Fall session
Open nowOctober 10 – December 6 · 8 weeks
No practice Thanksgiving weekend.
Eight weekends of teach-then-play, plus two outside tournaments. This is the session the evaluation days feed.
Team ICE Juniors · Powered by Hoops College
TEAM ICE JUNIORS
Learn to actually play the game.
A developmental program for boys and girls ages 7–11 who are ready to be taught the real game — spacing, defense, passing, and what to do when the ball isn't in their hands. Ninety minutes every weekend: we teach it, then they go play it. Plus two outside tournaments.
Boys and girls, ages 7–11 · no experience needed
Fall session · October 10 – December 6Winter session · January 9 – February 2890 minutes every weekend — coaching first, then live 5-on-5. Plus two outside tournaments.
Season opens — and evaluations happen — Saturday, October 10 and Sunday, October 11
$249 per session, or $450 for both — $48 back
WHO
Boys & girls, 7–11
FORMAT
Train, then play — 90 minutes
FOCUS
Learning to play 5-on-5
What this is
Most kids this age have never been taught 5-on-5.
They've played it. Ten kids, one ball, everybody chasing. What they haven't had is somebody stopping the drill to explain why that pass was there, where to stand when a teammate drives, or what a player is supposed to be doing on the weak side.
That's the whole program. We teach spacing, cutting, defending your own man, help defense, inbounds, and how to play with four other people instead of near them — and then, in the same 90 minutes, they go play and find out whether it held up while it's still fresh.
No experience required, and none assumed. A player who has never been on a real team is exactly who this is built for.
Who's coaching
Real coaches. Not parents.
Every practice is run by the Team ICE coaching staff — the same coaches who run our club program, holding the same standard. Nobody's dad is drawing up the offense, and no kid gets minutes because of who's on the sideline. Parents get to sit down and watch their player be coached, which is the part rec league never gives you.
Coached, not supervised
Corrections in the moment, and a reason behind every one. Kids this age can handle being taught — they just have to be told why.
Every player has a job
Not every 9-year-old is going to score. Every one of them will know what their job is and what doing it well looks like.
One standard for everybody
Effort, attitude, and how you treat your teammates and the officials. Same rules for the best player on the floor and the newest one.
How we teach it
Man-to-man, and a tight whistle.
Two decisions that shape what a player actually learns here, both made for the same reason: at this age, the habits are the whole point.
Man-to-man only
No zone. Every player has somebody to guard, which means they have to move their feet, get through a screen, and close out — the things that make a defender. A zone lets a kid stand in a spot and never learn any of it, and that shows up the moment they play against someone good.
We call it tighter than the refs will
Our coaches officiate the play themselves, and we call travels, carries, reaches and moving screens closer than the tournament officials will. That's the easy direction to learn in: a player used to a tight whistle is never caught out by one, and a looser game just feels generous.
From a parent
What families tell us.
“He's learned more from you already than every other basketball experience combined. This is exactly what we were looking for. And, we've bought him a jump rope :)”
What's included
What you get for the season.
- 90 minutes in the gym every weekend of the session
- 45 minutes to an hour of coaching, then 30 to 45 minutes of live 5-on-5
- Two outside tournaments
- A t-shirt and a jersey, theirs to keep
- Placement onto a team after the first weekend, coached by Team ICE staff
- Eight weekends of actual 5-on-5 teaching — offense, defense, and the parts nobody explains
The fee
$249
One session
$450
Both sessions · save $48
One price covers the whole session — every weekend in the gym, both tournaments, and your player's t-shirt and jersey. Nothing else to buy.
Registration and payment happen on this page — the form is just below. The fee is due before the first practice.
More than one player
Second player is $199.
Signing up two? The first is $249 and the second is $199 — $448 for the pair, and the same $50 off every player after the first.
Sign each player up as normal — the form charges full price for each — and we send the $50 back once both are registered.
Refer a friend
Bring a friend, and you each get $25.
Send another family our way and there's $25 in it for both of you — $25 for them on their first season, and $25 back to you. Same $25 whether your player is doing one session or both.
Have them put your name in the "who told you about us" box when they register. Once they've paid for their first session, we send $25 back to each of you.
- The family you refer has to be new to Hoops College and Team ICE Juniors.
- Your $25 comes back once they've paid for their first session.
- No limit — refer as many families as you like.
The sessions
Two sessions. Do one or do both.
Winter session
January 9 – February 28 · 8 weeks
The same eight weekends, run again in the new year — either as a second season for a returning player or as a first one for a player who missed the fall.
Train and play, every weekend.
Ninety minutes in the gym: 45 minutes to an hour of coaching, then 30 to 45 minutes of playing what we just worked on. Nothing lands on a school night. Which weekend day and what time depend on the gym slot and your player's team — those go out by email, along with the address, once your player has a spot.
Commit to both up front and it's $450 instead of $249 twice — $48 back in your pocket.
Evaluation days
Evaluations are the first two practices.
Saturday, October 10
First practice · you pick the time
Sunday, October 11
First practice · you pick the time
There's no separate tryout to show up for. The season opens Saturday, October 10 and Sunday, October 11, and those first practices are where we watch every player — so we can build even teams and put each kid in the right group. Bring court shoes, a water bottle, shorts and a t-shirt. We provide the balls.
When you sign up, you choose your player's evaluation day and time from the slots we offer. Each evaluation session holds 20 players, so signing up early means first pick. The exact gym is emailed once your player has a spot — we don't publish it.
Where we play
North Charlotte, NC
Practices and evaluations are in the North Charlotte area. The exact gym goes out by email once your player has a spot — we don't publish it.
Common questions
What parents ask first.
Does my player need experience?
No. This is a developmental program — it exists to teach the game to kids who haven't been taught it. First-timers and rec-league regulars are both in the right place.
Is this the same as the Team ICE club teams?
No. The club teams are competitive, older, and selective. Juniors is where a younger player learns how the game is actually played. It's the same coaching staff and the same standard, aimed at a different job.
What if we can only do the winter session?
That's fine — the winter session runs January 9 through February 28, at the same price. The discount is only for committing to both up front.
Boys and girls together?
Boys and girls are both welcome. How teams are grouped is decided after the evaluation days, once we've seen who's in the gym.
I've got two kids — is there a break for the second?
Yes. The second player is $199 instead of $249, and so is every player after that. Sign each of them up as normal — the form charges full price for each — and we send the $50 back once they're all registered.
Do you take anything off if I bring a friend?
Yes — $25 each. Tell another family about us, have them mention your name, and once they've paid for their first session we put $25 back in your pocket and take $25 off theirs. It works on top of the both-sessions price, and there's no limit on how many families you send.
Save a spot
Sign your player up.
Registration and payment happen right here. Pick one session or both, and you'll get a confirmation email with the evaluation-day details, the practice day, and the gym address.
The gym address is emailed with your confirmation — we don't publish it.
Not ready to sign up yet?
Tell us about your player and we'll email you the details — no payment, no commitment.
Player older than 11, or ready for competitive club ball? That's Team ICE — same staff, same standard, a different job. You can also see the history.