Our 845 Venom AAU Basketball Program provides Elite basketball practices designed to challenge each player’s skills and abilities. Our coaches emphasize the fundamentals and they work with every player to improve their all-around basketball skills. Through ongoing instruction, players turn their enthusiasm for basketball into a love for the game. 

What if my child cannot attend both days of tryouts?  

Tryouts in each age group will take place over a two day period, based upon the schedule set forth above.  Everyone is expected to attend Day 1; while only those selected after the Day 1 tryout will be called-back to attend Day 2.  Selections to attend Day 2 of tryouts will be made and communicated within hours after completion of all Day tryouts.  Additional tryout day(s) may be added, but only on an as-needed basis. We understand full well that schedules of some are extremely busy -- and that balancing prior obligations against newer commitments relating to the spring season can be difficult. 845 Venom does not purposely penalize anyone for missing a tryout day; however, an absence -- for any reason – could unfortunately hinder a player's ability to make as favorable an impression on evaluators as the player would ideally like. In any case, in order to be considered for a spot on a 845 Venom team, players unable to attend a tryout session must still register with Venom ahead of the tryout, and then send a separate email to 845venominfo@gmail.com indicating the reason for their partial absence from tryouts.   

When will we be notified if my child has made (or not made) the 845 Venom team?  

Final rosters for each team will generally be announced on or before the Friday following the tryout for such team. In any case, tryout results will be posted by name on the 845 Venom website, and then followed up with by separate email to everyone who participated in the tryout process.  

Will we have more than one team in an age group?  In general, 845 Venom will maintain only one boys team and one girls team per age/grade level. The only exceptions to this have been where the depth of talent and potential in an age group indicates to us that we could reliably field more than one team at a similarly competitive level. As a not-for-profit program, 845 Venom is unmotivated by the financial gain that comes from rolling out as many teams as possible. Rather, our sole focus is and remains the integrity of our message and mission We simply do not believe that having "A" thru "F" teams in every age group is in our players' (or any player’s) best interests. This year, we will be rolling out for the first time the 845 Venom Academy, a weekly series of high-end skill development clinics and internal open gym/league play for those who do not make a 845 Venom team. In this way, we hope to keep players motivated beyond the simple result of this one tryout, and to deepen the pool of excellent basketball players locally through ongoing skill development and so-called basketball IQ growth during the typical AAU spring/summer season.   

How many players will “make” each 845 Venom team? Although many factors influence the number of offers we extend per team, as a general matter teams will have a maximum of 10-11 players. In our experience, more than this number becomes unwieldy from a playing time standpoint, while less than this number makes it more challenging to host a competitive practice. Where a team has 12 players, we may rotate out 2 different players per tournament based upon individual schedules and other considerations.

When will the tournament schedule be available?  While we strive to post each team's tournament schedule as early as possible, it is simply not practical for us to do so prior to tryouts. Instead, we use the tryout process to evaluate the competitive level of each team, and then to determine their appropriate tournament/travel schedule. Essentially, we have teams encompassing 3-4 different subjective levels: Travel, AAU, Elite. These categories -- while anything but "bright line" -- determine the tournaments we'll play in, their caliber, and their distance from home. Each team is different, although we try to enter several of our teams in the same tournaments, wherever possible. In general, we play between 5-9 tourneys over the course of the March-June season. In addition, where a team qualifies for the National Championships (usually mid/late July), we try to encourage them in that direction -- but there are no guarantees on that score.   

My son/daughter is in High School -- when will their tryouts be held?  Given CIAC rules limiting high schoolers’ in-season play, tryouts for all 845 Venom teams will be held after their season ends and by appointment only. Please contact 845venominfo@gmail.com for more information or to set-up time to meet with one of our coaches. 

Cost: A $25 advance tryout fee ($35 for walk- ins) will be due from each player. ($500 for elementary and middle schoolers; $625 for high schoolers). Payment schedule will be provided upon acceptance to a 845 Venom Team.