2025/26 WINTER TRAVEL BASKETBALL SEASON

Welcome to the Woodcliff Lake 2025-26 Winter Travel Basketball Season.  We have an exciting year planned and are looking forward to seeing returning players and new players alike. 

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR TRAVEL TRYOUTS
 

FAQ:

** What is the difference between REC & TRAVEL BASKETBALL? **

• TRAVEL requires TIME, COMMITMENT and has a high level of COMPETITION. The travel program we use is the Bergen Travel Basketball League (BTBL) which sets up different divisions and has many different towns to play against.  There is a significant demand of time and commitment required to play Travel basketball. Travel can have multiple practices and games in a week.  Travel is not equal playing time. Think of travel as a watered-down version of being on a high school sports team. There are tryouts to make the team with outside evaluators and the travel teams are trying to win games.
• REC is for players of all skill level.  It is designed for the kids to learn the game, receive in game experience, build skill and have fun. REC is equal playing time for all kids when playing games. Time commitment is 2x a week – typically 1x during the week and 1x on the weekend.  

** Who coaches REC & TRAVEL BASKETBALL? **

• The answer for both is PARENT VOLUNTEERS. In order for both programs to succeed, we need parents to continue to volunteer their time to coach. Even if you don’t have a large basketball background, we are here to help! WCL Hoops is fortunate to have a dedicated board of parent volunteers, and can provide support to help get parents up to speed on coaching.

TRYOUTS:

• October – all players must register HERE and participate in tryouts (schedule below) to be eligible to play
• Each grade (2nd– 8th for boys, 3 – 8th for girls) will have 2 tryout dates. Players are required, to the extent possible, to attend both tryouts for a complete evaluation.
• Independent evaluators/coaches, who are not affiliated with WCL, are hired to run the tryouts and perform the skill assessments. WCL Bball board members have absolutely no impact on the evaluations.
• No spectators are allowed in the gyms during the tryouts. Only the players trying out, the coaches/evaluators, and 1-2 board members can be in attendance.
• If selected to a team, you will be notified and a 2nd registration will be sent out to officially sign up and pay the associated fees.
• No one wants to see a child left off a team. However, depending on the number of teams and available spots in each age group, the difficult decision of not placing some children is sometimes necessary. Please know that we have full confidence in the expertise of our evaluators and are committed to ensuring the selection process is fair and unbiased.

ADDITIONAL DETAILS:

• The WCL Travel basketball teams participate in the Bergen Travel Basketball League. More details can be found here.
• The program starts in November and goes through early March, with tryouts in October. 
• November – practices 1-2x/week
• December – Pascack Invitational tournament (hosted by Woodcliff Lake and Montvale) the week of 12/1.  Practices 1-2x/week, scrimmages
• Winter Break - Nothing Scheduled
• January through March – Practices & Games (schedule provided by BTBL)

IMPORTANT:

• INSTAGRAM: Please follow WCL basketball on Instagram at @WCL_Basketball, as we plan to be active with program information here
• WEBSITE: Please also check the website, www.wclhoops.com, for ongoing updates.
• EMAIL: Please note a new shared email address for all inquiries: HoopsWCL@Gmail.com
• VOLUNTEERS: Get involved!  If you would like to coach, assistant coach, or get involved with WCL Hoops in other ways, please let us know!
• ELIGILITY - All Travel players are required to participate in the REC program, unless also playing on the middle school team.

Regardless of whether your child is playing Travel or Rec, the most important things are: having fun, improving skills, and the experience of being part of a team.  We are super excited to have another fun season of WCL Hoops!

TRYOUT SCHEDULE:

BOYS & GIRLS Schedule