TRAVEL PROGRAM
The Chatham Basketball Club (CBC) Travel Program is a highly competitive program for Boys & Girls | Grades 4 – 8. CBC will host a tryout process late September through mid-October. Teams are chosen to represent Chatham in a competitive travel league and play other towns in our area. The season generally runs from late November through March.
Playing Chatham Travel Basketball is a commitment. Players will participate in weekly practices, games, tournaments and playoffs. Travel is required (nearby towns, but could be 30-45 minutes in some cases). While we strongly encourage young athletes to participate in multiple sports and activities, we do expect that if your player is offered a spot on a team that Chatham Travel Basketball be the priority sport during the winter months ahead of other teams (i.e. CYO, AAU) or off-season activities (i.e. lacrosse, baseball, etc).
Chatham Basketball Club is also very proud of our CBC Rec League, where no tryout is necessary and is open to all players and all skill levels (Boys & Girls | Grades 3-8).
Timing and Notifications
- Tryouts are open to all Chatham Borough and Township Residents in grades 4 through 8.
- Tryouts are typically held from late September through mid-October at Chatham Middle School, and the signup process begins soon after Labor Day.
- Notices regarding tryouts are typically posted on this website, the Chatham Borough and Township websites, social media and emails are sent to past participants and our mailing database.
Be sure to follow Chatham Basketball Club on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook! >>>
Tryout Procedures and Fairness Standards
- Each grade/gender group will have two separate tryouts on weekday evenings.
- Each tryout session will be 90 minutes.
- Our Basketball Director, Phil Perone, typically runs each tryout session, and may be assisted by Chatham High School coaches. All of the evaluators have strong basketball backgrounds and knowledge (coaches, former coaches, former players, etc)
- Tryouts typically include the following segments:
- Skills Evaluation (lay-ups, ball-handling, shooting, defense)
- 3 on 3 half court games
- 5 on 5 full court games
- While skills are a big part of the evaluation, so are attitude and energy. We are looking for kids that work hard and want to develop; play with high energy and enthusiasm; recover from mistakes; are coachable/good listeners.
Team Formation
- We would like to have the opportunity to place every player that tries out on a team, however, gym space and other resources are limited. We are very proud to be one of the few programs in the area that has two travel teams for each grade/gender (that’s 20 travel teams).
- A third team may be formed if a sufficient number of players capable of playing travel basketball sign up for tryouts. We will also may consider a development team at some levels.
- Grade 4 teams are typically divided evenly in terms of talent. For Grades 5 through 8, we form an “A” team (Blue) and a “B” team (White).
- Travel coaches are not assigned/selected until after the teams are formed.
Fairness Standards
(The following rules are strictly enforced related to our tryout process)
- Parents cannot evaluate a tryout session attended by their child, and, further, parents are prohibited from attending or otherwise viewing any tryouts.
- Prior year coaches for a particular grade/gender are not permitted to attend that team’s tryout, unless they are a non-parent volunteer coach, and are not involved in team formation.
- Every player is given a numbered jersey to wear during both tryouts, and players are prohibited from wearing clothing that contains their name, a prior year Chatham uniform, or any clothing showing that they are on any other basketball team (AAU, etc.).
- Players are required to attend both tryouts. Any illnesses, injuries, or emergency situations that prevent a child from attending a tryout should be communicated to a member of CBC’s board or sent to chathamhoopsnj@gmail.com.
- Team placement information is distributed by email approximately one week after the date of the final tryout (for all grades/genders). Parents are notified whether their child makes a team or does not.
Evaluation Process
- There will be approximately 6 to 10 evaluators at each tryout, which means that for two separate tryouts, your child will receive grades from approximately 12 to 20 different evaluators.
- Evaluators are selected based on their knowledge of basketball, their integrity and impartiality, and their dedication to our basketball program.
- Evaluators are asked to score each player based on a variety of factors, including, without limitation, basketball skills, attitude, athleticism, hustle, and teamwork.
- At the end of each season, travel coaches (head coaches and assistants) are asked to submit evaluations of the players on their team. These evaluations are used the following fall for grades 5 through 8, but players who did not play travel basketball the prior year but perform very well at tryouts are still often selected for travel teams. Grade 4 players and players new to the program are evaluated based solely on the two tryouts.
Coaching Assignments
- Our coaches are all volunteers.
- Once our teams have been selected, we select a coaching staff for each team.
- Coaches are discussed and selected by our Director of Player Development and Directors for the Girls & Boys Programs.
- Our program’s main focus is player development, so we obviously look for basketball knowledge but also demand that our coaches have great attitudes, great energy and work exceptionally well with our kids.
- Prior coaching experience is valuable but so is a coaches overall understanding of the commitment to the kids and their experience.
- Coaching is more than game days – organizing practices, communications, managing playing time, player development, staying competitive, managing expectations (players and parents) – it is a time-consuming labor of love and we have been fortunate to have some of the best coaches in the country (that also happen to be Moms and Dads) here in Chatham.
