Basketball FAQ
Winter League Practices are held weeknights (Mondays - Fridays) between 6:15pm and 9:30pm at the local elementary and middle schools.
- Practices for developmental and house participants (grades 2-8) are typically scheduled for 1 night per week. We make every effort to provide a make-up session for practices missed due to weather or school-issued blackouts.
- Travel Teams are typically scheduled for 2 nights per week however weather and school blackouts may affect the schedule. At a minimum, we will schedule all travel league teams for one practice per week.
- High School house participants (grades 9-12) are typically scheduled for a one-hour practice slot on Saturdays (between 8am-9pm) throughout the season.
Winter League Practices Begin:
- Travel Program: early-November
- Middle School House Program: Mid-November
- Elementary House Program: Mid-November
- Developmental Program: Late-November
- High School Program: early-December
House League Games are generally held Saturdays between 8am and 9pm. Some Sundays games are scheduled between 1:00pm - 6:00pm. Additionally, weeknight games may be scheduled if there is inclement weather, school blackouts or if there is an odd number of teams in the division.
High School house games typically run Sundays between 1:00pm and 9:00pm. Some Saturday evening games are scheduled as needed.
Travel Games run Sundays between 1:00pm and 9:00pm, with occasional Saturday or weeknight makeup games.
Games Begin:
- Travel Program: early-November
- Elementary and Middle School House: early-December
- High School House League: mid-December
- Developmental Division: early-January
House League Player Evaluations are held in late-September. Practices begin on/about November 14. Games begin in early-December. The season runs through mid-March.
High School Evaluations are held in mid-November after the High School teams are formed. Practices begin after Thankgiving and games begin in mid-December. The season runs through mid-February.
Travel Team tryouts will be held the first weekend after Columbus Day. Players who are interested in the travel program will be identified during the player evaluations in late-September and invited to the travel tryouts. Travel team selections are made by mid-October and travel practices begin immediately following the final travel team selections. Games begin in mid-November and the season runs through early-March.
Game uniforms are provided by the league and are included in your registration fees. Players are required to purchase a basketball (see sizing below) and bring it to practices. Players are required to wear tennis shoes or basketball shoes for practices and games. For practices, shorts or sweats and t-shirt should be worn.
Open to kids in grades 2-12 who live in southeastern Loudoun County. This typically includes the following school zones:
- Elementary Schools: Aldie, Arcola, Buffalo Trail, Cardinal Ridge, Goshen Post, Hutchison Farm, Hovatter, Liberty, Little River, Middleburg, Pinebrook, and Elaine E. Thompson
- Middle Schools: J. Michael Lunsford, Mercer and Willard
- High Schools: Freedom, John Champe and Lightridge
The house league program will accept kids from anywhere in Loudoun County.
The Travel middle school program is restricted to players who attend one of the three middle schools (Lunsford, Mercer or Willard). Those who attend private schools are eligible to play on a travel team based on the public-school zone that serves their address.
Players who play for their high school interscholastic basketball teams (Freshmen, JV or Varsity) are not eligible to participate in the Travel or High School House League program.
- 27.5" Junior/Youth for 2nd Grade Developmental
28.5" Intermediate for 3rd-6th Grade Boys and 3rd-12th Girls
29.5" Regulation for 7th-12th Grade Boys
There are boys and girls age groups that are divided based on the grade level of the child. Our division structures are as follows (typically, as enrollment allows):
Boys:
- 2nd Grade Developmental
- 3rd Grade Developmental
- 4th Grade House
- 5th Grade House
- 6th Grade House
- 7th Grade House
- 8th Grade House
- JV Boys House (9th & 10th Grade)
- Varsity Boys House (11th & 12th Grade)
Girls
- 2nd Grade Developmental
- 3rd Grade Developmental
- 4th Grade House
- 5th Grade House
- 6th Grade House
- 7th Grade House
- 8th Grade House
- High School House (Grades 9-12)
All registered players are REQUIRED to participate in at least one evaluation session conducted by the league for their appropriate grade level. Any exceptions due to illness, injury or family emergency must be communicated to the League in writing and approved by the Commissioner and/or League Board – and must be done so prior to the evaluation date as best as possible.
The evaluation sessions are conducted to evaluate the skill level and playing ability of each player to facilitate the formation of teams of "roughly" equal playing ability, experience, skill and size so as not to create a "stacked" team. It is strongly recommended that each head coach attends the player evaluation process associated with his or her age group.
This team formation process will include a draft. It is strongly recommended that each head coach participates in the player selection process associated with his or her age group. There are no “freezes” on assistant coaches!
Wait listed players will be added to the team that requires additional personnel; these players will be added based on the draft order for that specific age or division.
Evaluations are done for grades 4-8 and High School House league divisions to allow the league to assess the skills for each player. We divide the teams based on these evaluations and use the evaluations to invite the advanced-level kids to participate in travel tryouts. All kids who are registered for the winter program before the stated registration deadline are guaranteed to be placed on a team. We only use the evaluations to maintain parity in our league and to place the kids at the appropriate levels.
For the Developmental divisions, we divide the teams based on their schools or neighborhood. No evaluations are done for the developmental level.
No. Due to the player selection process (as noted above), requests to play for a specific coach or with a friend cannot be considered. Volunteer coaches are guaranteed to coach their own children. Assistant coach pairing requests are not guaranteed.
We generally recommend that a child play at his/her grade level as we have developmental and travel/select programs at grades 4-8. We will review requests for exceptions on a case by case basis only. Players must attend their grade level evaluation and be ranked in the top 10% of their grade level to be considered for playing up in a grade level. Parents who wish their players be considered for playing up must complete a request prior to the evaluations. All decisions by the Board are final. Due to a limited amount of space, first graders are not permitted to play up in the second grade developmental program.
The travel program is an advanced-level of play offered to kids in the 4th - 8th grades. Our Middle School Travel teams play the Loudoun County Travel League. Elementary teams play against other local organizations or in FCYBL.
DYS Basketball adheres to the standard DYS Refund policy.
- If equipment or uniforms have been issued, no refund will be processed until they are returned.
- Upon written request via regular mail or email more than 30 days prior to sport season start (1st practice/evaluations), participants will receive a full refund of the activity fee(s) less 10% to cover DYS expenditures that resulted from the registration (IE county fees, payment processing, league fees, etc).
- Upon written request via regular mail or email, 50% of the activity fee will be refunded when requested less than 30 days of scheduled sport season start (1st practice/evaluations).
- No refunds will be issued after the season officially starts (1st practice/evaluations).
Note: You may appeal for special consideration directly to the sport commissioner.
- 2nd Grade: 8'6"
- 3rd Grade: 9'0"
- Elementary House: 9'6"
- 6th-12th Grade, Travel and Select: 10'0"
Have more questions? Email basketball@dullesyouth.com.
When emailing, please include your child's name (last, first), grade, gender, and coach (in-season).
