Newcastle’s AAU hoops off to a great start

Sonja Karp
NLJ Sports Editor
 
The community of Newcastle has long offered club sport options for the youth, however, basketball was never one of the choices. 
Exciting changes are under way as third- through sixth-grade students now have the opportunity to play AAU basketball due to hard work put in by a group of energized and committed parents.
Among those is Allen Von Eye, who has had a vision of developing a feeder program for hoops to be available to young kids here in Newcastle.
“This has been something that I’ve wanted to see happen for as long as I’ve been here,” Von Eye said. “But
it takes parents who share a vision and are willing to do the work to make it happen.”
There have been options for elementary students to participate in basketball offered through the Double AAces program, as well as various traveling teams, but no official club sport option was offered until now. 
“We’ve been trying to ramp up traveling basketball lately, and I helped facilitate the league and got some parents who were really involved and who helped out and started to see the vision,” Von Eye explained. “Realistically, basketball is the only sport where we didn’t have a feeder program, and we wanted one that is organizational based.”
Newcastle has, from time to time, put together traveling teams when there were motivated parents willing to take on the responsibility, but Von Eye noted that he wanted to have a program which would include all kids who had an interest in participating in basketball.
The seed for the new AAU program was planted when Newcastle began playing in the Gillette league with its traveling team, and Von Eye got to know the two Gillette College women’s coaches, Janie Rayback and Liz Lewis, who were officiating the games.
“They started WYBA, the Wyoming Youth Basketball Association, with a vision of incorporating youth basketball across the state of Wyoming,” he began. “They shared the vision we had so we started working with them to try to make it happen.”
As a Star Valley graduate, Rayback has ties to Wyoming and she was inspired to get WYBA started because she realized that she was behind in her development when it came to basketball. 
“Her size helped her out, but when she began playing Division I, she realized just how far behind she was,” Von Eye said. “She went on to play professionally, but then decided her heart was in coaching, so she started this program.”
Last spring, Von Eye and his cohorts were attempting to get in under the Gillette WYBA umbrella, so there would be some continuity between the programs. Unfortunately, the cost was prohibitive because it was adding up to be around $400 per kid for membership. 
“Though it is a really amazing program, we decided to continue on our path to try to establish something that would work for our kids, so we set up the AAU program,” Von Eye continued. “We got the business end set up under the AAU umbrella, which provides the insurance piece as well as a certification process for coaches, and does so for a much more affordable cost.” 
From there, a board was created and elected. Joe Prell is currently serving as president, Cassie Hayman is the president-elect, Billy Fitzwater is secretary, Amy Hoffman is treasurer and Brian Pischke is the member at-large. Von Eye opted not to be a voting member of the board, but rather serves in a boots-on-the-ground capacity as the director of skill development.
“We have a really active board who do a great job, and we’ve got some really great parents who are energized!” Von Eye reported. “We’ve also gotten some really great feedback through our meetings, which we have held throughout the spring and summer. We invited parents and just got a lot of support and positive feedback. Joe has been side by side with me the whole time and his vision and direction has helped us get this off the ground. He has been out there talking to businesses, talking to parents, and just really keeps us going,” he continued. “Billy, Brian, Amy, and Cassie have all done so many things to help us as an organization. They are tireless and without them, this doesn’t work.”
The business end of setting up the program required a great deal of work to get things up and running, so though the goal was to have it operational by the end of August, they were unable to make it happen until Nov. 16 when the inaugural practice was held. It was worth the wait, however, as 65 young players showed up, ready to get under way.
“It is just so incredibly exciting,” Von Eye said. “It was great to have that many kids excited to play, and the positive energy that was going on in the gym was amazing!”
Currently, the program is being offered to students from third to sixth grade, with a goal of having it span from kindergarten through 12th grade in some capacity.
With the grades 3 to 6, the focus will be on skill progression and then segueing into a traveling team, but Von Eye stated that they would also like to offer seventh- and eighth-graders the opportunity to participate when they are out of season.
“We are being aided in our venture by Tamera Allen and Double AAces by being allowed to use their basketballs until we can invest in our own, and the Newcastle Rec Board has helped us out by purchasing several adjustable hoops to use with youth basketball,” Von Eye said. “As our program grows, we have a goal to create a NYBA Herd, or family of organizational members from K-12 and including parents, families, and the community!”
Von Eye stated that they have nearly every team covered by volunteer coaches who have been certified through the AAU program. Among those volunteering their time and expertise are Matt and Kim Conzelman with Becca Miller who are heading up the third grade girls’ team, while Leigh and Dave Morrill have the third grade boys. Fourth grade girls are being coached by Scott Johnson, Preston Bennett and Will Lambert, and the boys by Von Eye, Prell, and Nate Smith. Fifth-grade boys are being covered by Bryce and Amy Hoffman, Becca Miller,
as well as Von Eye until they can find a permanent solution, while the fifth-grade girls are being coached by Erin Dean. Hayman is the sixth-grade
girls coach, and an option for sixth-grade boys will be made available once the middle school wrestling season concludes.
“We have a really good crew who bring energy, some expertise and most importantly, some connections for the kids,” Von Eye declared. “I get busy, but I’m committed. I’ll bring the energy and we’ll build relationships and hopefully give the kids a positive experience.”
Currently players will be focusing on skill development and creating a love and passion for the sport of basketball. After Christmas, the option to travel and participate in tournaments in either Gillette or Rapid City will also be offered, but will include an additional cost for those who wish to play.