Although winter does not seem to want to go away we have reached the end of another fantastic Mahwah Youth Basketball season. For the second consecutive year the weather has presented challenges with our scheduling and gym time so we appreciate everyone’s flexibility. This season had many highlights with an overhaul to our K-2 program, several tournament and travel league championships, hotly contested rec divisions, and other events like Dinner and a Movie and a 3-on-3 that were bigger and more exciting than ever.
This year we modified our Instructional Program (K-2), adopting a format similar to the one used in lacrosse. We held 7 large group sessions at Ramapo Ridge where the players were introduced to drills and fundamentals through a series of fun activities and competitions. The goal was to teach them some of the basics about the game, to establish some expectations for attitude and effort when playing a team sport, and hopefully have a lot of fun doing it. We are thankful to all the parents who helped out in our sessions, as well as the youth and high school players who donated their time to help teach our younger players. This format was a change from how K-2 was run in the past where teams were formed and individual practices were held throughout the season at GW. We welcome your feedback about our instructional program, as we will be meeting to discuss the plans for the future with this group.
This year we modified our Instructional Program (K-2), adopting a format similar to the one used in lacrosse. We held 7 large group sessions at Ramapo Ridge where the players were introduced to drills and fundamentals through a series of fun activities and competitions. The goal was to teach them some of the basics about the game, to establish some expectations for attitude and effort when playing a team sport, and hopefully have a lot of fun doing it. We are thankful to all the parents who helped out in our sessions, as well as the youth and high school players who donated their time to help teach our younger players. This format was a change from how K-2 was run in the past where teams were formed and individual practices were held throughout the season at GW. We welcome your feedback about our instructional program, as we will be meeting to discuss the plans for the future with this group.
Congratulations to our Rec Division champions and to all who participated. For the past few years we as a program have felt very strongly about the mission of our rec program. Although there is always an element of competition in team sports we gauge the success of our rec program by how well we can create balanced teams, and provide coaches with the time and tools necessary to teach the game so all players can improve and enjoy the season. The weather and the loss of significant gym time to a new HS program made it very difficult but we greatly appreciate the work of Rec Commissioner Nick Tsahalis and all the division leaders for their efforts toward helping our rec program have a successful season.
Our Boys and Girls Travel Teams had very successful seasons with many teams capturing tournament titles and making playoffs. This season our boys 6th, 7th, and 8th grade teams traveled to Massachusetts and fared very well against strong regional competition. Our girls program debuted new uniforms this season with our new Mahwah Youth Basketball logo! Congratulations to our boys’ 4th and 7th teams, as well as our girls’ 3/4th grade team for capturing league championships. Check our home page for some more photos and highlights from the season.
Our All Star Clinic was a huge success and the improvement shown by our players over the course of the season was amazing. Our youth and high school players who came and worked with our young athletes did an amazing job teaching and sharing the game. Some highlights from our season were the obstacle course, freeze dribble game, and many buzzer beaters! We are thrilled that our baseball, softball, and soccer programs are all offering All Star programs in upcoming seasons.
The 3-on-3 was again a highlight of our season. We love to see so many families in attendance to cheer on teams at the event. The basketball spirit shown with all the creative uniforms and names (Victorious Secret!!) made for a great evening! Special thanks to Coach John Herron for all his work putting the event together and to the Mahwah Police Dept who came out to show support.
We had several local businesses who supported our program as well. Modells contributed coupons and several gift cards (which were given as prizes at Dinner and a Movie) this season. The Blue Moon hosted our first Dias de Baloncesto (basketball day) where they donated a portion of all proceeds from the day back to our program. La Gondola in Ramsey continues to generously sponsor our Dinner and a Movie events. We look forward to an ongoing relationship with area businesses in future seasons.
We would like to take a moment to thank some of the people who committed a lot of time and effort to our program this season;
Rec Directors;
Minor Girls – Nick Tsahalis Minor Boys – Bill Almonte
Junior Girls – Glenn Haber Junior Boys – Brian Moynihan
Senior Girls – Jeff Morris Senior Boys – Paul Siracusa
Instructional – Ben Fruscione Head of Officials – Mike Desocio
Committee Members:
John Stewart – Boys Travel Dir TJ Spizzo – Girls Travel Dir
John Herron -- 3-on-3 Tom Durso – Website
Conrad Olear – Apparel/Uniforms Lou Lotito – Free Throw event
Dave Haubner – Scheduling
Nick Tsahalis – Rec Commissioner
Thank you to all of our head/asst coaches and to many other parent helpers throughout the season. There will be some turnover on our committee so if you are interested in getting more involved (in any of the above areas) please reach out if you have not already to [email protected]. We will be scheduling our end of season meeting in the next 2 weeks and welcome new participation in any capacity.
We welcome general feedback as well as a coach evaluation to help with our planning for the future. The coach evaluation form has instructions on where to send it.
We wish everyone a healthy, enjoyable spring season – stay tuned to our website for some great summer camp opportunities.
Thank you,
Mahwah Youth Basketball
The 3-on-3 was again a highlight of our season. We love to see so many families in attendance to cheer on teams at the event. The basketball spirit shown with all the creative uniforms and names (Victorious Secret!!) made for a great evening! Special thanks to Coach John Herron for all his work putting the event together and to the Mahwah Police Dept who came out to show support.
We had several local businesses who supported our program as well. Modells contributed coupons and several gift cards (which were given as prizes at Dinner and a Movie) this season. The Blue Moon hosted our first Dias de Baloncesto (basketball day) where they donated a portion of all proceeds from the day back to our program. La Gondola in Ramsey continues to generously sponsor our Dinner and a Movie events. We look forward to an ongoing relationship with area businesses in future seasons.
We would like to take a moment to thank some of the people who committed a lot of time and effort to our program this season;
Rec Directors;
Minor Girls – Nick Tsahalis Minor Boys – Bill Almonte
Junior Girls – Glenn Haber Junior Boys – Brian Moynihan
Senior Girls – Jeff Morris Senior Boys – Paul Siracusa
Instructional – Ben Fruscione Head of Officials – Mike Desocio
Committee Members:
John Stewart – Boys Travel Dir TJ Spizzo – Girls Travel Dir
John Herron -- 3-on-3 Tom Durso – Website
Conrad Olear – Apparel/Uniforms Lou Lotito – Free Throw event
Dave Haubner – Scheduling
Nick Tsahalis – Rec Commissioner
Thank you to all of our head/asst coaches and to many other parent helpers throughout the season. There will be some turnover on our committee so if you are interested in getting more involved (in any of the above areas) please reach out if you have not already to [email protected]. We will be scheduling our end of season meeting in the next 2 weeks and welcome new participation in any capacity.
We welcome general feedback as well as a coach evaluation to help with our planning for the future. The coach evaluation form has instructions on where to send it.
We wish everyone a healthy, enjoyable spring season – stay tuned to our website for some great summer camp opportunities.
Thank you,
Mahwah Youth Basketball
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