Youth Game Rules
Subscribe to our NewsletterJCC Basketball 2024 Youth Rules
- This year’s Youth tournament will be played among four (4) teams: three teams have six players each and one team has five players.
- Each team will play five (5) games.
- Each team must ensure that EVERY PLAYER gets an opportunity to play EVERY LEAGUE GAME in all rounds including playoffs. To enforce this, we are instituting the following mandates:
A) The teams will submit their starting four. Since there are only five/six players per team, teams are free to start any 4.
B) Starting 4-on-4 must play until one team hits 8 points or crosses 8 points. At that point, the team with 8 points (or more) must bring in a player from the bench. The new player coming in must play till the team hits or crosses 16 points. At the 12-point mark, the sixth player who has not played must come in for one of the starting three players and must stay in till 18 points.
a) For example, if #1, #2, #3, and #5 start, then #4 must come in for #5 at the 8-point mark and must stay in the game till the 16-point mark; at the 12-point mark, #6 must come in for #1, #2, or #3; #6 cannot come in for #4 and must play till the 18-point mark.
b) For a team with five players, their #5 must come in at the 8-point mark and stay in the game till the 18-point mark.
c) Once the team hits (or crosses) 18 points, the captain is free to play whomever he feels gives the team the best chance to win.
C) The player who just went out at 8 points may be freely substituted with any of the starting 3 currently on the floor at any time.
D) Any team that is ever down by 10 points or more, is free to substitute and play who they deem fit at that time.
● For fair game play if a team is playing a man down due to injury in the tournament or from the start of any game for any reason, the opposing team cannot play the same or one round lower level player at the same time. For example, if team A’s 1st round pick is not available to play the entire match, team B can’t have on the court their 1st round pick and 2nd round pick together at the same time. Team A can have their pick 2, 3, 4 and 5 play against Team B’s pick 1, 3, 4 and 5.
Both teams will substitute as follows:
The team with 4 players will not substitute the entire game, while the opposing team must follow the above substitution rules.
However, the above rule will still apply, where if Team A is missing their #1, then team B cannot ever have BOTH their 1 & 2 on the court together at any time. Another example, if Team A is missing their 4th Pick, then team B cannot have their 4th and 5th pick in the game together at any time. Captains should review this before the game to ensure smooth substitutions.
● Injury Exceptions:
● The doctor on the premise will recommend to the Youth Committee and they will have a final say on determining whether a player is allowed to come back into a game or be eligible to continue to play in the tournament after getting small treatment. (type of injuries - bumping knees, poked in the eye, cramping, etc.)
● The doctor on the premise will recommend to the Youth Committee and they will have the final say if a player’s injury is deemed to be severe. The player is disqualified from continuing in the tournament for safety reasons.
3) Each team will play five (5). Since we only have 4 teams, this means you will play most teams twice.
4) Each league game will be of 31 points and a team must win with a minimum difference of two. So, whoever gets to 31 points first with the difference of two will be announced the winner.
In a situation where none of the teams is leading with the difference of two even after reaching 31 points, then whichever team reaches 35 points (irrespective of point difference) first will be announced winner.
The below scenario will make it more clear:
29-31 Game over
30-31 Game goes till 1 team reaches 35
30-32 Game goes till 1 team reaches 35
30-35 Game over
31-35 Game over
32-35 Game over
33-35 Game over
34-35 Game over
31-34 Game goes till 1 team reaches 35
32-34 Game goes till 1 team reaches 35
33-34 Game goes till 1 team reaches 35
34-34 Game goes till 1 team reaches 35
32-35 Game over
Point differential will take into consideration final score even if one team has scored more than 31.
For example:
● If the score is 30-29 and the winning team hits a three, the final score will be recorded 33-29 with a 4 point differential given to the winning team.
● Second example if the score is 31-32 and the winning team hits a three, the final score will be recorded 31-35 with a 4 point differential given to the winning team.
5) Each league and semi-final game is played on half court only with 2's and 3's.
6) The ball will be played again back from the 3 point line after all defensive rebounds. This includes steals and airballs. Only offensive rebounds may go straight up. Out of bounds line will be clearly marked. One pass attempt before any shot after INITIAL CHECK-IN. A shot is defined as anytime the ball hits the backboard or rim. One foot must clearly cross the 3-point line to be considered “taken back”
7) The referee's calls are final and can't be argued.
8) Fouls:
#1: Shooting Foul:
- 1 free throw if you miss the shot + possession
- 1 free throw if you make the shot – basket counts + possession
#2: Non-Shooting Foul:
- 6th team foul – 1 shot + possession. Person getting fouled will shoot the free throw
#3: Flagrant Fouls:
- First Flagrant will get you ejected for the entire tournament including playoffs
#4: Technical or Flagrant Fouls:
- 2 foul shots and possession
- Each player is allowed up to 5 personal fouls per game. The 6th personal foul will mean that the player cannot play again in that game.
9) This is a friendly tournament and should be played in that spirit so each team captain must inform the players of the foul rules
10) Each team must report to their designated court at-least twenty (20) minutes before the scheduled game.
11) Each team is allowed a maximum of two (2) timeouts per game in addition to any injury timeouts called by ref. Each timeout may last up to 30 seconds max. Accidentally calling a timeout you don’t have will result in a technical foul giving the opposing team 2-free throws and possession.
12) Injury timeout - (ref will call) max 5 min for same player to return no matter what otherwise game to continue.
13) A coin toss will decide the possession of the ball first.
14) After every game both the coaches will sign the score sheet. The signed score sheets will be the final scores.
15) Defense MUST stay behind the three-point line before the first pass of the ball. Defense can't cross the three-point line till the ball is released by the first player who receives check in.
16) If the ball is checked in it is live. Defense checks the ball in when offense calls check. Not the ref.
17) If the ball hits any obstruction over the backboard or hanging from the ceiling or any other area that falls above the playing court then the ball is considered out and the possession changes.
18) Five-second violation in the paint for offense only. No Team foul will be charged and the ball will change possession.
19) On offense, the ball must be touched by another player (from either team) before hitting the backboard, rim, or scoring a basket after initial check-in. Not on change of possession.
20) Winners ball
21) Anyone can sub in on a dead ball or a score once the referee has been informed. This is subject to the above rules.
22) All fouls are, AND ONE, meaning if foul is on shot, point counts.
23) After any out of bounds or other stoppage, the ball must be checked in up top behind the three-point line. Ball may only be checked into an offensive player standing at or behind the three-point line.
24) Finals will be played with high school rules. Running clock, fouls etc as per high school rules.
25) Since this is a community event, there will be NO cursing or unsportsmanlike conduct allowed whatsoever. refs will be instructed to call this strictly with a tech to any player that commits the foul.
26) If any sort of confusion/argument will come up in the course of the tournament, the Kids Committee will take the final decision, after considering the Referee’s opinions.
27) After the league round the teams will be ranked based upon total number of WIN games. The team with the highest number of WON games will be placed at the top and so on. In case of tied number of WIN games, please follow the Tie-breaker rules.
28) PLAYOFFS: Team ranked 1 will get a bye directly into the finals. Teams 2 & 3 will play a standard 31-point half-court game as per the above rules to see who makes the finals. Team 4 will get eliminated.
The Final Game:
The Final will have four (4) quarters and each quarter will be of eight (8) minutes with running clock, stopped in the final 2 minutes of each half.
4 vs. 4 - sideways full court. High school rules. 7 team fouls per half for 1-and-1, 10 team fouls per half for double bonus. 5th personal and you’re out of the game. Normal free throw situation on shooting fouls - line up for foul shots.
Tournament Tie Breaker Rules for a ranking after League Round:
(Following rules will be applicable and will overwrite the online scoring display table in case if teams are tied)
Two Way Tie (When only 2 teams are tied together, means they have WON the same number of games (in other words same number of win points)
When two teams are tied with the same record, then the rankings of the tied teams will be determined by the following scenarios:
#1: Head-To-Head:
If the two tied teams have played against each other (head to head) in the league round, then the team that won that league game (or games) will be ranked ahead. If they split the league round, see below tiebreakers.
#2: Point Differential:
If both teams have won 1 game against each other, then team with the higher AVERAGE point differential (total points scored minus total points allowed from all league matches (not just head-to-head)) from all league games will be ranked ahead.
#3: Chit Drawing: (Not to be used if 3rd and 4th are tied)
If the two teams are still tied, then a chit drawing will be used to rank the tied teams. The winner of chit draw will be Ranked ahead.
#3: 15-point game: (only if 3rd and 4th are tied - elimination scenario)
If there is a tie for 3rd and 4th rank, then a decider game of 15 points will be played out to rank the tied teams. (difference of 2 points is not required in this game). The winner of the decider game will be Ranked # 3
Three Way Tie (When 3 or more teams are tied together (means they have WON the same number of games (in other way same number of win points))
When three or more teams are tied the Head to Head will NOT be applicable. And the following scenarios will be applicable.
#1: Point Differential:
The team with the higher AVERAGE point differential (total points scored minus total points allowed) from all league AND playoff games will be ranked ahead.
#2: Chit Drawing: (Not to be used if the tied team is being eliminated)
If the teams are still tied, then a chit drawing will be used to rank the tied teams.
#2: 15-point game: (only if the tied team can be eliminated)
If there is a tie then after chits, the last 2 teams will play a decider game of 15 points. (difference of 2 points is not required in this game). The winner of the decider game will be Ranked # 3.
For e.g. If there is a tie in point differential for 3rd, 4th and 5th rank, by way of chits we will rank 1 of the team as third. The other 2 remaining teams will play a 15-point decider.
MVP VOTING FOR LEAGUE GAMES
Each of the team coaches will get a ballot with 2 lines on it. At the end of each game, they will put in the names of the players who they feel were the most impactful to the game. This is not a scoring contest. This is about impact, whether through defense, rebounding, offense, passing, hustle, leadership or a healthy combination of all aspects of basketball. Coaches, with the help of any assistants, will put these names in order of #1 to #2. Points will be allotted as follows:
5 points for first place MVP
3 points for second place MVP
Once we have all the ballots back, we will tabulate all the points and announce the MVP winner. If any kids are tied in voting, they will be co-MVPs and share the honor.
The top-4 vote getters will also get to play in the first half of the adult final. The MVP winner and #4 will play with the adult teams ranked 2nd and 3rd. The 2nd and 3rd place MVP finishers will play with #1 and #4 adult teams.
