K-2 Recreation Basketball

With limited gym space and other challenges, all participants must be South Hadley residents and/or students in the South Hadley School system to be eligible to play.  We play games versus other South Hadley and Granby teams.    

We will have three divisions within this age group: Kindergarten Coed, Grade 1/2 Girls and Grade 1/2 Boys.  The qualifying date August 31, 2022, and players must have turned five years of age by that date and currently be enrolled in kindergarten to play in kindergarten division.  We do not move kids up/down unless we do not have enough kids to form a division and we must combine.   

Our K-2 Recreation Basketball program teaches players the fundamentals of basketball, and we use shorter hoops and lighter basketballs to make it easier for the kids. They will learn skills such as dribbling, passing, shooting and more in a fun, non-competitive environment.  While games are played, we do not keep scores and games are officiated by the coaches.  The games are very controlled, letting kids dribble and pass freely to their teammates. 

Most weeks, there will be one practice during the week and one game on the weekend (could be either Saturday or Sunday).  On occasion, we might play two games on a weekend and the time will be capped at one hour per session.  Games will start January 7 and will go into early March (the season will be done by March 19).  There might be an occasional weeknight game if a game needs to be made up and both coaches agree.  Game schedules will be released in mid-December will be able to be found at: www.leaguelineup.com/shyouthbasketball

Practice days/times are determined by the head coaches of each team, and we do not know the practice nights in advance of the season. If your child has other commitments and certain nights are bad for you, you can make note of that during the registration process in the “Request/Comments” section and we will do our best to accommodate that.  We typically don’t get to enter the gyms until 5:15pm, so most practices will take place between 5:15-7:15pm for this age group.  Teams meet at that time unless it is a school vacation week or if school is cancelled due to weather. 

If you are looking to leave the program, we can provide a full refund up until the point we order uniforms (typically 1-2 weeks after you find out your practice time). Once uniforms have been ordered we provide a refund minus the cost of the uniform until games begin.  Once games begin, no refunds will be processed. 

Equipment Needed
Sneakers*
Athletic Clothing

*We ask that players have a dedicated pair of sneakers they change into once they are inside to avoid snow, sand, salt etc...being brought into the gym.

For the most part, communications from us go through the coaches as far as cancellations and notification about practices.  You should hear from your coach around Thanksgiving.  

Grades 3-8 Basketball

With limited gym space and other challenges, all participants must be South Hadley residents and/or students in the South Hadley School system to be eligible to play.

Our 3-8th grade program plays in the Quabbin Valley Basketball League with towns such as Belchertown, Chicopee, Granby, East Longmeadow, Monson, Palmer, and Ware.  All practices will be in town as well as at least half of the games. The other half of games will be in the other communities we play against in their gyms.  Teams would expect to meet 2-3 times a week when we practice, and 2-4 times per week once games begin. 

Games are held on weeknights and weekends and will start in January and run no later than March 19. Typically speaking, weeknight games would start after 5:30pm.  The game schedule is released in mid-December.  Game schedules, directions and rules will be able to be found at: www.leaguelineup.com/quabbinvalleybasketball

Practice days/times are determined by the head coaches of each team, and we do not know the practice nights in advance of the season. Teams will get once practice that is the same time each week, and one on the weekend before games start.  If available, teams might be able to add an additional practice time.  If your child has other commitments and certain nights are bad for you, you can make note of that during the registration process in the “Request/Comments” section and we will do our best to accommodate that.   

We typically don’t get to enter the gyms until 5:15pm during the week due to the YMCA after school program.  We try to schedule the younger kids earlier, and the older age groups (7/8^th grade) could go as late as 9pm.  Teams will meet at the scheduled practice times unless it is a school vacation week or if school is cancelled due to weather. 

If you are looking to leave the program, we can provide a full refund up until the point we order uniforms (typically 1-2 weeks after you find out your practice time). Once uniforms have been ordered we provide a refund minus the cost of the uniform until games begin.  Once games begin, no refunds will be processed. 

Equipment Needed:
Sneakers*
Athletic Clothing
Black Athletic Shorts for Games

*We ask that they have a dedicated pair of sneakers they change into once they are inside, to avoid snow, sand, salt, etc… being brought into the gym.

The Recreation Department will supply a shirt  to each player as well as team equipment that the coach will have. 

For the most part, communications from us go through the coaches as far as cancellations and notification about practices.  You should hear from your coach around Thanksgiving.  

Our Grade 5-8 Suburban Basketball program plays in the Suburban Basketball League which has teams from all over Western Massachusetts.   There are separate boys and girls leagues, links to the websites are listed below.  

With limited gym space and other challenges, all participants must be South Hadley residents and/or students in the South Hadley School system to be eligible to play.  The leagues have other requirements such as maximum ages, that we will verify once players are signed up. 

Tryouts for these teams are held if we have enough players signed up.  Ideally, a roster would consist of 10 players.  Based on numbers, we have had grade-based teams in past if we were to get 20 kids in an age group (one team for 7^th and one team for 8^th for example).  If tryouts are needed, they will be held in town and run by an outside panel of evaluators. Dates will be selected and announced after registrations have closed.  Players that don’t make the team will have the option to play on one of our Quabbin League division teams or can opt for a full refund. Coaches for the teams are not selected until after the tryout process has been completed.   Please note, if a tryout is required, this must be the priority if the player has other extra-curricular activities.

Practices are determined by the head coaches of each team, and we do not know the practice nights in advance of the season or tryouts.  Typically, each team gets two weeknight sessions for the season and weekend times before games begin.

We expect games to begin early December and the league typically plays into early March.  Games are held on weekday and weekends in this league.  Game schedules will be able to be found at the links below:

Boys Suburban Basketball: www.leaguelineup.com/bsabl

Girls Suburban Basketball: www.leaguelineup.com/pvgirlsbasketball

If you are looking to leave the program, we can provide a full refund up until the point we order uniforms (typically 1-2 weeks after you find out your practice time). Once uniforms have been ordered we provide a refund minus the cost of the uniform until games begin.  Once games begin, no refunds will be processed. 

Equipment Needed
Sneakers*
Athletic Clothing

*We ask that they have a dedicated pair of sneakers they change into once they are inside, to avoid snow, sand, salt, etc… being brought into the gym.

The Recreation Department will supply a shirt and shorts to each player as well as team equipment that the coach will have. 

For the most part, communications from us go through the coaches as far as cancellations and notification about practices.  You should hear from your coach around Thanksgiving.

Boys Division: 

Dare basketball is our intramural high school program for students looking to play some basketball during the winter months.  Players who play on any high school varsity/JV/frosh basketball team are ineligible to participate.  Players must be of high school age to play in the league.  

With limited gym space and other challenges, all participants must be South Hadley residents and/or students in the South Hadley School system to be eligible to play.  Please note, we have partnered with Granby previously and might do so again based on our registration numbers to have enough teams to play.

The rosters are made up at a league draft with the coaches and one designated captain.  We do not take team or player requests for this division.  Our goal is to have equal teams. 

Practices are determined by the head coaches of each team, and we do not know the practice nights in advance of the season. Typically, each team will get one weeknight practice.  They also get the opportunity to select unused times that come up each week or fill in open weekend times before games begin.    

The games are primarily played on weekend afternoon or evenings; however, we will sometimes play a weeknight game if the gym is available.  Games will start in January and run no later than March 19 due to the spring sports season. The game schedule is released around the end of December.  Game schedules, directions and rules will be able to be found at:

www.leaguelineup.com/shdare. 

If you are looking to leave the program, we can provide a full refund up until the point we order uniforms (typically 1-2 weeks after you find out your practice time). Once uniforms have been ordered we provide a refund minus the cost of the uniform until games begin.  Once games begin, no refunds will be processed. 

Equipment Needed
Sneakers*
Athletic Clothing
Black Athletic Shorts for Games

*We ask that they have a dedicated pair of sneakers they change into once they are inside, to avoid snow, sand, salt, etc… being brought into the gym.

The Recreation Department will supply a tee-shirt to each player as well as team equipment that the coach will have. 

We are always looking for team sponsors where we name the team after the sponsor.  The cost is $200 per team, please reach out to the Recreation Department if you know a business that would be interested. 

For the most part, communications from us go through the coaches as far as cancellations and notification about practices.  You should hear from your coach around mid-December. 

 

Girls Division: 

Dare basketball is our intramural high school program for students looking to play some basketball during the winter months.  Players who play on any high school varsity/JV/frosh basketball team are ineligible to participate.  Players must be of high school age to play in the league.  

With limited gym space and other challenges, all participants must be South Hadley residents and/or students in the South Hadley School system to be eligible to play.

The girls will participate in the Western Mass Basketball League and play against various Western Mass teams (league is run by the Wilbraham Recreation Dept.  South Hadley has typically had two teams in the league each season.   

Practices are determined by the head coaches of each team, and we do not know the practice nights in advance of the season. Typically, each team will get one weeknight practice.  They also get the opportunity to select unused times that come up each week or fill in open weekend times before games begin.    Games typically start in early January and run to March 19.  They can be played on weeknights and/or weekends.  Game schedules, directions and rules will be able to be found at: www.leaguelineup.com/wmassbasketball

If you are looking to leave the program, we can provide a full refund up until the point we order uniforms (typically 1-2 weeks after you find out your practice time). Once uniforms have been ordered we provide a refund minus the cost of the uniform until games begin.  Once games begin, no refunds will be processed. 

Equipment Needed:
Sneakers*
Athletic Clothing
Black Athletic Shorts for Games

*We ask that they have a dedicated pair of sneakers they change into once they are inside, to avoid snow, sand, salt, etc… being brought into the gym.

The Recreation Department will supply a tee-shirt to each player as well as team equipment that the coach will have. 

We are always looking for team sponsors where we name the team after the sponsor.  The cost is $200 per team, please reach out to the Recreation Department if you know a business that would be interested. 

For the most part, communications from us go through the coaches as far as cancellations and notification about practices.  You should hear from your coach around mid-December.