Since 1975, PYAA Basketball has offered Recreational / Intramural and Travel basketball opportunities for the youth of Pickerington. We offer Recreational leagues for boys and girls in grades 1 thru 12 as well as a more advanced Travel program for boys and girls in Grades 3-6.

All PYAA Basketball participants must live within the boundaries of the Pickerington Local School District.

Coaching / Volunteer Info
PYAA is always looking for quality volunteers to coach our youth sports teams! Anyone interested in coaching a PYAA team should submit a COACH volunteer registration form for the age group you are interested in coaching via the link below. Once you submit your info, you will be contacted by a league representative for consideration and further details.

Coach Registration Form *** Rec Coach Registration will open soon for the 2024-2025 season.  If you are interested in Coaching for our Travel Program, please see Below under Travel Basketball ***

Specific League Questions - Please see correct contact information below those leagues! 

PYAA Basketball President - Ashley Turner - [email protected]

PYAA Basketball is a volunteer non-profit organization. We receive no funding other than from enrollment fees, fundraisers, sponsorships and concessions.  

2024 - 2025 Season Information will be Updated as soon as it is Available.  Please check back frequently and follow us on Facebook!

Link to the Practice & Game Schedule: **** Link will be added once the Season Schedule is Complete *** 

Please use this link for the season for the most up-to-date schedule! 

Recreational Program - Registration for the 2024-2025 season will begin on Labor Day (Sept 2nd), practices begin in November, and games run December thru February.

Travel Program - Registration & tryouts take place in September, practices begin in October, and games run November thru February.

If your child plans to tryout for the Travel Program, please complete the appropriate Google Form to help us prepare for tryouts: 
2024-2025 PYAA GIRLS Basketball Travel Tryouts - Prospective Players

2024-2025 PYAA BOYS Basketball Travel Tryouts - Prospective Players

If you desire to Coach for our Travel Program, please register here to be considered: 2024-2025 Prospective PYAA Travel Basketball Coach

Overview - PYAA Recreational Basketball is devoted to providing an opportunity for youth of Pickerington to play basketball against other Pickerington kids in an Intramural based format. Focus is on fundamental development, sportsmanship and learning the game in a less competitive environment than found in our travel program.

Rules - See the rules section (below)

Eligibility – Boys and Girls enrolled in Grades 1 thru 12 who reside in the Pickerington Local School District are eligible to participate.  Home schooled, or students attending private schools, who reside within the PLSD are also eligible.  Players must play in the grade they attend in school.  
 
Schedule / Locations - Practices begin in November (once per week on a week night, usually same night each week), and games in December (once per week on Saturdays) extending thru February with breaks for the holidays.

Weekday practices for grades 1-6 will begin the week of November 16th.  Grades 1-6 will also get two Saturday practices on November 16th & 23rd.  Practice schedules will be released by November 3rd.  

Games for REC 1st - 8th Grade will be on the following Saturdays: December 7, 14, 21.  January 11, 18, 25.  February 1, 8, 15, 22 (make-up Saturday 3/1).  
Game schedules will be released no later than 2 weeks prior to the start of games.  

*** NEW THIS SEASON *** ALL Practices & Games for REC 9th - 12th Grade will be on Sundays at Tollgate Middle/Elementary School.  We will utilize all 3 gyms and teams will have practice for the 30 minutes prior to their game time.  Example: If your game is at 2pm in the Main Gym (Big Court), your practice will be 1:30pm in one of the other gyms.  Games will be on the following Sundays: December 8, 15, 22.  January 5, 12, 19, 26.  February 2, 9, 16.  Tournament Finals will be Sunday February 23rd.  

There is no Rec Basketball from December 23rd - January 4th while the students are on Winter break.  

Fees - Fees for the 2024-2025 season will be $125 for grades 1-12.

Tryouts - There are no tryouts or evaluations for our Recreational program. All registrants who register before the waiting list period will be placed on a team. Late entries who go to waiting list may or may not be placed on a team pending gym space and available coaches.

Teams / Rosters - Teams and rosters are created by our league Directors with focus on competitive balance. Coaches always have their own child assigned to their team.  Siblings will always be placed together (as long as they are the same grade/league).  Requests for teams is not permitted.  

Coaches - All coaches are unpaid volunteers and undergo a Background Check and Concussion Training certification prior to coaching our youth teams.
 
Playing Time – Our recreational program is an equal participation league. Coaches are required to play all kids a minimum of 50% (two quarters) in every game.

If your child plans to tryout for the Travel Program, please complete the appropriate Google Form to help us prepare for tryouts: 
2024-2025 PYAA GIRLS Basketball Travel Tryouts - Prospective Players

2024-2025 PYAA BOYS Basketball Travel Tryouts - Prospective Players

If you are interested in coaching in our Travel league, please complete the following google form no later than September 1st
2024-2025 Prospective PYAA TRAVEL Basketball Coaches

Fees - Travel fees for 2024-2025 season will be $385.  Fees will be due by Saturday, October 5th for players selected for their Travel Team.

Overview - PYAA Travel Basketball is devoted to providing an opportunity for youth of Pickerington to play basketball against other teams within the region at a higher level of competition than found in the Recreational program. Sporting attitudes expected from coaches, players and parents/legal guardians are team spirit, cooperation, determination, fair play, pride and respect for opponents, referees and teammates. Games typically follow Ohio High School Athletic Association game rules. Although competitive, the primary focus is on fundamental development and preparation for Middle School (Junior High) and High School Basketball.

Tryouts - Tryouts will be held the end of September and all participants must attend tryouts to be evaluated. Not all participants are guaranteed to make a team. The tryout evaluations and player selection processes are supervised by PYAA Travel Program Directors and members of the PYAA Basketball Board. PYAA conducts “closed” tryouts, meaning parents are not allowed inside the gym during tryouts without specific pre-approval from a Travel Director or an Executive Board Member.  

PYAA Thanksgiving Travel Tournament - This year, we will NOT be hosting our Thanksgiving Travel Tournament.    

Eligibility – Boys and Girls in Grades 3 thru 6 residing in the Pickerington Local School District who meet our age requirements.  Players MUST tryout for the grade they are in school.  Players will be required to show proof of PLSD student and Grade at Tryouts.  
 
Schedule / Locations - Practices begin late October (generally two per week on week nights), and games late November extending thru February with an average of two games per week (generally on Sat/Sun afternoons) with breaks for the holidays. Away games are at Central Ohio / 270 area schools with most games within a 45-minute drive. Games consist of tournament play (up to 4 tournaments) and non-tournament formats. Teams typically average between 25-35 games in total for a season. Home games and practices are held in Pickerington school gyms. Practice and game attendance is important and a commitment to regular attendance is required.

Registration - Travel does not have open registration. Players who make a team and accept a roster position will be invited to register and must pay the travel fee prior to their first practice.
 
Parent Volunteer Requirement - Our hosted PYAA tournament is a required event for all PYAA travel teams and requires help from you to make it happen. This tournament is critical to the program and the main reason we are able to keep our participation fees low. With that said, we require all player families to dedicate a small amount of time to help us staff the concessions and gate during the tournament. We schedule 1 shift per player family (usually 1-2hrs), and your slot will not overlap your game times. Often, older siblings can help fill this void. If you are unwilling to commit this small amount of time to helping with the tournament, your spot on the team could be offered to another player. Additionally, game clock operators and scorekeepers will also be needed and parents or older siblings are encouraged to volunteer.

Teams / Rosters - Typically, we sponsor between 1 and 3 travel teams per grade level. The number of teams is determined by the number and skill level of players evaluated as well as availability of qualified coaches. Team recommendations are created by each Travel Director, with input from coaches and evaluators, along with an expected team competitiveness rating (Level 1, 2 or 3) and submitted to the Basketball President for board approval. 

Coaches - All PYAA coaches undergo a Background Check and Concussion Training certification prior to coaching our youth teams. Interested in being a Travel Coach? Please fill out the following form and we will be in touch soon!

Playing Time – Coaches are required to play all kids a minimum of 25% in every game including tournaments. This means there is no guarantee all players will play equally throughout the season. This rule is intended to strike a balance between assuring all kids get opportunities on the floor and providing incentive for kids to compete in practice similar to what they will encounter in a competitive high school environment. Outside of the 25% minimum, playing time remains at the discretion of your coach.

PYAA Travel Team Code of Conduct.pdf

Questions? - Please contact a Travel Director.  Girls travel basketball - Kasey Anklam.  Boys travel basketball - Toby Sidorski.