Philly Dragons Sports Association (PDSA) Basketball is back. Registration opens on Monday, October 14 at 8 AM and closes on November 6 AT 11:59 PM. Please read all the way through the below message for important information on all league offerings.

IMPORTANT UPDATE! 

We are excited to announce a few of changes this year that support our mission to focus on player development.

·       Divisions will be organized by grades.  All of our divisions, except Kindergarten, will have two grades.  This allows kids to play on teams with other kids who are no more than a single year older or younger than them.

·       Our younger divisions (4^th grade and below) will all play on reduced height baskets to promote age-appropriate development. 

Philosophy

PDSA Basketball welcomes all kids of all skill sets, from beginners to high level travel players. Each player plays at least half of each game, regardless of skill level. Coaches are encouraged to work on player development, sportsmanship, and fostering enjoyment for the game of basketball.

Volunteers

PDSA is an all-volunteer organization and needs the help of approximately 150 parent volunteers to make our program work. This includes a continuous need for Division Commissioners, coaches, and assistant coaches. Please reach out to the Division Commissioner listed on our website if you can help out or if you have questions about getting involved.

Additionally, we are actively looking for a division commissioner for our youngest all gender league (Kindergarten).  This is great way to get involved. 

Coaching Registration

Please note, anyone planning to coach must also register to do so through our website by logging into your account. In order to register you must upload Child Abuse Clearances and PA Criminal Background Check. If you do not already have these the links to each can also be found here:

·       Child abuse clearance

·       PA Background check

These clearances are good for 5 years so please ensure yours have not expired.

Sponsorship

Sponsorships help fund the cost of running our basketball league. If you are interested in sponsoring a team or a division, please reach out to Eric Dolaway at [email protected]. You can also sign up to be a sponsor when you register your child(ren).

PDSA Schedule

Please take note of the following important events and dates

·       Evaluations/Clinics – Held on two weekend days in November (exact dates and times are dependent on your child’s division).

·       Season Kick-off – Practices begin the first weekend in December. Games start in late December or early January depending on division.

·       Season End – Seasons wrap in early March. Also note we are off the weekend of 12/28.

·       Practice and Game Days – We are a weekend league. All practices and games will be held on Friday evenings, Saturdays, and/or Sundays.  We use up to 5 venues, and some divisions play at multiple venues.

Attendance Considerations

We understand that many of our families have busy lives.  To assist coaches in creating fair teams, you will be asked at registration if you anticipate your child missing 25% or more of practices and/or games?  This is not meant to discourage any kids from participating, and will only be used to help put teams together.

Divisions

We offer divisions for kids ages Kindergarten through 8^th grade.  Please make sure you register your child for the appropriate division.   

Please note that we reserve the right to combine and rearrange divisions based on registration. 

Note that for most ages we offer all-gender leagues that both boys and girls can participate in, as well as girls-only leagues. All children are welcome to register in our all-gender leagues, but please note that all-gender leagues have historically been 95% or more boys.

All Gender Divisions

Big East – Kindergarten– All Gender

This division is our youngest players.  The division will be made up of up to eighty kids.  The kids will be broken up into eight teams of ten.  This year kids will participate in skills and drills with their team in one-hour blocks on Saturday and Sunday mornings.  As the year progresses, the kids will begin to have informal scrimmages against one of the other teams to learn the basics of the game.   These will all be played on eight-foot baskets.  This league seeks to develop basic basketball skills and fundamentals while learning to enjoy the game.  The division will be on Saturday and Sunday mornings starting the first week of December.  Most of the activities will be at The Philadelphia School.  

ACC – 1^st and 2nd grade– All Gender

This division will include 1st graders and 2nd graders.  The division will likely consist of between 10-12 teams of approximately 10 players each.  All players will participate in two clinics in mid-November.  Teams will be selected by draft towards the end of November and team practices will start in early December.  Starting in January, the division will play other teams in the division in scrimmages, followed by an end of the year tournament in February and the beginning of March.  This division will play on 8-foot baskets.  This division seeks to teach basic skill development and fundamentals.  Rules such as traveling and double dribbling will be taught, but liberally applied.  All defenses will be limited to man-to-man with no double teaming.  Almost all activities will take place at The Philadelphia School.

Big 10 – 3^rd and 4^th grade- All Gender

This division will include 3rd and 4th graders.  The division will likely consist of 10-12 teams of approximately 10 players each.  All players will participate in two division-wide clinics in mid-November.  Teams will be selected by draft in the end of November.   Team practices will start the first weekend in December.  The division will play approximately nine regular season games starting in January, followed by playoffs.  This division will play on reduced height baskets.  This division seeks to balance skill development and fundamentals with learning basic game play.  Rules such as traveling and double-dribbling will be liberally enforced to allow kids to learn basic game play.    All defenses will be limited to man-to-man with no double teaming.  Most activities will be at Friends Select School.  

NBA – 5^th and 6th grade – All Gender

 This division includes 5th and 6th grade players.  The division will likely between 8-10 teams of approximately 10 players each.  Players will participate in one of our one-hour evaluations in mid-November and teams will be selected by draft in end of the November.  The division will have an approximately 9 game regular season starting either in December or January followed by playoffs in the beginning of March.  There will usually be one game and one practice most weekends, with two games on some weekends later in the year.  Our games and practices will be at multiple venues including Friends Select School, Philedhouse and other venues. This league will continue to teach skill development, but players will be expected to adhere to basketball rules regarding dribbling, fouling, etc.  Kids will start to learn team offense and defense. 

NBA – 7^th and 8^th grade – All Gender

This division includes 7^th and 8^th grade players.  The division will likely be between 6-8 teams of 10 players.  The division will have an approximately 8 game regular season followed by playoffs.  There will usually be one game and one practice each weekend.  Our games and practices will mostly be held at the Phield House, however some may be held at other venues.  Because this is our oldest league, the league will focus more on team offense and defense and less on individual skill development.  All normal basketball rules will be enforced.

Girls Only Divisions

Ivy – 1^st and 2^nd grade – Girls Only

This division will include 1^st and 2nd grade girls.  The division will likely include 6-8 teams with 10 players each.  All players will participate in two division-wide clinics in mid-November.  Teams will be selected by draft in late November.   Team practices will start the first weekend in December.  The division will scrimmage other teams starting in January, followed by an end-of-year tournament in February.  This division will play on 8-foot baskets.  This division seeks to teach basic skill development and fundamentals.  Rules such as traveling and double dribbling will be taught, but liberally enforced.  All defenses will be limited to man-to-man with no double teaming.  Most activities will take play at The Philadelphia School.

Patriot League – 3^rd and 4^th grade – Girls Only

This division will include 3^rd and 4^th grade girls.  The division will likely include 6-8 teams with 10 players each.  All players will participate in two division-wide clinics in mid-November.  Teams will be selected by draft in late November.   Team practices will start the first weekend in December.  The division will play scrimmages and games against other teams starting in January, followed by an end-of-year tournament in February.  This division will play on 8-foot baskets.  This division seeks to teach basic skill development and fundamentals.  Rules such as traveling and double dribbling will be taught, but liberally enforced.  This league will continue to teach skill development, but players will be expected to adhere to basic basketball rules regarding dribbling, fouling, etc.  All defenses will be limited to man-to-man with no double teaming.  Most activities will take play at Friends Select and The Philadelphia School.

WNBA – 5^th and 6th grade – Girls Only

This division includes 5th and 6^th grade girls.  The division will likely be around 4-6 teams of approximately 10 players.  Players will participate in one of our one-hour evaluations in November and teams will be selected by draft at the end of November.  The division will have an approximately 8 game regular season followed by playoffs.  There will usually be one game and one practice each weekend.  Our games and practices will be at multiple venues including Friends Select School, Philedhouse and other venues.  This league will continue to teach skill development, but players will be expected to adhere to basketball rules regarding dribbling, fouling, etc.  Kids will start to learn team offense and defense. 

WNBA – 7^th and 8^th grade – Girls Only

This division includes 7th and 8th grade players.  The division will likely be around 4-6 teams of approximately 10 players.  Players will participate in one of our one-hour evaluations in November and teams will be selected by draft at the end of November.  The division will have an approximately 8 game regular season followed by playoffs.  There will usually be one game and one practice each weekend.  Our games and practices will mostly be held at the Phield House, however a few practices may be held at other venues.  Because this is our oldest league, the league will focus more on team offense and defense and less on individual skill development.  All normal basketball rules will be enforced.

Play up Requests 

If you wish to request for your child to “play up” in an older division, please register them in the available division on the website and send an email [email protected] -  with the subject line “Play-up Request – (Your child’s name)”  please include your child’s date of birth, the division they are register in, and the division in which you want them to “play up.”  These requests are only handled based on availability after registration is complete to ensure that all age-appropriate players have had an opportunity to register.  We will honor play up requests based upon availability in the respective division as well as the date and time that the request is received.  We cannot guarantee that a player will be able to play up.

Payment and Cancelation

All registrations must be paid with a credit card.  Registrations for many divisions fill up quickly so please try to register early to get spots.  If a family is in need of financial assistance to afford their child's participation in the program reach out to us ASAP (preferably before registration opens) at financialaid@phillydragons.com.

Registrations can be canceled up until November 6^th with a $10 processing fee and up until November 15^th for a 50% refund.  Cancellations after November 15^th are not refunded.

Payment and Cancelation