Tryout Information
Eligibility for Jr. Raiders
To play for Jr. Raiders, a girl must either attend a school that feeds into Tosa East High School or live within the Tosa East district. If we have open spots on a roster that are not taken by these players, we may consider players from outside the district, especially Tosa West district players who are considering attending Tosa East in high school.
Tryout Expectations and Commitments
The Jr. Raiders program is designed for girls who want to play basketball at a high level. We encourage multi-sport athletes and understand conflicts with other sports and events, but as a competitive program, we expect a commitment to attend as many practices and games as possible, especially during the winter basketball season.
What to Bring/Wear to Tryouts
Wear a numbered shirt to tryouts! Please bring a water bottle and basketball to tryouts. Wear a shirt with a number on it (this helps evaluators) and appropriate athletic wear. For 3rd graders and players new to the program, please also come with 3 favorite jersey numbers. The numbers can be 0-9, 10-15, 20-25, 30-35, 40-45, and 50-55.
To play for Jr. Raiders, a girl must either attend a school that feeds into Tosa East High School or live within the Tosa East district. If we have open spots on a roster that are not taken by these players, we may consider players from outside the district, especially Tosa West district players who are considering attending Tosa East in high school.
Tryout Expectations and Commitments
The Jr. Raiders program is designed for girls who want to play basketball at a high level. We encourage multi-sport athletes and understand conflicts with other sports and events, but as a competitive program, we expect a commitment to attend as many practices and games as possible, especially during the winter basketball season.
What to Bring/Wear to Tryouts
Wear a numbered shirt to tryouts! Please bring a water bottle and basketball to tryouts. Wear a shirt with a number on it (this helps evaluators) and appropriate athletic wear. For 3rd graders and players new to the program, please also come with 3 favorite jersey numbers. The numbers can be 0-9, 10-15, 20-25, 30-35, 40-45, and 50-55.
Evaluations (Players May Change Teams)
Our evaluators will score the players at the tryouts. Evaluators are staff, high school coaches, and coaches from other grade levels. From that scoring we create a consensus ranking which goes to the Board for the final team decisions.
The Board takes input from coaches as appropriate but no coach evaluates the players on their team or makes decisions about who is on which team. Any coach who is on the Board must abstain from decisions about their grade level.
Keep in mind that players may change teams as a result of tryouts. This can be to help balance talent at younger ages or because a player improved and deserves to be on the "Select" team (see Grade Level Philosophy below).
Post-Tryout Steps for 2025-26
You will receive an email on Sept. 17 telling you whether you have made a Jr. Raiders team. If you have made a team, the email will inform you of the next steps. In summary, you will need to:
There is no fee to tryout for Jr. Raiders. If offered a roster spot, the season fee would be $450, which does not include uniforms (payment is due upon accepting a roster spot and before knowing which team the player is on). While we appreciate full payment at that time, we recognize that is not possible for everyone. If you can't pay the fee up front, we can arrange an initial fee and periodic payments thereafter.
The fee pays for entries to leagues and tournaments, gym time for practices, and insurance.
Uniform
We refresh uniforms every other year. We will not have new uniforms in 2025-26 unless you are a new player or have grown enough to need a new uniform. If you are a player who needs to order a uniform in a non-refresh year, please reach out to us. Although uniform payment will be to Jr. Raiders, uniform ordering will happen via a web portal and additional optional items will be available for purchase there, such as shooting shirts with last name on the back and basketball backpacks.
Parent Meeting
The parent meeting with be Sept. 3 at 6pm at Tosa East.
Our evaluators will score the players at the tryouts. Evaluators are staff, high school coaches, and coaches from other grade levels. From that scoring we create a consensus ranking which goes to the Board for the final team decisions.
The Board takes input from coaches as appropriate but no coach evaluates the players on their team or makes decisions about who is on which team. Any coach who is on the Board must abstain from decisions about their grade level.
Keep in mind that players may change teams as a result of tryouts. This can be to help balance talent at younger ages or because a player improved and deserves to be on the "Select" team (see Grade Level Philosophy below).
Post-Tryout Steps for 2025-26
You will receive an email on Sept. 17 telling you whether you have made a Jr. Raiders team. If you have made a team, the email will inform you of the next steps. In summary, you will need to:
- * By Sept. 21 - pay the fee:
- 5th-7th Grade - $450 (if you need new uniform pieces, you will order and pay for them from the uniform website)
- 8th Grade - $300 (8th Grade does summer league through the high school)
- 4th Grade - $540 ($450 + $90 uniform fee)
- 3rd Grade - $300 (the shooting shirt is used as a uniform and is covered by the Club)
- * By Sept. 21 - order your uniform from the website. You will provide the sizing when ordering. There will be separate websites for 3rd Grade, 4th Grade and 5th-8th Grade. 3rd and 4th Grade will only pay through the website if you order an optional shooting shirt or backpack. 5th-8th Grade will pay for anything they order on the website.
- Teams will be announced on or before Sept. 23.
- Practices start in early October and games start in early November.
There is no fee to tryout for Jr. Raiders. If offered a roster spot, the season fee would be $450, which does not include uniforms (payment is due upon accepting a roster spot and before knowing which team the player is on). While we appreciate full payment at that time, we recognize that is not possible for everyone. If you can't pay the fee up front, we can arrange an initial fee and periodic payments thereafter.
The fee pays for entries to leagues and tournaments, gym time for practices, and insurance.
Uniform
We refresh uniforms every other year. We will not have new uniforms in 2025-26 unless you are a new player or have grown enough to need a new uniform. If you are a player who needs to order a uniform in a non-refresh year, please reach out to us. Although uniform payment will be to Jr. Raiders, uniform ordering will happen via a web portal and additional optional items will be available for purchase there, such as shooting shirts with last name on the back and basketball backpacks.
Parent Meeting
The parent meeting with be Sept. 3 at 6pm at Tosa East.
Grade Level Philosophy
The Jr. Raiders Girls Basketball program is dedicated to raising and empowering young basketball players. And as a feeder program for Wauwatosa East High School, we work to not only build a love for the game, but also prepare the girls for competitive play at the high school level.
With this in mind, we look to build the girls’ skills and confidence over time in the program, providing a “step-up” approach that increases competitively as they progress.
For the 3rd and 4th grade teams, we teach the fundamentals of the sport with a focus on individual skills, rules, and where to be on the court. We provide a balanced environment that encourages growth for all players. Our goal is to create roughly even teams whose focus is skill development. As the athletes progress, we begin to prepare and transition them for a higher level of competitive play. We target rosters of 10-12 at this level.
For 5th - 8th grade teams, we move to a “select” model where our goal is to split the teams into A and B levels. This allows the club to build a schedule that matches current skill levels, providing the best opportunity to grow and improve. We anticipate a certain amount of movement between teams from year to year as players grow and mature. We target rosters of 10 for A teams and 10-12 for B teams at this level.
To be on an A team, there are additional expectations.
If possible, we will create multiple teams at each grade level, with a goal of having at least 2 teams at every grade level.
If you have any questions, please reach out to Josh Blakely.
The Jr. Raiders Girls Basketball program is dedicated to raising and empowering young basketball players. And as a feeder program for Wauwatosa East High School, we work to not only build a love for the game, but also prepare the girls for competitive play at the high school level.
With this in mind, we look to build the girls’ skills and confidence over time in the program, providing a “step-up” approach that increases competitively as they progress.
For the 3rd and 4th grade teams, we teach the fundamentals of the sport with a focus on individual skills, rules, and where to be on the court. We provide a balanced environment that encourages growth for all players. Our goal is to create roughly even teams whose focus is skill development. As the athletes progress, we begin to prepare and transition them for a higher level of competitive play. We target rosters of 10-12 at this level.
For 5th - 8th grade teams, we move to a “select” model where our goal is to split the teams into A and B levels. This allows the club to build a schedule that matches current skill levels, providing the best opportunity to grow and improve. We anticipate a certain amount of movement between teams from year to year as players grow and mature. We target rosters of 10 for A teams and 10-12 for B teams at this level.
To be on an A team, there are additional expectations.
- You must attend a school that feeds into Tosa East High School or live within the Tosa East district with almost no exception.
- You must have an elevated commitment to attending practices and games. If you have another sport or passion that you would prioritize over basketball during the winter season, you will not be placed on an A team. You are welcome to play on a B team as long as you meet the regular level of commitment.
If possible, we will create multiple teams at each grade level, with a goal of having at least 2 teams at every grade level.
If you have any questions, please reach out to Josh Blakely.