St Louis Park Basketball Association

As many of you know, updated information about COVID-19 and youth sports was released December 28th by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH). Some of the highlights of the included document include:

• Starting Jan. 4, 2021, practices for organized youth sports may resume. We are working with our facility contacts now to secure practice times. You’ll hear more from your coach and see updates on your team calendar (via SportsEngine) as practices are scheduled. 
• Starting Jan. 14, 2021, games and scrimmages with other teams may begin. We are working with tournament providers and hope to have an updated tournament schedule soon. You’ll hear more from your coach and see updates on your team calendar (via SportsEngine) as tournaments are scheduled.
• Face coverings must now be worn by all persons at all times, including during practices and games. (Details on the types of face coverings can be found in the MDH document under the “Face Covering Requirements” section.) In general, face coverings can include a cloth mask, a neck gaiter, a scarf, a bandanna, or a religious face covering. CDC recommends using two layers of fabric when making a cloth face covering.
• Spectators are not allowed at tournaments; however, this does not prevent a parent, guardian, or support person from being present if necessary due to a participant’s age, disability, or medical condition. We are currently getting clarity on this update, in particular how it impacts our youngest players. 
• Our COVID-19 Preparedness Plan and Guidelines and our Practice Site Entry & Exit remain in effect, although we will be updating the former to reflect the new mask requirement for players. 
• If you are interested, here are links to the Minnesota State High School League release and the MYAS release. 

As we’ve said before, every day in the gym is a good day. We’re excited about safely and responsibly returning to the court with your sons, and pushing the season and all its lessons forward. 

Thank you and feel free to reach out with questions.

We wanted to provide a quick update to share with you some highlights of last night’s board meeting:

Team Activities: Coaches will continue to spearhead team activities during the “pause,” and will facilitate at least one team check-in per week. Other basketball-related activities and assignments will likely take place as well, although they will look different from team to team. You can expect to hear more from your coach this week.  

Season and Tournaments: At this point, we believe that we will still have a season with tournament games. December tournaments are by and large being rescheduled in the new year. (For example, the Farmington tournament -- originally scheduled for the weekend of December 5 and 6 -- has already been rescheduled to President’s Day weekend in February, 2021.) We’ll continue to monitor changes and firm up an updated schedule as soon as we are able.  

Uniforms: We’re expecting uniforms to be delivered to us by the middle of next week. Once we have them in hand we’ll discuss the best way to disseminate them to players.  

COVID-19 Protocol: We reviewed our COVID-19 protocol and how it was working (prior to the pause). In general, our feeling is that it is serving us well, especially after clarifying the entry / exit instructions for each practice facility. Our reporting mechanism is solid, our communication channels are in place and working, and our coaches, parents and players are doing an amazing job following our guidelines. We will continue to consult with a local physician about COVID issues and places we might improve, and will monitor updates from the MDH, MYAS and other entities.

Thank you for your ongoing support of SLP Boys Traveling Basketball, and for your patience, understanding and flexibility as we navigate this season together.

As you likely heard, last night the Governor announced a “pause” for youth sports, beginning at midnight tomorrow, November 20th, and extending through midnight on Friday, December 18.

Given this direction, the board has chosen to cancel all in-person basketball events beginning today (Thursday, November 19th). There will be no in-person practices tonight or for the duration of the “pause.”

On Monday, November 23rd, the board will meet to lay out plans and direction for the next four weeks. While we still need to gather input from coaches and families, it’s likely that we’ll provide at least one team activity of some sort each week for your son. This may take the form of a short virtual practice, or a send-it-home “basketball homework” assignment, a Dribble Up activity, or something similar. Your coaches will be in touch with you as this takes shape.

As you know, the Farmington tournament (originally scheduled for the weekend of December 5 and 6) has already been rescheduled to President’s Day weekend in February. We’re hopeful that the Chanhassen Tournament will also be rescheduled, but we don’t have details yet.

We know that news of this pause is going to be rough on the kids, and that they’re already under a fair amount of stress. We’re going to do everything we can to make sure that we’re staying connected to them, and providing support, understanding and encouragement

We knew this season would be a challenge going into it, and that we’d all need to be flexible. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we make this early-season adjustment. A special thank you to our coaches, a group that we’re again asking to go the extra, extra mile.

Thank you and you’ll hear more from your coaches or the board as plans take shape.

As part of our COVID-19 Preparedness Plans and Guidelines, we're working to minimize clustering and team overlap at our practice facilities.  Please see our Practice Site Entry & Exit document for where to pick-up and drop-off your son at each practice site.

Team rosters were emailed to parents on Friday, October 30. Check your inbox for team details!

Registration for the 2020-2021 season is closed.

The 2020-2021 season will be unlike any we’ve seen before. Scheduling and coordinating a basketball season during a pandemic will require patience, flexibility and understanding from our players, parents, families and partners. We’re in this together.

In every season – especially this one – we are committed to providing safe and healthy spaces for all our players, coaches, volunteers and fans. To ensure we have a safe and healthy season, SLPBTBA has developed a detailed Preparedness Plan & Guidelines document in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our goal is to mitigate the potential for transmission of COVID-19 in our organization and communities. This goal cannot be achieved without the help of our parents, families and friends of the program. In short, it requires full cooperation among all of our partners.

Our FAQ page provide much more information on our approach to the season. We're looking forward to seeing your son on the court in October!

(Emailed September 14th)

Thank you for your continued interest in St. Louis Park Basketball. We’ve made significant progress in planning for this challenging season and wanted to share some details with you:

• Registration will open late next week (likely on Friday, Sept. 25). As usual, we will offer teams for grades 3-8, assuming adequate interest. Spread the word.
• Evaluations and team formation will happen in mid-to-late October. This will be an abbreviated version of what’s happened in past years.
• Practices will tentatively begin in early November. An aggressive protocol of safety measures are being finalized now and will be in place before any evaluations or practices take place.
• We’re tentatively targeting December for our first tournaments.

As you can imagine, this season will require us all to embrace a sense of flexibility and understanding. Schedules will almost assuredly change at some point, particularly as we evaluate the safety of sending teams to tournaments outside our community.

As we proceed, please know that our first priority is the safety of our players and their families. We continue to review information and recommendations from the State of Minnesota, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Minnesota Department of Health, as well as Minnesota’s current executive orders. Further, we’ll continue to closely monitor the direction set by the Minnesota State High School League and the St. Louis Park School District.

Thank you for your ongoing patience as we navigate these uncharted waters. We believe there is tremendous value in getting our kids back on the court, but only if we do it responsibly and with safety at the forefront of everything we do.

The SLP Traveling Basketball Board