The EC Volunteers is a basketball organization for girls that live within the EC North High School boundaries OR attends a school that feeds to EC North. If you have questions about your situation, please reach out and we can help review it.
The EC Volunteers is not an AAU program. We play in leagues and tournaments that require school-based boundaries. AAU programs usually play outside of our season.
Registration typically opens at the beginning of June (but can vary slightly). Keep an eye out for our registration announcement via Facebook, Email and our website. When registration is available you will find it on our home page.
It is important for our organization to have a good idea of how many teams and participants we will have for the upcoming season. Much of the planning is done well before the season actually starts.
$35 for 3rd grade, $75 for 4th grade, $160 for 5th-8th grade. Additionally, players are also responsible for purchasing shorts as needed through their time in the organization
Practices start around the first week in October. Tournament play starts as early as November for some teams and runs through the beginning of March.
3rd grade season runs October through December.
Practices for 3rd grade will be once per week from October - December. Practices will typically be Monday evenings.
Practices for 4th - 8th grade are held twice per week from October - February at a local ECASD facility. Practice schedules are set well in advance and are kept as consistent as possible - typically practices are held Tuesday & Thursday evenings for an hour and a half per practice.
The Volunteers organization provides a minimum of 5 Great Northwest Basketball League (GNBL) tournaments per team. GNBL tournaments consist of three games on a Saturday in most cases. Additionally, the organization may add a multi-day tournament for all teams to attend together. Coaches in coordination with team parents and the board have the flexibility to add additional tournaments.
The Eau Claire Volunteers are coached by volunteer parents and community members. All coaches must submit a coaches applications and pass a background check. The majority of our coaches have past playing or coaching experience.
Absolutely not. Our organization is supportive of new coaches! If you are considering coaching, we would urge you to reach out to the current board to talk about your specific concerns. Ultimately we need volunteers to coach teams for our program to be successful.
In the event there are enough girls for more than one team the organization will hold evaluations. In grade 4, teams will be created to make them both competitive while keeping girls together by elementary school when possible. 5th grade evaluations are held to split the girls into two equal teams. In grades 6-8 evaluations are used to create leveled teams.
No, the Eau Claire Volunteers program welcomes everyone regardless of skill or experience. The more girls that want to play basketball the better.
The Great Northwest Basketball League (GNBL) is a basketball league made up of community teams across much of Northwest Wisconsin. The Eau Claire Volunteers primarily play in tournaments hosted by member communities within the GNBL.
Fundraising is an important part of our sustainability. We fundraise to keep the costs of our program as affordable as possible. Each year fundraising dollars are used to provide shooting shoots for the girls. We also utilize funds to offset equipment costs (practice jerseys, game jerseys, basketballs, medical kits, equipment bags, and coaching supplies).
Each player will be asked to purchase two $20 coupon books at the beginning of the season. They can then, in turn, sell these coupon books to family and friends to recoup their money. In addition, players will participate in our organization-wide free throw fundraiser
The Eau Claire Volunteers were founded in 1983 by Jack Jasper. It was one of the first organized youth basketball programs in the area for girls' basketball.