Travel Tryout Process

Travel team tryouts for grades 4 through 8 will take place each year in mid-October for the upcoming season.  A tryout schedule will be posted on the league website and emailed to all players who have registered for the upcoming season.  There will be two tryout sessions for grades 4 through 8 and it is expected that all players trying out attend both sessions.  

Travel Commitment

Players selected for an NBBA travel team are expected to be 100% committed to their team. This means not participating in any other sport that could conflict with scheduled practices and games. This level of commitment is crucial, as not every child will make a travel team, and it is unfair to the tryout process to earn a spot without being fully dedicated. If you are unable to commit to all practices/games/tournaments we respectfully ask that you participate in the in-town program.

Travel Team Coaches are empowered to address commitment issues if they arise. Coaches may, at their discretion, limit or eliminate playing time for players who consistently miss practices or other team activities. In coordination with the NBBA Travel Director and NBBA Board, a Coach may also ask a player to step down in favor of a player able to make the full team commitment.

Travel teams practice twice a week and play one or two games on Saturday and Sunday.

Evaluators

The NBBA partners with the Newburyport High School Boys Basketball coaching staff and area coaches, when possible, to run each tryout. In addition, each tryout will generally have 2 independent evaluators who attend all of the tryouts for the specific grade.  Evaluators cannot have a child who is participating in the specific tryout.  Evaluators can be current NBBA board members or are individuals who have coached in the program in prior years. Their basketball experience is usually extensive and includes being a player at a competitive level and a coach in the past.

Selection Process

There are many factors that go into the selection process and final make-up of the travel teams.  Among these factors are:

• Performance in current tryout
• Basketball Skill Level
• Athletic ability
• Basketball “IQ” , i.e. does the player work well within the team concept and will they contribute in certain aspects of the game other than scoring (i.e. rebounding, defense, etc.)
• Team attributes; how does the player fit in within the overall needs of the team. (e.g. the team cannot be made up of all point guards or centers).
• Feedback from prior year's coach (if applicable)

Important:  Selection to a specific team in one year does not guarantee selection to that same team in future years. 

After each session, the evaluators will compile thoughts on a strictly confidential basis.  At the conclusion of the final session, the evaluation team will select each team based on the skill and ability of the participants to form a balanced team and will generally carry 10 players. 

Travel Coaches:

The head coach of the current year’s travel team will be selected after the teams are formed. Assistant coaches are then chosen by the head coach. Prospective coaches are encouraged to contact the NBBA Travel Director and President with their interest. Final head coach selections are decided by the NBBA board. All coaches must be CORI checked through the NBBA.

Notification:

Teams will be published on the NBBA website and emailed notification will be sent to all participants.

Questions

Any questions and/or feedback can be made to the NBBA Travel Director and President. Contact information is on the NBBA web site.