Prior Lake Athletics for Youth

Hello, my name is Mike Bush. I am the In-House Basketball Director for Prior Lake Athletics for Youth (P.L.A.Y.). I wanted to take this opportunity to introduce myself and provide information about the P.L.A.Y. In-House basketball program.

Frequently Asked Questions:
On the Right Hand side of this page is a FAQ answers that should help answer many of your questions. If not, click on ‘Board’ and Email the coordinator for your Grade Group!! – Thanks

Volunteering:

Each year the number of participants grows, which requires even a greater need for voluntary directors, board members, coaches, and assistant coaches. Last year we had nearly 700 boys and girls in our In-House program so the need for volunteers is great. You do not need extensive experience to be a coach, just understand the basics of the game and know how to have fun with the kids. That's what it is all about, learning and having fun. (Any parent can qualify for a coach.) Please indicate your willingness to volunteer at registration time.

I would like to introduce the volunteers that make up our In-House Basketball Board.

• 5th & 6th Grade Boys Coordinator – Beth Fuller 
• 5th & 6th Grade Girls Coordinator – Tim Chmielewski
• 3rd & 4th Grade Boys Coordinator – Lisa Warren 
• 3rd & 4th Grade Girls Coordinator – Gloriann Peot
• K-2 Grade Boys Coordinator –   Clint McCullough 
• K-2 Grade Girls Coordinator – Marc Rentschler
• Scheduling Coordinator –Paul Wick
• Referee Coordinator - Lonnie Stein

To to contact a board member - click on'Board' on the left side of the screen and once you open the Board link - you will be able to click on the appropriate Board member to make contact. **

* 7th & 8th Grade Intramural (In-House) Program will be ran through the Traveling Program - for information on this program see the information below, right side.

We will have a great need again this year for coaches and team parents so please consider volunteering your time. You can register to coach on the Registration Software as well.
To complete a Background check – simply go to ‘Forms’ on the website and go to Background checks – this can now be done on-line as well. There is no cost to this and it just takes a few minutes. To become involved in the Basketball Program ask a Board member what you want, can or need to do to help!!

Important Dates:

Important dates for the program can be found by clicking on the Season Calendar link, from the P.L.A.Y. Basketball Home page. The following are key dates to be aware of:

• Oct 8th - On-site registration at TOMS 1pm-3pm
• Oct 24th - In-House Basketball Registration Closes for all grades 
  
• November 20 - Mandatory parents meeting for the In House parents - TOMS Auditorium - Team Announcements
  
  ** ALL BOYS & GIRLS COACHES K-6   should attend COACHING Clinic on Nov. 19 at Hidden Oaks Middle School Gym A!! ** 
  -(no players - children at clinic if possible, thanks)                                              Equipment Handout will follow the clinic at the basketball equipment shed
   
• Nov. 19th  - Girls  5th & 6th Grade In House Draft & Coaches Clinic - Hidden Oaks Middle School

9:00 am Coaches Clinic Gym A&B
9:45 am Players Check-in Begins at HOMS
10:00-10:30 a.m. Evaluations , HOMS C&D Gym 
-Coaches Draft immediately following

• Nov. 19th  - Boys 5th & 6th Grade In House Draft & Coaches Clinic - Hidden Oaks Middle School

9:00 am Coaches Clinic Gym A&B
10:15 am Player Check-in Begins at HOMS
10:30-11:15 a.m. Draft, Gyms A&B - 6th
                                       Gyms C&D - 5th
- Coaches Draft immediately following

• Nov. 23-27  (Thanksgiving) Coaches will contact players- Season Begins week of Nov. 28th.
• Dec. 4th - In House Referee Clinic - HOMS 8:00am - Noon  
• Feb  – K-3rd grade In House Jamboree
• Feb  – 4th -6th grade In House Year end Tournament

In-House Basketball:

The main goal of this program is to provide a means of teaching players of Kindergarten through 6th grade, the skills of playing the sport of basketball. With a progressive series of skills that advances with each grade, we will develop a program to challenge the players but stay within attainable skill sets. This may mean stretching their skills at time, but that is how they will get better. Parental support for all players (both teams) is critical at this time as they work to improve. During these games and practices we want to create a fair and organized approach to securing players, coaches and volunteers, which will demonstrate the following principles:

• Make the sport fun for the kids, coaches and parents
• Give all players similar playing time
• Teach the fundamentals of the game and create curriculum for the progression of skill development
• Demonstrate admirable sportsmanship both on and off the field
• Work as a team
• Officials are young men and women from the community trying to learn the game and the skill of officiating - yelling at them does not help them or their attitude toward officiating.
  If you are that good at officiating - please volunteer. thanks

Please direct specific questions to grade level and sports directors whose contact information can be found on the individual sports board links which can be found by clicking ‘In-House or Traveling’ on the left side of this screen and then click on ‘Board’ also which will appear on the left side of the screen.

Enjoy the season and GO LAKERS!

When are practices and games?
 
K-2nd - Meet only on Saturdays (practices & games)

3rd-6th grade :

Practice times are 2x a week and the night will vary due to a shortage of gyms for the size of the program, in particular at the younger grades.  There will be no Wednesday dates. 

* In-house plays one game on Saturdays against other Prior Lake Teams. The games start in December and run through the end of February with a one day tournament with 2-4 games on Saturday February 26^th.

 *The fees are based on grade and In-House. The fee schedule is as follows:

In-House:

- K-2: $87

- 3-4: $122

- 5-6: $142

  * In-house teams for grades K-4 are picked randomly.
      Grades 5-6^th will have a Evaluation scrimmage/draft to select their teams.

*  Playing time guidelines are as follows. Percentages are minimums per game for in-house:

 * 50% playing time at all grade levels (unless as noted below)

* This is a guideline set by the Basketball Board. Reasons for discrepancies in playing time may include but are not limited to: unexcused absence from practice and tournaments, Code of Conduct violations, poor attitude, lack of effort, disrespect towards coaches, teammates or opponents, consistently late for games and practice.

*   In-house: a jersey top will be provided, each player should have their own shorts and proper gym shoes. No marking black soled shoes should be allowed.

*  Basketball is required to provide hall monitors at all school practices and games. This saves PLAY Basketball a lot of money which in turn allows us to keep our fees down and keep our equipment up to date. We also use an all parent volunteer staff for both our In-House and traveling tournaments. ALL parents will be required to be a hall monitor when their child’s team is practicing. Unfortunately in the past, volunteer spots were often not filled so the volunteer deposit was implemented. A detailed explanation is on a separate link on the PLAY website. In-House Deposit is $100.

*  If you are interested in coaching, first, thank you for volunteering. We need you to complete a coaches application and background check form found on the web site. Also, please email your grade coordinator or traveling coordinator about your desire to coach and if you have a co-coach. This is the best way to ensure we know of your intentions to coach your child. All Coaches must adhere to the Code of Conduct throughout P.L.A.Y. sports to be considered for a coaching position. 

* If you have further questions about what team your child is on - or about the schedule - please contact the Coordinator of your grade group. You can contact them by email, by going to 'Board' on the upper left hand side and then finding the proper person for your grade. thanks

In-House Basketball Teams are being built.

VOLUNTEER COACHES will be given their team roster and ask to contact the members if you have not been contacted as of yet -please contact your Grade Coordinator - by clicking on "Board' button at top of page and then scroll all the way down and click on Basketball Board then the name of your grade coordinator. This will allow your volunteer coordinator to get the information to you via email.  Thanks

This page will open the window to all of the grade groups within In-House basketball.
You will be able to get an overview of each League on the corresponding grade page (in the future).
Click on Boys or Girls, Grade Level and than find your team page for updates or information.

YOU MUST BE LOGGED IN TO SEE YOUR TEAM WEBPAGE. Otherwise you will only see the League Page for that Grade Group.