FAQs about the Warhawks Youth Basketball Program

The Warhawks Youth Basketball Association (WYBA) is a community based, travel basketball program in Westerville, Ohio. We offer youth basketball players in 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th grades, the opportunity to develop their individual and team basketball skills. We strive to prepare these athletes to eventually compete for the Westerville Central varsity basketball programs. Our program is a member of the Central Ohio Basketball Association (COBA, visit https://www.cobachampionship.com).  We compete against top competition from around the Central Ohio area.  WYBA strongly encourages a competitive atmosphere that will promote a culture creating hard work, prepared, and positive student athletes.

The WYBA is overseen by a Board of volunteer parents, see WYBA Board page for more details. 

The Warhawks Youth Basketball Association is primarily formed of students from the Westerville Central High School District, and our preference is to form teams with kids who will continue to play together over the next several years, and eventually be part of Central’s high school programs. We advertise our program primarily to the current list of schools that feed into the Westerville Central High School District: Alcott Elementary, Fouse Elementary, Huber Ridge Elementary, McVay Elementary, Wilder Elementary, Genoa Middle School and Minerva Park Middle School. However, since Westerville City School District allows for open enrollment, the WYBA program is open to students living in any of the three Westerville City High School Districts.

Cost for the 2025-2026 travel season TBD.  For reference, the cost for the 2024-2025 travel season was $375, stable from the year prior.  The player cost goes towards: customized uniforms, practice jerseys, warmup shirts, insurance, league dues, referees, tournament fees and gym rental fees. 

Players receive a discount on registration fees when they have a family member approved to coach.  

Our goal is to keep costs low for our players, which is why the Board seeks program sponsorships. See more details on our Sponsorship page including different sponsorship tiers, and a list of program Sponsors.

Any of our community members and program families are encouraged to identify sponsors!  If you're interested in supporting our program with one of the sponsorship packages OR if you'd like to support the team in another way, please feel free to contact us at your convenience. WCYTB3456@gmail.com  

 All teams will use the TeamSnap app for schedule and team level communications. Your coach will send out details on how to download TeamSnap. Program level communications will be sent via email and Facebook/Instagram.  

Westerville Schools published athletic calendars for the entire 2024-2025 season here.  Click for Westerville Central Athletic Calendar, filtered to Basketball. 

No, the tryouts are closed tryouts (players and staff only). Parents should plan to drop off and pick up their kids at the above times. Parents are not permitted to wait around the gym or in the check-in area during tryouts. New parents with questions may attend a New Parent Q&A during open gym sessions. 

No, the practices are closed (players and coaches only). Parents should plan to drop off and pick up their kids at their scheduled practice times (see Practice FAQ below). Parents are not permitted to wait around the gym or inside the school during practice. New parents with questions may attend a New Parent Q&A during open gym sessions. 

Players are evaluated each year during the tryout process. Participation on a team the previous year does not ensure selection for the upcoming season. 

Yes, and the program appreciates all of our coaches! If you are interested in coaching, please indicate interest on the registration form and view details on the Coaching page.  Families with approved coaches will receive a discount on registration fees. 

We generally try to play Open Gym sessions prior to tryouts.  For reference, the Open Gym Session was scheduled for Sunday, August 25th, 2024.   

Practices will likely start in early November and the season generally runs through the middle of February. 

All teams will use 28.5", Size 6 basketball and play on 10' hoops, per COBA guidelines.

Regular season games are scheduled between late November through early February, with generally 2 games every weekend.  Each team will play between 14 and 18 regular season games in the COBA season (pending the team's grade level).  

Home Games will be played at the Westerville Central High School on Sundays during the season against other grade based teams from the COBA (Central Ohio Basketball Association). 

Away Games The team will travel to other Columbus area school based teams for away games on Saturdays and/or Sundays. 

We want each player to have a great gameday experience. Every player will play during games, but it is important to note that this is a travel basketball team and playing time during games may not be equal. Playing time will be determined by what is seen in both practice and in games. If players show up late to practices or games, this can result in decreased playing time. Playing time can also be impacted by the strengths of the opposing team.  The coaches will determine playing time as the game unfolds. 

Playing time during competitive tournament games may be different than playing time during regular season games. 

There will be 2-3 weekend tournaments - a COBA preview weekend in mid-November, a COBA championship in February spanning 2 weekends, and based on interest/availability, certain teams may play in a holiday tournament over Winter Break. Teams who qualify can also go on and compete in the State Championships if they are interested in doing so.  See https://www.cobachampionship.comf for details. 

Yes, regular season games may be scheduled over Winter Break or MLK weekend in January. The COBA championship tournament often falls over President Day weekend in February.