So, we rely on the money generated by the tournaments.

Once again, we will be asking the girls house families to help with the girls tournament and the boys house families to help with the boys tournament.  It is our hope that the non-coaching volunteer requirement will be 2 hours or less per child in the program – we’re still finalizing the plan. Regardless, 2 hours is way more reasonable than Little League or Hockey!!  We hope a nominal amount of your time will really help us have successful tournaments, and then in-turn successful programs.  Also, you’ll be able to attend the tournaments for free to cheer on friends and classmates and see what the travel experience is all about. More information about how and when to sign up will be coming soon.  Typically, an on-line link to select shifts is posted about a week before the tournament. Please keep an eye out for it and sign up to help out where you can.

If you have any questions about volunteering, please contact the Girls Tournament Director, John Crawford at posivibe@protonmail.ch, or the Boys Tournament Director, Mike Skram, at MikeSkram@Comcast.net

Finally, we have a number of AYBA Board positions coming open at the end of this year.  If you have any interest in taking on a role in the leadership of this Association, we’re happy to have you.  Please contact any of the Board Members to talk about the specific positions and general time commitments.

Thanks again for being part of this program.  We’re all volunteers here, and we can’t provide a quality experience for the kids without your commitment to the program and involvement.  You all help make the experience a positive one for the kids.

There will be a parents meeting followed by a coaches meeting on Tuesday October 29th, 2019 at the Zachary Lane Elementary School Cafeteria.

• Parents meeting: 6.30 pm to 7.10 pm
• Coaches meeting: 7.15 pm to 8.00pm

Kindergarten Basketball:

• Nov 7th - Dec 19th (7 weeks)
• $75 ($45 on scholarship)
• Co-ed
• Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:00-7:00 PM at local elementary schools
• Skills, Drills, and 3 on 3
• Includes - Paid instructor and T-shirt

*New This Season*

Boys 1st and 2nd Grade Introductory Session:

Practice is focused on players new to basketball and learning the basic fundamentals of the game appropriate this age level.

• October 1st - December 19th (11 weeks)
• $120 ($70 on scholarship)
• Boys only
• Mondays and Wednesdays either 6-7 PM or 7-8 PM at local elementary gyms
• Skills, drills, and mini scrimmages
• Included: Instructor and T-Shirt

Girls 1st and 2nd Grade Introductory Session:

Practice is focused on players new to basketball and learning the basic fundamentals of the game appropriate this age level.

• October 1st - December 19th (11 weeks)
• $120 ($70 on scholarship)
• Girls only
• Tuesdays and Thursdays either 6-7 PM or 7-8 PM at local elementary gyms
• Skills, drills, and mini scrimmages
• Included: Instructor and T-Shirt

Boys and Girls 1st and 2nd Grade ADVANCED Sessions:

Practice seeks to constructively challenge players to develop additional skills from the introductory level that will set them up for success in the competitive environment of house and travel basketball.

• January 6th to March 19th (11 weeks)
• $120 ($70 on scholarship)
• Boys and Girls
• Twice weekly, Monday-Thursday evenings 6-7 PM or 7-8 PM at local elementary school gyms
• Skills, drills, and mini scrimmages

Boys 3rd & 4th Grade House Basketball:

• Nov 1st – Feb 22nd (14 weeks)
• **NEW for 2018/19 Season** Players will be required to attend a MANDATORY evaluation.  This will help us form equally skilled teams and allow for more even game competition. The MANDATORY evaluation will be scheduled in early October.
• 3rd and 4th grades will use 27.5" basketballs
• $155 ($105 on scholarship)
• Boys Only
• Meets twice per week, weeknights
  • 1 x Practice, either 6-7:30 PM or 7:30-9 PM, at local district gyms
  • 1 x Game on Wednesdays or Thursdays, either 6-7:30 PM or 7:30-9 PM, at local district gyms
• 10’ Hoops
• Includes:
  • 1  Jersey
  • Referees
  • End of year tourney
  • Medals and Trophies

Girls 3rd & 4th Grade House Basketball:

• Nov 1st – Feb 22nd  (14 weeks)
• **NEW for 2018/19 Season** Players will be required to attend a MANDATORY evaluation.  This will help us form equally skilled teams and allow for more even game competition. The MANDATORY evaluation will be scheduled in early October.
• 3rd and 4th grades will use 27.5" basketballs
• $155 ($105 on scholarship)
• Girls Only
• Meets twice per week, weeknights
  • 1 x Practice, either 6-7:30 PM or 7:30-9 PM, at local district gyms
  • 1 x Game on Tuesdays, either 6-7:30 PM or 7:30-9 PM, at local district gyms
• 10’ Hoops
• Includes:
  • 1  Jersey
  • Referees
  • End of year tourney
  • Medals and Trophies

Boys 5th & 6th Grade House Basketball:

• Nov 1st – March 2nd (15 weeks)
• $165 ($115 on scholarship)
• Boys Only
• Meets three times per week
  • 2 x Practice, either 6-7:30 PM or 7:30-9 PM, at local district gyms
  • 1 x Game, Friday night or Saturday mornings
• Includes:
  • 1  Jersey
  • End of year tourney
  • Referees

Girls 5th & 6th Grade House Basketball:

• Nov 1st – March 2nd (15 weeks)
• $165 ($115 on scholarship)
• Girls Only
• Meets three times per week
  • 2 x Practice, either 6-7:30 PM or 7:30-9 PM, at local district gyms
  • 1 x Game, Saturdays.  Teams are part of the OMGBA league.
  • Game Location: TBD
• Includes:
  • 1 Jersey
  • End of year tourney
  • Referees

Boys 7th & 8th Grade House Basketball:

• Nov 1st – March 2nd (15 weeks)
• Boys 7th & 8th Graders play in the NWSBL (North West Suburban Basketball League).  Throughout the season teams will play in 3 tournaments.  Teams are formed based on grade and if multiple teams per grade, evenly skilled teams will be created based on a MANDATORY evaluation that will be scheduled in early October
• $165 ($115 on scholarship)
• Boys Only
• Meets three times per week
  • 2 x Practice, either 6-7:30 PM or 7:30-9 PM, at local district gyms
  • 1 x Game, Saturdays
• Includes:
  • 1 Jersey
  • End of year tourney
  • Referees

Girls 7th & 8th Grade Basketball:

• Nov 1st – March 2nd (15 weeks)
• $165 ($115 on scholarship)
• Girls Only
• Meets three times per week
  • 2 x Practice, either 6-7:30 PM or 7:30-9 PM, at local district gyms
  • 1 x Game, Saturdays. Teams are part of the OMGBA league.
  • Game Location: TBD
• Includes:
  • 1 Jersey
  • End of year tourney
  • Referees

House DIBS Requirements:

Each AYBA House League family is asked to donate a nominal amount of their time (up to 2 hours) per each grade 3-8 player in the program to help operate the two traveling basketball tournaments, which are the entire program's only fundraisers. The girls' tournament is in mid-November and the boys' tournament is in mid-February. Your volunteer effort is the only way we can continue to offer quality house and travel programs for the kids.  More information on volunteering will be provided upon registration and team formation.

House Friend Requests:

* For 3rd-4th grade boys only and all 1st-5th grade girls playing house basketball, you may request a friend to play on the same team (available on the registration form). Both players should make the friend request. We try to accommodate the requests, but placement is not guaranteed. We will only consider 1:1 pairings. In an effort to balance the teams, we will not be able to honor 3-way or 4-way friend requests. Therefore, friend request that don't have a perfect 1:1 match will not be considered.

Scholarships:

Need based scholarships are available ($50 off).  Please contact the House Commissioner for more information.