2025-2026 4th Annual Darius Garland YBL (Youth Basketball League)

·       Team Registration opens on Monday, September 22 at 8am
Please go to “dgthepg.com” and click on YBL Registration in the upper left-hand corner to register your team(s)

·       Divisions for K-2nd (3 vs 3), and for grades 3-8 (5 vs 5) for both boys and girls
Each grade/ gender will have their own division starting in 3rd grade.
***EXCEPTION: 7-8th Grade, which is one division (8th Grade teams will need to register as 7th Grade)***

·       Games will be played at area schools: Brentwood Academy and Lawson High School
Grades K-2nd will play all games at Brentwood Academy. 3rd grade (boys and girls) & 4th grade girls will play all  of their games at either Brentwood
Academy or Lipscomb Academy (only exception is if there is one Saturday  where we have gym conflicts with those schools). Grades 5-8 will play all games at Brentwood Academy and Lawson High School (will have occasional games at Lipscomb Academy)

·       Games begin on Saturday, December 6 and end on Saturday, February 21. There will be no games on Saturday, December 27.
The end of season tournament will be on February 14 & 21
We expect to have both Gold (upper level) & Silver (lower level) divisions for most grade levels.

·       Each team is responsible for their own gyms for practice
We will supply Darius Garland YBL jerseys to each registered team.
These jerseys will be picked up at our Coaches Meeting on Monday, November 17 at 6:00pm at the Lawson High School Cafeteria

·       Team Fees for the Darius Garland YBL are as follows (there are no admission fees charged or any extra  tournament fees):
K-2nd grades: $1,100
3-8 grades: $1,600

*Individual players cannot sign up for this league, as each coach puts his/ her own team together. We do not  place any players on teams. Players already on a team will sign up on a roster at a later date in late October for their particular coach. Coaches will register and pay for their teams online beginning on September 22 at 8am*

League or Scheduling questions:  Pete Froedden 
[email protected]

Registration Questions: Taylor Green
[email protected]

All Other Questions: Spencer Richardson
[email protected]

We look forward to partnering with you, your team, and your families to make this a great youth basketball experience for all of us. Thanks!

Pete Froedden & Spencer Richardson
Co-Directors of the Darius Garland YBL

MISSION STATEMENT

In the Darius Garland Youth Basketball League, we will act and speak with professionalism and respect to all people involved while competing at the highest level.


PURPOSE

The Darius Garland Youth Basketball League hopes to transform the current youth basketball culture by involving key mentors and coaches who will teach and empower boys and girls (and their families) to: a) respect all people regardless of race, age, gender and b) gain conflict resolution skills, which can be thus taken into every area of life. We believe that listening and respecting the viewpoints of others while learning to compete is central to healing the divisions that exist in our schools and spaces of competition. Because sports has a unique ability to bring people together, the Darius Garland YBL will focus weekly on sportsmanship, positive reinforcement, accountability, professionalism, and respect. Every person involved in the Darius Garland YBL (founder, directors, coaches, players, parents) will be held to a high standard to ensure the mission moves forward.

DARIUS GARLAND YBL (5 vs. 5) RULES:

3rd – 8th Grade

NOTE: 3G (3rd Grade Girls) will play 4-on-4 full court this season

Goal Height: 10 feet (4th & 5th-8th grades); 9 feet (3B, 3G & 4G)

Ball Size: Regulation (6B, 7B, & 8B will use 29.5 size ball. All others will use the 28.5 size ball.)

NOTE: Players may play on more than one team in the Darius Garland YBL, but there may be multiple weeks where those games overlap. Please know that in scheduling, we will NOT be able to take “scheduling requests” for players playing on multiple teams. We can only honor “scheduling requests” for those Coaches who coach multiple teams.

1. A game consists of two 20-minute halves with a continuous running clock stopping on the referee’s whistle for injuries, time-outs, in the last minute of each half.
2. Overtime begins with a jump ball and will be 1 minute. The second overtime will be sudden death--the 1st team that scores (free throw or field goal) wins. (No extra timeouts will be awarded for overtime.)
3. A team must start with 5 players. Game time is forfeit time.
4. Each team has 2 time-outs per half: one 1 minute and one 30 second. Unused time-outs do not carry over to the next half.
5. Half-time is 3 minutes long.
6. Full-court and half-court man-to-man and zone defenses are allowed. (Exception: 3rd & 4th grade girls, and 3rd grade boys, can play full court defenses in the 2nd half only.)
7. Players will foul out on their 5th foul.
8. It is recommended that each player on the team play a minimum of 15 minutes.
9. The scoreboard will never show more than a 20-point differential.
10. The bonus one-and-one free throw will be shot on the 7th foul, and the double bonus will be shot on the 10th foul.
11. 3B, 3G & 4G: Free throws will be shot from 13.5 feet rather than 15 feet to encourage proper form.
12. Coaches must remain in a “Coaching Box” which extends to both ends of each team’s bench. Only the Head Coach can stand and coach during the game. Two assistants will be allowed on the bench and he/she must remain seated during play. After one technical foul on a coach, that coach must stay seated.
13. Team listed first is the home team, will wear the light-colored jerseys, and will sit to the right of the score table (facing table from floor). Teams will warm up opposite their bench.
14. Both teams shake hands after each game.
15. Please direct all other “rules related questions” to Coach Hubie Smith or Coaches Pete Froedden, Kevin Starks, or Spencer Richardson.
16. All other rules for this grade level will align with the NFHS Basketball Rules Book.

DARIUS GARLAND YBL (3 v 3) RULES

K-2nd Grade

Goal Height: 8 feet (KB, 1st, & 2nd Grades)

Ball Size: 27.5 size ball (Junior Ball)

NOTE: Players may play on more than one team in the Darius Garland YBL, but there may be multiple weeks where those games overlap. Please know that in scheduling, we will NOT be able to take “scheduling requests” for players playing on multiple teams. We can only honor “scheduling requests” for those Coaches who coach multiple teams.

1. A game consists of two 20-minute halves with a continuous running clock stopping on the referee’s whistle for injuries, time-outs, and in the last minute of each half.
2. Overtime begins with a jump ball and will be sudden death--the 1st team that scores (free throw or field goal) wins. (No extra timeouts will be awarded for OT.)
3. A team must start with 3 players. Game time is forfeit time.
4. Each team has 2 time-outs per half: one 1 minute and one 30 second. Unused time-outs do not carry over to the next half.
5. Half-time is 3 minutes long.
6. Any half-court defense is allowed, as long as there is no double teaming outside of the basket area. Teams may NOT press at any time during the game.
7. Players will not foul out on their 5th foul, but the opponent will be given two shots on the 6^th foul and beyond and be awarded possession of the ball. Opposing coach can choose their free throw shooter.
8. It is recommended that each player on the team play a minimum of 15 minutes.
9. The scoreboard will never show more than a 20-point differential.
10. The bonus one-and-one free throw will be shot on the 7th foul, and the double bonus will be shot on the 10th foul.
11. Free throws will be shot from 12 feet rather than 15 feet.
12. Coaches must remain in a “Coaching Box” which extends to both ends of each team’s bench. Only the Head Coach can stand and coach during the game. Two assistants will be allowed on the bench, and he/she must remain seated during play. After one technical foul on a coach, that coach must stay seated.
13. The 10 second backcourt violation, 5 second violation, and the over & back violation (when it is really obvious) will be enforced.
14. Team listed first is the home team, will wear the light-colored jerseys, and will sit to the right of the score table (facing table from floor). Teams will warm up opposite their bench.
15. Both teams shake hands after each game.
16. Please direct all other “rules related questions” to Coach Hubie Smith or Coaches Pete Froedden, Kevin Starks, or Spencer Richardson.

All other rules for this grade level will align with the NFHS Basketball Rules Book.