BASKETBALL
Welcome to Luther Junior Knights Basketball
Basketball Registration is open through 9/9/23. Register here.
Luther Junior Knights Basketball is made up of boys and girls in 4th-8th grade from our Lutheran grade schools and homeschool students in the Luther High School Association.
Jr Knights participates in the Great Northwest Basketball League (gnbl.org) and typically plays in tournaments on Saturdays. Depending on levels, most teams play in 3-5 tournaments, and have practices 1-2 times per week. Practices are typically at Luther High School or surrounding area elementary schools. Tournaments and practices do not conflict with LALSAC school practices and events, as much as possible. The tournaments for the girls’ teams typically start in November, and go through February. Boys’ tournaments typically start in December or January and go through March. Teams that qualify for the State tournament may play later in the season.
Luther Junior Knights is growing! We anticipate having various levels of player experience and interest. Our goal is to meet the needs of all our players…both those learning the fundamentals and building confidence, and those ready to be more competitive, while trying to keep all players included with Jr Knights and creating friendships with future Luther classmates.
In order to do this, we are doing our best to offer 2 separate participation levels for the 2023 basketball season -- a “Competitive” team (Luther Gold-playing time is not guaranteed) , and “Fundamental” (Luther White-equal playing time) team per grade. This could potentially mean having up to 16 teams.
In order to do this, we need you to register early please, and to make your choice upon registration. Please indicate your preferred choice for Competitive, referred to as “Luther Gold” or Fundamental, referred to as “Luther White” for your child for the upcoming season. More details are below.
Please note, the season options will ultimately be dependent on the number of players enrolled in each level, and available coaches. Our goal is to offer both “Luther Gold” and “Luther White” levels, but we cannot guarantee this. We will be asking for early registrations so we can plan accordingly and communicate options to parents early. Payment will not be collected until the first practice. If there is not enough for a “Luther White” only team, we may need to default to “Luther Gold” and will communicate that to the parents ahead of time. Our intention is to offer multiple levels of competition, trying to keep the players included with Jr Knights while creating friendships with future Luther classmates.
There may be the need to combine grade levels to fill rosters at the “Luther White” level of play. (Maximum of 2 grades per roster; e.g., 7/8th, 6/7th, 5/6th)
The Luther Junior Knights Program is run by parent volunteers and coaches, and we will need volunteer coaches to make this season a success. If you or someone you know may be interested in coaching, please let us know!
Notes:
In order to meet League Registration deadlines and to plan appropriately for offering both fundamental and competitive options for the season, basketball registration will be open through 9/9/23, but please consider registering early and indicating your choice of “Luther Gold” or “Luther White” so we can plan appropriately for the season and meet league registration deadlines.
We participate in the Great Northwest Basketball League, but depending on team and coach preferences, we may also participate in other tournaments outside the GNBL. (Tri-State Tournaments, McDonalds Classic, etc.)
Depending on enrollment, we may need to utilize other Luther-area gymnasiums for practices.
4/5th grades are combined into one team in this league. (One 4/5th grade boys team, and one 4/5th grade girls team) Whether choosing "Luther Gold" or "Luther White", 4/5th grade fee is $125 plus the cost of the warm up jersey. With these players typically being in their first or second season with Jr. Knights, we want to leave the opportunity open for the teams to travel, add extra tournaments, be able to do overnight tournaments, if the team so chooses.
For those choosing the “Luther Gold” option, the uniform jerseys will be purchased by the players, and will include the players last name on the back. Please indicate your player’s top three choices in jersey number. We will do our best to accommodate, although unfortunately we cannot guarantee you will be given your jersey number choice. No jersey choices ending in 6,7,8,9 please.
For those choosing the “Luther Gold” option, please recognize that playing time is not guaranteed. If numbers and coaching allows, those registered for “Luther Gold” level will play in the A/B level tournaments. Those registered for the “Luther White” level will play in the B-/C level tournaments, and will have more equal playing time.
We are trying our best to make this a successful upcoming basketball season for everyone involved. Please let us know if you have any questions. Go Knights!
2023 Pricing:
Luther Gold (for Grades 6-8th)
$200 plus $25 for jersey, $25 for warm up shirt, and $25 for practice jersey ($275 total)
GNBL Level A/B
5+ tourneys, some may be overnight
Local & longer traveling distances
Compete for State invite & League Championship Tournament
Play to win -not equal playing time
Player expectations are in place
Practice 2x per week
New uniform, warm up jersey, and practice jersey each year with names on back
Luther White (for grades 6-8th)
$125 plus $25 for warm up shirt ($150 total)
GNBL Level B-
4 tourneys (3 GNBL/TriState, 1 BGC, or equivalent)
Local tournaments (2 hour drive max)
Equal playing time
Practice 1-2x per week
Could be combined grade levels to fill roster-(2 grade max)
New warm up shirt each year with name on back
Luther Gold & White (for Grades 4/5)
$125 plus $25 for warm up shirt ($150 total)
GNBL Level A/B for Gold, Level B- for White
3-5 tourneys, local, overnights possible if team chooses
State Tournament invite is an option
Play to win at Gold level
Playing time equal at White level
Practice 1-2x per week
New warm up shirt with name on back
We participate in the Great Northwest Basketball League and may pick up other tournaments to fill out their schedule. Coaches will contact players after the Great Northwest informs us of the dates of tournaments for each team. Girls tournaments are typically scheduled first and start around the beginning of November. Their website has tournament information and directions to each venue. For more information, visit gnbl.org
Please hold on to all payments. We will collect the payments at the first practice you have with your team. At this time we can only accept cash or check. Please make checks payable to Luther Junior Knights. Thanks!
Although most tournaments will be on Saturdays, some teams have occasional Sunday tournaments. For a list of worship options outside of Sunday, please go to https://lutherhigh.org/about/association/churches
An optional Luther Junior Knights apparel order is available at https://gamedaysupply.net/collections/luther-knights-apparel. Items can be shipped to the home or picked up at Gameday Supply at 420 2nd Ave South in Onalaska. Additionally, Luther apparel is available for purchase at Games People Play on Hwy 16 in Onalaska.
The Luther Junior Knights program is run by parent volunteers. All Jr Knights Coaches are unpaid volunteers. Registration fees go towards tournament entry fees, equipment, referees, umpires, uniforms, etc.