Upward basketball???

[LauraLovesJesus2]

Hello all!
I'm new here and I'm not sure if this is the subforum where this question belongs. Apologies if it's incorrect.
Does anyone have experience with Upward basketball? This will be my children's first year and I don't know anyone who has done this before. It's supposed to be non-competitive, it's at a local church (but I think it's a nation wide organization) and the kids memorize some scripture each week along with playing ball.
My question is, how do they assess each child and do all children from all abilities really get to play? My youngest is 5 and has never played a sport, he has no knowledge of the game, and he's a bit short. I'm worried he won't get to play as often or that lack of knowledge will somehow impede him. I want it to be fun for him and I'm hoping since it's through a church and Christ centered it will be "fun for all players". But...since I don't know anyone who has participated before, I thought I'd ask others. I really want it to be a positive experience for him. Does anyone have past experience with this???

[Rufus_1611]

Hello all!
I'm new here and I'm not sure if this is the subforum where this question belongs. Apologies if it's incorrect.
Does anyone have experience with Upward basketball? This will be my children's first year and I don't know anyone who has done this before. It's supposed to be non-competitive, it's at a local church (but I think it's a nation wide organization) and the kids memorize some scripture each week along with playing ball.
My question is, how do they assess each child and do all children from all abilities really get to play? My youngest is 5 and has never played a sport, he has no knowledge of the game, and he's a bit short. I'm worried he won't get to play as often or that lack of knowledge will somehow impede him. I want it to be fun for him and I'm hoping since it's through a church and Christ centered it will be "fun for all players". But...since I don't know anyone who has participated before, I thought I'd ask others. I really want it to be a positive experience for him. Does anyone have past experience with this???

I coached two Upwards soccer teams and I concluded I am not a fan of the Upwards system. While it strongly contends against today's ridiculously competitive and unsportsmanlike parents, it goes to the other extreme of not being competitive at all (no keeping score etc.) and everyone's a winner mentality. This takes away from some of the life lessons that sports teaches a young child.

In life, sometimes you are the winning side and sometimes you are on the losing side and knowing how to deal with defeat is just as important as knowing how to deal with victory. In addition, if you want to win you have to work hard and practice hard and it is extremely challenging to motivate children (or adults for that matter) when there's nothing on the line and no accountability. While Upwards gives everyone a positive, everyone's a winner feeling, it ultimately is inconsistent with life and and does more to turn young boys into sissies than helps them develop into men.

For your 5 year old, it may be a good fit since he's so young and it sounds like you just want him to be active in a positive environment etc. I would just be wary of keeping him in Upwards as he develops.

Grace and peace to ya.

[SethElijah]

We are planning to put our 9 year old in Upwards Basketball this winter, mainly so he can make some good friends at church. He plays baseball during the fall and spring, and played all-stars baseball all summer. His baseball seasons are very competitive, and he has been on a losing team since beginning of summer. I think the non-competitiveness of it will be good for him for a bit. He is very competitive and works very hard at baseball and has been frustrated that not everyonee on his team takes sports aas seriously as he does. I want him to have a bit of fun before spring ball.

[BrckBrln]

I played Upwards basketball for a few years when I was a kid. I believe everybody got to play but I don't remember if they kept the score. Anyway, I had a lot of fun. They would hand out little stars after the game to like the 'best offensive player', 'best defensive player', 'best sportsmanship', and so on. Don't know if they would still do that though.