Age Groups
The Jr. Braves program runs for boys and girls from under 12s to under 18s.
Athlete age groups run on the calendar year of birth, see below.
2014-2016 - Under 12s
2012-2013 - Under 14s
2010-2011 - Under 16s
2008-2009 - Under 18s
Tryout Dates & Format
In response to the high volume of athletes participating in the Junior Braves tryouts in previous years, we have implemented changes to the process to ensure that each athlete has the best opportunity to showcase their skills and abilities.
For the upcoming 2024-25 season, the tryouts will be divided into three distinct phases:
Phase 1:
This phase is specifically designed for new athletes who were not chosen for a Junior Braves team last season or were placed in the 4th or 5th (development) team.
Athletes who were selected for the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd team are not eligible to participate in this phase.
Only selected athletes from Phase 1 will progress to the subsequent phases, with communication regarding selection status sent out after the session.
Phase 2:
Comprising of two sessions, Phase 2 is open to athletes selected from Phase 1 as well as those who were part of the Junior Braves 1st, 2nd, or 3rd team in the previous season.
Phase 3:
Athletes who did not make it to the top 20 in their age group and gender will attend the final tryout session.
Those selected in the top 20 will participate in a separate session involving training and an intra-club game, from which the 1st and 2nd teams will be chosen.
If an athlete is moving up to an older age group for the next season, the above wording still applies.
Important Dates: (session times per age group TBC @REA)
- Phase 1: Sunday, July 21st (All age groups*except Under 12 & Under 14 Girls)
- Phase 2: Sundays, August 4th & 11th (all age groups)
- Phase 3: Sunday, August 18th (all age groups)
For Under 12 & Under 14 Girls, the tryout session will be rescheduled due to a clash with the Under 12 Country Skills Day.
- Phase 1: Saturday, July 20th (Under 12 & 14 Girls session times per age group TBC @CMC).
Note - tryouts is a closed door session, spectating will not be permitted.
Commitment to the Squad
Athletes across all under 12s, and 2, 3, or 4, teams for all other age groups will compete in the tournament season.
The season commitment is similar to:
1x training 2hr training session a week. (Sunday likely)
1x domestic game each week
5x compulsory tournaments
Athletes selected for team 1 under 12s is the same as above, but with 1 additional compulsory tournament - Victorian Country Champs.
Athletes selected in 1st teams for the under 14s, under 16s and under 18s age groups, will compete in the VJBL season, which starts in November and ends in September with breaks over the school holidays.
The season commitment is similar to:
2x training sessions a week (2hr Sunday season and 1 & 1/2hrs mid-week.)
3x compulsory tournaments
1x Friday night VJBL game each week. Although traveling to Melbourne or surrounding suburbs is not every week, many late nights will happen over the season. Check out our page for more info.
Team Structure
Teams are made of 10 athletes, 2 coaches and 1 team manager.
Most of the head coaches will already be assigned to their teams and unless assistant coaches are already selected, it's likely a parent will be asked if they can assist the head coach once teams are selected.
Team managers are more often than not a parent who has been asked by the head coach. Team managers can not be selected until the teams are completed.
Although this is never set in stone, the standard available teams to be selected for are below. Additional teams are based off talent pool, coaching staff and other factors.
Under 12s
Team 1, Team 2, Team 3
Under 14s
Team 1, Team 2, Team 3
Under 16s
Team 1, Team 2, Team 3
Under 18s
Team 1, Team 2
All under 12s, and teams 2 & 3 for each age group will compete in the tournament season
Under 14s, 16s, 18s, will compete in some tournaments and play in the VJBL season.
For the season 2023/2024, the Jr. Braves had 30 teams across 4 age divisions.
Under 12s - 9
Under 14s - 8
Under 16s - 7
Under 18s - 6
Team Selections
Our coaches base their selections on Basketball Victoria's six pillars of basketball and the athletes ability to exhibit skills, traits, and physical make-up that will be beneficial now and in the future.
Recently Basketball Victoria promoted the below statement as part of their selection process, as an example what will no longer be accepted: "Aw they are just a really good kid, show up every week, great family (I know them well), we'll just put them in". We felt this is an important statement to communicate as the process to select teams is extremely hard and decisions on some athletes can cause a lot of anguish for our coaches. Please try and put yourself in their shoes.
Fees
The 2024-25 season will see the implementation of a new Season Fee structure to the Bendigo Junior Braves program.
The new fee structure is a consistent and fair approach for all families with the cost for each athlete in the program exactly the same.
The Season Fee is paid over multiple instalments throughout the season and covers costs such as:
-Registration fees,
-Domestic game sheet fees,
-Tournament entry, and
-Travel and accommodation costs for team staff (team staff now receive a contribution towards their costs, previously fully reimbursed).
Items not covered in this season fee include:
-Uniform clothing - items are purchased directly through Breach Apparel,
-Fundraising,
-Photo - these will be ordered either directly through the JBC or the photographer, and
-Game incidentals such as lollies, fruit, water etc. - If a team wants any of these items (decision for the Head Coach), then a roster system will be developed by the Team Manager for families to bring items to each game.
For VJBL teams, sponsorship will continue to be a crucial component of our program funding that every athlete will be required to secure.
Payments & Dates
30 September 2024 $350
15 November 2024 $200
31 January 2025 $200
28 February 2025 $200
Total $950
Important Points to Note
There are no payments required for athletes to attend a tournament outside of the payments listed above.
Families will pay these fees directly to the JBC via the Majestri CRM software, removing the need for our Team Managers to manage the funds.
The below points are taken from the Junior Braves Operational Policies & Guidelines:
Athletes will not be able to participate in any games for the Junior Braves until each payment is paid
There will be no refund on any payments once made to the JBC.
Athlete's families that are experiencing final hardship are encouraged to speak with the Treasurer or Chairperson to discuss possible options and assistance. Any issues will be dealt with in the strictest of confidence.
Note - tryouts is a closed-door session, spectating will not be permitted.
