Redwood Chapter

National Junior Basketball

Overview of NJB Programs:
Rookie, Division, High School, All-New
What are the differences?

o Redwood is one of 14 NJB chapters within the Silicon Valley Section. See www.siliconvalleynjb.com for more information. See also www.njbl.org for information about the national organization, headquartered in Irvine, CA.
The Redwood Chapter comprises the following cities: Menlo Park, Atherton, Woodside, and Portola Valley. East Palo Alto residents may register in either Palo Alto or Redwood. Families who live north of the Redwood chapter boundaries and who registered with Redwood in the 2007-08 season or earlier may continue to participate in the Redwood Chapter. For 2009-10, all girls should register with Redwood whether living within the Redwood boundary or north of it.

Redwood has four youth basketball programs:

§ Rookie League for 1^st and 2^nd grade boys and girls

§ Divisional League for 3^rd through 8^th grade boys and girls

§ All-Net League for 5^th through 8^th grade boys and girls

§ High School League for boys in 9^th through 12^th grades who choose not to play on their high school team. 9th and 10th for JV, 11th and 12th for Varsity.

o Rookie League

§ Teams of ten kids, boys and girls (boys and girls are not mixed on teams, but will play each other).

§ We rely on parent coaches for all rookie league teams.

§ Teams are formed to provide a competitive balance. We will make an effort to place friends together in Rookie League.

§ Practices are once per week for one hour. Games are on Sundays.

§ We will play eight regular season games (the game days are noted on our web calendar, and the final schedule will be posted in November). We will also have a post-season tournament. All games are played versus other Redwood teams.

§ Kids play on a full court, with baskets lowered to 8 feet in height. The ball is 27.5 inches in circumference.

§ We do not keep score. We do employ referees so the kids experience real basketball, but the referees will take the time to explain their calls to the kids so they can learn the game.

§ Kids get the use of regular NJB uniforms for the season

Rookie league follows Division 3 rules with the following exceptions

1. no player advantage rule

2. no pass in the back court required off a defensive rebound

3. no pressing in the 5th quarter

4. no free throws to begin the game

5. all defense players must have one foot in the key until the offense passes the attack line.

o Divisional League

§ The heart of NJB basketball, Division teams consist of ten kids.

§ We rely on parent coaches for all Division teams.

§ Divisions are broken down by grade and by gender:

· Division Three is for 3^rd and 4^th graders (27.5 inch ball)

· Division Two is for 5^th and 6^th graders (28.5 inch ball)

· Division One is for 7^th and 8^th graders (29.5 inch ball for boys, 28.5 for girls)

§ We have boys and girls teams in each division. Boys and girls teams do not play each other. Teams will play other Redwood teams as well as teams from other Silicon Valley chapters.

§ Teams are formed through a competitive draft. In order to participate, all kids must appear in at least one Skill Evaluation Session (see the calendar on this web site for the schedule of evaluations). The purpose of the evaluations is to enable all the coaches to see how the kids play, so they can draft a balanced, competitive team. The evaluations are not done to “cut” players. Each child who registers on time will be placed on a team, except in the rare event that we are overbooked. Players are accepted into Divisional Leagues on a first-come, first-served basis.

§ Divisional teams practice two hours per week, usually once on a week night and once on Saturday. Practices are held in an indoor gym facility.

§ For 2008-09, Divisional teams play 9 regular season games during December-February, plus a single-elimination tournament.

§ Division games are played in five eight-minute periods, in which the clock runs continuously (stopping for free throws and time outs only). By rule, each child on a division team will play the entire period for two of the five periods. Coaches can use free substitution in the fifth period.

§ Divisional players are eligible for all-star competition, which runs from the end of the regular season in mid-February to the middle of April. Roughly fifteen percent of Divisional players make the all-star teams.

o All-Net League

§ We field boys and girls All-Net teams in grades 5, 6, 7 and 8. We will have at least one boys team and one girls team in each of those grades. Ball size for grades 5-8 are the same as for division play, shown above.

§ All-Net players must pay an additional $125 upon qualification for an All-Net team. The extra fees are to cover the extra practice, court, and game time the players receive.

§ All-Net play is at a different level than divisonal play. In order to be selected for an All-Net team, the player must attend one or more tryout sessions and show that his or her game is on a par with other advanced players. Not all players who try out for all-net make a team; those who are not chosen must participate in Division Skill Evaluations to be placed on a Division team.

§ All-Net teams play twelve regular season games, and participate in a single-elimination tournament in February-March. Tournament finalists proceed to the National All-Net tournament in Anaheim in March.

§ All-Net teams play by high-school rules, with 4 8-minute quarters run with a “stop clock”. There is no minimum player participation rule, although Redwood All-Net coaches are strongly encouraged to play each player at least eight of the thirty-two minutes in every game.

§ All-Net players must make a higher level of commitment to their team than in other leagues. They must commit to put All-Net ahead of all other commitments except academics and school teams.

§ One of our goals in NJB is to develop players to become qualified to play on their high school teams. For many players, All-Net is a good way to do that. For many other players, however, All-Net is not optimal. Some children may develop better in a division environment where playing time is guaranteed, and particularly where the child is in the lower grade of a division (such as a 7^th grader playing in Division One), the level of competition may be better than all-net. So while we encourage wide participation in the All-Net program, don’t think it is the only or necessarily the best for your child.
All-Net coaches are typically not parent coaches.

o High School League

Redwood NJB attempts to field one or more teams in the High School League. NJB runs only a high school division for boys.
NJB’s High School teams are only for boys who don’t participate on their school team, as California Interscholastic Federation prohibit high school students from playing on a club team while playing for their high school.
If you’re interested in participating but don’t know whether you will be playing for your school, wait until you have more information before registering. For NJB High School league only, teams can be formed as late as the end of November.
Redwood needs a parent to step up and coach the HS teams. Without a coach, there is no team.