Trying out for the Napa Valley Basketball Alliance squad

Via the Napa Valley Register:

Napa Valley Basketball Alliance, a nonprofit AAU club, will hold tryouts from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, March 1 at Grace Church, 3765 Solano Ave., Napa. The gym is in the back of the property.

This is the first of two required tryout sessions. The second will be announced on the NVBA website and provided to registering players. Current AAU Youth Athlete Membership is required for participation for $16, available online only for extended insurance coverage at www.aauboysbasketball.org/Membership/SignUp.aspx.

Those who try out should bring AAU membership proof and completed NVBA Player Registration Form as signed by adult parent or legal guardian, available at www.nvbasketballalliance.org/

Eligibility for players in the ninth, 10th and 11th grade is determined by the player AAU National Date of Birth rules.

To play in the 10th grade division, an athlete must have been in the 10th grade as of Oct. 1, 2013 and be no older than 17 on Aug. 31, 2014. An athlete in the 11th grade as of Oct. 1, 2013 who wants to play in the 10th grade division can be no older than 16 on Aug. 31, 2014. If an athlete’s age is outside the 24-month window for their grade, the athlete must play in the grade division that is corresponds with their age

Interested players should bring their own ball, water and be ready for an intensive evaluation of basketball skill, speed, agility, teamwork, attitude, sportsmanship and game performance. These tryouts are for a travel team to compete in highly competitive AAU Tournaments and the focus will be player development for readiness of players at the high school varsity level. Players need to be committed and serious about improving and working together. A meeting with parents will be held after the end of the tryout to answer questions. Tryouts are open to Napa County residents, referrals and players attending Napa Valley high schools.

The head coach is Carson Carattini, a veteran AAU varsity coach, former high school coach and current Canada College assistant men’s coach and head strength and conditioning coach for the college’s basketball program. Carattini brings a wealth of successful coaching experience in addition to the unique advantage of being a certified youth physical trainer, to optimize player development. He led the NVBA 15U Spring AAU Team to a 70-percent overall win ratio in 2013.

For players selected for the travel team, team fees are $450 per player for 22 two-hour practice sessions and a minimum of three AAU tournaments, and will require a uniform deposit of $55 for NVBA-provided high-quality game uniforms. Practices will start March 11 at Napa High’s Messner Gym and end May 22.

One Bay Area college exposure tournament is planned and parents are responsible for player transportation to all practices and tournaments.

For more information, visit www.nvbasketballalliance.org or facebook.com/NVBA1, or email teams and programs manager Cliff Sherlock at interrace@gmail.com and put “16U AA Spring 2014 Team in the subject line.