The Sedona Parks and Recreation Department’s Grasshopper Basketball League for kids in grades one through eight is open for registration until Sunday, Nov. 24. Registration is $35 per player and includes a jersey.
Practices for the league will begin after Thanksgiving. The season will start on Saturday, Jan. 11, and conclude on Saturday, March 1.
“This is a low-pressure league with an emphasis placed on skill development, good sportsmanship, positive encouragement and learning the rules and fundamentals of basketball,” the department’s website states. “Whether you are a player, coach or parent, we offer a fun and exciting season for all. Each player will receive a team jersey and an award at the end of the season.”
Athletics and Aquatics Supervisor Carmen Brashier said that she is looking to recruit around a dozen head coaches and assistant coaches this season. New coaches will be provided with a 10- week practice guide and all coaches will be offered CPR and pediatric CPR certification.
“First- through second-graders will practice once a week, and third- through eighth-graders can practice up to twice a week,” Brashier said. “So it’s one to two hours of practice a week, with one game every Saturday for eight weeks.”
All games are currently scheduled to take place at the West Sedona School gymnasium from 9 a.m. until 4 or 5 p.m., but Brashier said that may change, as she is working on securing a second venue that would allow games to finish earlier in the day.
“They bring in the kids together and have a discussion. If it’s the first practice, they’ll have a meet-and-greet so the kids can get comfortable with each other,” Brashier said. “Then there’s a warm-up activity that goes into a general fitness activity that gets them moving around … And then it goes into skill drill, and then it has game play options. And then at the end, it has a team circle to bring the kids together with the families and have some takeaways for the parents to go home and have different activities to do with their kids.”
The 2023 season involved around 124 players, up from 99 players the previous year. Brashier said that she was hoping for 140 to 150 players and around 20 teams this season, with a typical team consisting of 10 players.
“We also ask each team to have a main parent volunteer that helps me in the snacks and refreshments at the end of their game,” Brashier said. “So there’s opportunities for parents to have a bigger involvement on the team.”
Parents can register at sedonaaz.gov/sports, or can contact Brashier at cbrashier@sedonaaz.gov or (928) 203-5077.
