Oregon Youth Basketball (OYB) places boys and girls in a safe and educational environment which fits their skill and interest level. The policy of OYB is to place children on teams and in leagues where they are best suited to develop their basketball skills and understanding of the game. The placement options differ by grade and are as follows:
1st Grade-2nd Grade:
Our 1st and 2nd grade program is strictly an in-house program which focuses solely on building basic basketball fundamentals. This program will consist of seven or eight sessions during the season. Each of these sessions will be split into different components. The first component will focus on skill development which will be led by high school staff and assisted by team coaches. The second component will consist of 3v3 games which will be led by the team coaches. This program is considered part of our Oregon Youth Basketball League (OYBL). All sessions will take place on Saturday mornings. There are no weeknight practices for this age level.
Sessions typically start at 8:30, 9:45 and 11:00. Each session will be 65 minutes long. Times are subject to change if needed.
3rd Grade:
This program is strictly an in-house program which focuses solely on building basic basketball fundamentals. Practices will be one night per week with games played on Saturdays. These games will be 5 vs. 5 full court games to develop a full scale understanding of basketball. Teams will be made up of 3rd graders and 4th graders who choose to play OYBL. Equal playing time will be provided to each player. The league will do its best to divide teams equally. This program is considered part of our Oregon Youth Basketball League (OYBL).
4th Grade-6th Grade:
Players in this program will have the option of playing in our Oregon Youth Basketball League (OYBL) or trying out for a traveling basketball team. Players who choose Travel Basketball will go through an evaluation process. Following evaluations, players who have stronger fundamentals will be offered an opportunity to play on a Travel Basketball team. When forming teams, evaluators will be looking for a 'natural break' between groups of players. The number of players on a Travel Team and the number of Travel Basketball Teams in each grade will vary from year to year and grade to grade. Players who are not extended an invitation to play Traveling Basketball will have the opportunity to play in the Oregon Youth Basketball League (OYBL) in order to strengthen their fundamental basketball skills.
7th Grade-8th Grade:
Players in this grade have the option of trying out for a Travel Basketball team or playing basketball for Oregon Middle School or BOTH. Players who choose to play Travel Basketball will need to go through an evaluation process. Not all players that try out for Travel Basketball will be placed on one of the traveling team(s). Following evaluations, players who have stronger fundamentals will be offered an opportunity to play on a Travel Basketball team. When forming teams, evaluators will be looking for a 'natural break' between groups of players. The number of players on a Travel Team and the number of Travel Basketball Teams in each grade will vary from year to year and grade to grade. Players who are not extended an opportunity to play Travel Basketball will be encouraged to play Oregon Middle School basketball in order to strengthen their fundamental basketball skills. ALL PLAYERS are recommended to play Oregon Middle School basketball.
Oregon Youth Basketball League (OYBL)
The main focus of OYBL is to introduce players to the sport of basketball and build the key fundamentals which will assist your child in becoming a better basketball player. If your child has not played organized basketball or is looking to build introductory basketball skills, this is the league for your child. This league is also a good option for families that are not looking to travel distances to other communities to play basketball games. All OYBL games will be played in the Oregon school district; however we reserve the right to potentially combine with a neighboring school district to provide the children opportunities to play a wider variety of opponents. OYBL is less of a time commitment than Traveling Basketball since players practice only one night per week and play games on Saturdays.
Practices for 3rd - 6th grade run November through February with games on Saturday mornings in January and February. Due to the number of participants (over 600+ annually) practice night requests are not accepted. Skill sessions for 1st-2nd grade take place on seven or eight different Saturdays between December and February.
Middle School Basketball
Middle School basketball is not an entity within Oregon Youth Basketball. This is a program that is run by the Oregon School District and is an option for students/players who either are not on an Oregon Youth Basketball Traveling Team or choose not to play on an Oregon Youth Basketball team. Oregon Youth Basketball and high school coaches highly recommend that all kids who play on a Travel Team also play Middle School basketball as well. Middle School basketball provides an opportunity to play the game of basketball 4-5 times per week.
Sign up for middle school basketball will occur through Oregon Middle School. Oregon Youth Basketball does not handle registration for middle school basketball.
Travel Basketball
Travel Basketball is available to players in grades 4 through 8. Travel Basketball is an option for players who have played organized basketball in the past and have developed the basic fundamentals. Travel Basketball is also a greater time commitment than OYBL. Players practice a minimum of twice per week and play multiple games on the weekends. Travel Basketball teams can be placed in a variety of leagues or tournaments. Some of the potential placement options for teams are Badger Development League (BDL) Southwest Basketball League (SWBL), and/or Tournaments. League or tournament placement will depend on several factors including but not limited to team strength and league strength. Not all teams will play in the same league(s) or tournaments. The youth board and HS coaches will make a recommendation for league placement. If your child plays in our home tournament, the expectation is that those parents will volunteer a minimum of TWO hours, per player in the program, during the tournament weekend. Not every team will play in the Oregon home tournament. Typically at the 4th level, if they are evenly split teams, those teams would both play. Recreational level travel teams would typically not play to ensure teams are competing against appropriate competition. At the tiered grade levels (5th - 8th grade), typically the Orange team will be the only team to play. The exception to this rule will be if the varsity coach and youth board determine a particular team (Black or White), at these grade levels would have the opportunity to be competitive in the home tournament. Historically, our home tournament attracts highly competitive, traditional “A” level teams, and we want to ensure our teams are competing against similarly structured teams to give them the best chance possible to learn, grow, and succeed. We will make every attempt to split 4th grade Travel teams evenly. The exception to this guideline would be if there are enough players to form three competitive teams at 4th grade, then there will possibly be TWO evenly split teams and a third recreational level travel team. This is at the discretion of the evaluators and the OYB Board. We will tier (traditional A/B/C teams) in 5th - 8th grade.
Travel practices start in late October or early November. Tournaments typically run November through early March.
Player Evaluations
The player evaluation process is coordinated by the Oregon Youth Basketball Board, however, no members of the Oregon Youth Basketball Board assist with, or perform any of the player evaluations. Evaluators are selected by the respective varsity basketball coaches and youth board. They may consist of the varsity coaches, high school coaching staffs or other qualified evaluators. No parents of any youth players will be allowed to evaluate or are allowed in the gym during evaluations. Parents are not allowed to see any of the player scores for the players that tryout. Evaluations must be attended by all players; make up tryouts will only be accommodated under specific circumstances such as illness, funerals, etc. A player may request an alternate tryout but it will need to be approved by the Oregon Youth Basketball board.
Coaches
To ensure a safe environment for the players, all coaches will be required to submit background information which will be used by Oregon Youth Basketball to approve the coaches. In addition, coaches will be required to attend a coaches clinic provided by the varsity basketball coaches or youth basketball board prior to their respective season. Coaches for traveling teams will only be selected following tryouts. Traveling Team coaches will not determine the players on their teams; this will be determined solely by player evaluations. Any concerns with coaches during the basketball season should be discussed first with the respective coach and then brought to the Oregon Youth Basketball board if necessary. Common sense and appropriate consideration should be used to determine the best time to approach a coach. Please remember that most coaches are volunteering their time and have the best interests for the program.
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