Upward Basketball Starting Its 11th Season

When the Upward Basketball program at the Church of the Saviour (CotS) commenced its first season back in January of 2010 there were barely 100 boys and girls in the program. There were 12 teams in 4 divisions, all co-ed, playing six games over four hours on eight Saturdays. In January 2020, the CotS Upward Basketball League's 11th season, there are 291 boys and girls grades K -7th, on 32 teams in six divisions. Kindergarten and 5th-7th are co-ed, the 1st-2nd and 3rd-4th levels have separate divisions for boys and girls. Practices will start the week of January 6th with the first Game Day being Saturday January 25. Sixteen (16) games will be played over nine hours for eight consecutive Saturdays with the last games being played on Saturday March 14. The very next day, on Sunday afternoon March 15, the league will hold its Annual Celebration and Awards Parties. Two identical parties are held to accommodate all the players and family members that attend.

What has led to waiting lists forming not long after registration opens each September are the philosophy and rules unique to the Upward program. Our substitution system is designed to provide every player an equal opportunity for improvement and ensures that:

• The starting lineup shifts down one player every game, allowing every child the opportunity to be in the starting lineup.
• No child will sit out back-to-back six minute segments.
• Every child will play at least half of the game.
• In most cases, each child will play against someone of similar ability.
• Playing time for all players is virtually even over the course of the season.

Another feature unique to our program is our referees. Referees not only call, but explain all violations, serving as an “in the game” coach. The detail of explanations will vary according to the age group and understanding of the players and decreases as the season progresses.

The Number 1 Rule for our coaches is 'Love Our Players,' a concept taken from the book 'InSideOut Coaching: How Sports Can Transform Lives' by Joe Erhmann. The CotS Upward Basketball program also has a partnership with the Positive Coaching Alliance. Each year a speaker from the PCA leads a workshop for our coaches, providing tools for them to put positive coaching into practice.

New for the 2020 season is an opportunity for local Heights area businesses to be CotS Upward League sponsors, helping to offset program costs for the whole season including basketballs, air pumps & other equipment, volunteer shirts & referee jerseys, coach workshops, printing, end-of-the-season awards & celebration party and others. Businesses not only can get exposure to the parents of our 300 players and their coaches, but the 700-900 fans that attend our games. Sponsorship opportunities include Game Day programs, on-screen and audio announcements at practices and games, banners, emails, webpage and Facebook. Owners of local businesses looking to make an impact with families at the local level should contact me for details at upward@cotsumc.org. I'll send you a complete package including an Upward League Information Sheet and Sponsorship Levels. Or go to the CotS Upward League website:

http://cotsumc.church/upward-basketball-sponsorships and click Sponsorship Information.