Knicks (Muni)

Attention Muni League Parents:

Muni-League begins November 25th at 7 PM.  We will also be having a parent meeting at that time to give you details of how the league will operate and to ensure that we have all the kids properly registered and paid, so they can participate. 

PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU ATTEND THE MEETING.  We don't want to have to make a child sit-out while their friends are participating, but we have to make sure that all kids are properly covered by insurance and registration paperwork submitted!

Attention Hoopsters Parents:

As previously announced, our plans are to begin December 6th.   We have run into a small scheduling problem as we were not notified that the school gyms are not available that day.  We are working on an alternate location in the village to move to for December 6th and we will keep you posted!    

As we develop more information on our solution and will keep you updated through email, facebook and twitter.

Should you have any questions - please email: hoops@johnsoncityhoops.com

If you do not follow Johnson City Hoops on Twitter, I urge you to do so. PLEASE KEEP READING.

Twitter is where we will send all of our urgent and last minute information to keep you up to speed.

Below are directions to receive "tweets" from Johnson City Hoops using your cell phone text messages (which we think is the easiest way to receive tweets)!

Twitter is VERY simple to sign-up for (less than a minute) and it requires nothing more than for you to receive and read text messages on your phone.

You can stop receiving messages at any time.

Very simply, how twitter works is you "follow" Johnson City Hoops and then any message we put out on twitter (called a tweet) will come to your cell phone. It's that simple and it allows us to mass broadcast to anyone who cares to receive our messages.

Why are our messages important to you? We will put out game and practice changes or cancellations via twitter; we will broadcast basketball playing opportunities and skills sessions; and we will use twitter to direct you to our website when the message is too long to "tweet." This will be for all program levels.

Here is how to signup for and follow us on twitter using your cell phone (please note if you pay for text messages, you will get charged when we send a tweet - we don't send a ton, but be aware. If you have unlimited texts, you will not be charged):

1.  Send a text message with the word START to 40404 (put in 40404 just like it was a person's name - 40404 connects you to Twitter).

2. Twitter will send you a reply and ask you to reply back with your full name to sign up.

3. Twitter will then send a message back to you and assign you a username based on your full name. 

4.  You're account is all setup. Now send one more text that says "follow @jcwildcathoops" - exactly as it appears in the quotes.

5.  You're done and will receive our tweets as a text message everytime we send one. If you have other family members or spouses you want to be updated with information, they can follow the above instructions as well.

6.  If you ever want to stop receiving our tweets - send a text to 40404 that says "off @jcwildcathoops" to stop just our messages, or "off" to stop all twitter messages.

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·   Where do we travel?  Most travel occurs to other schools in Broome County; however, depending upon the schedule, some teams may travel to Chenango County (Norwich, Greene), Tioga County (Newark Valley, Owego, Waverly), and possibly the Athens/Sayre area of Pennsylvania.

·   When are games? Games and practices are held on various days of the week and Saturdays, depending upon gym availability for the Johnson City Hoops basketball program, as well as availability of gym time for other area teams.

·  Where are practices and games?  Most practices and home games will be held at either the Elementary or Middle school. 

·  Can your son/daughter play in muni-league (or other leagues) and the travel program?  Not all players who try-out for the travel program will make the team.  Therefore, we HIGHLY recommend all kids sign up for the JC Hoops  muni-league program, regardless of whether or not they intend to try-out for travel teams. This way, if they do not make a travel team they still have a place to play basketball. 

§    If your child makes a travel team, we expect them to be committed to the travel basketball program.  JC Hoops has made the decision that players will not be allowed to participate in other programs this year.  Since the travel program is a competetive program, by making the team, they have likely taken a spot away from someone else.  If they are not committed to the travel program as a first priority, they should not try out for travel basketball.  Scheduling conflicts between travel and other programs would be expected due to the fact that travel games can be any day of the week and are dependant on other districts schedules and availabilty as much as our own.  We will evaluate this decision on a yearly basis to determine what's best for all the kids involved at all levels.  

·  How many teams are there?  The numbers of teams to be sponsored are determined on a yearly basis, dependant upon several factors including: funding available; the number of interested candidates; the number of qualified candidates that will allow competitive teams to be formed; and gym availability.  Our target for this season is two boy’s teams and two girl’s teams, which will likely be comprised of a mixture of grades, such as 4th/5th, 5th/6th, etc.  However, the actual number of teams and the placement of players by grade are determined annually by Johnson City Hoops program coaches and advisors, based on the best information we have available at the time.   

·   Who attends tryouts? All candidates for the travel program must attend tryouts - INCLUDING RETURNING PLAYERS.  There are no guaranteed spots on the teams for any players, including returning players. This includes the fact that there may not be a team at the appropriate level for a player who played last year (for example, a third grader last year who played travel may not be selected if we assemble only a 5th adn 6th grade team).  Any 4th through 6th grade boy or girl interested in trying out for the team is welcome (open tryout).  Select 3rd graders MAY be invited to tryouts; however, try-outs are not open to 3rd graders as they are by invite only.  If you believe you have a 3rd grader who should be considered for the travel basketball program, please email hoops@johnsoncityhoops.com and request an evaluation of your child at an open gym, prior to tryouts.  Parents of all players MUST accompany their child to the first tryout date to ensure they are properly registered.  All players who sign-up for Hoopsters/Muni-League or Travel will be enrolled as members of the Amateur Athletic Union, for insurance purposes.  Players must be enrolled as an AAU member prior to participating in tryouts or open gyms, so please ensure we have received all information necessary prior to arrival on the first day of tryouts or open gym.  JC Hoops will include the cost of AAU membership for all candidates in the registration fee of the player.  In addition to tryouts, players interested in making travel teams are strongly encouraged to attend open gyms where they will be able to familiarize themselves with drills used during tryouts and coaches are affording the opportunity to observe them over a longer period of time than just the tryout period.  

·  What is the cost? All players must register prior to attending open gyms or tryouts.  If selected to a team, there will be a cost associated with play.  The cost for the this season is $50 (with the opportunity to reduce cost to zero ($0).  $10 will be collected at the time of registration for all players.   The $40 balance will be payable at the first parent meeting for players that make the travel teams.  

The cost for the travel program includes a uniform that players keep, all required insurance and 20+ games which may or may not include some tournaments.  This is easily one of the best deals around for a competetive basketball program.

In addition to the $50, travel parents are expected to work at concession stands for tournaments hosted by the club, especially during the Johnson City Hoops sponsored "Hoopfest Classic" in the end of March (Saturday AND Sunday).  Tournaments support our club and allow us to keep costs low.  Due to the excellent participation of parents in the program, we were able to reduce the cost from $100 for the 2013-2014 season to $50 since.  This will continue as long as we have parent participation.  

Tournaments are the only MANDATORY fundraising participation required for parents of the travel program and your total work time between will be approximately 6-8 hours.

Please understand that the cost guarantees that the player will be afforded the opportunity to practice with travel teams and attend games.  There is no guaranteed amount of playing time.  This is a competitive team.    

·   What if I can't afford the cost?  We make it easy to PLAY FOR FREE!  All that is required on the part of players or parents is a little initiative!  Players MUST pay up front (no exceptions).  Players will be given 10 raffle tickets that are sold for $5 each.  Players will KEEP all of the money from the tickets they sell!  So, if you sell all 10 tickets, you play for free! The Travel Basketball program is sponsored by the Johnson City Hoops AAU Basketball Club, a non-profit organization that obtains all funds through fundraising.  As such, we must charge a fee to cover the costs of the travel program. We simply cannot afford to pay for players who do not do something to assist the club financially, but we will work with you in any way we can.   

·   How many players are on each team?  The number of players per team is determined on an annual basis, based on player assessments.  

·   What if I have more questions? Please contact us at: hoops@johnsoncityhoops.com

Johnson City Hoops will be offering two levels of basketball this season:  A Hoopsters instructional and recreational program for players in  2nd thorugh 6th grade and a Travel program for players in 3rd through 6th grade.  

The Hoopsters program will be run by JV and Varsity boys and girls players under the direction of school program coaches.   The emphasis will be on basketball instruction and fun.   There will be no organized league, but pickup games will be played and teams will be divided up each week based on player ages and abilities.  Each Hoopster participant will get a t-shirt.

The travel program is a competetive division.  There will be tryouts and not all players will make the teams.   Games are played throughout the Southern Tier.   More information on the travel program will be availalbe through Frequently Asked Questions once online registration is activated.

ONLINE REGISTRATION WILL BEGIN SOON.  PLEASE KEEP AN EYE ON OUR WEBSITE, TWITTER AND FACEBOOK PAGES FOR ONLINE REGISTRATION INFORMATION AND LINKS.  

TRYOUT INFORMATION

• Please ensure you register prior to entering the gym.  All candidates for the travel program must be registered with the Amateur Athletic Union for insurance purposes. 
• TRYOUTS ARE CLOSED TO PARENTS!  NO EXCEPTIONS
• The number of teams (i.e. spots) available for players is based on an assessment of how many kids are ready to play at the more advanced level required in travel basketball, combined with the amount of gym time available to the travel program.  Assessments are made by travel program coaches, with assistance from Varsity and JV coaches.
• Spots on travel teams are not guaranteed from year to year.  While we would love to have a spot for every child that wanted to play travel basketball, the reality is that we do not have enough gym time or coaches with the required basketball knowledge.
• Those members selected to teams will be announced on Friday, November 4^th on the Johnson City Basketball Club website: www.johnsoncityhoops.com
  • PLEASE NOTE: The teams will be announced on the website as soon as possible after try-outs; however, the hour may be late, as tryouts will not end until 8:30 pm and it may take a while for coaches to make selections and to ensure that we thoroughly examine the entire group of candidates. 
  • In any event – if teams are not posted before you go to bed Friday night, the rosters will be available very early Saturday morning so that players selected for teams will have time to attend the mandatory meeting on Saturday at 12 Noon. 
  • If an unexpected event occurs, such as the website being down, etc. – please contact Pat Garey at 343-2615 on Saturday morning. 
    PLEASE DO NOT CALL UNLESS THE WEBSITE IS DOWN AND A PLAYER’S TEAM STATUS CANNOT BE DETERMINED.
    • If you have any other questions, please email information@johnsoncityhoops.com
• IF YOUR CHILD MAKES A TEAM – There is a mandatory meeting/uniform fitting/paperwork session for PLAYERS AND PARENTS/GUARDIANS on Saturday, November 5^th @ 12 Noon, in the Elementary School Gym.  If players do not have proper paperwork completed, they CANNOT participate in the travel program.