BLUE EAGLES BASKETBALL PROGRAM SUMMARY & FAQ’s
What ages & levels of play is Blue Eagles Basketball for?
BEB is for girls and boys in Kindergarten through 12th grade
Girls and boys play on separate teams, there is no mixed-gender play
Kindergarten is a skills based, noncompetitive program to help introduce the game and fundamentals to kids in a fun and engaging environment. The program concludes with a scrimmage to prepare the children for the next grade level the following season
1st/2nd play together in an “in-house” league with games against other Nazareth and Palmer teams. Baskets are lower (8’ high) and balls are smaller (27.5). Rules limit things like stealing and blocking to help players learn the fundamentals. 3rd grade teams move into a slightly larger league within the Penn Basketball Club to play against other
3rd grade teams in the Lehigh Valley, but still with limitations in certain rules (e.g., no guarding outside the 3 point line).
4th-12th grade play in various leagues that match the level of play of each particular gender/team. Teams in these age groups can be at a competitive or a recreational level.
Who can participate in Blue Eagles Basketball?
Any child who resides within the Nazareth Area School District can participate regardless if they go to an NASD school, cyber school, charter school or private/Catholic school.
How much does it cost to participate?
Costs vary based on program level. Your fees cover all costs associated with the program including uniforms. There is no volunteer commitment, fundraising or work bonds for BEB. Uniforms may be kept at the end of the season.
What size of basketball does my child need?
Kindergarten – 27.5” (size 5)
1st, 2nd grades – 27.5” (size 5)
3rd - 6th grades – 28.5” (size 6)
7th-12th grades (women) – 28.5” (size 6)
7th-12th grades (men) – 29.5” (size 7)
When are practices & games?
7th-12th grades – practices will begin shortly after NASD school teams are determined, usually just before or just after Thanksgiving. Open gyms for this age level are hosted in early November. Practices are typically 1-1.5 hours, twice per week between the hours of 5-9pm. Days, times and locations of these practices vary by week. Game days, times and locations vary. The season ends in late February.
4th – 6th grades – practices will begin shortly after team rosters are determined, usually the first or second week of November. Children in this age level will be required to attend evaluations in mid-late October to help determine skill level and team placement. Evaluations are for team placement only - there are no cuts, all children are placed on a team Typically 1-2 competitive level teams are created per grade with anywhere from 1-7 recreational teams being formed per grade. Practices are typically 1-1.5 hours, twice per week between the hours of 5-9pm. Days, times and locations of these practices vary by week. Game days, times and locations vary. The season ends in late February or the first week of March.
3rd grade – practices will begin right before or right after Thanksgiving after team rosters are determined. Children at this age level will be required to attend an evaluation in early-mid November to help determine skill level and team placement with the intent to create equally-skilled teams. Practices are typically 1-1.5 hours, twice per week between the hours of 5-9pm (although we try to not schedule this age group into the latest practice time). Days, times and locations of these practices vary by week. Games take place at varying times and locations on Saturdays or Sundays. The season ends in late February or the first week of March.
1st – 2nd grades - practices will begin in early December after team rosters are determined. Teams are formed from an equal number of 1st and 2nd graders on each team to provide evenly skilled teams/competition. Practices at this age level are on weeknights with, generally, two practices between the 5-7:30pm timeframe. Days, times and locations of these practices vary by week. Games take place at varying times and locations on Saturdays or Sundays. The season ends in late February or the first week of March.
Kindergarten – kids in the Kindergarten program attend a series of 6 or 7 skills events on Saturday mornings in January and February. Times rotate, but are either from 9am-10am or from 10am-11am. The program concludes on a Saturday morning with a scrimmage applying skills learned during the Winter and prepares the children for the next grade level the following season.
Where are practices?
Times and locations vary in order to provide all participants with equal travel demands and fair time schedules. All practices take place at various NASD school gyms, In the Zone, Colonial Academy (Wind Gap) or other gyms within the Nazareth School District footprint.
Can I request that my son or daughter be on a specific Coach’s team or with another child?
We cannot accommodate player/coach requests across the board given the size of the league and varying factors that go into team placement. You are welcome to send your request in and, when possible, we do our best to try to meet your requests, but we cannot guarantee that it will be possible.
What happens if my child makes the Nazareth school team after registering for Blue Eagles Basketball?
Once the school team rosters are announced, any child who makes the high school team will be refunded in full.
For middle school students only (7th & 8th grade), the option to play for both the school team and Blue Eagles Basketball is an option should they desire, subject to school coaches approval. If your child does not want to play on both teams, your BEB registration will be refunded at parent/guardian request.
NOTE that registration for BEB closes BEFORE try-outs. Make sure you register your child for BEB in advance and, if they decide not to play BEB because they made the school team, we can refund your registration fee. We are not able to reopen registration afterwards if your child does not make the school team.
When are evaluations, what are they for?
Evaluations take place for students in 3rd – 6th grades prior to the season’s start.
3rd Grade Evaluations take place in November and are to help create evenly matched teams. All players are placed on a team - there are no cuts.
4th-6th grade evaluations take place in October. These evaluations are used to determine which players will join the competitive level teams and which will join recreational teams. All players are placed on teams - there are no cuts. Evaluations can take place over the course of two dates. The first date is for all players and the second date is for those being called back to receive further evaluation for potential placement on a competitive team.
Can I request that my son or daughter play “up” a grade level?
Blue Eagles Basketball’s policy is that a child will play with the grade level that they are in unless their age is such that they could have been enrolled in school a year prior to the grade they are in. Players should be registered/enrolled in the Blue Eagles Basketball grade-level corresponding with their current school-year grade-level. Note: NASD’s Policy requires that children are five years old by September 1 of the school year to begin kindergarten.
Exception #1 (All Ages): IF the player’s birthday, using the NASD Policy noted above would have made them eligible to be in a different school-year grade-level; THEN at the parent’s discretion, they may choose to register/enroll the player in their age-appropriate grade-level; provided however that this policy is only used to advance the player’s grade-level.
Exception #2 (3rd – 6th Grades): A player that has been advanced under exception 1 (above) will be evaluated in their age-appropriate grade-level (as opposed to their actual grade level). IF the player’s evaluation scores would qualify them to participate on a competitive team for their age-appropriate grade-level; THEN they will be “approved” to play in their age-appropriate grade-level. If they do not score at a competitive team level of the advanced age group, they will NOT be “approved” and will play and be considered for a competitive team in their current school-year grade-level.
I missed registration, can I sign my child up late?
We do our best to keep registration open for as long as possible, but given the sheer size of our league (over 650 players per year) and the amount of time it takes to ensure we have enough coaches, host evaluations, order uniforms and determine final rosters, we are unable to keep registration open until the last minute. We try to send multiple reminders throughout the registration time frame and recommend you also follow Blue Eagles Basketball on Facebook to ensure you never miss a reminder or a deadline.
When will I get my practice & game schedule for my child/children?
Basketball is quite different from most other sports in that we have an extremely large program with ages ranging from 5-18 for both girls and boys, all of whom require indoor court time.There is a significant amount of time and effort from many people to place teams into available gym space. We cannot do any scheduling until the schools and facilities we use provide us with the times and locations that are available. We try our best to schedule things out as far as possible, but it depends on when we, ourselves, receive gym availability. You can, and should, expect that your practice times, locations and days of the week will vary throughout the course of the season. We understand this causes scheduling challenges for families who need to plan ahead, coordinate other activities/childcare/rides, etc. but we can only control so much. Know that coaches expect that there will be conflicts at points and if your child cannot make a practice or a game just let your coach know so they can plan accordingly.
Game schedules for grades 3-12 are actually created by the leagues and not by Blue Eagles Basketball. Given this, schedules will come out at different times from each league - sometimes in their entirety and sometimes in pieces throughout the season. Historically, we have received the 1st game dates/times only a few days before the 1st games of the season. Again, we understand this is challenging - it is for us too - but we have no control over when the leagues are able to complete their schedules as they are also relying on the schools from each participating program to provide their gym availability and some of these schedulers are booking literally 2,000 games over the course of the season. So, again, as soon as coaches receive any game information, it is passed on as quickly as possible.
If my child did not make a competitive team this year, will they always be placed on a recreational team? Or, if my child is on a competitive level team, will they always remain at that level?
There is no carryover of scores or placements from season to season. Each evaluation, players are reviewed, scored and placed based on current ability level and not based on previous placements. This means a player who was on a competitive level team one year may end up on a recreational level team the next year or that a recreational level player may be placed on a competitive team. Children grow, develop, practice and play at varying levels as they continue in the sport and will be fairly evaluated each time to ensure appropriate level placement on teams each season.
What opportunities exist beyond the winter basketball season?
When possible, Blue Eagles Basketball tries to offer multiple opportunities for children to play throughout the year. In the Summer, players entering grades 4-8 have the opportunity to try-out for a summer competitive team to play in the Penn Basketball League at the Forks Community Center. Additionally, players entering 4th-6th grade can sign-up for our Summer Skills & Drills series to work on fundamentals and non-competitive scrimmages in June & July. This typically runs twice per week in the evenings at the Charles Chrin Community Center. Registration opens in May for the Summer program.
In the Fall, open gyms are hosted for grades 4-6 to give players the opportunity to get some court time and practice prior to evaluations & team placements. These skill & scrimmage based workshops take place over 4 evening Sunday sessions and registration typically opens in August/September.
Grades 7-12 also have optional Fall open gyms prior to their teams being finalized. This is for players already registered to play winter basketball with BEB.
Is there a Code of Conduct for parents and players and what happens if this is violated?
Yes, Blue Eagles Basketball maintains a strict code of conduct for players, coaches, parents and spectators. Those who violate the code of conduct will face escalating consequences. Please read and review the entire code of conduct here for the details.
I still have questions that have not been answered here, what do I do?
If you have additional questions or concerns, please email us at [email protected] and we will reply just as soon as possible. Please send us as much information as possible (e.g., your child’s name, age/grade, gender, etc.) to help us be able to answer you efficiently. Also, please remember that on the other end of that email are parent volunteers giving their time to try to help the program and all of the children in it. Sometimes these volunteers are busy tending to their own jobs, children, illness, vacations, etc. We make every effort to reply as quickly as possible, but during peak season, there are as many as 100 emails coming to this inbox in a given day. We will always reply so please help us by providing all of the details you can offer and a bit of patience as we sort through it all.