Who can participate in this basketball league?
Players must reside within the Tredyffrin/Easttown School District. Players must be in grades 4th though 7th for boys and 4th through 8th for girls in order to participate.
How long is the season?
Assessments are generally held in mid-October and practices begin in early November. The regular season will end in mid-to-late February. There will be no practices or games over the Thanksgiving week or during the Christmas holiday season.
When are the practices and games held?
Practices are held each weekday evening, and games are played during the day or evening Saturday.Each team is assigned a weekday practice slot and slots usually vary from week to week.
Where are the practices and games held?
The gyms used by the league are in Tredyffrin/Easttown School District: Valley Forge Elementary School, Beaumont Elementary School, Valley Forge Middle School, Tredyffrin Easttown Middle School, & occasionally Devon Elementary School. The bigger gyms will generally be used for the older players. Directions to the gyms are available on this website.
How do I register my child?
Registration for new players to the Paoli Wildcats opens in August. All players use on-line registration. See the Registration Page for information about this process.
Can my child be sure he or she will be on the same team as a friend or a particular coach?
No. In both the boys and the girls divisions the goal is to create balanced competition. Players are selected for teams on that basis. The girls division uses a committee assignment process and the boys division uses a draft system. NOTES: Unless otherwise requested by the parent, children of head coaches are automatically on their parents' teams. Also, parents have the prerogative to determine whether siblings of the same sex in the same age group should be on the same or different teams.
What is the time commitment for players in this league?
The time commitment is 1.25 hours during the week and 1.25 hours on the weekend. Travel teams are more than twice that total. It is very important that all players who register have schedules that will permit them to attend the majority of practices and games. Frequent conflicts with indoor soccer, winter swimming, other basketball programs, school plays, etc. is especially disruptive to a team. Substantial unexcused absences may result in limited playing time, or even in being dropped from the team.
Can a player be cut after the evaluations/tryouts?
No. Evaluations/tryouts are just used to evaluate skill levels in order to balance teams. They are never used to cut players.
How can parents get involved?
At the highest level of commitment, parents are needed as coaches and assistant coaches. On a week-to-week basis, parents are needed to help run the clocks at the games, keep the scorebooks, help lower/raise the baskets, organize team parties, etc.
In addition to working on a child's team, we need parents to help out in the administration of either the boys or girls divisions. For example, help is needed updating the database, ordering and distributing game shirts and other equipment, or a variety of other important tasks.
The league appreciates any parents who want to be a sponsor. A minimum donation of $100 is requested for any sponsors. If you are interested in helping in any way, please contact us.
Are any special uniforms, shoes, or equipment required in order to play?
Each player will be provided with a game shirt. No special practice shirts are required, and no special shorts or shoes are needed for practices or games. Players should wear top quality shoes that provide good support that will help prevent injuries. Each coach is provided with basketballs for the team. If a player wants to bring his/her own ball to practices (no extra balls are ever needed at games), please be sure to have that ball labeled with your name. NOTE: Individual coaches may prefer that players do not bring their own balls to practice.
Are practices or games ever automatically canceled?
Winter snow storms can force practices and games to be canceled. Players will generally be notified of any cancellations by their coaches. In the event that a school is dismissed early due to a storm, there will be no practices or games at that school that evening. Check with your coach following any cancellations for information as to schedule changes resulting from a winter storm. Please note: the website will not announce cancellations.
What is the ICBA League? Can/should my child participate in that?
The Inter-County Basketball Association (ICBA) was created in 2009 and currently has over 50 different organizations from the five county Philadelphia area participating in the league. The Paoli Wildcats place both boys and girls teams in this league, which plays at the same time as the regular Wildcats season, plus there will be a tournament season in March. Tryouts will be held to determine who partipates on each team. Players in both leagues need to have a flexible schedule that avoids conflicts. See the ICBA tab for more information on this program.
Are there other leagues available if the Wildcats are full?
The Upper Main Line YMCA has basketball leagues for area youth (grades 3-4 and grades 5-9). The program is run throughout the winter on Saturdays only, beginning in December. Discounts for Y members. Call 610-647-YMCA or go to www.umly.org.
The Malvern Basketball League has a winter league for boys and girls from 2nd-8th grades, plus a high school division, with games Saturday and Sunday afternoons and some evenings, Dec.-March. Go to www.malvernleague.com for more information.
What if my son is 13 (or older) and still wants to play basketball?
There is a 13 year old division in the Wildcats for girls. For boys the Wildcats end at age 12, but there is a Valley Forge Basketball League for 13-15 year old boys. See www.valleyforgebb.com or email fademb@comcast.net for more information.
|