Basketball

Teams

Assessments and tryouts for all grades will take place in early November. All registered players will be notified in late October / early November of the dates and times. All players will be placed on one of several teams formed for each grade. No player is cut regardless of grade or skill level. Teams are announced within 1-2 days after assessments/tryouts are complete.

4th, 5th, 6th Grade Assessments

An assessment is held for all 4th, 5th and 6th graders in order to evaluate the skill level of all the players. The goal of the assessment is to enable the coaches to divide up players to create equal strength teams. Depending on the number of players registered, there may be multiple assessment sessions for each grade. Each player should participate in one of the sessions in order to help properly balance all teams for a given grade. Each session typically takes 1 hour.

7th, 8th Grade Tryouts

Tryouts are held for all 7th and 8th graders. They are held over a two day period and last about two hours each day. In accordance with diocesan policy, the more advanced players are placed on the competitive team(s) and the lesser skilled players are placed on the recreational team(s). All players make a team, no one is cut. Both 7th and 8th grades will field a minimum of one competitive team each. The remaining teams in each grade will be placed in a league most conducive to their skill level. This determination will be made by the basketball commissioner at the completion of tryouts after consulting with the evaluators. Tryouts are mandatory only for all players desiring to play on the competitive team. Players electing not to tryout will be placed on the recreational team. The basketball commissioner reserves the right to appropriately place injured players that are unable to tryout based on past experience. Players are evaluated by people from outside the St. Paul basketball program. A parents desire to coach will have no bearing on the team placement of any player unless the player elects to participate on a recreational team.

Competitive teams will practice more frequently (typically 3 nights/week) and play additional non-league games in and around the greater Columbus area. Competitive teams will play against higher level competition in addition to preparing for High School basketball. Recreational teams will practice 1-2 nights/week and play a standard 10 game diocesan schedule. The main focus is to give players a fun experience in a basketball environment.

Minimum Playing Time (per player)

4th grade – one uninterrupted quarter plus an additional 6 minutes. 
5th grade – one uninterrupted quarter plus an additional 6 minutes. 
6th grade – one uninterrupted quarter plus an additional 6 minutes. 
7th grade recreational – one uninterrupted quarter plus an additional 6 minutes. 
7th grade competitive – 6 minutes divided over any two periods.
For tournament games, participation in two quarters with no minimum time.
8th grade recreational – one uninterrupted quarter plus an additional 6 minutes.
8th grade competitive - 6 minutes divided over any two periods.
For tournament games, participation in two quarters with no minimum time.

Games

Regular season league games are usually played on Saturday or Sunday. Each team will be placed in a league with other diocesan schools. Each league is assigned to a school gym where the majority of their games will be played. 7th and 8th grade competitive teams will also play several weekday non-league games (home & away) throughout the season.

Practices

All teams are allocated practice times at either St. Paul or one of several elementary schools in Westerville.  Older grades are assigned more practice times than younger grades. Competitive teams practice more frequently than recreational teams. When possible, younger grades will practice earlier than older grades on school nights. The head coach of each team has the option to sign up for additional practices on the weekends and during holiday breaks.

Uniforms

All players will be provided a game jersey. Game shorts are provided for grades 7-8 only. Optional T-shirts worn underneath uniform tops will need to be provided by any team electing to wear them. Grades 4-6 will need to purchase their own shorts which are available during PAD Day and also via St. Paul SpiritWear orders. All uniforms issued by St. Paul must be returned at the end of the season.

Rules

Ohio High School basketball rules apply for all grades. Amended boys rules and girls rules specific to diocesan basketball can be found on the Columbus Diocesan Recreation webpage.

Games

Complete diocesan games schedules for all boys teams and girls teams can be found on the Columbus Diocesan Recreation website. All St Paul non-league games are maintained on the PAA website.

Concessions

All player parent(s) need to volunteer at least one weekend day during the season to run the St. Paul concession stand. Depending on the number of games hosted at St. Paul, teams may be required to volunteer more than once.

Effective starting 2010/2011 season, 4th grade will not have a season ending diocesan tournament.

Junior Jammers

During the summer, St. Paul offers a Junior Jammers basketball program for boys and girls entering grades 2-4. It is intended to improve the basketball knowledge and skills for up and coming players. For further details, please contact Mark Mason, program director @ 614-778-7950 or markmason@apco.com