Why a new club?
The club was formed to help pool resources between three of the clubs in the Annapolis Valley; Hantsport Minor Basketball, Port Williams Hawks, and Acadia Minor, as well as to formalize a partnership with Acadia University to play a meaningful, official role in the club and take an active role in development of basketball in the Annapolis Valley.
My child used to play close to home, will our practices be close or will we have to travel?
While we can’t guarantee exactly where everyone will be practicing at this date, there will be options during registration for you to enter your preference for location at U8 Lil’ Hatchets. Our practice gyms will be at locations between Hantsport and New Minas. For practical reasons it’s impossible for us to guarantee 100% satisfaction with practice sites for your child, but we will do our best to accommodate where possible, particularly at the U8 level.
My child wants to ‘play up’ a level, can I register them for a level above their age?
Our registration page will not allow you to register outside of your age range. After an initial period of time if it’s found that your child is not in the appropriate grouping for their stage of development, we will adjust on a case-by-case basis.
Is this club just for players trying to play elite level basketball?
Absolutely not! The Board of Directors recognized that there were inconsistent, and dwindling numbers at various ages between both girls and boys programming in their clubs for various reasons. Bringing the clubs together further enhances the ability of a single club to provide meaningful basketball opportunities for kids at different ages, stages, and interest levels.
But doesn’t this hurt the local Valley community basketball leagues?
Not at all! The intention of the club is, depending on registrant numbers, to field as many community-based teams as possible. Provided the numbers allow, Axe Basketball will have multiple community teams at each age level and gender. Should there be a shortage of athletes at a certain age or gender to facilitate a local league this year, the initiation of this club will certainly not be the reason. One of our core ambitions is to create more participation and provide even more opportunity for everyone, not to decrease participation.
But what about U10 where they will only be playing 3x3?
We have spoken to the other local clubs involved in the league to offer the opportunity for kids at U10 in their clubs to join us on Sundays for 3x3 with instruction and guidance from the Axewomen and Axemen at Acadia. They have all agreed in principle to this and have been supportive of our initiative. Please see the 3x3 Basketball section of our website to learn about the value of 3x3 basketball for this age and stage of athlete (FUNdamentals) within Canada Basketball’s Long Term Athlete Development model.
I heard there will be teams competing in MBANS, is this true?
This is true. Our aim through the STRIVE program is to provide opportunities to those kids with interest and aptitude to have the opportunity to play competitively in MBANS. We don’t feel it’s positive for local basketball if we have all of our teams competing in the HRM, and that is not the intention in any way. We will however be offering the opportunity to do this for interested athletes to hopefully satisfy their competitive desires which fits with the age and stage (Learn to Train) within Canada Basketball’s Long Term Athlete Development model.
How do I register for the STRIVE program?
Through the registration page, you will indicate your preference about being part of the evaluation for STRIVE, but will register initially at the U12 or U14 level. If selected for the STRIVE program, there will be an additional charge of $150 to satisfy the MBANS league registration. This will happen after successful selection for STRIVE.
The club is more expensive than it has been, is there a reason for that?
You’re right, it is slightly more expensive, and there are a few reasons for that. It was important when establishing our costs for this season that we establish a ‘per athlete per hour’ rate that makes sense as a sustainable financial model without necessitating large fundraisers to budget for operating costs. This rate works out to approximately $5 per hour per athlete, except at the U8 level where kids also receive a basketball with their registration. We are seeing facility costs rising this year particularly on weekends, and our athletes are all receiving gear that is theirs to keep, no returns necessary. Most importantly though, we will be helping to ensure that the volunteer coaches aren’t ‘out of pocket’ for various costs associated with their own professional development and certification.
Is there a program to help out anyone that is dealing with registration cost as a barrier to participation?
Absolutely! We want all of our local players to be able to take the floor with Axe Basketball this season. If the registration fee is a barrier for that to happen, please add your contact info to the following private link and we will be in touch right away to see how we can help.