About us
Foothill-SLAM NJB Information
Foothill-SLAM National Junior Basketball (NJB) is a non-profit organization having separate boys and girls teams in third through eighth grade, as well as boys teams for high school age players. We are a winter league and operate under the guidelines and bylaws of NJB (www.njbl.org) and the Silicon Valley Section of NJB (www.siliconvalleynjb.com). We have three different programs to offer:
All-NetFoothill has All-Net teams for 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade boys and girls. Players are selected through tryouts beginning on the first weekend in October. The All-Net program is for players who have a highly developed skill level. The teams play other All-Net teams in four seven minute stop clock quarters with high school rules. All-Net teams play a 14 game regular season plus an end of season Silicon Valley Section tournament with the top two teams earning a spot to play in the National Tournament. All-Net teams are competitive with no guaranteed playing time for the players. Players who tryout for All-Net and do not make it are then able to play in the Division Program (space permitting based on their registration priority).
Division - 3rd through 8th gradesOur Division program has separate divisions for girls and boys leagues. It is comprised of Division 1 (7th/8th grade), Division 2 (5th/6th grade) and Division 3 (3rd/4th grade). ALL players must attend the player evaluations in order for the coaches to draft balanced teams. The evaluations take place in October beginning on the weekend following the All-Net final selections. In order to achieve balanced teams, requests are not considered to play with friends or for car pooling. Only the head coach's child is guaranteed to be on a given team. Each player in the division program plays at least two full quarters per game. Division play is five eight minute running clock quarters. Each team plays a eight to ten game regular season followed by a Silicon Valley Section tournament where the teams get one to five extra games. The season runs from December through March. In addition to these post-season games, there is also an All-Star team created for each division. All-Star players are nominated from each team and selected by a try-out process if there are more than 10 players nominated. The All-Star teams play in a local Silicon Valley Section tournament with the top two teams earning a spot to play in the National Tournament.
Division - High SchoolThere are two high divisions: Junior Varisty (JV) for 9th and 10th grades and Varsity for 11th and 12th grades. Players selected to play for their high school teams CANNOT play NJB according to CCS rules. The player evaluations are conducted during the week following Thanksgiving (when all high school try-outs have been completed). All players must attend these evaluations in order for the coaches to created balanced teams. Each team plays a eight to ten game regular season followed by a Silicon Valley Section tournament where the teams get one to five extra games. The season runs from December through March.
General information
All NJB games are played on a regulation floor with a scoreboard and players wear a full uniform. Referees are certified and many officiate at the high school level. Foothill-SLAM NJB is a chapter within the National Junior Basketball League, which has more than 35,000 basketball players nationwide. National Tournaments for All-Net and for Division All-Stars are held at the end of each season in Los Angeles.
The Foothill-SLAM NJB Chapter boundaries include the cities of Mountain View, Los Altos, a portion of Los Altos Hills, and Sunnyvale. Los Altos Hills is split between the Palo Alto Chapter and the Foothill Chapter. Families that live in the Los Altos School District play in the Foothill Chapter. Familes that live in the Palo Alto School District play for the Palo Alto Chapter. We are part of the Silicon Valley Section, which has thirteen chapters: Almaden, Berryessa/Milpitas, Coyote Creek, San Jose East (Evergreen), Foothill-SLAM, Gilroy, Hollister, Los Gatos, Palo Alto, Redwood City, Saratoga, West San Jose, and Willow Glen. The NJB program was started in Southern California by Dennis Murphy in 1985. Foothill-SLAM NJB was started in 2004 by Roger & Sally LaPierre. With nearly 400 kids in its inaugural season, Foothill-SLAM NJB has grown to be the second largest Chapter in the section but must limit the number of teams by the available gym space for our teams to practice and play games.
NJB is a competitive program, with emphasis placed on good sportsmanship, scholastic achievement, and skills development. We truly believe that everyone wins playing in NJB. All parents and players interested in a high quality basketball program should strongly consider National Junior Basketball.