Junior Raiders Program Philosophy

PROGRAM OVERVIEW
The Wauwatosa East Jr Raiders Girls Basketball Club is a program designed and organized to teach, develop and train athletes to play basketball. Our goal is to teach life lessons and solid, fundamental basketball skills by giving athletes the opportunity to develop and advance so they may have the opportunity to play at the High School level.

PROGRAM INFORMATION
The Wauwatosa East Junior Raiders Girls Basketball Club (Wauwatosa Basketball Club) program has been in existence for 15 years.  The program is designed to provide an outstanding basketball experience for girls in grades 3rd through 8th who will attend Wauwatosa East High School.  We welcome girls Grades 3 - 8 that live in Wauwatosa or go to a Wauwatosa public or parochial school to try out for the Jr. Raiders program. 
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Teams
Team Sizes are 10 – 11 players.  Team size and number of teams will be determined by how many girls sign up and evaluations at tryouts.  Summer leagues and tournaments are run by grade level – 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th.  Every player will have the opportunity to play; however, equal playing time is not guaranteed.  Generally speaking, at the lower grade levels, playing time is more balanced, while at the higher levels, it becomes more concentrated in anticipation of high school play.  Coaches can alter these general guidelines depending on factors such as match-ups, game situation, skill and commitment to practice.

Practices
Teams practice two times per week at Wauwatosa East High School or a Wauwatosa Middle School or Grade School.  Practice times vary; they can start as early as 4:30 p.m., and finish as late as 9 p.m. (we try to schedule the younger girls as early as possible).  Practices are usually 75 minutes but sometimes 90 minutes.  Some coaches may schedule other practice times or scrimmages as needed and at certain times of the year, we may only have practice once/week due to gym availability.  Also, there are no practices once school is out.  There are still summer league games and optional skill sessions available during summer, however. 

Coaches/Managers
Teams are coached by predominantly parent coaches.  The coaches spend hundreds of hours each season to work toward our overall program mission. These are volunteer positions and without these dedicated individuals we would not be able to provide such a positive experience for our athletes. We will work with the Varsity coaching staff and other coaching professionals to provide workshops and guidance for the coaches.  

​Program Note
This program is run for the benefit of Wauwatosa East High School, but it is not run by the school coaches or staff.  We do receive assistance, gym time and guidance from the Wauwatosa Recreation Department, the Wauwatosa School District and Varsity Girls’ Basketball coach.  The coach, the school district and the athletic director are not responsible for this program. All questions/suggestions should be directed to the program Director.