The Merrimack Youth Association (MYA) is a volunteer, non-profit organization in Merrimack, New Hampshire. The MYA provides the opportunity for Merrimack kids to participate in a variety of sports, including basketball, baseball, soccer, softball, football, cheerleading, wrestling and lacrosse.

Youth  Basketball
Youth Basketball is one of the sports offered under the MYA umbrella.

Organization

Youth  basketball involves over 600 kids in 6 different age groups. There are typically 9 to 11 players on a team.

The leagues are:
 

Director	Jim Noon	424-0697	director
Senior Advisor	Bob Shagoury	424-3836	advisor
Senior Advisor	Dave Paulson	424-8580	advisor2
Secretary	Sean Covell	429-3098	secretary
Treasurer	Mark Desgrosseilliers	429-0398	treasurer
Equipment Coordinator	Eric Gausch	424-7084	equipment
Schedule Coordinator	Tom McDonough	424-7531	scheduler
Referee Coordinator	Jay Fulton	508-8202	referees
Tournament Director	OPEN		tournament

League Coordinators
Boy's Division		Girl's Division
Instructional (1st, and 2nd)
Jim Noon	424-0697 instboys	Mary Watkinson	262-5361 instgirls
Pee Wee (3rd & 4th)
Chris Knauer	424-4177 pwboys	Pat Bissonette	930-7975 pwgirls
Junior (5th & 6th)
Marty Swafford	674-1391 jrboys	Ryan McKelvy	809-0287 jrgirls
Intermediate (7th & 8th)
John Calabro	429-3351 intboys	Open	intgirls
Senior (9th - 12th)
Terry Benhardt	494-1900 srboys	John Calabro	429-3351 srgirls

Board elections are held in the Spring, and positions are held for a year. It is critical for our children that new people from the community step forward each year to take on Board responsibilities.

Calendar

Youth basketball is played from the first weekend in December, through the middle of March. Sign-ups are typically the last two weekends in September, with team selections in October. Teams are re-selected each season through a draft process designed to keep the league balanced and fun. Practices start the first week of November, with one practice on a weekend and one on a weekday evening during the pre-season. After the games start, teams have one game per weekend and one mid-week practice for the remainder of the season. Some leagues may have an odd number of teams. In these leagues, there will be occasional "BYE" weeks. There are ten or eleven regular season games, followed by playoffs. All teams make the playoffs.

Cost

Youth Basketball fees are as follows:
    Instructional Leagues: $15
    Pee-Wee - Intermediate Leagues: $30
    Senior Leagues: $40 (they get a MYA shirt which they keep after the season is over)

There is a $10 late fee assessed for anyone registering after the official registration sessions.

Cost should not prohibit anyone from participating in MYA Basketball.  If you cannot afford the fees, tell a Board member and we'll waive them for you.

Expenses

The league must pay for insurance, equipment, and referees.

About half of the expenses are covered by registration fees. The remainder is paid for by collections at the mid-season Tournament. The tournament raises money through entrance fees, advertisements in the Tournament Program, and concessions.

Tournament

MYA Basketball conducts a tournament in late January which attracts about 50 teams from the surrounding communities. Merrimack selects two All-star teams each from the Pee Wee, Junior, and Intermediate league to participate. In addition, the Instructional and High School divisions will play exhibition games. The tournament has a round-robin format, which guarantees 3 games for each team.