Welcome to Stillwater Girls’ Traveling Basketball. We are very excited to start a new season of hoops for girls from grades 3 through 9 who want to become highly competitive basketball players for Stillwater Area High School in the future. We saw many of you at camps this summer and are excited about the future of our program.

At the July 7th meeting the SGTB Board approved the following changes for the upcoming SGTB traveling basketball season. Our 3rd/4th traveling team will continue to participate in the Maplewood league and our 5^th and 6^th grade teams will still participate in a majority of Wisconsin tournaments, a couple of Minnesota tournaments and the Minnesota state tournament to finish the season. There will be two equal ability 5th grade teams and two equal ability 6th grade teams.

Over the past year the Varsity coaches and the Girls’ Traveling Basketball board members have thoroughly evaluated our past offerings, considered the organization’s mission of developing highly competitive basketball players, assessed feedback from parents in our program and dealt with the reality and the ever-increasing costs needed to run our program. In doing so, we created a new format for our junior high aged participants that we are really excited about. The new format will look as follows:

7^th and 8^th grade

Traveling Team - one team

• 8-10 players
• 12 Minnesota tournaments
• 3 practices a week / 2 hours each

Wisconsin Border league/School basketball - one team

• 8-10 players
• WI tournaments - 6 tournaments
• Practice would be 2 days a week outside of the school season
• During the school season, which lasts 6-8 weeks, the teams will practice 4 days a week with the school teams, and then have one evening practice during the school season

Advantages:

One practice per day vs. two practices in one day

More practice time

Smaller coach to player ratio

• This will avert player burnout on basketball and not run players down physically and mentally, as was happening, for the 8 weeks they were playing both school and traveling basketball.

• Quality practice time vs. one or two practices. The old format placed too many players in one gym with too few coaches to meet the diverse needs of the wide range of player abilities present at one time. The new format will lengthen the one practice a day players will attend, reduce the number of players at each individual practice which will better utilize facility and coaching resources, and place girls in groups that reflect one another’s talents and abilities better.

• The new format will provide our players with the same competitive opportunities that their competitors in Woodbury, Hopkins, Centennial and other successful programs experience. It will allow us to “develop highly competitive players for Stillwater Area High School,” which is the program’s mission.

Fee Adjustments

As parents register their daughters for the upcoming season they will notice an increase in the fees they will pay. We would ask that the parents consider the following three factors when considering the new rates:

1.) As with any significant change that results in an improved product, fees for the upcoming season will have to be raised. The resulting increase, however, is not based solely on the new format. During the discussion of this program change we took into consideration the rising cost of tournament fees, facility rental and custodial fees incurred at host tournaments over the past few years. In setting fees we usually base our fees on ten players. So if we have teams of less than ten, the Association has tried to absorb those costs with money raised through fundraising efforts. Yet in the past, the board has made the decision to not raise the fees, which over time has put our existing balance at a level that will make it difficult to enter tournaments when fees are due in July before the upcoming season. Thus the new fee reflects: (a) the program’s adjustment to steady and declining fees over time that have created a shortage of the needed summer capital to register for the year’s upcoming tournaments, and (b) costs incurred by the new format.

The new fees are similar to those paid by the athletes playing in the programs mentioned above.

2.) The new format better meets the competitive needs of players whose abilities cover a wide range. The traveling player will play with 7-9 teammates at a practice that have similar talents and dedication to the game. They will be paired with 2-3 coaches and an entire gym for six quality hours of practice per week. They will play against the best teams and in the most competitive tournaments so they can realize what it will take to become successful high school players. They will play in 12 Minnesota tournaments.

The School ball/ Wisconsin Border league player will now attend practice where they will receive the primary instruction from their school basketball coaches. They no longer will compete with the top 9-10 players for the coaches’ attention. They will have a better coach player ratio. They will play more games than the traveling player, which will provide opportunities for them to better develop their basketball and competitive skills. Finally, they will be given greater responsibilities for shooting, ball handling, defending the opponent’s best player that will make these games a quality experience for them.

If we do have to cut players from the above two groups they will have their fees, minus the mandatory tryout fee, reimbursed. They will be able to play in the school ball or VAA environment

3.) Finally, we looked at what is best for kids and believe offering a quality program is important - trying to offer a program with the best coach to player ratio. As the girls enter Junior High the same players go from school practice to traveling practice, which does not allow time for schoolwork and other activities the girls are involved in. This change will offer the opportunity to touch a basketball 5 days a week and allow girls the maximum amount of touches with the basketball, and opportunities at baskets.

IMPACT OF THE CHANGES ON TRYOUTS AND PLAYER PLACEMENT

The tryout process will not change from last year. Tryouts will be held on September 20^th and September 27^th. Tryouts will be conducted by the Varsity coaching staff and player placement will also be determined by the Varsity coaches. The coaches will consider the following factors when determining teams for the upcoming season:

1. Talent/ability

2. Coachability

3. Effort and work ethic

4. Basketball Awareness/ Basketball Intelligence.

Tryouts will merge drills that measure basketball skills, tests that assess athletic ability (speed, jumping, and quickness) and competitive play that reflects overall talent and understanding of the game. Fall clinics will be offered and should provide players with an idea of what they can expect during the tryout.

What will be different this year is that the floating roster has been eliminated. Tryouts will determine final roster placement. The top 8-10 players from the tryout will comprise the traveling team. The next 8-10 players will make up the school and Wisconsin/Border league team and if girls do not make one of these squads they will be encouraged to also play school ball and have the option to play VAA basketball.

We know that many parents/players believe that they will be falling behind if the do not make the traveling team. As coaches we believe we have created a format where the players not making the traveling team will now be provided with a program that will provide them with the greater chance to access the coaching and playing opportunities necessary to allow them to continue to grow into high school basketball players. That said, we fully realize that many players and their parents will now place a greater emphasis on the tryout and we wanted to make everyone aware of the new format while there is still plenty of time to prepare for tryouts.

In closing, we are very excited about the future of Stillwater Girls’ Basketball. Success breeds confidence and we know the new format of our junior high offerings will allow us to continue to improve and achieve success. The junior high years can be very stressful and overwhelming for young ladies as they explore a number of extracurricular opportunities and develop the mindset and work habits necessary for success in academics and activities. We believe that the girls in our program will benefit from the new format as they continue their development as basketball players, and more importantly, as well adjusted young ladies ready for high school.

Stillwater Girls’ Traveling Basketball Board