• Amherst Youth Basketball supports approximately 1000 boys and girls in grades 3 through 12. 
• There are appoximately 120 teams league-wide spanning ~12 divisions.
• Boys are residents of Amherst, NY or attend schools located in Amherst, NY. 
• Girls may live anywhere in Western New York. 
  

Amherst Youth Basketball provides a variety of programs.

• Our core house league program is an instructional league that runs from October through March.  (Residency information below.)
  
• Our travel program runs concurrently with our house league.  (Information below.)
  

Residency Requirements for Boys in Grades 3-12

Registration in Amherst Youth Basketball is available to boys, subject to the following criteria.

1. Reside in the Town of Amherst or
2. Reside in the Amherst Central School District or
3. Reside in the Sweet Home Central School District or
4. Reside in the Williamsville Central School District or 
5. Attend a school located in the Town of Amherst.

Residency Requirements for Girls in Grades 3-12

Registration in Amherst Youth Basketball is available to girls who reside in Western New York.

HS Varsity Players Eligibility

Players are ineligible to participate in AYB if they are on their HS Varsity basketball team.  JV and Modified players are eligible to play in AYB if all other eligibility requirements are met, though we do recommend discussing your participation in AYB with your HS coach - we understand that your HS responsibilities take priority over AYB.

Requests to Play with Other Players or at Specific Times

AYB makes every effort to create parity within a division.  With the exception of seriously extenuating circumstances, we do not consider requests for a player to play with another player or on a particular coach's team.  However, if there is an issue between two players, a player and a coach, or two parents, please let us know during the registration process and we will make every effort to avoid a potentially difficult situation.

Requests to "Play Up" (with players in a higher grade)

AYB believes that the social aspects of an instructional/house league outweigh the potential for a player to gain more experience by playing with players in a more advanced grade.  We believe that the players benefit from playing with and against students in their own grade at their school and their sister schools.  On rare occasion, the board might ask a parent about having their child "play up."  Requests to "play up" are simply not considered.

Days and Times of Play for House League

AYB does not own nor does it control any of the courts that we use.  Therefore, practice times and locations, as well as game times and locations will vary from week to week.  Schedules are typically distributed three times during the season (start, after Thanksgiving, January) in order to minimize the changes that you will have to make to your schedule. Note that as we do receive numerous changes from the facilities that we use, often with short notice, but this scheduling method has worked out well in recent years. Please show respect for the facilities that we use and the staff at the facilities.  Without access to these facilities, we will not have a league.      

In divisions for Boys in 3rd-8th grade and Girls in 3rd-6th grade, each team typically meets two times per week for an hour: once during the week (M-F) between 5:30-10:00pm and again on Saturday between 8:30am-6:00pm. Locations may vary throughout the season.  Note that if a team plays more than twice per week for an hour per session, it is likely that additional times are not authorized by AYB and should be reported to the league following the appropriate chain of command.

For Boys in 9th-12th grade and Girls in 7th-12th grade, each team typically plays one game per week on the weekend. That is, based on a long history of what works best for our players, for these older student-athletes, there are no practices for teams in these divisions.

Amherst Youth Basketball is an all-volunteer organization. This includes the  Board of Directors, Coaches, Scorekeepers, and the related.  No one involved with running the league or coaching the players are paid. 

Your registration fees provide 99% of the financial resources that allow AYB to provide a top-notch environment for youth basketball.  These funds are used to pay for Referees, Gym Time, Equipment, Uniforms, and a variety of miscellaneous items. 

There are no other funds or financial assistance provided to our independent, not-for-profit organization, which is not affiliated with any town, city, or government organization.

On the registration form, you will have the opportunity to volunteer to coach or be an assistant coach.  Your participation and assistance is critical.  Thank you in advance.

Registration

Registration for the 2024-25 Season is still open for Boys 9th-12th Grade

(Please read the information below in order to register.)

Players are enrolled on a first come - first served basis!!

• Divisions will close out even while registration is open. 
• Early registration is encouraged as divisions typically fill up prior to registration ending. 
  
• Once a division is closed, you may be placed on a wait list only by completing the registration process, including paying in full.  You will know if you are on a wait list if and only if you receive a confirmation email.  Refunds will be issued if we are not able to get a the player off the wait list and on to a team within a reasonable time-frame.
• It is not unusual for 20-30 players each year to be placed on waiting lists, due to their division being full as early as 3 weeks after registration opens, and not get in to the league. Please read the "House League Info" panel on this page before registering. 

1. Players who do not adhere to Residency Requirements will be removed from teams and no refund will be provided.
2. All players play at grade level and we do not take requests to play with other players.

Dates of Registration

1. Closed: The last day to register for Boys 3^rd, Boys 4^th, Boys 5^th, Boys 6^th, Boys 7^th, and Boys 8^th Grade divisions is September 30, 2024.
2. Closed: The last day to register for the Girls 3^rd-4^th and Girls 5^th-6^th Grade divisions is September 30, 2024.
3. Closed: The last day to register for Girls in 7^th-12^th Grade is December 5, 2024.
4. OPEN: The last day to register for Boys in 9^th-12^th Grade is December 16, 2024.
   

Fees: You can find fees listed here.

Contact Information

• Contact the registrar for more information about the registration process that is not covered on this page.

After reading this panel, as well as the items that are referenced, click here to register.

Amherst Youth Basketball is committed to the overall health and safety of our players, families, coaches, officials, and supporters.  We will continually monitor the guidelines from the Erie County Department of Health, the Town of Amherst, and the facilities that we utilize, in an effort to ensure that we are providing a safe environment for basketball. As guidelines evolve, we will post updates here and/or communicate with our families and related personnel via e-mail.  We appreciate your support and compliance with protocols targeted at providing a safe and effective basketball program.

Amherst Youth Basketball was founded in 1978 with a 4th-6th grade boys division and a 7th-8th grade boys division.  Coaches and parents officiated games with the exception of playoffs, which were officiated by high school officials.  Parents stood on line at Mill Middle school to get one of the 150 spots available in the league.

In the 1990s, the first AYB Board was established, four girls teams were formed that played exhibition games against 6th grade boys teams, and a Boys HS league was introduced.  Further, professional officials were used during all games.

In the early 2000s, registration went from 350 to 950 players, the enumeration substition list was introduced, AYB went on-line with a website and registration, modern uniforms were introduced, relationships with local colleges/universities were solidified, and by the late 2000s, a 3rd grade division was introduced for both boys and girls.

During the 2010s, AYB led in the introduction of a WNY travel league, the trophy case at Clearfield was secured as an AYB display case, a Girls HS summer league was introduced, a summer program was initiated, HS players were used to officiate younger divisions on both the boys and girls side, and on-line parent surveys were collected.

READ MORE

For players/parents who might be looking for a more competitive situation, Amherst Youth Basketball has travel teams that complement the social and instructional aspects of our traditional house-league program by providing an opportunity for AYB's premier players to play against competitive travel teams during the Fall and Winter.  In addition, there are other opportunities for players who are looking for a more competitive atmosphere in conjunction with or instead of the traditional AYB house-league.  Board members can help direct parents to such organizations.

AYB does not own, nor does it control, any basketball facilities. AYB uses the Town of Amherst's Clearfield Recreation Center, Sweet Home High School, Mill Middle School, Transit Middle School, Heim Middle School, First Trinity Lutheran, Daemen Main Gym, and Daemen Wellness Center (the old YMCA).   Therefore, we are at the mercy of the town, school districts, and other facilities in terms of the allocation of gym time.