Pelham Panthers basketball opens registration
Registration is now open for the Pelham Panthers Basketball Association’s travel and house league programs.
“We are hoping the registrations don’t go up because we are getting to the point where we have too many. We have a waiting list every year,” Pelham Panthers president Brian Bleich said.
The association has grown to the point where it has 400 travel and 400 house league platers registered every year.
“Since we came back from COVID, that is where the numbers have been,” he said. “I think it is because we continued to do some training during COVID.”
Travel teams are offered from Grade 3 to Grade 12, including the Juel and Juel Prep squads. Travel players are registering for tryouts only and there is a $25 tryout fee to offset the association’s costs for holding the tryouts. You must be registered to try out and the dates, times and locations of tryouts will be emailed to all players registered.
It is the first time Pelham has charged a tryout fee.
“We didn’t want to but we found that the costs of everything are going up,” Bleich said. “To run tryouts, I am looking at $10,000.”
The Pelham travel program is bursting at the seams.
“We have two (travel) teams at almost every age group except for the older high school girls.”
Last year, there were three teams at the under-19 boys level.
A general tryout is held for each age group and a first team is selected, If there are enough players leftover that want to play travel ball for Pelham a second (and third) team is also selected. The teams then play in Basketball Ontario divisions suitable to the players’ skill level.
“You are playing players of your own calibre. You don’t have to go play Division 1 or Division 2 teams,” Bleich said. “It’s fun and you are not getting blown out by 40.”
If players don’t make travel teams, they can register for house league and a spot will be found for them.
It makes for a crazy September.
“For the whole month, pretty much all we do is the travel. We have the first three tryouts and we pick one team. If we find out there is more than 12 players left, we see if someone wants to step up and coach and then we offer three more tryouts for another team,” he said.
House league programs are offered from junior and senior kindergarten through to Grade 8 and the cost is $225. All age groups will run from the second week of October to the first week of March.
Grades 1 and 2 groups will play on Tuesday evenings from Oct. 10, 2023 to March 5, 2024. Grades 3 to 8 groups will play on Wednesday evenings from Oct. 11, 2023 to March 6, 2024. Junior and senior kindergarten teams will play Thursday evenings from Oct. 12, 2023 to March 7, 2024. All sessions will be held at the Pelham Community Centre and all participants will receive a reversible jersey and basketball.
This is the first year Pelham has scheduled its house league for week days following a poll of the parents conducted by the association.
“We found that parents want their weekends free. For an hour or an hour and a half on Saturday to lose the chance to go away somewhere they would rather have it on a week night and then it is over for the week,” Bleich said.
The association is looking for coaches and those interested should contact pelhampanthersbasketball@gmail.com
“We are always looking for coaches, especially at the older ages.”
To register for travel programs, visit https://pelhambasketball.sportngin.com/register/form/286983894.
To register for house league programs visit https://pelhambasketball.sportngin.com/register/form/451669626.
