Team Selection Policy

OUR MISSION

To deliver an enjoyable and rewarding experience to our basketball community with development programs offering opportunities to players of all ages and skill levels that help them to participate and perform on Saturdays, game day.

TEAM SELECTION

The Club often receives requests from parents trying to understand how the club allocates players to teams. This document is designed to provide insight into this process.

Each season the girls’ and boys’ selectors collate teams in consultation with our coaches and a selection panel in the lead-up to each new season.

Ordinarily, teams will get mixed up each season due to changes in players’ ages and cut-off dates (see section below on age groups). This is to ensure players are not advantaged or disadvantaged by their date of birth. It also helps players to learn from each other and enlarges their social networks within the Community.

Team selections are not indefinite selections. They are a placement for a single season only.

Factors Considered in All Team Selection

In addition to a player’s age and availability, there are several other factors considered by the Age Group Coordinators (AGC’s) when allocating players to teams:

• Coaches Reports: Coaches submit a report which covers player’s ability and development, attitude to training & reliability.

• Past History(where applicable): Of the age group and grade played in previous seasons.

• Team Selection session performance: AGC’s and several age group coaches will review the progress of players against their age group peers in team selection sessions. Often players do not develop at the same rate, so it is not unusual for players to move between grades and therefore teams differently.

• Team Balance: In the interest of the enjoyment of the players the club will often mix teams that have a balance of skill, speed, height and in older age groups that ability to play a position. It is important to understand that the more constraints/restrictions you have for your child (e.g. training availability, friend request), the fewer opportunities for your child to be placed in a team matched to their ability. If you wish for your child to be placed in a team on their ability, keeping restrictions to a minimum will assist.

• Friends: Requests for a single pair of friends to be kept together are accommodated if possible. If there’s a skill difference between the players, they will be allocated to a team suited to the less-skilled player (noting that this may mean that the team is graded at a higher level). One-sided requests will not be considered and requests across different age groups will not be considered (see age groups below). These requests must be included in the designated area within the registration form.

FRIEND /SCHOOL COHORT TEAMS (U8/U9 ONLY) AND CUSTOM TEAMS (U15/U16 AND ABOVE ONLY)

Organised team basketball offers the perfect opportunity for players to meet and make new friends whilst developing their leadership and group interaction abilities.

In general, the club reserves the right to ensure that the top 2/3 teams in each age group are selected based on merit/ability/talent. This is aimed at ensuring the club is competitive in all grades it competes in.

The club however appreciates that there will be players wanting to play together however, logistically this is not always possible to accommodate with the club having such a large playing group.

‘Friend/School Cohort Teams’ (teams created through/by school or friend cohorts) are only offered in U8/U9 age groups,

‘Custom Teams’ (teams created by a group of individuals) are offered from the U15/U16 and above age groups only. Reciprocated friendship requests are available in all age groups.

Friend/School Cohort and Customs teams must:

Provide the majority of a playing group (min 7 players)
Provide a Coach
Provide a Team Manager
All players should be able to play and train at the same time
All players must be registered before New Member Day

Please ensure the above requirements are holistically met before a team is entered to play for a particular season. IKBC will not be liaison a between different parent groups trying to organise a team.

The Club reserves the right to add players to a custom team, if necessary. This would be discussed with the Team Manager of the team in advance and before any additions are made. Custom teams may be refused if players are not all in the same age group. Teams submitted after New Member Day will not be considered.

Option: For custom teams U17/18 and above, we understand that a training during the week may not be required. If this is the case, please let us know when registering to help us with our capacity planning. A refund of $25 per individual player registration from you team will be provided.

Friend/School Cohort Teams (U8/U9 only)

There are both benefits of U8/U9 players being with school/family friends playing together OR being in a team with new faces and environment.

We offer the opportunity (for those who want to) in U8/U9 age groups to create a custom team (the above requirements must be met). The custom team can ONLY be in place for the U8/U9 age groups. Once players move to higher age groups, custom teams are not available again until U15/U16’s.

When creating your team, a quick reminder that it can be beneficial to have players who are of a similar ability. A dominant player can impact the enjoyment of others in the team especially when at such a young age,

From U10/U11 age groups onwards (until U15/U16s) for those players who have a friend they wish to play with, there is an opportunity each season for a reciprocated friend request (assuming players are in the same age group) that can be made when registering.

As players move their way through to the next age group (U10/U11) we start to select teams based on ability (dribbling, shooting, passing, basketball acumen etc). We offer teams for all ability levels, our aim is to give all of our players the skills to enjoy the game the way they want to.

The EDJBA has definitive age groups (based on date of birth) where players are added to a team. We do not allow players to play up an age group (the exception is U15 and above players).

CLUB CONTACTS

If there is anything the selection committee should know before teams are selected, then please get in contact with the club as soon as possible before or immediately after registering.

The registration form that you submit, clearly states that you will accept selection decisions by playing in the team in which you are placed. If you wish to be considered to assist with future selection processes, please contact us.

Contact the team selection coordinators by sending an email to:

ikbc@ivanhoeknights.org

EDJBA AGE GROUPS

Age Groups are set by the Eastern Districts Junior Basketball Association (EDJBA). In line with the EDJBA requirements the Ivanhoe Knights allocate players to their allocated age group.

Summer Seasons

Winter Seasons