the Price of Youth Basketball

The community makes up teams of all the kids who sign up and provides coaches from a pool of volunteers. If your son or daughter was involved previously, they usually try to keep the same teams together and keep kids from one school or area on the same team. This helps with the location of practices and carpooling etc. Also kids continue to play together which usually increases their skill level as well, since they are comfortable playing basketball together and know the same plays etc. The teams meet twice a week for a couple hours for practice. After a few weeks, the games start. Our league had one game a week on Saturdays.

The coaches all have a high level of interest in bringing kids along in terms of their skills and sportsmanship. Some coaches are better equipped than others to lead teams of kids in varying ages and skill levels, but overall they do a good job. Most volunteer coaches try to stick to the level of their own expertise, so if they know only a little about the sport, they try to stick to the lower age groups. Our kids have enjoyed the experience immensely and although there were probably more losing seasons than winning seasons, it was a character building opportunity as well as a chance to learn new skills.

Try to get involved in your child's team - as a team parent to make phone calls or treats. Support your coach so they do not have to do everything and can concentrate more on the kids.