A T HL ET IC S
Junior Basketball Teams Strive to be Among the Best in Region
AC’s junior basketball program is ready for a new season and striving to again compete with the top junior teams in the region. MAC junior basketball has much to offer young basketball players. Last year the program was strong, with a total of 13 teams. All the teams competed well against oppo- nents throughout the year, with most playing in leagues and/or tournaments.
M
Preseason Clinics and Academies The junior basketball season begins with
two preseason clinics in mid September. The first clinic is Sunday, Sept. 11, from 1-3 p.m. for boys and girls in third through fifth grade and 4-6 p.m. for boys and girls in sixth through eighth grade. This clinic focuses on participant’s individual basketball skills. The second clinic is Sunday, Sept. 18 from 1-3 p.m. for boys in grades third through eighth grade. This clinic is a pre-evaluation clinic and focuses on what players can expect to see at the upcoming evaluations. Nick Robertson leads the clinic and is assisted by MAC member coaches. The girls pre- evaluation follows the boys on Sept. 18 and is a girls’ only pre-season clinic for grades fifth through eighth from 4-6 p.m. MAC
member coaches lead this clinic. The clinics are followed by player evaluations. Each clinic costs $20 per session.
Offered again this year is guard-only Sunday academies. These academies are coached by former Blazer greats and coaching legends Terry Porter and Michael Holton. The academies are for the more competitive fifth through eighth grade players looking to refine their skills for the upcoming basketball season. The focus is on guard specific offense and defensive fundamental play. There is two separate sessions. Session one is from 6-8 p.m. on Oct. 10, 17 and 24, and session two is on Nov. 7, 14 and 21.
Quick Register BB686 (session one) Quick Register BB688 (session two)
Competitive Teams Daniel Baumer makes a pass.
The competitive teams are for the more serious, experienced players who want to strive toward competing at the highest levels of play within or above their grade level. The emphasis is on fun, team building, game knowledge, skill development, athletic excellence and sportsmanship. At the competitive levels, all players are evaluated for a selection on grade-appropriate teams. MAC is fielding one competitive team per age and gender. These teams are made up of 10 players based on the coach’s evaluation. All prac- tices and games are mandatory and players need to make MAC basketball the priority when scheduling other activities. Players not meeting the team commitments risk being replaced with no refund. Practice times and coach assignments are available on the MAC website by Thursday, Sept. 1. The goal of the competitive teams are to strive to compete successfully at the most elite levels in the area and develop players to eventually succeed at the high school level. MAC has highly experienced member coaches (and a qualified parent coach at the fourth grade level) to coach the competitive teams. Players are required to attend two to three practices a week. Players have the opportunity to play in competitive leagues and weekend tourna- ments and compete against many traveling or tournament basketball teams in the area. In short, kids who have strong skills, a love of basketball and relish playing with other strong players are ideal for our competitive teams.
62 | The Wınged M | SEPTEMBER 2011
Teammates Jordan Johnson, Anna Laber and Jenna Koury.
Every player who attends evaluations has an opportunity, but is not guaranteed to make the MAC team. The participating players must attend the two evaluations to qualify to play on a MAC team and a coach has the option to have a third call- back tryout at his or her discretion. For a full list of tryout times, see the Fall Class Guide inserted in the August Winged M or at
theMAC.com.
All players must try out with their grade. Players wanting to play up must be selected as one of the top five players in tryouts in the grade they are attempting to play up to. Additionally, they need Junior Basketball subcommittee clearance to try out. To qualify to play up, a player must attend their grade level evaluation and the next grade level up evaluation. A player who is injured and cannot participate in the evaluation must attend to watch and speak with a coach. Coaches and/or junior sports staff assess these players once they are healed and able to play. MAC member coaches and junior sports staff run evaluations. Players show their skills in many different drills and play in an organized scrimmage. Evaluations are scheduled to last approximately one- and-a-half-hours. Evaluation results and team assignments are posted on the junior basketball web page Friday Oct. 7 at 3 p.m. After player evaluations, if members decide that the MAC program is not right for
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80