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Victor Travel Basketball
2025/2026 Season FAQs
1. Who is Victor Travel Basketball open to?
Victor Travel Basketball (VTB) is a competitive basketball program open to boys and girls in grades 3 – 8, typically residing in the Victor School District (please note, there are some exceptions to the residential requirement based on league rules, so please reach out if you have any questions). VTB participates in the GRAB (Greater Rochester Area Basketball) league and teams play against other local programs. We are a feeder program for the Victor scholastic boys and girls basketball programs, and we work in close coordination with the Victor varsity coaches to ensure that our program is aligned with the Victor Basketball philosophy.
2. What is the time commitment/schedule?
VTB participation is a significant time commitment and is intended for players and families with a high level of commitment to basketball. Like other travel sports, it is expected that basketball will be prioritized as the in-season sport.
A high-level description of the time commitment/schedule is as follows:
· Registration: August 1st – September 12th
· Evaluations/Try-outs: September 21 - October 4, two sessions per grade. Players are required to attend one try-out session; it is strongly encouraged to attend both if possible. Please contact the VTB Board if you have extenuating circumstances so alternative arrangements can be made.
· Teams will be announced on or about October 12th (parents will be contacted first, and then once confirmed, teams will be announced shortly after)
· Practices: 2x per week on Victor campus from early October through the end of your team’s tournaments, which can range from mid February – mid March (see below).
o Practice dates/times are not consistent week to week, as gym availability is extremely limited and scholastic sports programs get priority in scheduling gym time. Practice schedules for the following month are released mid-month.
· Thanksgiving Tournament: Friday November 28th – Sunday November 30th
· Regular season games: 10 week season - 2 games per weekend from December 6th/7th – February 14th/15th (skipping December 27th/28th)
o Games are hosted in locations throughout the Rochester area, including but not limited to Victor, Penfield, Webster, Rush Henrietta, Wayne, Hoops Strength, etc.
o Games are scheduled by the GRAB league and are either Saturday or Sunday- days and times are not consistent week to week. The schedules for the upcoming month are typically released at the end of the prior month.
o Tournaments: new for this year, teams can select three additional tournaments to participate in beyond the Thanksgiving tournament (increased from two in previous years). Coaches will communicate with you regarding which tournaments your team will participate in – options include December break, February break, and the first two weeks of March.
3. Is the VTB program selective?
Please see the following for some important updates and clarifications for the 2025/2026 season.
Consistent with other travel sports programs, VTB is a competitive program and gets more selective in the older age groups. Please see the following for a description of the program structure by age group:
· 3rd & 4th grade: the program is open to players of all skill and experience levels, with no limit on the number of players/teams.
· 5th grade and up: new for this year, the program will be limited to two teams per age group (with a maximum of up to 11 players per roster and a maximum of up to 22 players per grade level). Rosters will be selected based on a tryout (see later question for more detail on the evaluation process) and, for
returning players, feedback that was completed by the coaches, reflecting the player’s body of work. Players who are not offered a roster spot will be refunded their registration fees and are encouraged to participate in Victor Parks and Recreation’s house/recreation league to continue developing their skills (registration opens in September – please reach out to Victor Parks and Recreation for more information).
· Team selection: for 3rd – 5th grade, teams will be formed to be even as possible. For 6th grade and up, teams will be formed based on skill level by position. Teams will be entered into an appropriate bracket in the GRAB league with the goal of playing other teams of similar skill level.
4. Why is VTB limiting 5th grade and up to two teams?
Our goal is to provide high quality practices that allow players to continue to develop their skills. Beginning in 5th grade, GRAB league allows defense to pick up at half court, and therefore it is important that teams are able to practice on a full court in order to be prepared for this level of play. Given limited gym availability, a full grade needs to practice together and having more than two teams practicing in a gym prohibits full court use and limits the effectiveness of the practice for all players.
5. If my child doesn’t make a VTB team, is there somewhere else they can play?
Yes – Victor Parks and Recreation runs a recreational/house basketball league available to players through 6th grade. Registration begins in September, and you can contact Victor Parks and Recreation for more information. There are also additional leagues available throughout the Rochester area (Hoops Strength, CYO, etc.)
6. Why do you do skill-based teams starting in 6th grade?
In collaboration with Victor Varsity Basketball coaches and research from USA Basketball this offseason, it has been determined that moving to skill-based teams in 6th grade is the appropriate time to support the development of all players. A majority of the other programs in GRAB also conduct tryouts and form skill-based teams, and the GRAB league is set up in brackets to support teams playing the appropriate level of competition.
7. How will tryouts/evaluations work?
There will be two try-out/evaluation sessions held per age group. Players are required to attend at least one session; attendance at both sessions is highly encouraged. If you have extenuating circumstances, please reach out to [email protected] to make alternative arrangements.
Players will be evaluated on the following categories: shooting, ball handling (right and left), rebounding/aggressiveness, passing, offensive movement/awareness, defensive movement/awareness, being a team player, communication, decision making, and attitude/coachability. For returning players, coaches were asked to submit evaluations on each player at the end of last season, and body of work and commitment to basketball will be considered as well.
Evaluations will be conducted by a panel consisting of a combination of the following: VTB Boys Program Lead (Mike Condon), VTB Girls Program Lead (Eric Wernert), one to two coaches from that age group, an independent VTB Board member (not affiliated with that age group), and a representative from the scholastic program.
When forming teams, general positions are considered as well to ensure that a team is well rounded and includes a mix of positions.
8. Is playing time guaranteed to be equal?
All players will play in the game, but playing time is earned and not guaranteed to be equal, particularly at the older age groups. The GRAB league has minimum playing time requirements which vary by age, which will be reviewed at the pre-season parents meeting.
9. Are there additional costs beyond the registration fee?
Yes, there is an admission fee at each host site to attend games and tournaments. Fees vary slightly by venue, but in general are around $5 per person, with some venues capping families at $12. Victor is a host site for the regular season and the Thanksgiving tournament; Victor families do not pay to attend regular season games at Victor, but they do pay to attend the Thanksgiving tournament, as this is a fundraiser for our scholastic boys and girls basketball programs.
Uniforms cost $100 and can be used for multiple years (see following question).
10. How do uniforms work?
Uniforms cost $100 and include reversible shorts and a reversible jersey. Currently we keep the uniform design consistent year to year to keep costs down for our participants; therefore players need to order a uniform in their first year, and do not need to order again until the player needs a new size. As for uniform number, we ask players to provide several choices and we do our best to give them one of those numbers. We do not repeat uniform numbers within a grade.
Players will also receive a reversible pinnie and a shooting shirt each year.
11. Are there requirements for parents to volunteer throughout the season?
Yes, given that Victor is a host site for games, we need to staff the admission table/concession stand each weekend. Each team will be asked to be responsible for one day, and coaches will manage a signup process for parent volunteers. The additional funds from admissions/concessions allow us to keep the registration costs down and add additional opportunities for our players.
12. Are there opportunities for my child to improve his or her skills before the season starts?
Yes – for returning VTB players (who played in the 2024/2025 season), VTB will be offering additional training opportunities through Basketball Plus in the fall. Please be on the lookout for more details.
Please note, these FAQs are intended to help provide transparency and address some of the more common questions related to the Victor Travel Basketball program. Victor Travel Basketball reserves the right to make changes to the policies and procedures, based on unforeseen circumstances and guidance from the scholastic program and USA basketball, for the purpose of supporting strong development and growth of the players and the Victor Travel Basketball Program, which policies and procedures will be evaluated by the Victor Travel Basketball board members as necessary from time to time.
Thank you for your interest in Victor Travel Basketball! We will hold a Parents’ Informational Meeting before tryouts to review this in further detail and answer any questions you have. Please feel free to contact us at [email protected] or reach out to any Board member with additional questions in the meantime. Thank you!
2025/2026 VTB Board
Executive Committee
Nick Lennon – President
Mike Condon – VP, Boys Program Lead
Eric Wernert – VP, Girls Program Lead
Ryan Shannon – Treasurer
Nick Gallo – Secretary
At Large Board Volunteers
Sandra Budimir
Raff Ceravalo
Dan Graziadei
Kate Lennon
Corey McAdam
Randell Sierens
Jessie Stewart