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Upward Basketball
Upward is an exciting basketball league for boys and girls grades Kindergarden to 6th grade.
Upward Basketball is one of First Baptist’s largest programs. It attracts approximately 200 children and their families every year.
Our church hosts Upward Basketball every winter. Upward (which is a national organization) is an exciting, positive, and Christ-centered basketball league for all children, kindergarten through 6th grade. The goals of Upward Basketball are to teach sportsmanship, self-esteem, teamwork, and most importantly, for all children to hear the gospel of Christ and that God loves them. Upward accomplishes this with positive and encouraging coaches and referees, as well as unique rules and regulations that attempt to make game day as fair as possible.
Registration opens in the fall. In October or November, every child who registers is required to come to an evaluation night where their skill level and assertiveness is determined. This is NOT a try-out. Every child who registers is automatically accepted to play. The purpose of the evaluations is to get an idea of every child’s skill level in order to evenly draft teams so that no one dominates, and also so that each child is matched up with an opposing player of comparable skill level on game day.
Weekly practices begin in December. At each practice, our carefully screened and trained coaches teach the players the game and help them work on their skills. Halfway through each practice, the players hear a testimony or devotion from their coach, and learn a Bible verse for that week. Games begin in January and are played on Saturday mornings for 8 weeks.
If you are interested in volunteering with Upward Basketball as a coach or referee, please contact Pastor Corey Fields at 267-0380. For more information on the Upward program itself, you can visit www.upward.org.
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