Great Valley Basketball Program News

GVBL News and Updates

Great Valley Basketball League (GVBL) strives to create a fun experience for the kids, playing and learning the game of basketball. Players of all abilities are welcome. The goal is to teach all of the players the rules of the game and proper way to play basketball. Each division focuses on appropriate age level skills to help the athletes improve while showing good sportsmanship.

The GVBL app is the best place to get the most updated schedule.

Sign up for the Summer GVBL newsletter for the latest about the league, games and weather updates: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/j0cwvu4

General Information:

The tentative end date is August 11th and subject to the weather.
All games are held Monday-Thursday evenings. Games last one hour and typically start between 5-8PM. If possible, we try to avoid scheduling our youngest players later in the evening.
All players receive a team jersey.
Grades 3 and above will participate in a single elimination playoff at the end of the season.
Games will be refereed by current and former GVBL-ers.

Girls Rosters as of June 15: 1st/2nd Grades, 3rd/4th Grades, 5th/6th Grades, 7th/8th Grades

Boys Rosters as of June 27: 1st/2nd Grades, 3rd/4th Grades, 5th/6th Grades, 7th/8th Grades, HS Grades

The GVBL app is the best place to get the most updated schedule.

Girls Schedules as of June 28: 1st/2nd Grades, 3rd/4th Grades, 5th/6th Grades, 7th/8th Grades

Boys Schedules as of June 28: 1st/2nd Grades, 3rd/4th Grades, 5th/6th Grades, 7th/8th Grades, 9-12th Grades

The Top Ten Rules for Refs

Congrats on signing up as a referee for this summer’s GVBL season. Here are a few things for you to take to heart as you represent the league on the court.

Your number one goal as a referee is to protect the safety of the kids. If a call airs on the side of question, call it. Keeping the kids safe is of the utmost importance and cannot be stressed enough.
Use your voice and your whistle. You have to be in command of the court to keep the games fair and safe.
READ THE RULES.
Do number 3 again.
Remember who you are officiating. Each division has a different set of rules to keep the games fair and fun for that level.
Speaking of fairness, remember to keep the games fair and equal. That includes giving equal playing time to each kid and keeping the defense where it needs to be.
Remember your positioning. Be where you can see the whole game as it happens.
Keep an eye on the clock and remember the 2-minute rules.
With the younger kids, be more of a coach than an official. Help to teach the rules, as well as enforce them.
When you step on the court as a referee you represent GVCO and its mission. Be sure to keep the games, fair, equal, fun, and above all, safe.

The Youngsters

If you've ever been attended a sporting event, you've probably witnessed a referee making a "bad call". These referees, umpires, line judges are some level of professional getting paid good money to call the game.

At GVBL, we have taken a different approach through the years. We are a community league giving the kids an opportunity to have fun and compete at the game of basketball. We ask volunteer moms, dads and former GVBL players from the community to ref the games.

Students who will be in grades 8-12 for Fall 2022 can complete a Student Referee Interest Form.

We pair young student referees with adult referees until they become more comfortable with refereeing the games. Prior to the season, GVBL reaches out to our experienced adult referees for help. We pay the student referees $10 per game - think Wawa or gas money. We pay the adult referees $10 per game - think coffee or beer money. The referees doing the Boys HS division games get paid a little more because the level of play is much greater...but not nearly the going rate for this level game.

The Oldsters

The opportunity to ref gives the students a chance to "see" the game from a different perspective and teaches responsibility. In addition, we feel it's a good opportunity to give back to the league that they've enjoyed for many years.

Without student referees, the GVBL registration cost would be significantly higher. And hopefully everyone has a tougher time yelling at a student or neighbor from our community refereeing one of our GVBL rec league games.

Those interested can complete an Adult Referee Interest Form.

GVBL App

Use it or get left behind on important GVBL Winter League info.
For several years, we have been promoting the GVBL app and it will be imperative to use it for all Winter league info. We have found this tool to be the best way to communicate rosters, schedules, updates, info and more. Upon registration, GVBL asks that you take the time to download the GVBL app and use it as your main source of info for our GVBL programs.