CYO Rebels basketball registration opens
The St. Catharines CYO Rebels Basketball Association opened its registration Aug. 1 for its Junior NBA, house league and travel team programs.
Parents are urged to sign their children up as soon as possible, especially for the Junior NBA program, which had a waiting list last year.
“That sold out really quickly. It was done before the end of August,” Rebels vice-president Frank Keltos said. “My email is going through the roof already today.”
The Junior NBA program is for kids ages four to seven, who are beginning in basketball and its run through Basketball Canada, using its curriculum. The program is designed to run for 12 weeks but the Rebels run the program for 15 weeks.
Last year, CYO basketball had more than 500 players registered in its programs and that is a healthy number for the organization. As the numbers getting higher, more gyms and more volunteers are needed to run the programs.
“Once you get over that 500 mark in house league, you need a lot more volunteers, you have to think about two gyms and you might have to go on multiple days,” Keltos said. “We are happy with where we are at numbers wise.”
Leagues planned include: Junior NBA; novice co-ed for Grades 1 to 4; atom boys and atom girls for Grades 5 and 6; bantam boys and girls for for Grades 7 and 8; and high school co-ed for Grades 9-12.
Athletes interested in playing on the travel basketball teams must register in house league before travel tryouts start in the second week of September. If they don’t make the travel teams, they are automatically registered for house league. If they make the travel team, the house league registration is applied towards the travel team registration.
The Rebels are looking for travel coaches for the Grade 7 and Grade 8 girls teams and those squads will be formed providing there are enough interested players.
Those interest in coaching those two teams or coaching and refereeing at the house league level should contact Keltos at frank.keltos@gmail.com or Gerry McIlhone at mcilhone@gmail.com.
The leagues will be run out of local school gyms and on Sundays at Ridley College. Rebels basketball is looking forward to when construction is complete at Ridley and the organization will have the use of two of the school’s four gyms.
“Come next September we will be like Pelham where we will have two gyms to book whatever we want, whenever we want,” Keltos said.
To register visit cyobball.com.
