6th Grade Season

Thanks so all who showed up and worked hard last night....by the end of practice, we could tell things were beginning to come back to them. Don't worry if you are new to basketball, with practice and determination, those skills will come! As this is a new season and we have new players, we have tried to lay out all the details that you may need to know about for the basketball season. Also, scanning through past blog posts may help as well.

[SCRIMMAGES ]

• Our first of two scrimmages with Breckenridge is Monday, October 26th at 6pm in Hawley.
• Players must be ready by 5:45pm so that we can determine who is there and divide them up evenly, to ensure we have adequate positions covered each play. 
• Players who have uniforms from previous years, should wear the blue side. If you do not have a jersey, wear your Team*56 shirt from last year. If your shorts are too small, any athletic shorts will do. Athletic shoes are required; however, they do not need to be basketball shoes; no street shoes.
• Please arrive with a filled water bottle.
• The second scrimmage with Breck is in the Breckenridge HS Gym (710 13th Street North, Breckenridge, MN).
• If you know you are not able to attend or your player is ill that day, please email us at ladyhawleynuggets@gmail.com or text to Kirsti at 218-329-2904 so we do not worry and/or wait for your player to show up.

[ UNIFORMS ]

Last night we heard from many girls that their uniforms are too small (particularly the shorts). We know we need to place an order for replacement uniforms. But, we cannot initiate an order until we know where we are sitting for need. 

• We asked the girls last night to dig out their uniform and try it on for parents so that you can determine if an order is needed.
• Please email Ladyhawleynuggets@gmail.com this week with the status of your daughter's uniform (i.e.. uniform still fits, needs shorts, or needs complete uniform).
• If you do not plan to participate in tournaments, purchasing the uniform is optional.

[ PRACTICES ]

• We will hold two practices per week; both are required to participate in tourneys. 
• Monday night practices with Coach Gottenborg are 6:30-8pm in the HS Gym; these practices concentrate on fundamentals and are important as this is time to perfect skills and get assistance as needed on skills.
• Sunday practices are 2:00-3:30pm in the elementary; these are very important as this is our team time where we work on plays and prepare for tourneys. Note: we have not confirmed our Sunday practice yet, but this is what it has been since 3rd grade; we will not start Sunday practices until around mid-November.
• Players must bring/wear the following to practice:
• water bottle (lines are too long at the water fountains)
• practice jersey/athletic shorts
• athletic shoes (tied tightly to avoid injuries)
• positive attitude and willingness to learn new skills and work hard

[ TOURNAMENTS ]

Tourneys are optional; we want everyone to have the opportunity to participate and learn fundamentals, but understand not everyone wants to give up their weekends for tourneys...and that is okay! We still encourage anyone who wants to participate and learn about basketball with friends to participate.

• We plan to participate in five tourneys, and sometimes new optional tourneys become available throughout the season.
• If you plan to participate in 1 or all 5, the cost per plays is still the same. Traditionally tourneys run around $125/team and the number of players dictates the annual cost per player.
• Based on our numbers last night, we will likely divide the girls into two teams at tournaments so that they receive more playing time. There will not be set teams for the season; teams will vary for each tourney.
• Tournament locations in the past have been in LPA, DGF, Hawley, Ada, Pelican Rapids, Perham, Frazee, Barnesville and Menahga.
• Admission for players is free at any tourney, but adults and siblings have to pay admission. Concessions are usually provided, but can be limited, so always plan to pack snacks and extra drinks at tournaments.

[ PACESETTER TEAM ]
We plan to participate in the pacesetter program this spring. Pacesetter is an optional competitive opportunity at the end of our basketball season. Anyone can participate in our pacesetter team; however, pacesetter is different than our traveling team in that while we are at the regional tournament, it will not be equal playing time. To learn more about the pacesetter program, visit www.psmbbn.com. Also, please note, there are additional costs associated with this program. If you know your daughter is interested in this competitive opportunity, please let us know as soon as possible.