WHO WE ARE

Eastlake Select Basketball is a competitive basketball ‘feeder’ program for boys in grades 4-8 who live in the boundary for Eastlake High School in Sammamish, Wash.  With a strong emphasis on player and personal development, our coaches not only prepare athletes for high school basketball but also equip them with essential life skills to navigate challenges both on and off the court.

See our FAQs page for a list of elementary and middle schools that feed into Eastlake High School.

OUR MISSION

The  goal of Eastlake Select Basketball is to foster a love of basketball in our youth by teaching the fundamentals of the game, encouraging great sportsmanship and promoting teamwork — while having fun.  We foster self-esteem, inclusive behaviors, mental and physical fitness, and technical basketball skills in an age appropriate, positive, safe, educational, and enjoyable environment.

We are excited about the upcoming year. Each year we strive to build upon our prior successes and to minimize our weaknesses. Our coaching staff and other key volunteers complete the support system that is so important for our program to continue to reach new levels of success.

TRYOUTS & TEAM SELECTION

Tryouts will continue to take place during the 2nd and 3rd weekend in September.  Tryouts will be 60 minutes in duration and all kids are encouraged to attend all scheduled tryout dates.  Communications about team selections will be known within a week of the final tryout day.  Rosters will consist of 10-12 players based on numbers/talent depth per grade level.

LEAGUE FORMAT

All boys teams participate in the Eastside Travel League (ETL) or the Mercer Island Peak League (PEAK).  ETL teams are our top tier teams and Peak teams are the next tier teams. League games begin the first weekend in December and will run until the final weekend in February or the first full weekend in March.  Most league weekends will consist of 2 games for each team.  ETL will have a home and away format with our Eastlake teams hosting and/or traveling to our opponent’s gym.  PEAK league games will be hosted on Mercer Island or nearby Bellevue/Redmond with the high possibility of a double header format with games being hosted on the same weekend day.  League tournaments will take place the week after each team’s last regular season game.  Both leagues will form a Gold/Silver League Tournament format.  Teams will participate in either Gold/Silver depending on their league standings.

League schedules often come out monthly while the first 1-2 weeks could come out weekly due to the high demand for gym space. This is caused mostly by playoff fall HS sports such as football, volleyball, soccer etc.

TOURNAMENTS

All 4-8 grade boys’ teams will be scheduled for 2 tournaments during non-league playing weekends.  Pre-Season Tournaments will start in early November and all tournaments including league tournaments will have gate entry fees.  Teams will play anywhere between 3-5 games during a tournament weekend depending on the results.  Games are typically played on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Tournament schedules will be made public the week of and often come out 2-3 days prior to the tournament starting.  With limited gym space and the high volume of participating teams, public schedules are often released at the last minute.  Eastlake Select has no influence or decision-making power with any tournaments our teams participate in.

Teams can participate in traveling tournaments or qualifying tournaments such as State if those teams choose to do so after their regular season and league tournament.

PLAYER RESPONSIBILITIES

All Select Basketball program participants must pay applicable program season fees by October 1st.  The season fee schedule will be available by August 1st.  Players must purchase a uniform through Cloud9 by October 1st (link to be made available at the beginning of the season).  Uniforms can be used for multiple seasons.  All players are responsible for attending scheduled team practices, games, and tournaments, and communicating absences with coaches.  Players are expected to be on-time and practices will end as scheduled to respect everyone’s time (parents, coaches, etc.)

PARENT RESPONSIBILITIES

Parents are expected to support their kids and their team during the season.  Parents should make sure their kids are on time to all practices and events or communicate with the coach if their kid cannot attend.  Parents should ‘release’ their kid to the program so there is only ‘one coaching voice’ on the team.

PRACTICES

Teams will start practices in early October and the season will end in early March.  Teams will practice 2 times per week based on gym availability.  October/November generally has good gym availability while December/January/February is tighter with the number of activities at local gyms.  4th-5th grade teams will get priority with 6pm practices while older teams (6th-8th) grades will be scheduled for the later times at 7:30pm.  In general, practices are ‘closed’ to parent attendance (allowance can be made for younger kids) in order to help kids stay focused.

SCHOOL ACCESS

Anytime the schools are closed due to holidays, scheduled school breaks, or inclement weather, school gyms are not available for practices or games.  This includes Thanksgiving Weekend, December Holiday Break, MLK Day, and February’s Mid-Winter Break.

COMMUNICATIONS

Information about season schedules, potential schedule changes and other urgent matters will be through Team Snap.  Please ensure that you have an active email address on file for these communications.

TRAINING PROGRAM

Extra training is done outside of Eastlake Select.  There are several local programs that offer paid training.  Please contact us if you would like more information.

PROGRAM STRUCTURE

‍This program is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and is governed by by-laws with Officers and a Board of team representatives. We encourage all interested parents to be involved with the leadership of this exciting program.

PROGRAM SUPPORT

There are many dedicated players, parents and sponsors that support our organization. Our continued success depends on this support. Please contact us and ask how you can help if you are interested. We definitely need you! We encourage our parents, players and volunteers to provide us with input and feedback about the program. If you have questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact one of the Board members. Communication is a key to the success of our organization.

LWSD DISCLAIMER

‍Eastlake Select Boys Basketball is a member of the Eastside Traveling League. The Eastside Traveling League Basketball program is an independent, non-profit organization that is neither sponsored by nor affiliated with the Lake Washington School District.

Lake Washington School District does not sponsor, endorse, or recommend any of the organizations, services, or activities described in these materials. In consideration for the privilege to distribute these materials, Lake Washington School District shall be held harmless from any causes of action filed in any court or administrative tribunal arising out of the distribution of these materials, including all costs, attorney’s fees, judgments, or awards.