Divisional & Clinic No.  Players are allowed to register and play for the NJB Chapter of their choice. However, most of the immediately surrounding and adjacent cities have their own NJB Chapters which serve its residents.   All-Net Players must reside within the boundaries of the chapter that their team represents.  For Yorba Linda the player must primarily reside in the City of Yorba Linda.  Boys teams may have 2 "Out of Boundary" players, while girls teams may have 3.   "Out of Boundary" players must receive a "release" from the chapter/city within which they reside to play for Yorba Linda. All Net players are not allowed to register and play in the recreational division.

 

Practices are dependent upon the individual coaches but are usually once or twice a week at any of the local outdoor courts.   What about games? All Recreational Games take place on both Saturdays and Sundays. Games are played primarily within the City of Yorba Linda at either Lasorda Field House and or TravisRanchMiddle School gymnasium facilities.    All-Net teams will play 40-60% of their games within the City of Yorba Linda; primarily at Travis Ranch Gymnasium and/or Heritage Oak Private School and will travel primarily throughout the NorthOrangeCounty area.

 

The Yorba Linda NJB Chapter is fortunate to be able to schedule games on both Saturday and Sunday. Gym space is limited and is allocated by the City of Yorba Linda prior to each Winter Season.   Can my games be scheduled around church? A very common question but unfortunately one which cannot easily be accomodated.  With the volume of Yorba Linda NJB players and limited gym time makes this an imposing task to tackle.  One goal of our schedules is to have teams play at random times throughout the day so that no team has all morning games or all afternoon games.   Along this line, we do attempt to schedule games around a Head Coach's personal  commitments.  If he/she were a church official we would do our best to schedule all afternoon games.  If a Head Coach has afternoon responsibilities we schedule all his games in the morning.

 

A good pair of basketball shoes and basketball attire is required. They will wear fast as most of our teams practice on outdoor courts.   What size basketball? Most coaches require players to bring their own ball to practice. Different divisions use different size basketballs. -          Div 1 boys uses a standard (High School, College, Professional) size (29.5) ball. -          Div 2 girls and boys use an intermediate size (28.5) ball. -          Div 3 & Rookie League use a youth size (27.5) ball. -          All-Net girls (all grades) & boys grades 5-6 use an intermediate (28.5) size ball. -          All-Net boys (grades 7-8) use a standard (29.5) size ball.

 

Recreational/Divisional teams may start practicing after November 1st.  Our season consists of 10 regular season/playoff games.  All games are generally played between 8 am and 9 pm at either the Lasorda Field House and or Travis Ranch Middle School Gymnasiums.  Games for most divisions will begin in early December but could start in late November.  We intend to have no games over the Christmas to New Years Holiday weekends,  Games however may be scheduled on Superbowl Sunday.   All-Net teams play 14 games and are scheduled by National Headquarters (www.njbl.org).   How long does it last? The last games will be scheduled for the 2nd to 3rd week in February. Note that participation in Championship Series and/or All-Stars could significantly extend your season through March & April.

How much of the game will my child play? What are the participation/playing time rules?

NJB incorporates strict participation rules for Divisional Players.  Each child is required to play one full and continuous period in each half (a minimum of full two periods per game).  A 5th period is played at which time the coach may freely substitute and participation rules do not apply.   Note that some coaches base their 5th period playing time on practice attendance.  A player that repeatedly fails to show up to practice makes it harder for coaches to teach new things and advance the team's level of play.   Within the Yorba Linda NJB Chapter we have waived the ‘player advantage rule’ for the regular Winter Season. However during the Championship Series the player advantage rule goes back into effect.   All-Net imposes no player participation rules.

 

The answer is yes and no.   Yes -- for all Girls Recreational Play (see Girls Recreational Play) section of the website www.yorbalindanjb.com   No for all Boys recreational play; Yorba Linda NJB incorporates a player evaluation and draft system in an attempt to equalize the talent amongst our teams. Only a coach's own son/daughter is guaranteed to be on his/her team. Siblings in the same division will be placed on the same team unless requested otherwise. Requests to play with friends, neighbors, cousins, carpooling buddies, etc, generally cannot be honored. Those requests associated with medical reasoning or are based on a “severe” hardship will be evaluated on a case by case basis by the Board.

 

Yorba Linda NJB imposes no fundraiser on its families.  The anticipated funds from a fundraiser have been folded into the basic registration fees.  This approach provides our league a more predictable operating budget while also alleviating the manpower burden of running the fundraiser.  Additionally each family knows their financial responsibility upon registration, there are no hidden costs.

Divisional registration entitles you to: - 10 games played in local gymnasiums with referees and scoreboards. - An official NJB Uniform (shorts and jersey) - Picture Package - Trophy - NJB Basketball   Why is it so expensive? The majority of expenses reside in the following areas: gym rental, uniforms, photos, awards, referees, and NJB license fees.  These areas comprise approximately 85% of our registration fee. This would not be inclusive of the many other incidental expenses required to operate a league of this size.

All Recreational / Divisional players in the 3rd through 8th grade must attend  player evaluation day where each player will be run through a series of drills. Players are then scored for each drill resulting in an overall rating which will be used during the draft process. In addition, uniform sizing will also be conducted at the player evaluation.  This is a mandatory activity to insure each player receives a properly fit jersey. Failure to attend an evaluation will jeopardize participation in the league.

Player evaluations are essential to our goal of creating equally talented teams.  Uniform sizing and other administrative functions are also conducted at this time.   Do I have to attend? YES, all players are REQUIRED to participate, even if you are on the waiting list.   What if I can’t? Failure to attend an evaluation will jeopardize participation in the league.  Players on the waiting list who attend the evaluation will be given priority over those who register early but do not complete the evaluation.

Yorba Linda NJB uses the following draft system to create teams (Assume 10 Teams): 1) Each coach randomly receives a team number which represents their selection order. 2) Team #1 picks first, Team #2 picks second, etc, thru Team #10. 3) Selection resumes with Team #10 selecting, then Team #9, etc, through Team #1. 4) This selection process continues in the serpentine fashion. 5) Teams with less than 8 players will be assigned new players, in the draft order, as registration permits.

Coaches will begin contacting players after the player draft sometime in October.  PLEASE give coaches time to contact you.  Though some teams MAY begin practicing right away, many will not.  Your particular coach may be on vacation or have overlapping commitments.  Rest assured you will be contacted.

YES!! Yorba Linda NJB is an ALL VOLUNTEER organization. There are many opportunities to get involved and help our league. Each team needs a Head Coach, most have at least one Assistant Coach. A Team Manager or Team Parent is essential. Lastly, we are always in need of help during registration, on evaluation days, and on picture day.

Volunteer coaches are one of our most precious resources. PLEASE volunteer if you are interested. You are not required to have a child participating in the league. NJB offers clinics and instructional materials for those having no prior experience.   Can I choose my assistant coach? Yes, Yorba Linda NJB does allow Head Coaches and Assistant Coaches to team up prior to the player draft. We understand that many coaches wish to team together due to family relationships, friendships, travel convenience, or for general scheduling purposes. However, to keep the selections fair and maintain equity amongst teams it is necessary to implement restrictions.  Any team with multiple 1st round players (as determined from the evaluations and/or the Board) is deemed to have an unfair advantage.  Therefore, if both Coach's children are on the draft board in the 1st round then they will not be able to choose in the draft until the third round. .

Yes. In fact, each team is required to acquire a tax deductible sponsorship for $200. (Tax ID # to be provided upon request)   We are a volunteer organization dependent upon community support to successfully operate our program which provides an exceptional environment for our children. Funding is entirely dependent upon registration fees and the contributions of local businesses and individuals.   As a sponsor, your contribution will play a MAJOR role in developing and nurturing the youth of our community. While coaches and league representatives are volunteers, the cost of operating a league dependent upon gymnasium rental is substantial. Your generous contribution will help pay for many items including, but not necessarily limited to, gym rental, basketballs, coach screening and education, game related fees, and printed materials.

The 10 game Yorba Linda NJB recreational divisional schedule includes regular season and playoffs.  During the 2005-06 season our Division 3 (3rd & 4th Grade) boys teams participated in the first annual Yorba Linda NJB CityJam. All teams participated, received huge trophies and or medals with the championship game played on the full court at Lasorda Field House.  The number of playoff games is dependent upon the number of teams in each division.  The goal is to provide enough regular season games so that teams may be sufficiently ranked to conduct a meaningful playoff.  The usual format is to conduct 7-8 regular season games and 2-3 playoff games. All games are played within Yorba Linda (Lasorda Field House and TravisRanchMiddle School).   What is the Yorba Linda NJB Special Ceremonies and City Jam? The Yorba Linda Special Ceremonies and City Jam is an all day event to showcase our recreational / divisional playoff championship games.  Festivities include, player introductions, play-by-play announcing, post game award presentations, introduction of all our Chapters All Star Teams with award certificates given, special honoring of our graduating 8th Grade All Net teams, with raffles and prizes being given throughout the evening portion.

The Championship Series is a 2 week post-season tournament operated by NJB Headquarters. Individual Yorba Linda teams have the option of registering (for an additional team fee of approximately $120) and playing teams of like record from surrounding NJB Chapters. All teams that are 5-5 will play against teams that are 4-6, 5-5, or 6-4. All the 10-0 teams play each other, etc. Note that there will be travel involved. You could play anywhere from Southern Orange County to the Inland Empire.

The coach of each division’s championship team is automatically (to be evaluated for change this year) named the All-Star Coach. If he/she declines then the 2nd place team’s coach is offered the position. All-Star players are selected from nominations received from each of the division’s head coaches. All rosters must be approved by the Board of Directors. All-Star teams compete against other NJB Chapter All-Stars in a round robin type format with winners qualifying to play in NJB’s National All-Star Tournament.

Yes. NJB provides several safeguards.   They ask all coaches to have first-aid kits as part of their practice equipment.   NJB requires that an adult female be present at all girls’ team practices, no exceptions.   Every individual (Board Member, Coach, Assistant Coach, etc) associated with NJB is required to register with NJB Headquarters. In addition to address and telephone information there are also a series of Yes/No questions that relate to an individuals fitness and eligibility to be involved in youth sports.   Lastly, all head coaches must be fingerprinted and are subject to background investigation and/or fingerprint verification to determine suitability for this sensitive community position.  Live Scan, by U.S. Fingerprinting, provides a timely and accurate response from the Department of Justice alerting NJB to anyone who has had a felony conviction.  If a felony conviction appears, that individual, as well as the board of directors is immediately notified in writing that the individual can no longer be associated with any NJB activity: Zero tolerance!

As a Chapter, Yorba Linda directly participates in the NJB Winter League (November - March).  During Winter League we conduct individual registration, create teams, and schedule games in our local (Travis Ranch and Lasorda Field House) gyms.   At the conclusion of our Winter season there are opportunities for teams to continue play.  These NJB Leagues are for coaches who wish to continue playing with their existing team or desire to put together their own teams.  Yorba Linda NJB does not, at this time, conduct registration, assign players, or schedule games.  NJB Headquarters performs all registration and scheduling.  Games are usually held in OrangeCounty gyms.   Always check www.njbl.org for the latest information regarding the following off-season programs: Spring League:  Games played in late April through May. Summer Tournaments:  Weekend tournaments played from May through August. Summer League:  Games played in June/July. Fall League:  Games played in August/September.