Rockets Basketball Assessments Process Overview
At all levels of Rockets basketball from U10 through U18, players will participate in an assessment process consisting of 3-5 sessions over 2-3 weeks depending on the number of players registered for the age group. At the end of each week assessment groups will be remade based on that week's sessions such that like-skilled athletes are grouped together. This process ensures that all players have an opportunity to be properly placed on a team that best matches their skill and experience level, which will lead to them having the best year possible.
After registration closes, players are placed into initial assessment groups. In order to minimize situations in which brand new players are placed into groups with very experienced players, which can lead to a negative first impression of the sport, returning players are placed into initial groups based on the division they played in last season. This also helps assessors better target drills to the experience level of the group from the first session and ensures that all players in the group can be competitive in a scrimmage setting. This knowledge from the previous season is used only for creating initial assessment groups, and is not used for any player assessments or team placements.
Athletes will be provided a numbered pinnie to wear throughout all of the assessment sessions to aid assessors. A reversible numbered jersey from spring/summer basketball can be worn instead if possible. This will allow assessors to better keep track of the players across sessions, as some groups have over 100 players being assessed.
Assessment sessions are typically 1 to 1.5 hours long and consist of a combination of age and experience appropriate drills to assess fundamental skills (dribbling, passing, shooting), and scrimmages. Along with skills, assessors are also looking at the attitude, effort, and teamwork of each player. All players will be assessed at each session, with the goal of having a consistent group of assessors at every session, such that all assessors are familiar with all players in the age group. At the end of each week, assessors will compile their notes and observations and make new groups with the aim to minimize skill gaps within each group. Schedules for the next week of assessments will then be posted and the process will repeat as required based on the number of players.
At the end of the final week of assessments, the assessors will meet and review the notes from the previous weeks. Players will then be placed onto their final teams based on their performance from the assessment sessions. In certain situations, there may be a group of 20-30 players that are balanced across multiple teams to ensure that all Rockets teams can be competitive in their games in the Metro Basketball Association, regardless of the division they play in.
Once the teams are made, coaches will be assigned to each team. The goal is to have a head coach and 2 assistant coaches for each team to ensure that practices and games run smoothly for the team and that coaches have support throughout the season. Practice plans, drills, and other coaching resources are available to all coaches, and mentoring is provided as needed for new coaches.
With a club of 700+ athletes, it is difficult for us to consider requests during the assessment process. In the event of a critical need for accommodations, the request must be submitted to the club by the end of the first week of assessments. An attempt will be made to accommodate these requests where possible, but only in instances that don’t impact the goal of grouping like-skilled players together.