Under 10 Blitz
Our very young players do not compete in the official league until they reach U10. Instead the club hosts a number of blitz throughout the season. They are primarily aimed at the under 8's and 9's in preparation for them moving into the leagues at U10. These games are played in a 3 on 3 format to give our young players a more active role in the team, hopefully ensuring everyone gets plenty of passes. The referees double as coaches teaching the children as they go. Blitzes hosted by Kilkenny Stars normally start at 10am and finish at 12 noon or 12.30pm depending on the number of teams attending. From time to time our U10's are invited to friendly games and tournaments locally and sometimes further a field. The emphasis is always of fun, friendship and fundamentals.
south east league and cup
All Kilkenny Stars Players from U10 - U18 compete in the South East League and Cup Competitions. Some years the club enter teams into the Midlands league too. The U11 league is "non competitive" in that the scores are not displayed on the board but are recorded by the table officials. The emphasis is on player development, fun and preparation for the competitive league starting from U12.
Game time can be an issue in most sports where often times some children don't get to play. Basketball Ireland have underage rules to combat this issue so we can all move away from the "win at all costs" mentality in the interest of fairness and player development. From U10 - U14 every player must play a minimum of one continuous quarter. No player can play a second quarter until everyone has played. From U15 however, it is up to the coach who plays and for how long.
Game time can be an issue in most sports where often times some children don't get to play. Basketball Ireland have underage rules to combat this issue so we can all move away from the "win at all costs" mentality in the interest of fairness and player development. From U10 - U14 every player must play a minimum of one continuous quarter. No player can play a second quarter until everyone has played. From U15 however, it is up to the coach who plays and for how long.
U11 Girls 2023
League, Cup and Top 4 Winners
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U16 Girls Avengers 2023 League, Cup and Top 4 winners
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All Ireland Club Championships
The All Ireland Club Championships are run annually by Basketball Ireland. The tournament is for U14 and U16 boys and girls teams and is usually played over four consecutive weekends around Easter time in Gormanston, Co. Meath. Teams that finish in first and second place in their area leagues are invited by Basketball Ireland to what can only be described as a festival of basketball, where the best teams in the country battle out for the coveted title of All Ireland Club Champions. Qualifying for the AICC's is the goal for all of our U14 and U16 teams and is one of the most highly anticipated weekends in the basketball calendar for our young players. Teams that qualify spend one or two nights away from home with all their teammates playing basketball and cementing friendships. Kilkenny Stars aim to be represented every year across the four grades. In 2023 our U14 and U16 girls and our U14 boys all qualified. It was our most successful year to date in that our U16 girls made it to the semi final in the top division. They were unlucky to miss out on a place in the final by a very slim margin. No Kilkenny team has ever won a basketball All Ireland. We hope to change all that very soon.
U14 Girls AICC's Team 2023
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U14 Boys AICC's Team 2023
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U16 Girls AICC's Team 2023
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U18 National cup
Bipps
BIPPS or Basketball Ireland Post Primary Schools is a national competition where club players from different secondary schools join forces to form teams within their designated regions. Players are invited to try out for their regional team and those who are selected train together over the summer months. This culminates in a national tournament where each of the regional teams battle it out to be the Post Primary Schools champions. Much like the AICC's this tournament is played over a weekend usually early in the basketball season. In 2022 it was held in UL. Kilkenny Stars had huge representation on the South East Girls BIPPS team 2022 with 9 of the 13 players selected coming from our club. The girls even managed to bring home the shield! A number of our boys made the final cut for the corresponding boys team too.
Kilkenny Stars Players on the South East Schools BIPPS Team
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The usual messing!
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basketball ireland regional and provincial academies
The Basketball Ireland Regional and Provincial Academy structure is the foundation of a pathway for the development of players and coaches with an ambition and potential to play at the highest levels of our sport and is essentially the pathway to the international teams. Kilkenny Stars encourage all of our young players to go along and try out for the Regional and Provincial Academies every year and we have many players involved this season. Keep an eye on the Basketball Ireland website for next seasons registration dates. Coaches will share the details with their teams too.
The U14 Regional Academies 22/23 are for players born in 2009 and 2010
Basketball Ireland holds a number of Talent Identification Sessions around the country usually in October and selects approx 30 players per the seven regions to receive high level training and coaching once a month culminating in a Regional Academy Residential Camp towards the end of the season.
U15 Provincial Academies 22/23 are for players born in 2008
The U15 Academy is the route players that live and play in Ireland must take to be selected for the U16 Irish National team. Players are selected in much the same way as the regional academies however they are split by provence. Players without an Irish passport can join the Academy with the approval of the Elite Performance Committee (EPC) but requires parents to start the process of naturalisation in order to make them eligible to play for Ireland under FIBA rules. For any questions on eligibility please contact the International Liaison officer Matthew Hall by email [email protected] . Under 16 International Teams are selected during the new summer program of the academy. This program will include a selection of players from the Academy system that will play against academies from other countries.
This season for the first time, the U15 Academy will have an inter provincial tournament with academies playing against each other in May as part of the summer program selections. The U16 NT squad to play in the summer of 2023 will be selected at the end of the 2022 summer academy program. The extended NT squad will be selected from the U15 Academy class except for players living and playing outside of Ireland who may be brought into the squad on trial and players that are from the U14 age group. Exceptional circumstances will always be considered and judged by the EPC on a case-by-case basis.
For more information including costs visit https://ireland.basketball/20211013164131-basketball-ireland-academies-explained
The U14 Regional Academies 22/23 are for players born in 2009 and 2010
Basketball Ireland holds a number of Talent Identification Sessions around the country usually in October and selects approx 30 players per the seven regions to receive high level training and coaching once a month culminating in a Regional Academy Residential Camp towards the end of the season.
U15 Provincial Academies 22/23 are for players born in 2008
The U15 Academy is the route players that live and play in Ireland must take to be selected for the U16 Irish National team. Players are selected in much the same way as the regional academies however they are split by provence. Players without an Irish passport can join the Academy with the approval of the Elite Performance Committee (EPC) but requires parents to start the process of naturalisation in order to make them eligible to play for Ireland under FIBA rules. For any questions on eligibility please contact the International Liaison officer Matthew Hall by email [email protected] . Under 16 International Teams are selected during the new summer program of the academy. This program will include a selection of players from the Academy system that will play against academies from other countries.
This season for the first time, the U15 Academy will have an inter provincial tournament with academies playing against each other in May as part of the summer program selections. The U16 NT squad to play in the summer of 2023 will be selected at the end of the 2022 summer academy program. The extended NT squad will be selected from the U15 Academy class except for players living and playing outside of Ireland who may be brought into the squad on trial and players that are from the U14 age group. Exceptional circumstances will always be considered and judged by the EPC on a case-by-case basis.
For more information including costs visit https://ireland.basketball/20211013164131-basketball-ireland-academies-explained
International
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There are eight Irish International teams that compete in the
FIBA European Championships: U16 - Men and Women. U18 - Men and Women. U20 - Men and Women. Senior - Men and Women. There are two international teams that are Development Squads: U17 Men and Women. For more information on the selection process visit https://ireland.basketball/20220429145727-player-pathway Kilkenny Stars are very proud of our players that break through onto the International stage. We have been lucky to have had multiple International players over the years and currently have three. Two of those players Faye McDonnell and Kaitlyn Summers are teammates on our U16 Avengers team. To add to the joy of making the final 12, Faye was just recently announced as joint captain of the Ireland U16 Women's team. Our first international captain at Kilkenny Stars! Over on the Ireland U17 women's team we have Aoibhínn Dunphy. Aoibhínn is a member of the Kilkenny Stars U18 Avengers team and is an inspiration to her teammates, coaches and all the young players coming behind her. We wish all three payers the very best in their respective tournaments over the summer and will be following all the games with great interest. |
Kilkenny Stars Irish Internationals 2023
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3 X 3
Considered to be the number one urban team sport in the world 3x3 basketball is increasingly becoming a key driver for the development of basketball in Ireland. Beyond ensuring a sustained growth in the number of basketball players, FIBA has created a worldwide sports community through a network of hundreds of organisers, thousands of tournaments and millions of players. The online community here interconnects all of these thanks to the latest digital technology. Players accumulate points in every event that they play. The more ballers play, the better their chances are of improving their ranking. A global network of open tournaments, from grassroots to the FIBA 3x3 World Tour, and National Team FIBA 3x3 World Championships are at the forefront of the development of 3x3 basketball, with the discipline having gained Olympic status. Follow the link below for more information on how to get involved this coming summer.
https://ireland.basketball/BI-3x3-competitions |
Kilkenny Stars Players Taking Part in 3x3
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