We are proud to support many different basketball teams, offering athletes of all ages and skill levels an opportunity to play.
Please select from our teams below to find out more information about each and specific locations and dates for each team:
- SOMO Youth Basketball Leagues: Juniors LANDON LEAGUE and High School Unified BBall CLUB
- High School 5v5 teams: Traditional 5v5 and 5v5 High School/Young Adult Player Development Unified / High School and Senior 3v3 teams and all 3v3 Player Development Teams
- Seniors (over 21) 5v5 Teams
All athletes/volunteers must register prior to attending practice, and as in all other sports programs athletes must have a current SOMO Medical on file, and volunteers at all levels must have a current volunteer application on file.
SOMO YOUTH BASKETBALL LEAGUES
It has been the mission of the SOMO Management Team to provide a “junior” level opportunity in as many sports as possible so that athletes in Elementary, Middle School and High School grades would have the opportunity to train and compete with their peers. Basketball is a very popular program, and in our effort to offer quality training and competition experiences with their peers, we offer SOMO YOUTH BASKETBALL LEAGUES:
At the Elementary and Middle School level we offer the LANDON LEAGUE: a Player Development Unified model with focus on building basketball skills.
At the High School level we offer the Unified Basketball CLUB for Special Olympic athletes through 21 years old AND Unified Partners from High Schools in the area. It is a low-key “pick up game style” Basketball program – with some focus on skill development, but mostly focus is on game play and socializing! It is designed to provide basketball training and Unified game play to the high school age athlete who may not be “ready for” or interested in the more “training and competition focused High School 3v3 or 5v5 teams that will train at Barrie.
The YOUTH BASKETBALL LEAGUES are a Unified Program and as such we welcome interested Unified Partners to volunteer to train and play with our SOMO athletes. There will be a Unified Partner Orientation on December 8th at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church from 12-1:30 run by Coach Dean Packard, and on Dec. 16 th at Landon School from 12-1:30. It is critical that all interested volunteer Unified Partners sign up online so that we can contact you with details about the orientation and the season! Volunteer Unified Partners will be required to complete Class A volunteer forms ( the volunteer application and the student reference form), complete the Protective Behaviors quiz and attend these orientations. We ask that you make a commitment to attend as many of the practices as possible as the key to the success of Unified programs is consistency! It is a very rewarding experience and we look forward to having our Unified Partners join us! If you have questions about the Juniors programs or about volunteering as a Unified Partner, contact Pam Yerg at jeyclan@verizon.net
High School and Seniors (over 21 years old) teams and Player Development teams
For more “traditional” basketball training and competition, we offer programs for High School and older athletes that lead to competition at the SOMD State level.
Teams will be required to attend at least 2 Qualifying Tournaments in order to be eligible to be chosen to compete in the State Games Basketball Classic Tournament in March. Rosters are limited and will be filled based upon attendance at the first 2 practices and the level of commitment by the athlete.
* Please note that it is very important that athletes arrive on time for their training, and make a commitment to their team.
All teams will attend an additional “travel qualifier” – details to be announced.
High School and Seniors 5v5 Teams will attend our own SOMO Hosted Super Qualifier at Georgetown Prep on Saturday, February 3rd, 2013
High School and Seniors 3v3 and 3v3 PDU Teams will attend our own SOMO Hosted Super Qualifier at Landon School on Sunday February 10 th 2013
The following divisions are offered:
Seniors (over 21 years old) 3v3
Seniors (over 21 years old) 3v3 Player Development Unified
Seniors (over 21 years old) 5v5
High School/Young Adult 5v5 Player Development Unified
Other information:
Spread the word! We would love to have new high school players: both Unified and Special Olympics athletes join into this fun basketball experience! If you have questions about the new LEAGUE options, contact Pam Yerg at jeyclan@verizon.net
WE NEED YOUR HELP! COACHES ARE NEEDED TO MEET THE DEMANDS OF THIS POPULAR SPORT. WE CAN ONLY ROSTER AS MANY TEAMS AS WE HAVE COACHING SUPPORT FOR. IF INTERESTED, PLEASE CONTACT PAM YERG jeyclan@verizon.net.
Click HERE for a summary of locations, practice times and competitions.
All athletes/volunteers must register for sport training prior to attending practice.
ATHLETES – Click HERE to register on-line for this sport’s training season. YOU MUST have the required Athlete Application (also know as Athlete Medical) already on file to register. If you are not sure if you have completed all the paperwork, please click HERE to review the requirements.
VOLUNTEERS – Click HERE to register on-line for this sport’s training season. YOU MUST have the required volunteer application already on file to register. If you are not sure if you have completed all the paperwork, please click HERE to review the requirements.
As one of the world’s most popular sports, basketball is a big favorite in Special Olympics. Athletes learn teamwork while improving their athletic ability. Special Olympics basketball includes over 69,000 athletes in over 40 countries, including every US program. As in all Special Olympics sports, basketball teams are grouped in competition divisions according to the athletes’ and team’s ability level, age, and gender.
Basketball was first contested at the 1968 Special Olympics International Games. By the 1995 World Games, nearly 600 athletes from 40 countries entered the competition. There were 31 men’s teams, 18 women’s teams, and 10 Unified Sports® teams. Additionally, about 100 athletes competed in individual contest events. These events are for the lower ability athletes and include the target pass, ten meter dribble, and spot shot.
