With the ever-changing landscape caused by the COVID-19 pandemic basketball this winter will look quite a bit different for most of our teams.  As you can imagine, HYBA has been dealing with many different obstacles while trying to ensure that our players will have a place to play this winter.  We ask all families to please be flexible and understanding as gym times for practices are very limited, local tournaments/games are non-existent, and there are many requirements that have been put in place by school districts adhering to their state and local health guidelines.  The following is what each group can expect as of 10/29/20.  Again, please be understanding as this is likely to change somewhat.

In the next week or so there will be another registration link sent out.  This will include selecting a jersey size for your player and paying your fee for the winter. 

Rookies (1st – 2nd Grade Boys & Girls)
1) Start date of Saturday, December 5th
2) The following three dates will be practices : 12/5, 12/12, 12/19
3) “Game” days will be 1/9, 1/16, 1/23, 1/30, & 2/6
4) Teams will be split with 3 girls teams and 5 boys teams.  Kids can still register for the Rookie
     program until November 15th.  If you know of anyone, please direct them to the Rookies page
     of the HYBA website.
5) “Game days” will be the same as previous years.  ½ of a court for ½ hour practice followed by a game
     of 3 on 3.
6) At this time Parents will NOT be allowed in the building for practices OR games.  This is
     a Hermantown School district policy.  You’ll have to drop your player off and pick him/her up.
7) Each player will be required to have a health screen prior to each practice/game.
8) There will be sanitizing taking place in between each group that enters/exits the building.
9) We are looking for volunteers to be the head coach of a few teams.  We still need three people who
     have a son playing and two that have daughter’s playing.  There are great resources on the HYBA  
     website under the coaches’ tab and we have many coaches in the program who are very
     willing to help you out.  If you registered as a “Assistant Coach” or “Team Manager” please consider
     taking on a Head Coaching role.  Also, if you want to watch your son/daughter play this winter,  
     coaching a team may be the only way.
10) Cost will be $50.00 and will include a jersey and a basketball for each player.

If after reading the bullet points on what we expect the season to look like for your player/family you’ve changed your mind about basketball this winter, please let us know so we can plan accordingly. 

3rd Grade
1) There are 10 total players registered to play so we’ll have one team.
2) The season will start in early December.
3) At this time we’re expecting the registration fee to be $100 and will include his jersey.
4) The boys will start the season with skills & drills type practices.  Eventually, they will start playing
     3 on 3 against each other, then 4 on 4 and 5 on 5.
5) We are hoping that we will be able to play some 3 on 3 against Proctor later in the winter as they’re
     running their 3rd grade program similarly. 
6) We may be able to get this group into a “regular” tournament or two later in the winter.
 

4th, 5th, & 6th Grades
In a “normal” year we would split into two equal teams at the 4th grade level and have them each play in the Arrowhead league.  At the 5th & 6th Grade levels we would have a “Tournament Team” and a  “Arrowhead Team”.  Since there will NOT be an Arrowhead League to play in this year we’ve created the following compromise that allows each player to have a “season”:

1) There are 14 total players registered at 4th Grade, 16 at 5th Grade and 15 at 6th Grade
2) The season will start in early December
3) We will have one team at each grade level with all registered players on it to start the season.
4) At each grade level 9 or 10 players will go to tournaments on Saturdays allowing a manageable
    number for the coach during the games.  The Head coach will decide the rotation.
4) Once all players have been scheduled to play in at least three tournaments HYBA will have
    an evaluation for a “Tournament” team for those players/families that are interested.  
    We are expecting this to take place around the end of January.  This allows for ALL players
    to have around 2 months of basketball and be scheduled to play in at least 9 games.
    Please note: we cannot “Guarantee” that your son plays in 9 games.  He will be scheduled
    to play in nine, however, if a tournament he’s scheduled to play in gets cancelled due to
    COVID, we won’t be able to make that tournament up.
    Once the evaluation is done the kids who make the Tournament Team will play in more
    competitive tournaments against other community Tournament Teams through the Boys
    Grade State Tournament in early March.
5) As mentioned above there aren’t any local tournaments this year.  Although we’re trying
     to schedule games with other local teams it’s been almost impossible because
     most of the school districts in the area do not want other communities inside their buildings.
     With that being said, we don’t expect any of the 4th - 6th grade teams to play locally this winter.  We’re
     working on finding one day tournaments in the Twin Cities so there aren’t any
     hotel stays.  If you’re not willing to travel to the Twin Cities on weekends, you can certainly
     still have your son go to all of the practices and just “opt out” of playing the tournaments.
     You can also see what the schedule is like and let your head coach know which tournaments
     you prefer to go to.  Please keep in mind, however, it is not guaranteed that those are the
     weekends you will be scheduled.
6) Cost will be as follows:
     $125.00 includes the first part of the season (up until the evaluation) and includes a jersey.
     Once the Tournament team is selected, those families will split the cost of tournaments
     evenly.  We will let everyone know that number in January once we’ve finished building the
     schedules

If after reading the bullet points on what we expect the season to look like for your player/family you’ve changed your mind about basketball this winter, please let us know so we can plan accordingly. 

7th Grade
1) There are 10 total players registered for the 7th Grade Tournament Team
2) The season will start in early December
3) We’re waiting for the Great Northwest Basketball League schedule for your grade to be
   completed.   Once that has been done (hopefully within the next week or so), we’ll be able to build
   the rest of your schedule.  When we know more, we will let you know.

    

8th Grade
1) There are 7 total players registered for the 8th Grade Tournament Team
2) The season will start in early December
3) The vote was unanimous in favor of starting the season with practices and having Paul and Carrie
     find tournaments that work for your group once you’ve started.
4) Cost: $0.00 to start the season.  You’ll simply split the tournament costs later in the winter between
    the seven families.

Hermantown Youth basketball is committed to player development:  improving technical skills and developing a love of the game.  We provide 2 programs each winter:

The Rookie Basketball Program is for boys and girls in Grade 1 and Grade 2.  The program takes place on Saturday mornings and teaches players basic basketball rules and fundamentals.

The Youth Boys Basketball Program provides coaching, skills development, and tournament play in both local and highly competitive tournaments for boys in grades 3-8.  

The Arrowhead League is a less competitive league with less travel.  Teams practice 2-3 nights per week and will participate in 5-6 tournaments in the Arrowhead League each season.  Tournaments are typically on Saturdays, and within 50-60 miles of Duluth.

Our Tournament Teams are competitive teams with more travel.  Teams practice 2-3 nights per week, and will participate in seven or more tournaments per season.  Tournaments can be on Saturdays, or a full weekend with an overnight stay, and can be further in to Wisconsin, in Northern MN, or in the Twin Cities.