FAQ

Yes. In the past we’ve asked for a season commitment of $200 from each family. The fee covers uniforms, payments for gym time, Salvation Army league fees, insurance, and tournament fees. In the rare case of exceeding the budget, we’ve encouraged the girls to have fund-raising events, such as car washes.  We do not exclude girls whose families cannot make that large of a financial commitment, but instead ask those families to contribute to the program in other ways, such as volunteering as coaches or team “managers”.

Every team in the program practices on Sunday at Washington High School, either in the late afternoon or early evening. All teams also typically have practice on Tuesday or Thursday evenings, either at Franklin or McKinley middle schools. Practices run 90 minutes on weekdays and 2 hours on Sundays.

The Salvation Army has two seasons – fall (September through early December) for grades 4 through 8 and winter (early January through mid February) for grades 3 through 6. Most games are on Saturday, but there will be an occasional game on Thursday or Friday night.  Most games are at the Salvation Army gym, but some will be at Roosevelt or Franklin Middle School, or St. Joseph’s School in Marion.

Generally that’s up to the families and the coaches. Our younger teams typically play in about a half dozen tournaments, and the older girls play in more than that. A couple of years ago, our 8th grade team played in more than 10, but they only played tournaments. Almost all tournaments are in the Metro area or within a 25-mile radius. Two of our 8th-grade teams have traveled to the Twin Cities for a weekend tournament and to Grinnell for a one-day tournament. Last season the 5th-graders played in the state AAU tournament in Des Moines and the 4th-graders went to Waverly and Williamsburg.

Again, that would be up to the individual family, but we’re well aware of all the activities kids involve themselves in. Most of the conflicts come early with soccer practice – we’ve had several girls come right from soccer practice to basketball practice, but the outdoor season ends before the fall Salvation Army season starts.Most families have found a way to make the schedule work. Problems arise when a player misses a lot of practices, meaning more than three out of ten.

Traditionally we have had our first practice the last Sunday in August. We go through mid December then take a break for the holidays. We start back up right after the New Year and go through February or early March.  We usually take the spring off but we like the girls to attend local basketball camps in the summer and play in summer leagues, which are more informal than those during the school year.

If you have additional questions, please feel free to call:

Jim Bernstein
573-2221