Youth basketball starts later this month

(File Photo)

Jeff Helsdon, Editor

Registration is now open for Tillsonburg Youth Basketball.

The program is open to participants in Grades 1 to 8. Sunday sessions, starting at 1 p.m., are for Grades 1 and 2 at Annandale School. Grades 3 and 4 take to the court at 2:30. Grades 5 and 6 students play at Glendale High School on Tuesday nights from 6:30-7:30 p.m., followed by Grades 7 and 8, starting at 7:45 p.m.

Play will start the week of Sept. 22.

Although the league doesn’t have competitive teams, some Tillsonburg players are playing for the Oxford Attack from Woodstock.

The first session runs from September until the second week of December. After a break, basketball starts again in March and runs until June.

“We’re hoping to get a summer camp going next year,” said Victoria Sergeant, league secretary/treasurer.

Tentative plans are to have Tillsonburg native Chris O’Rourke, who coaches for the University of Guelph, to run the summer camp.

Sergeant said the league is focused on skills development, along with fun and competition.

“We usually start with a warm-up, then we do skill-based games for the little ones,” she described of the sessions. “We split them into four stations that will work on a skill like dribbling, shooting, and defence, and then finish with a scrimmage. With the older kids, they tend to have more fundamental skills coming in, we can jump into drills and finish with a scrimmage where they can apply what they’ve been learning.”

The cost is $120 for the season and includes playing, a basketball, and a T-shirt. Participants will receive a pizza party and medals at the end of the season.

The league is also looking for more coaches and volunteers to assist with all age groups.

Registration is done through the website at basketballtillsonburg.com

In addition to youth play, Basketball Tillsonburg also runs a women’s league at Ananndale School from 8-9 p.m. on Mondays, and a men’s league on Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. at Glendale High School. The fee is $20, and interested players just need to show up. This league starts the week of Sept. 21, and runs until the end of the school year.