EASTBAY BULLDOGS BASKETBALL

Our Summer Session is over and with that, our Fall Session is about to begin.  The session starts Sept 1 and signups are happening now.  And while Fall is a 2 month session, if you sign up now, we will pro-rate your fees to reflect starting a week late.  So if you are interested, if you are looking for a fundamentals based program with great coaching & great competition for the next few months, If you are looking for a club that plays year round so you can play any session you like or play year round like our best players do if you prefer, please read on.

ABOUT FALL BULLDOGS - The Bulldogs are a year round club team based in the tri valley.  There are many new club options here now trying to learn to do what we have done successfully for 20+ years.  That said, those new clubs will come and go (they always do), so I cant tell you what they will be doing 10 years from now but I can tell you with absolute certainty, we will be here, coaching kids, teaching fundamentals through tough Man to Man defense and our Read and React motion offense now and long into the future.  We are the largest, most successful club in the area.  Over  our 20+ years we have had over 5000 kids come through our program with over 90 going on to play in College and literally hundreds making it to the HS Varsity level.   

ABOUT THE FALL SESSION - Fall Bulldogs is a 2 month session (Sept and Oct) where we practice twice a week on weeknights in the Dublin / Pleasanton area and play 8 to 10 league games on the weekends in the Walnut Creek area.  

Fall Practice Schedule – We practice twice a week on weeknights in the Dublin / Pleasanton area.  We have our gym time for Fall locked in to the end of October.  Our practice schedule is below and up on the website right now (see the Calendar Link on the left side of the screen).  Note group times may change slightly depending on registration numbers in each grade.  We always want the ability to optimize all practices so we reserve the right to adjust when player numbers dictate.  That said, our youngest players practice early and our older kids practice later.

• Tues / Thurs Sept 4 & 6 and 11 & 13 at Pleasanton MS
• Thurs / Fri Sept 20, 21 and 27, 28 at Stager in Dublin
• Thurs / Fri, Oct 4/5, 11/12, 18/19 and 25/26

For now, the times each group goes is as follows:

• 6 to 7 PM - 2nd, 3rd & 4th boys + All Girls
• 7 to 8 PM - 5th, 6th grade boys
• 8 to 9 PM - 7th, 8th & HS Boys

Again, the times each age group practices may change slightly when I know our final numbers.  That said, this is what I am estimating for now and if it changes, it won’t change much.

Does Fall Bulldogs Conflict with CYO? No. I coached CYO for almost 20 years and was an Athletic Director here in the Tri Valley for 15 years. I know their schedule intimately. CYO does signups in August, tryouts in September, practice starts in October and league games start the first weekend in November. Our games end the final weekend in October so our league games end the weekend before their league games begin. If there is any conflict at all, you might have some overlap with practice in October but most coaches understand that kids usually finish one program before they start the next. Football & Soccer guys have had that conflict with CYO forever. Bottom line?  No conflict with league games, no conflict with practice in August or September and worst case, you might miss a couple of practices in October but that would be up to you.

Does Fall Interfere with HS Basketball?  No. The reality is, on the HS Campus in Sept and Oct, Football is King. If basketball is doing anything, it is open gym. For those unfamiliar, Open Gym is just what it sounds like. It is pickup basketball for anyone at the school. But it is attended mainly by kids that will tryout in November. Per CIF rules, no coaching is allowed.  Basically, it is just a way for HS coaches to keep kids from getting too rusty. But being on a team with coaching and regular practices during these months is far superior to Open Gym. Now you need to go to about one open gym a week, just to show your face and be "in the club" with the HS team. But if you want to make the team, playing and practicing with us while your future team mates go watch football games and chase girls gives you a great advantage. And our Fall League ends at the end of October. HS tryouts start the 2nd Monday in November so we take you right up to tryouts. Our guys are always sharper at tryouts because they have been playing and practicing in a competitive environment with us while the guys they will compete for spots with have been messing around. And most of all, our guys have been getting great coaching.

So there you go, we have very limited space in most every grade.  But once we are full, we wont be able to take any more players.  So don't get left out.  If you want to play, shoot me an email today at PGLeClaire@comcast.net and I will get you all the information. Then we can bring you out to practice this week to try it out and if you like what we do, signup and secure your slot on the roster.  Many thanks and hope to see you all on the hardwood soon, 

Coach LeClaire