Sunday 13 August 2017

Pre-season Friendly Matches - Announcement

Announcement: The first friendly matches of the 2017/18 season have been booked and Leadonites will play a double header of games against Shrewsbury Storm.

Date: Saturday, 16th September 2017
Venue: Ledbury Leisure Centre at JMHS

Match 1: Tip-off @ 13:15 - Leadonites U13s Vs Shrewsbury Storm U14s
Match 2: Tip-off @ 15:15 - Leadonites U15s Vs Shrewsbury Storm U16s
Each match will be played as a full 4x 10-minutes stopping clock match. However, there are ongoing talks, dependant upon the number of players available for Storm to bring down to Herefordshire, where-by the younger match may be split into two matches lasting 4x 7-minute stopping clock quarters. Confirmation to follow.

Shrewsbury Storm are a longer established club than Leadonites being formed in 2013, or maybe even earlier according to their Facebook site. Their men's team will be competing in Division 3 of the West Midlands Basketball League this coming season whilst their respective youth teams will use this season to prepare for entry into a league next season. As such their youth teams have only recently started to play friendly matches with other clubs. Their U16s playing local rivals Shropshire Warriors, the National League club from Telford with the Storm's U12s and U14s making their bow against our friends Worcester Bears, just a few weeks ago.

For coach Ian Robb and his assistant coach Rich Davis this will be a crucial part of their preparations for the Leadonites U15s playing their first YBL match in the LGT Cup at home against Coventry Tornadoes, just one week later. For coach Matt Chalkley and his assistant coach Sandra Dudley things are not quite so rushed with the U13s not starting their YBL campaign until the 4th November when they ravel to South Birmingham to play Frankley Falcons.

Match day squads will be announced in the week running up to the matches.
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Table Officials Course Completed

Leadonites Basketball continue to make preparations for the upcoming 2017/18 season with six club volunteers taking the Basketball England Table Officials Level 2 course in the Studio room at the recently refurbished Ledbury Swimming Pool yesterday, Saturday, 12th August. The course was run by Marian Ryan who has been a table official in matches ranging from the YBL all the way through the BBL and right up to the Olympic Games. Marian will release the results - pass or fail, on Tuesday/Wednesday of next week. Good luck and thanks to everyone that gave up their free time to do this.



EDIT (13/08/2017) - All six Leadonites candidates passed the course. 
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Friday 4 August 2017

Leadonites Basketball signing-on night for the 2017/18 season

It's almost here, the 2017/18 season signing on night for existing and prospective Leadonites Basketball players.

The team, headed up by Membership Secretary, Dean Fisher, will be in place to check form, witness parents signatures and explain the new standing order payment system for training subs for the coming season.

Club Head Coach, Matthew Chalkley, will give a 'brief' welcome speech to the parents of newbie players, stating the club's ethos and what is expected of players and parents. There will then be another 'brief' follow talk on what will be new for the coming season and how Leadonites Basketball now fits into the basketball landscape of the West Midlands and the newly formed Herefordshire Basketball Association.

Venue: Ledbury Leisure Centre (Sixth-form Cafeteria, upstairs at the sports centre, JMHS)
Start time: 7pm
All done, dusted and on our way home by 9pm (but earlier if we can).

Training subs for 2017/18: 12x monthly standing order payments of £12.00 per month (£10.00 per month for all siblings).
Match subs: £3.00 (as per last two seasons) where applicable.
Basketball England Player Membership Fee: £6.00 
(Note: this fee is essential to maintain our Basketball England insurance and also for a player to be able to represent Leadonites in matches with other clubs)

Training Nights:
- Tuesdays - 7:30 to 8:30pm CUBS (years 6 & 7)
- Tuesdays - 8:30 to 9:30pm SENIORS (years 11 & 12)
- Wednesdays (half-court only) - 7:15 to 8:30pm (Mish-mosh of mainly Year 8 but also some year 7, 9 & 10)
- Thursdays - 7:30 to 8:30pm JUNIORS (years 7 & 8)
- Thursdays - 8:30pm to 9:30pm INTERS (years 9 & 10)
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YBL release Regular Season League Fixture Schedule

Under 15s

Leadonites Basketball Inters (years 10 and 9) will play in the 6-team U15 South Division on a home and away basis, with 3 points for a win, 1 point for a defeat and 0 points for causing a match to be voided.

Only the top two teams at the end of the regular season will advance to the post-season play-offs for the final four/semi-finals at the Wellbeing Centre in Nechells, Birmingham where they will play the top-two from the North Division.


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YBL release Regular Season League Fixture Schedule

Under 13s

Leadonites Basketball Juniors (years 8 and 7) will play in the 5-team U13 South Division on a home and away basis, with 3 points for a win, 1 point for a defeat and 0 points for causing a match to be voided.

Only the top two teams at the end of the regular season will advance to the post-season play-offs for the final four/semi-finals at the Wellbeing Centre in Nechells, Birmingham where they will play the top-two from the North Division.


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YBL release Knock-out Competition early round draws

The YBL have released the first matches to be played in the U13/U15 LGT Cup and also the U17/U19 WMFS Trophy.

Leadonites start life in the YBL with a very tough double header on Saturday, 23rd September at Ledbury Leisure Centre.

The U15s will face Coventry Tornadoes from the YBL U15s North Division. Last season the Tornadoes U13s and U15s teams each qualified for the post-season play-offs.

The U17s will play host to Worcester Wolves U19s; a match made all the more a baptism of fire with their captain from the last two season, Daniel Falicki, now back in Poland with his family and other players uncertain as to whether or not they will return. This could see a make shift U17s squad bulked out with year 10/U15s players!
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New season and new competitions for Leadonites Basketball

Leadonites Basketball will be stepping up to play in the Youth Basketball League (YBL) for the 2017/18 season. 



The Juniors (year 8 and year 7) will be playing in the YBL U13 South Division which will be made up of five teams, with the top two, at the end of the regular season, progressing on to the post season play-offs. Also in their division will be Worcester Wolves Blue, Redditch Rockets, Frankley Falcons and Bournville Bears II.

The Inters (year 10 and year 9) will be competing in the six-team YBL U15 South Division with Bournville Bears, Bromsgrove Bears, Frankley Falcons, Redditch Rockets and Spartans. As with the U13s division, only the top two at the end of the regular season will advance to the post-season play-offs. The Inters will also play in the YBL U13/U15 LGT Cup.

Finally, the Seniors (year 12 and year 11) will play in the early season U17/U19 WMFS Trophy. 
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Harry scores with Harrison!
Leadonites Basketball has been granted one of the Rotary Club of Ledbury’s Community Chest Awards for 2017. Three Rotarians, David Houghton, Una Morgan and Jan Long, were good enough to accept the head coach’s invitation to attend the Ledbury youth basketball club’s end of season intramural friendly matches at the Ledbury Leisure Centre on the last Thursday of the 2016/17 season.

As part of the pre-match build up Rotary Club photographer, Jan Long, brought along Harrison, Ledbury's End Polio Now bear and Harry Pugh was selected to shoot him through a 10ft high hoop, which he did on the first attempt.


Harrison is named after Paul Harris, the Founder of the Rotary Movement which has served the world for over 100 years. Harrison is a much travelled teddy bear having accompanied Jan to many far flung countries such as India and the USA in her work to combat Polio, the crippling and potentially deadly infectious disease.
With regard to the two intramural friendlies, in the younger match the U11s&U13s team beat their U12s club mates 30 points to 28 in a thrilling match with a basket 15 seconds from the final buzzer. 

In the older match the U16s predictably overpowered their U14s club mates to win with ease, despite the high work rate put in by the younger team. Top scorers were the out-going U16s captain Daniel Falicki, who is returning to Poland with his family, and Kaisan Tulloch, who is taking over as leader of next season’s U17s team, with 16 and 14 points respectively.


Leadonites will be holding their signing on night on the 7th August for the 2017/18 season and will make more details available via the club’s social media sites.
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