Travel Basketball Gets a Local Boost

We launched a pilot program this travel basketball season with the 4th grade Wranglers team. Our season kicked off in early January and concluded in late March. Back Country Spraying sponsored the team allowing 11 fourth graders to make trips to Gillette, Rapid City, and Spearfish to compete against highly competitive basketball teams from South Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming.

Adam Teten and I coached the team and recently met with Matt Stenson and Mike Odenbach, the owners of Back Country Spraying, to present a commemorative ball signed by all players. It was the least we could do to show appreciation for their support and blind faith in this new program.

The Y has never been part of the travel basketball community here in Buffalo but Back Country Spraying’s willingness to financially support the inaugural season made the it a huge success. We’re greatly appreciative of their support.

Season Recap

The season proved to be a challenge, with most games against teams from larger markets but it all ended with a win in Spearfish. The team began to gel quite well in the last few games showing the benefit of a full season together and a glimpse into what will be possible next year. Every one of the players developed core skills that will travel with them through junior high and high school. But perhaps the highlight was most evident in the friendships developed not only with the players but with all the families that traveled together.

Next Year

The Y will expand the travel basketball program next season (December 2018-March 2019) with spots for 3rd-6th grade boys and girls teams. Our program provides support in key areas that often represent significant challenges for many parent-driven teams. The goal is to provide a platform that makes for a positive travel experience for players and families, a significant cost savings for hotels, financial support for uniforms and equipment, and a coordinated registration process for tournaments allowing coaches to focus on…well…coaching!

Our approach is simple. Find travel teams that we can help with funding for uniforms and support for booking travel arrangements and registering teams for tournaments. It’s not complicated but we can help to make the entire process smoother and the experience more enjoyable.

Want to Support Travel Basketball?

Do you want to help support travel basketball with a donation? Want to enroll a travel team in our program? Let’s start the conversation. Shoot us a note below and we can explore how we can work together next season.

[gravityform id=”2″ title=”false” description=”false”]