THE 2017-18 Season Schedule will be out about mid-November for the first few weeks and the remainder of season for 2018 will be out about mid-December hopefully.
The scheduling issues are due to getting priority after the school teams and programs and the limited number of gyms in the district. In many cases gyms are not available to our program until 6:15 or 6:30  ( which means doors do not open until that time - so if you are trying to drop a child off early, they nay not be able to get in the school - especially important to note when temps are cold) - with two to three practice times a night. Occasionally last practice of night may end at 9:15pm. (It is important that players are picked up on time)

For Grades 3 - 6,  teams practice will vary of nights - some weeks there may be only one practice and some weeks two. So the night of the week will also have to be inconsistent from week to week. And for most grades the school location will vary some as well. All Games are currently being planned for Saturdays.

For Grades K (must be in K currently) - 2nd grade - we only have Saturday practices and scrimmages usually at a Elem. school.

We are unable to give you consistent schedules with our current gym space we are allotted.

BE SURE TO REMEMBER YOUR TEAM #, when teams are listed !!!

The first couple weeks are all that we are scheduling at this time as the school calendar for events continues to change. We hope to place the January schedule out there by Christmas time. So expect some changes and updates as the season goes on. BE SURE TO ALWAYS CHECK THE ON-LINE SCHEDULE, AS THAT WILL BE OFFICIAL SCHEDULE.

Scheduling nearly 130 teams into the allotted gym times we are given by the school is nearly impossible to give everyone the times they would like or prefer. So as changes occur it is not the fault of the program - we must back down from events the school plans. Some of those come up by school personal within a day or two - so changes will happen at some point. Thanks for understanding we try to make it as even as possible.

Here is a link to the scheduling from last year to give you some idea.

2017-2018 schedule go to: http://www.playinfo.org/page/show/147380-schedules

PLAY would like to introduce our In-House Directors.  Don Horkey will be head of boys in-house again this year, and Andrea Fisher will be taking over the girls in-house position.  Both Don and Andrea have children participating in the PLAY basketball program, at the in-house and traveling levels.  They have also volunteered for many years  in the program.

PLAY is a volunteer organization and the more volunteers PLAY has the better the overall program will become.  We are looking for head coaches, assistant coaches, and team parents.  Please fill out a coaching application, if you would like to coach this year and make sure PLAY has a current background check on file.

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 for the 2017-2018 season.

To contact a board member, click on 'Board' on the left side of the screen.  Once you open the 'Board' link, you will be able to click on the appropriate Board member to contact them. 

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

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:

• In-House:

• November 15th K-2 Coaches training PLHS  7:30 -9pm
• November 18th 3-6 Coaches training TOMS  8-11am
• November 20th or 21st Equipment Pickup at The Shed.
• November 27th season begins for grades 3-6
• December 2nd K-2 season begins
• December 2nd 3-6 scrimmages
• December 2nd picture day

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 court
• 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. "Without Officials it is just a scrimmage."
  If you are that good at officiating - please volunteer to officiate or hold your comments. 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!

Please use the appropriate form below for entering your information:

*     Coaches URL   (Coaches use this site to enter information):

o   Coach = https://coach.questionpro.com

·         Officials URLs   (Officials use this site to enter):

o   Official = https://official.questionpro.com

Be sure to completely fill out your survey to get proper credit for the information.

Coaches that do not reply - may not be considered for coaching positons in the future. Officials must reply in order to be paid for their games. Thank you for your support of the Team Sportsmanship award program.

When are practices and games?
 
K-2nd - Meet only on Saturdays (practices & scrimmages) Starting Nov 27th - Teams will be notified by their coach by Nov 24th.

3rd-6th grade : Practice days will vary!

* 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.  Dates rotate by week and practices ore typically Mon/Thurs and Tues/Fri. However, due to number of teams, there are some weeks where day of the week will vary. There will be no Wednesday dates. 

* Times on weeknights will be either 6:15-7:45 or 7:45-9:15pm. Saturdays will be about 1 hour and will start at 8am and go through morning as needed, based on # of teams.

* Teams will be determined by Nov. 19th - Coaches will notify team by Nov. 22 or check website.

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

What is the Cost?

 *The fees are based on grade and In-House. The fee schedule follows:
(Note-Officials in Training are used at 3rd grade and above)

In-House: (Developmental - All positions should be attempted)

- K-2: $90

- 3-4: $130 

- 5-6: $150
 

*  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.

Interested in Coaching?

*  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

P.L.A.Y. 7th & 8th Grade IM/League Basketball Information

REGISTRATION OPENED 10/27! See above left!

We recently been speaking with BAC in Burnsville as they have similar issues with low numbers to make a 7th/8th grade Intramural League work. So we are hoping to combine with them to offer a Unique across Communities program. To do this we will need more players to sign up for this league.

This would have P.L.A.Y. 7th/8th graders play in an In-House League with some BAC teams and possibly a couple teams from Lakeville as well.

This offers an opportunity to play with purpose yet with less competitiveness than traveling in an In-House level. And only have to travel as far as Burnsville.

* The In-House League would run from the first week in January until approx. March 12th.
* Practices may be after school on Tue & Thur 2:30 -4, or one may be on a Friday evening possibly.

* There would only be one game played each Saturday morning running about every hour starting at 8am and going to about Noon.

* Games would have refs and likely will be played at Nicollet Junior High in Burnsville or possibly Eagle Ridge in Savage.  BAC (Burnsville Athletic Club) will be in charge of the League and P.L.A.Y. will follow all their rules and rulings.

* The same fee that is being charged for Intramural will be the cost of the 7th/8th grade League. Cost is $98

** We will need parent coaches to step up in order for this program to continue.
Practice Times are limited to Tue & Thur after school 2:30 - 4pm.

It would be great to get this League off the ground even though many details aren’t complete yet. This is something that can then be sustained through the future giving our 7th/8th graders an opportunity to continue to play basketball. Our hope that in the future we can expand this to include a Girls League as well.

So the Registration is open on the P.L.A.Y. website,   Registration will close on Dec. 15th  . At that time determine how many teams we will have in the League.  And more information on the League will come out as we get closer we will send it to those that are registered. But we need some volunteers to coach!!

 Thanks for your interest in Basketball.

Thanks to the young men and women that are looking forward to learn the Officials role in a game.

These are students at PLHS between 9th - 12th grade. We have a majority that are coming back for their 2nd or 3rd year. There are also a number just getting started. This position offers them an opportunity to grow as a Leader and develop Confidence in their abilities.

Not everyone is capable of getting on the floor and giving Officiating a go - as it can be challenging for a 14-18 yr old to come out do this job. They may have a bad day or a few bad calls (in your eyes) but there has never been a PERFECT Player, Coach, Fan or Official - so let it go.

The IH Officials do get paid a small amount - but when compared to those  officiating Traveling games we are saving about 60% over those cost and again, giving students from our community an opportunity. If we had outside officials - there would likely be a substantial rise in the cost and in truth the officiating may only be marginally better but not necessarily across the board..

Your support of these Officails is required, no matter what their call, only 50% of the gym will usually agree with them - so it is not easy for a young man or woman to accept. Thanks to all that are challenging themselves to be officials.

The P.L.A.Y. Officials program (Baseball and Basketball) is in it's 8th year and we have had at least 4 young people go on to pursue it at the High School Varsity Level since.

Honor the Game - Respect Officials

Coaches should Coach - not Ref

Parents should cheer - not Coach or Ref

Players should Play - learn life lessons and emotional control