Eureka HS Junior Wildcat Basketball

Wildcats Basketball is supported by the EHS Basketball Booster Club and run under the direction of Coach Kirby and Coach Herbert. If you have any additional questions about this program, or would like to contact us in any way, please email us at [email protected]. Through this email address, you can contact Steven Napoli, Boys Director; Jordan Willer, Girls Director; Jackie Napoli, Operations Coordinator, or Alison Dzaidus, Uniform Coordinator. Our entire program is run by volunteers. TeamBot is the main communication tool for the program and most individual team coaches. To get on our mailing list, click the "sign up" button on our page or follow the link under the website section of this page. What is the Eureka Junior Wildcat Basketball Program? EHS Junior Wildcats Basketball is designed to prepare athletes who will attend, or feed into, Eureka High School to be ready to play high school basketball. It is an opportunity for players to learn the Eureka HS basketball systems, plays, and practice drills prior to high school. Goals:

• Experience Eureka basketball – Junior Wildcat Basketball players will learn the high school systems and plays, get exposure to the high school coaches, play with the potential teammates they may have in high school, and be evaluated by the high school coaches prior to high school.

• Develop players – provide a learning environment to further develop player skills, build character, focus on teamwork, and enhance basketball IQ and player accountability. How many teams will you have? We will form up to 3 teams in 5th through 7th grade and up to 2 teams for 8th grade, boys and girls each, playing CNR as their primary league. Teams are called Eureka Jr Wildcats Purple, Gold, and White. If there are more players available from the tryout than can be placed, we will connect parents with training opportunities to keep as many athletes playing basketball as possible. How are teams selected? Team formation is based on the evaluations of the high school basketball coaching staffs, who group players into teams of similar ability levels at our tryout in August. By forming teams with players with similar skill levels, we believe each team will be able to compete at the right level for that players development. We believe this philosophy maximizes each kids chance to improve their fundamentals and get basketball touches. This is unique in that it allows 4 opportunities for an incoming 5th grader to experience a tryout-like setting prior to high school. Because basketball is a team sport, it is beneficial to the program to group future Eureka HS athletes to play together prior to high school. This organized system of team selection also allows athletes that recently moved into the district to find a team, and helps organize teams as athletes proceed through the system and perhaps their original team would otherwise fold. Do both new and returning players have to attend the evaluation/tryout in late August? Rosters are subject to change - and usually do change - each year based on the tryout. We understand that athletes develop and train at different rates, year to year. What are the benefits of playing on a Eureka Junior Wildcats Basketball team? What are some of the feeder team only benefits that your program offers?
• 6 skills nights in September and October run by outside trainers but under the direction of the high school coaches, and with the assistance of the grade level coaches.
• Coach the Coach sessions to teach our feeder team coaches the high school systems, plays, and practice drills and how they can implement them with their teams.
• Feeder Night at a Eureka HS basketball game where our 5th, 6th and 7th grade feeder players get to attend the pre-game activities before the varsity games.
• Insurance provided to teams to cover tryouts, skills nights, and practice space.
• Players get exposure to their future HS teammates and their future HS coaches.
• Ability to enter great feeder only tournaments such as the St. Louis Jingle Jam in December.
• Participate in the annual Junior Wildcats/Junior Lancers Battle of 109 Day, and the I-44 Showdown with Lindbergh HS. When and where will we play? All of our teams play CNR league for the variety of opponents and to play games against other school’s feeder/middle school teams. All teams will practice twice a week, Nov 1-Feb 28. Individual grade level coaches can choose how many games they play and which and how many tournaments to play, to fit their team’s schedule and ability level. Feeder team basketball is a winter sport, but some coaches choose to play in other sessions with their teams. Frequently, the program may have two teams practice together so that players can more easily be shared between teams when substitute players are needed. In all cases, we are trying to provide all athletes an appropriate competition level for their development. How much does the feeder team cost? We try to keep costs as low as possible, but do have gym space rentals for tryouts, any program wide operational costs, two 1.5 hour practice times for 4 months, and skills days along with the trainers to pay for. The skills nights themselves are scheduled in advance and are Sundays in the fall, typically 12-5pm. The non-refundable Jr Wildcat fee for feeder team players is due by or before September 15th and covers the above. Pricing to the Jr Wildcat program is $125/player. Then, you will pay your coach directly for games and tournaments, due approximately November 1 (see your coach for details). There will be a one time uniform fee as the uniforms can be used for multiple years.