Frequently Asked Questions, Eureka Junior Wildcat Basketball:

The Eureka Junior Wildcats Basketball Program is open to 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th athletes that
live inside the Eureka High School boundary. This is true for tryouts, skills nights, or to
participate on any of the teams. Eureka Junior Wildcats Basketball is supported by the EHS
Basketball Booster Club and run under the direction of Coach Kirby and Coach Herbert.

If you have any additional questions about this program, or would like to contact us in any way,
please email us at ehshoopsfeeder@gmail.com. Through this email address, you can contact
Matt Benz, who runs the overall program, or the appropriate coordinator for your grade.
Coordinators for the 2024-25 season will be: Brian Joggerst, 8th Boys; Stephen & Jackie Napoli,
5th, 6th, and 7th Boys; Jordan Willer, 5th & 6th Girls, and Matt Benz, 7th and 8th Girls. Other key
volunteers are Alison Dzaidus, our uniform coordinator and Tara Lowery, our social media
coordinator. Our entire program is run by volunteers.

TeamBot is the main communication tool for the program and most individual team coaches. To
get on our mailing list, click the "sign up" button on our page or follow the link under the website
section of this page.

What is the Eureka Junior Wildcat Basketball Program?

EHS Junior Wildcats Basketball is designed to prepare athletes who will attend, or feed into,
Eureka High School to be ready to play high school basketball. It is a connection point for
players to learn the Eureka HS basketball systems, plays, and practice drills. Our goals are:

• Experience Eureka basketball – Junior Wildcat Basketball players will learn the high school
systems and plays, get exposure to the high school coaches, play with the potential teammates
they may have in high school, and be evaluated by the high school coaches prior to high school.

• Develop players – provide a learning environment to further develop player skills, build
character, focus on teamwork, and enhance basketball IQ and player accountability.

How many teams will you have?

We will form about 20 total teams between 5th through 8th grade, boys and girls, playing CNR as
their primary league. Teams are called Eureka Jr Wildcats Purple, Gold, and White.

If there are more players available from the tryout than can be placed, in particular in 5th grade,
we will connect parents to form additional teams to play Parkway Rockwood or CYC league, to
keep as many athletes playing basketball in some format, as possible.

How are teams selected?

Team formation is based on the evaluations of the high school basketball coaching staffs
grouping players into teams of similar ability levels at our tryout in late August. By forming teams
with players with similar skill levels, we believe each team will be able to compete at the right
level for that players development. We believe this philosophy maximizes each kids chance to
improve their fundamentals and get basketball touches. This is unique in that it allows 4
opportunities for an incoming 5th grader to experience a tryout-like setting prior to high school.

Because basketball is a team sport, it is beneficial to the program to group future Eureka HS
athletes to play together prior to high school. This organized system of team selection also
allows athletes that recently moved into the district to find a team, and helps organize teams as
athletes proceed through the system and perhaps their original team would otherwise fold.

Do both new and returning players have to attend the evaluation/tryout in late August?
Yes. Rosters are subject to change each year based on the tryout.

What are the benefits of playing on a Eureka Junior Wildcats Basketball team? What are
some of the feeder team only benefits that your program offers?
• 6-7 skills nights in September and October run by outside trainers but under the direction of
the high school coaches, and with the assistance of the grade level coaches.
• Coach the Coach sessions to teach our feeder team coaches the high school systems, plays,
and practice drills and how they can implement them with their teams.
• Feeder Night at a Eureka HS basketball game where our 5th, 6th and 7th grade feeder players
get to attend the pre-game activities before the varsity games.
• Insurance provided to teams to cover tryouts, skills nights, and practice space.
• Players get exposure to their future HS teammates and their future HS coaches.
• Ability to enter great feeder only tournaments such as the St. Louis Jingle Jam in December.
• Participate in the annual Junior Wildcats/Junior Lancers Battle of 109 Day, and the new event,
I-44 Showdown, with Lindbergh HS.

When and where will we play?

All of our teams play CNR league for the variety of opponents and to play games against other
school’s feeder/middle school teams. All teams will get at least one 1.5 hour practice through
the feeder program, and with the Jr Wildcat program’s help, most teams will be able to reserve a
second practice for 2 practices a week, Nov 1-Feb 28. Individual grade level coaches can
choose to enter additional leagues or rent additional practice space to fit their team’s schedule
and ability level.

Feeder team basketball is a winter sport, but some coaches choose to play in other sessions
with their teams. Finally, occasionally we have two teams who practice together and share a
coach. In all cases, we are trying to provide all athletes an appropriate competition level for
their development.

How much does the feeder team cost?

We try to keep costs as low as possible, but do have gym space rentals for tryouts, any program
wide operational costs, the 1.5 hour practice time slot per team for 4 months, and skills nights
along with the trainers to pay for. The skills nights themselves are scheduled in advance and
are Sunday nights in the fall, typically 12-5pm.

The non-refundable Jr Wildcat fee for feeder team players is due by or before September 15th
and covers the above. Pricing to the Jr Wildcat program is either $95/player or $135/player
depending on whether teams reserve 1 or 2 practice spots a week through the Jr Wildcat
program.

Then, you will pay your coach directly for games, tournaments, secondary leagues, or gym
space they reserve/schedule on their own, due approximately November 1 (see your coach for
details). There will be a one time uniform fee as the uniforms can be used for multiple years.