We are about 5 weeks into the season and we have some highlights to share.

*85 kids are part of the North City Family this season, nearly 50 more than we had last season.

*We now have a staff of 9 coaches and 2 administrators supporting our organization (not including parents!).

*We were able to provide full or partial scholarships to 15 players.

*Two 2nd place finishes in the Runnin Shoot Classic (17U White and 13U Black).

*All players have survived Sgt. Mike’s training!

We know that most players are on Spring Break this week so we thought we would post the practice schedule on the website. You should have received an email regarding this schedule as well. Thank you for your flexibility. If your child will not be attending, please contact their coach asap.

Monday – Redmond Athletic Club – 7:30-9:30pm
17U (both teams)
15U – Stevens

Tuesday – Jackson High School – 7:30-9:30pm
13UA – A.Grinaker
13UB – Carter
14UA – Lewellen
14UB – D.Grinaker
14UC – M.Murray

Tuesday – Shorecrest High School – 7:00-9:00pm
15U – Stevens

Wednesday – Redmond Athletic Club – 7:30-9:30pm
13UA – A.Grinaker
13UB – Carter

Thursday – Jackson HS – 7:30-9:30pm
17U – both teams
14UA – Lewellen
14UB – D.Grinaker

Friday – Shorecrest HS – 7:00-9:00pm
14UC – Murrary

Bunny hops with a body bar to help target lower leg muscle development for explosiveness.

A Sgt. Mike staple. Lunges to the free throw line….pushups…lunges to halfcourt…pubhsups. Repeat. Repeat.

Learning the proper squat with Sgt. Mike at the RAC.

Even the coaches hate doing this drill. Bicycle kicks to build core strength.

Coach Murray (far right) working on off-ball movement and defensive shell with his team.

Ending the training with plank position. Great drill to build strength and balance.

We apologize for needing to move around the teams and restructure some things this week. Below is the updated practice schedule for this week. Please contact northcityaau @ gmail .com if you have any questions.

All parents and families should have received an email from the program yesterday (Sunday) but we wanted to post the same information on the website as well. Thank you for your flexibility.

Monday – Redmond Athletic Club (RAC) -7:30-9:30pm
17UA
17UB

Tuesday – Shorecrest – 7pm-9pm
14UB
14UC

Tuesday – RAC – 7:30-9pm (Training Only)
14UA
15U

Wednesday – RAC – 7:30-9:30pm
13UA
13UB

Thursday – RAC – 7:30-9pm (Training Only)
17UA
17UB

Friday – Shorecrest – 7pm-9pm
15U
14UA

All parents and families should have received an email from the program but we wanted to post the same information on the website as well. Thank you for your flexibility.

Thank you to all of the players and families who participated and supported our 2013 Spring Tryouts. We were excited about the turnout and the general positive feedback about how the first two days went. Additional details about the season will be communicated to all players this upcoming week including full practice schedules and league/tournament information.

You can learn more about the season at http://northcityaau.com/2013/02/15/spring-tryouts-and-season-details-announced/

If you have any questions about the rosters below, please contact northcityaau @ gmail .com.

WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO ADJUST ROSTERS BASED ON COMMITMENTS AND COACH’S DECISIONS. IF YOUR NAME IS NOT LISTED, YOU WILL BE AN ALTERNATE AND RECEIVE A SPOT IF PLAYERS DECIDE NOT TO PLAY.

PLEASE READ FURTHER DETAILS AND ACTION REQUIRED BELOW THE TEAM ROSTERS.

17U – Coach Eddie George
Brady Garcea
Josh Thayer
Noah Jones
Bradey Brummel
Kaleb Bryson
Steele Morgan
Shaun Adams
Jeremy Bishop
Connor Bovard
Charlie Heckman

Practice This Week:
Monday, 7:30-9:30pm, Redmond Athletic Club
Thursday, 7:30-9:30pm, Jackson HS

17U – Coach Alex Carter
Benny Ortega
Masamba Njadoe
Zach Lawson
Connor Hyppa
Alex Hofstrand
Drew Blacksmith
Daniel Ghebremichael
Riley Waite
Donovan Sellgren
Tyler Kjellesvik

Practice This Week:
Monday, 7:30-9:30pm, Redmond Athletic Club
Thursday, 7:30-9:30pm, Jackson HS

15U – Coach Taylor Stevens
Brennon Wiersma
Aaron Carlson
Avery Winterer
Josh Bevan
Scott Kragewd
Tyler Morton
Grant Charlton
Seth Dingman
Tony Miller
Jesse Reynolds

Practice This Week:
Tuesday, 7:00pm-9:00pm, Shorecrest HS
Thursday, 7:30-9:30pm, Jackson HS

14U – Coach Byron Lewellen
Nathan Tuck
Hunter Taylor
Zach Walsh
Byron Lewellen
Simon Acker
Zach Plummer
Adrian Ortega
Drew Bryson
Ian Wilgress
Islim Ouldtaki
Dawson Porcello

Practice This Week:
Tuesday, 7:30-9:30pm, Jackson HS
Wednesday, 7:30-9:30pm, Redmond Athletic Club

14U – Coach Dan Grinaker
Sam Tregoning
Desmond Burton
Donovan Barnhart
Bryan Spee
Korreal Renbarger
Carter Garcea
Brock Peterson
Blake Rossi
Branden Perdue
Walter Wang

Practice This Week:
Tuesday, 7:30-9:30pm, Jackson HS
Wednesday, 7:30-9:30pm, Redmond Athletic Club

14U – Coach TBD
Alex Johnston
Ryan Johnston
Hunter Johnson
Jacob Snider
Sean Kirk
Shane Foti
Jordan Brajcich
Erwin Weary
Askia Amen
Race Treat

Practice This Week:
Wednesday, 7:30-9:30pm, Redmond Athletic Club
Friday, 7:00-9:00pm, Shorecrest HS

13U – Coach Andrew Grinaker
Paul Doney
Matthew Johnson
Nathan Yoon
Isaiah Cole
Levi Vaden
Colby Kyle
Keland Guinn
Daniel Barhoum
Mustapha Sonko

Practice This Week:
Tuesday, 7:30-9:30pm, Jackson HS
Thursday, 7:30-9:30pm, Jackson HS

13U – Coach Alex Carter
Alex Stewart
Jared Brown
Jake Rogers
Dane Diel
Luis Rubalcaba
Kobe Isip
Alexander Liu
Eddie Peabody
Marco Nariso
Loren Kim
Jake Litchfield

Practice This Week:
Tuesday, 7:30-9:30pm, Jackson HS
Friday, 7:00-9:00pm, Shorecrest HS

TO CONFIRM YOUR PLACE ON THE ROSTER, YOU MUST SEND AN EMAIL TO NORTHCITYAAU@GMAIL.COM WITH YOUR NAME, GRADE AND CONTACT INFORMATION AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

IF YOU HAVE NOT RESPONDED BY MONDAY AT 5PM, YOUR SPOT WILL BE AWARDED TO THE NEXT ALTERNATE ON OUR LIST.

Additional Items:

• In joining North City Training for the Spring Session (March 5^th-June 1^st), the fees include a initial fee of $400 (due immediately), $160 due April 5^th, and $160 due May 5^th.  Checks can be made payable to “North City Training.” Your coach will be collecting payment the first week of practices.
• If you have requested a partial or full scholarship, the program will be in contact to talk about the options available.
• Uniforms are $50 and non-refundable. If you would like to use your uniform from last year, you can save this cost from the $400 listed above. If you would like to trade in your uniform, we are willing to buy back the uniform for $20 and save some costs towards your new uniform.
• Practice schedules for next week are below each team roster.
• Each player will be required to obtain an AAU card within the next 2 weeks. Please visit www.aauboysbasketball.com. North City Training AAU Club Code: WWW5T4 
• If you have any questions/concerns, please contact Andrew Grinaker at 425-753-3035 or at northcityaau @ gmail . com.

Information is provided below. We will providing team specific details, including coaching assignments, tournaments scheduled and more at the first tryout.

Please visit our “Register” page to provide us with some contact information before tryouts.

Tryouts

Tryouts will take place the week of March 4^th-March 8^th. Please contact Andrew Grinaker if you would like to try-out but cannot attend both nights. Contact: northcityaau at gmail dot com.

16U and 17U – (10th and 11th grade)
March 5^th, Tuesday, Jackson HS 8:00pm-9:30pm
March 7^th, Thursday, Jackson HS 8:00pm-9:30pm

15U – (9th Grade)
March 5^th, Tuesday, Jackson HS 8:00pm-9:30pm
March 7^th, Thursday, Jackson HS 8:00pm-9:30pm

14U – (8th grade)
March 5^th, Tuesday, Jackson HS 6:30pm-8pm
March 7^th, Thursday, Jackson HS 6:30pm-8pm

13U - (7th grade)
March 5^th, Tuesday, Jackson HS 6:30pm-8pm
March 7^th, Thursday, Jackson HS 6:30pm-8pm

EACH PLAYER WILL NEED TO HAVE THE TRYOUT FORM COMPLETED IN ORDER TO PARTICIPATE ON THE FIRST DAY. PARENTS CAN FILL OUT IN PERSON ON THE TRYOUT DATE OR HAVE THEIR CHILD BRING THE COMPLETED/SIGNED FORM WITH THEM.

NORTH CITY TRYOUT FORM

Roster Selection

The goal for roster selection is to build the strongest, most competitive teams possible. We will start by identifying the 10-12 strongest players at each grade to develop a team. The 10-12 players will be selected by a multiple coaches based on skill, size, athleticism, experience and their role/impact on the team.

From there, if we have enough players to field a second team, we will evaluate that option. We are already anticipating having (2) teams at the 17U level and (2) teams at the 14U level but this will be finalized when we understand the amount of players that come to the tryout.

Spring Season 

The season will start the first week of March and continue until Mid July. All players that will be in high school next year will take the month of June off to compete with their high school team and return on July 1st to practice and compete in (2-3) tournaments to finish the AAU season.

Practices
Practice for all levels will begin the week of March 12^th and take place at Jackson HS and Shorecrest HS throughout the season.  The training sessions will take place at the Redmond Athletic Club and we will rotate through the teams to maximize the effectiveness of Sgt. Mike’s training.

Costs

The initial cost for the North City 2013 Spring/Summer program will be $400. This cost is non-refundable and due on March 15^th to secure a spot.

Note: North City Training does a limited amount of scholarships available for low-income families and also provides payment plans if needed. 

This price will include the following:

• Gym Space
• Uniforms (Reversible jersey/short) – We are utilizing the same uniform as last year, so if you competed last year and want to use the same uniform, please subtract $50 from the total above.
• Additional Gear (shooting shirt, sweatshirt, bag)
•  2-3 Team or Training Practices per week
• Strength Training from “Best in Western Washington” Boot Camp Trainer Sgt. Mike Lawson (www.coachmiketraining.com)
• For High School teams –  NW Premier League in Seattle area
• For Middle School teams – PNAAU Spring League or (2) Tournaments
• Local Area AAU Tournaments**
• AAU Cards***
• Coaching Fees

Ongoing Monthly Cost: $160 (April, May, July)
This monthly cost will be due by the 5^th of every month starting April 5th. It will include the costs of coaching fees, gym space, strength training by Sgt. Mike Lawson and equipment needed.

**Out of town tournaments and travel expenses including hotel, airfare and meals are the responsibility of the family. For the Elite teams at each grade level, we are planning a trip to Las Vegas (Average of ~$500/player) and Oregon (Average of ~$200).This is NOT mandatory to compete in the program.

**AAU Membership and Card are required for all tournaments and leagues. If you don’t have a current card, please register at http://aausports.org/JoinNow.aspx

Strength Training

Strength and conditioning training will be tailored depending on the grade level. High school aged athletes will be doing strength training involving weights while our middle school and younger grades will focus on training involving speed and agility drills.

Below are a few videos of the type of training we do.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkjhNl2ObxU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOBB_-pkkNY&feature=related

A big thanks to the Everett Herald for writing a blog article on the connections that Jackson and Arlington boys had together. This past spring and summer, 4 Jackson juniors and 3 Arlington juniors, played together on the North City 2014.

“The game isn’t without an interesting subplot either. Four players from Jackson (Brian Zehr, Marcus Blake, Holden Roberts and Riley Waite) and three players from Arlington (Noah Jones, Kaleb Bryson and Bradey Brummel) play together in the spring on an AAU team called North City. Tonight, those teammates in the spring become enemies for one night when they square off against each other.” – Everett Herald

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20130111/BLOG18/130119977#Wescos-best-in-4A-North-and-South-set-to-square-off-tonight

The game was a 64-50 Jackson win

Brian Zehr, 15 pts
Kaleb Bryson, 14 pts
Bradey Brummel, 9pts
Noah Jones, 4pts
Riley Waite, 3pts

North City 2013 Plans
Like 2012, our season will begin the Monday after the WIAA State Championships conclude, which is March 4th. When we get closer to the month of March, we will develop a more formal schedule so parents understand the tournaments and/or leagues that we will play in. Last year, our season ran from early March and concluded in early August. In the next month or so, we will also share costs and coaches. We are targeting a similar cost as we had last year.

We will again try to target practices in the south Snohomish and north King County areas. Last year we practice in Mill Creek and Shoreline, and we are exploring some Eastside gyms at this time as well.

Sgt. Mike Lawson to Lead Training Again
I am happy to announce that Sgt. Mike Lawson (www.coachmiketraining.com) will be leading our core strength and training efforts again this season. As we grow in size, we will continue to hire the best trainers and coaches possible to ensure your child receives the best and innovative training in the area. And a big congrats to Coach Lawson as he was named “Best in Western Washington” for a 2nd straight year for Best Adult Boot Camp in the area.

Our plan, as of 12/26/12, we are expecting to field the following teams;
17U – 2014 Graduating Class (2 teams planned)
16U – 2015 Graduating Class
15U – 2016 Graduating Class
14U – 2017 Graduating Class (2 teams planned)
13U – 2018 Graduating Class

Note: We could easily add additional teams at more grades if we get enough interest. Our focus in the past has primarily been late middle school and high school kids but we will adjust according to the level of interest we receive.

Please email northcityaau at gmail.com if you are interested in being added to our mailing list as we develop more information about the upcoming season.

Thanks. Good luck to all players that are playing either on their high school teams or their local feeder/select programs.

-Andrew Grinaker
Co-Founder

When we started our program in 2010, it was with 1 team. An 8th grade team that was formulated with some of the select players from the WESCO select league. Since that time, we have seen some of our players from that team and additional teams over the past 2 years grow into great basketball players. Here is a recap of some of our players from the past 3 years and their successes.

(Parentheses = years they participated in North City’s training and AAU program)
All players are Juniors this year.

Arlington
Bradey Brummel (2010, 2011, 2012) – Averaging 8pts per game, including 4 double digit scoring outputs which included 20pts vs. Everett.

Kaleb Bryson (2010, 2011, 2012) – Averaging 9pts per game, including double digit in multiple games. High game – 18pts in a come from behind win against Lake Stevens.

Noah Jones (2011, 2012) – Averaging 11pts per game, including 5 double digit games so far this season. High game – 18pts in a blowout win vs. Marysville-Getchell.

Jackson
Holden Roberts (2010, 2011, 2012) – Team contributor scoring in 4 separate games. Solid defender and outside shooter.

Riley Waite (2010, 2011, 2012) – Team contributor scoring in 4 different games. Solid defender and rebounder.

Brian Zehr (2011, 2012) – Averaging nearly 10pts per game, including 15pts in his last game against Kamiak.

Marcus Blake (2012) – Team contributor, scoring in 6 different games including a high of 9pts vs. Kamiak.

Shorecrest
Masamba Njadoe (2010, 2011, 2012) – Starter who is averaging 10.6 points this season including 19 vs. Glacier Peak.

Zach Lawson (2010, 2011, 2012) – Team contributor, scoring in 5 games this season. Solid defender and passer.

Connor Hyppa (2010, 2011, 2012) – Team contributor, scoring in 4 games this season. Scoring threat from the outside.

Conin Oishi (2010, 2011)- Starter who is averaging 12.6 points this season including (2) 20pt games against Meadowdale and Kamiak.

Benny Ortega (2010, 2011) – Averaging 5pts per game including 13pts vs. Glacier Peak.

Alex Hofstrand (2010, 2011) – Team contributor, scoring in 5 games this season. Solid defender and rebounder.

Daniel Ghebremichael (2011) -  Team contributor, including key areas in defense and passing.

Edmonds-Woodway
Travis Bakken (2010, 2011) – Averaging 13.2pts per game this season including a 24pt outburst against Lynnwood earlier this season.

Sam Wooley (2011) -  Team contributor, scoring in 4 games including a season-high 8pts against Lynnwood.

Shorewood
Anxelos Pere (2011) – Starting point guard, scoring in 4 different games and leading Shorewood to a 3-1 league record so far.

Kamiak
Drew Blacksmith (2011, 2012) – Averaging nearly 5pts per game and has scored in 6 games this season. Solid defender and outside shooter.

Snohomish
Steele Morgan (2011, 2012) – Averaging 5.5 pts per game so far. Has scored in all but 1 game this season including 14pts vs. Lake Stevens.

We apologize that the last update to our blog was almost 3 months ago but here is a quick update from our summer session and some future plans.

Our HS team, the North City 2014 team, stopped competing after the Memorial Day weekend and focused on their high school teams for the summer seasons. We had 12 players at the 2014 level from the following high schools Jackson (4), Arlington (3), Shorecrest (3), Snohomish (1) and Kamiak (1). The North City program is excited to watch our players be starters and solid contributors for their Varsity team this upcoming 2012-2013 high school season.

Following Memorial Day weekend, our North City Blue and North City White teams from the 2017 grade level, competed in their final “Spring” tournament. The WTA Luau tournament was a great success for our teams. The North City Blue team (4-1) placed 2nd in the Gold Division and the North City White team placed 2nd (4-1) amongst 8 teams in the White Division. Our spring training concluded on June 15th.

For our 2017 group, we had 18 kids continue to play into the summer, which allowed us to form (2) new teams and compete in the PRO Club Summer League. In addition to the league, training and practice was offered twice per week at the Alderwood Boys and Girls Club. Our North City Blue team went 7-0 in league, while our North City Black team went 5-2 in league. Both teams met each other in the quarterfinals. The North City Black team won 52-49 and eventually lost in the championship game.

(Picture of our 7th grade teams before they played each other in the playoffs)

Between Sgt. Mike Lawson, Coach Eddie George, Coach Dan Grinaker and myself, we were all proud of the effort from all 38 kids throughout the spring and summer sessions. Each athlete saw the power of Sgt. Lawson’s strength training and benefited from it physically and mentally. Our program goal is, and will continue to be focused on, improving our players through strength training and conditioning while helping them better understand the game of basketball.

Over the past 3 years, we have focused on growing slowly and focusing on quality training and coaching. We will continue that trend but grow at (2) different grade levels next year. Our 2013 season will begin on March 15th and included teams at the 2014 (11th grade), 2016 (9th grade), 2017 (8th grade) and 2018 (7th grade) level.  Please contact the northcityaau @ gmail dot com email address if your son is interested in trying out. If your grade is not listed, you can still contact the email and we will inform you if we have enough players to form a team at that grade level.