Hi Everyone! Excited to get going with all of our new and returning players. It's going to be a great year ahead.

Below we've listed expectations by age group of what new and returning players should be able to do come mid March 2025.

We want the boys to enjoy themselves! A small amount of work will lead to more fun when the snow melts!!!

Wall ball and cradling relate to dribbling and passing a basketball. If we get better at these fundamentals, we can do drills to prepare for games. 

• 20-30 minutes outside of practice per week!!!!
• Ability to cradle with both hands
• Ability to catch and throw with strong hand
• Ability to throw with weak hand
• proper form for catching and throwing and cradling are in videos below!!!
• NO WALL BALL EVAL FOR THIS AGE, JUST CRADLING EVAL!!!!

3/4th Grade Expectations:

• 1-2 wall ball sessions per week in fall/winter 2024
• Catch and Throw with Strong hand 
  • good gauge is 20 catches in a row on wall ball
• Strong cradle with strong hand, and the ability to cradle AND throw with weak hand
• Great ground ball form - top hand touching the plastic, bottom hand on bottom of stick

HW: 30-40 minutes/week of wall ball:
Link below shows all variations of how to catch and throw!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sKKMHAg4zY&t=2s

Try to do all of the reps through 3 minutes into this video!!!!!

more explainers below!!!

U12 (5/6th) & U14(7/8th) Expectations 

• 2-3 wall ball sessions per week fall/winter 2024
• Catch and throw strong with both hands
• Cradle strong with both hands
• Ability to shoot on the run with both hands
• Strong on groundballs with strong hand

HW: 40-60 minutes/week of wall ball:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sKKMHAg4zY&t=2s

Try to do all of them!

More Great Drills:

https://www.rockfordramlax.org/page/show/3779461-more-great-drills

How to Practice:

• Tennis ball wall ball!
• Garage wall space works
• basement wall works!
• If the basement ceiling is too low, you can sit in a chair!

FUNDAMENTAL WALL BALL SCREENING- MARCH:

Coaches will be running this daily until everyone passes it by age group. If you do not screen out of this, you'll become part of the pre-practice wall ball group!!! 

Details of what drills will be in this screening will be sent out in the next week or two. If you follow the HW below you'll have no problem with the screening! 

This was started by an old varsity coach and we're bringing it back!!!