EDGE ATHLETICS

As the Edge Athletics December program comes to a conclusion this week, the fait of men’s and women’s high school basketball is still not known. What is known is that youth sports programs like CYO have been cancelled and the ever hopeful January 4th start date for high school sports has come and gone. Although New York State officials have not cancelled basketball, it has indefinitely delayed the start date.

Edge Athletics will, therefore, offer another program beginning January 11. This program will run for 4 weeks and will include two days of basketball training and will be open to all ages. Training sessions for those athletes that are eligible to play school level basketball which would include Modified, Freshmen, Junior Varsity and Varsity will feature varsity level sessions to help those athletes continue to prepare for the anticipated but delayed school season. Training sessions for those younger athletes that are not eligible for school level basketball will include appropriate skill level instruction. All sessions will be held at the Poughkeepsie Day School.

Program Details:

• 4 weeks of training, two sessions each. Each session is 90 minutes. Minimum of 8 sessions.
• All Sessions will be conducted by Coach Jim Santoro (Edge Athletics) along with his staff.
• Sessions each week will include skills training and structured varsity level practices.  Practice content will include what is typical for a regular varsity schedule but will limit the activities to stay within the guidelines provided by local and state officials.
• For the younger athletes, practice content will include intense instruction with skill development appropriate for that age level.
• In addition to the regular program, each athlete will have two “Shooting Gallery” sessions that will be scheduled on off days.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q. Where will the program take place?
A. All sessions will be held at the Poughkeepsie Day School.

Q. What safety precautions do you take to keep the environment safe during the pandemic?
A. Edge Athletics will strictly adhering to all of the guidelines provided to us by the county and state. There will be an orientation for each group of athletes and parents as to the procedures and requirements before the first workout session.

Q.  When will the program begin and end?
A.  We plan on scheduling practices and workouts starting Monday, January 11 and completing February 4.

Q.  What days and times will practices and workouts be?
A.  We plan on running sessions beginning at 3pm with the last session finishing no later than 10pm, Monday through Friday and sometimes Saturdays and Sundays.  After the groups are filled, we will try to accomodate everyones schedule as best we can with priority for the early slots going to the youngest athletes.

Q. Will there be tryouts?
A.  No. Although there will be no tryouts, this program is directed towards basketball players with prior basketball experience that expect to compete at the high school level or for those younger athletes that have already played competitively. THIS IS NOT A PROGRAM FOR BEGINNERS. In order to maximize preparations for the upcoming season, we are seeking the most serious players in the area.

Q. How many athletes will make up each group?
A. We do not have a specific number as a minimum or maximum for each group. The objective is to create training and practice groups that consist of athletes that are best suited to train and practice together so that they get the most benefit.

Q.  If there are no tryouts, how will the available slots be filled?
A.  We will give first priority to those athletes that completed our December program.  Registration will be open to only those athletes until Thursday, January 7.  After that, we will accept all other athletes wishing to register on a first come first serve basis but will accept the athlete  only after conversing with the parent, guardian, and athlete to ensure this is the right program for them.

Q.  How we will know if I have been accepted into the program?
A.  All athletes that participated in the December program will be accepted into the January program. All others will be notified AFTER we have received your registration and have spoken directly either by phone or in person.

Q.  You haven’t mentioned age divisions.  Will there be traditional 11u through 17u age divisions?
A.  No. We will at first group athletes by age but will modify the groups based on skill level so that we can best maximize the benefit of the practice and workout sessions. Since we are not competing in tournaments (see next question), it is not necessarily needed to group by age.

Q.  Will this program send teams to tournaments?
A.  Unfortunately, New York State has not approved indoor tournament play as of yet.  Additionally, the purpose of this January program is to prepare those athletes for the anticipated school season.

Q.  If you are not going to tournaments, how will the athletes get the most benefit?
A.  Our program is designed to provide a varsity level practice session directed by Edge Athletics each week with the intensity level that will help prepare them for the upcoming season. experience, we are confident that you can prepare for upcoming season by training with us.

Q. If I am too young to play on a school team, can I still participate?
A. Yes. The program will be tailored to meet the needs of our younger athletes.

Q. What do you mean by “Shooting Gallery” workouts?
A.  The “Shooting Gallery” are  shooting workouts that we conduct with the use of 4 shooting machines.  We will schedule these sessions outside of the normal 2 day a week schedule. These sessions will be an hour long and athletes can expect to get up at least 400 shots each in a fun and competitive environment.

Q.  Are additional Edge Athletics workout sessions going to still be available for individuals and small groups?
A.  Yes. Schedule permitting, we will offer additional training for individual and small group training to focus on specialized skills. 

Q. What is the tuition for this program?
A.  The tuition is $225.  But there is $25 discount for those athletes that completed the December Program. 

Q.  When is tuition due?
A.  Tuition is due prior to the first week of sessions.  We will designate a day for you to come in and make the payment.

Q. Is there a tryout fee?
A. No. There is no tryout so there is no tryout fee.

Q. Is there a uniform fee?
A.  No. Since we are not playing in tournaments, there is no need for a uniform, and, therefore, no uniform fee.

Q. Do we need to have an AAU membership?
A. Yes.  All participants must have an active AAU card and provide to us upon registration.

Q. How do we register?
A.  Registration will be done through the Edge Athletics website.  If you already have an account with us, its pretty easy.  Just log into your account from our homepage and register like you did for the spring and fall program.  If you do not have an account, you can create one by going to the homepage and follow the instructions.

Q.  If I have other questions, can I contact your directly?
A.  Certainly.  Feel free to email me at info@edgeathletics.com, call or text me at 845-264-5078.