Look for our upcoming offerings in 2010.
Don't miss out on the fun!
The Youth Conference will be divided into five different divisions: 6 – 8 year old girls, 9 – 11 year old girls, 6 - 7 year old boys, 8 – 9 year old boys, and 10 – 11 year old boys. Division break-downs may differ slightly based on enrollment.
What is the Youth Conference all about? As always, we will emphasize fun, skill development, confidence building, and character enhancement. We will always value the aforementioned principles over the importance of winning. We will ask that all Hoops parents and coaches do the same, as this is what is best for the players. The Youth Conference gives players an opportunity to be active and have a great time doing it!
A progressing system for developing players: Between the ages of 6-11, players are growing both physically and emotionally, and the Youth Conference reflects this. For the younger ages, players will play at a lower basket with a smaller sized ball. This helps keep confidence levels high protects young players from forming bad mechanical habits at early ages.
At the youngest divisions (CIF, NCAA), score will not be kept, and in our intermediate division (PAC 10), we will use a form of score keeping called SCORE RESET where the scoreboard is reset after each quarter. This system prevents demoralizing blow-outs that are all too common in many youth leagues, and also allows for players to quickly forget about mistakes and to experience more opportunities for success.
The older players (9 – 11 year old girls, 10 – 11 year old boys) will play on official sized baskets with FULL SCORE KEEPING. Coaches will be instructed to teach age appropriate skills and strategies to their players and some rules may be modified to give players the best basketball experience possible.
Practices: Practices will be once a week, for an hour, in the evenings (all practices are after 5:00 pm). At practices, coaches will be responsible to develop a lesson plan appropriate to his or her players and division level. Foothill Hoops staff will monitor practices and work closely with coaches to guarantee that appropriate skills and strategies are being taught, and that all players are involved.
Games: On Saturdays, games are 40 minutes long, with quarter breaks and a half-time. Players are guaranteed to play at least half of every game and there will never be more that 10 players per team. Also, in order to keep appropriate levels of competition, there are no standings or playoffs for the younger divisions, and for the older players, it is not a central focus of the season. Instead, all teams will play every Saturday, regardless of their record. We want players to have the best experience possible, so all games will be officiated by well-trained referees.
NBA Boys (ages 10-11): 10’0’’ basket, “mens' official” (29.5) basketballs, full score keeping
All Youth Conference players will receive a full uniform and end of the season trophy. Families will also be able to look at schedules, pictures, and game summaries (9 – 11 year old girls, 10 – 11 year old boys) on-line.
Who coaches? Foothill Hoops is grateful to our volunteers who coach our Youth teams. Moms, dads, aunts, uncles, grandparents, friends, and older siblings are all welcome and may volunteer as either a head-coach or an assistant. Anyone who coaches will go through a mandatory coaches’ training and Hoops Staff assistance will be provided throughout the season.
Registration for the summer league is $179 per player with discounts available for siblings. If you have any questions about the Youth Conference, feel free to call us at (818) 636-8165, or you can email us by visiting the "contact" page.
