The Jericho Athletic Association's Intramural and Travel basketball season is in full swing. With over 700 children participating, from first grade through 10th grade, and with 10 travel teams competing throughout Long Island, basketball is definitely a favorite sport for the kids in our community.

Jon Gelbwaks, a very busy member of the JAA Executive Board, is responsible for overseeing the intramural basketball program in Jericho. Jon, along with all our volunteer coaches and Division Heads, puts his time and energy into the basketball program, which emphasizes sportsmanship along with learning the skills of the game.

Due to its huge success last year, the Jericho Athletic Association is again offering a weekly basketball clinic given by The Craig Robinson Basketball Academy for first and second grade girls and boys. Craig is a former professional basketball player who was drafted by the Boston Celtics and became a very successful player for over 18 years playing throughout Europe.

The size of the balls, the height of the goals and the distance of the free throw lines have been modified to fit our younger athletes. The balls are smaller, and we are using specially designed baskets that are set at 8 feet. These simple changes permit the players to develop their ball handling skills and learn the fundamentals of the total game - offense, defense, rebounding, passing and shooting. These basketball players, this year numbering over 200 future NBA stars, can now learn the proper shooting techniques, rather then just throwing the ball into the basket.

Joel Sweetbaum, JAA board member, has the responsibility of overseeing all travel programs for the association. With 10 basketball travel teams playing either home or on the road every weekend, scheduling these games around the intramural program has become a big part of his job. Under Joel's guidance, Jericho's travel program continues to be very successful and highly competitive.

The goal of the Jericho Athletic Association is to provide the children of Jericho the opportunity to participate in sports throughout the school year, to give them a forum to meet new friends, to learn the skills of various sports and to have fun while playing. For general information, schedules, sponsorships and registration information go to our website at www.11753.com and link onto the Jericho Athletic Association.