About NTB

Our Mission

The mission of Natick Travel Basketball (NTB), which includes our Intramural, Hoopsters, Clinics and Travel programs, is to teach the skills and tactics of basketball to Natick youth in a fun and positive environment, while instilling core values such as discipline, teamwork, sportsmanship, and integrity.

Our Philosophy

NTB’s philosophy is to provide Natick children the opportunity to participate in developmental basketball programs at a young age, and more competitive programs through the middle school years. We teach the skills and knowledge of the game to support each child’s development as a basketball player, and strive to help them develop a passion for the game. NTB emphasizes our core values of teamwork, sportsmanship, discipline and integrity to aid in the children’s development as people and potentially future high school student athletes.

Program Overview

NTB offers programs that run year round for Natick girls and boys from K- 8th grade. For grades K-3, we operate the Hoopsters program to teach introductory skills in a fun environment for those just learning to play the game. For grades 4-8, we offer competitive travel teams that participate in the MetroWest Basketball league during the winter, the largest youth basketball league in eastern Massachusetts. Additionally, we host an annual Turkey Shootout preseason tournament every Thanksgiving weekend and offer a variety of skill development clinics, open gyms, and a 3v3 league during the spring, summer, and fall. While some of our players participate in the Natick Parks and Recreation Department intramural programs, NTB is a stand-alone organization and not affiliated with the Natick Parks and Recreation Department. We are a not-for-profit organization operated by a volunteer board of directors.

The grade 4-8 travel basketball teams in the Metro West Basketball league compete against other towns typically south and west of Boston. Players try out for the teams and most grades carry at least two teams per grade and gender, and sometimes three. Tryouts are held in late September and early October. Natick hosts our annual Turkey Shootout preseason tournament on Thanksgiving weekend, where we host over 100 teams every year.The Shootout is our primary fundraiser for the year and helps NTB offset some of the operating costs of the program. The travel basketball regular season commences in December and runs through February, with teams practicing twice per week and playing one game each Sunday. The season concludes with the Metro West playoffs in March.

The K-3 Hoopsters Program is a series of fun and high energy clinics designed to provide a great introductory experience for those interested in basketball. Hoopsters provides fundamental skill development opportunities through drills, instruction, and scrimmaging. The programs run in the late fall and early spring. NTB strives to provide a fun and positive learning experience for all of our participants, and the Hoopsters are a great introduction to the program.

The 2023-2024 season will be the second year that NTB has managed all travel and intramural basketball for the Town of Natick (after taking over the recreational program from the town in 2022-2023). IM Teams will have one practice a week between Monday-Friday and will have one game per week on Saturdays. Practices will start the week of Monday November 27th and the first games will be on December 9th. The season usually ends the Saturday before February vacation.  Times and locations of games, the number of teams per age/gender group, and practice schedules will be determined based on registration numbers.

Note – This season, we have rebranded all in-town (non-travel) winter basketball leagues as Intramurals.  This rebranding impacts first and second grade as it was previously titled “Winter Hoopsters”.  Now all non-travel basketball leagues 1st-8th grade will be called Intramurals.

Board of Directors 2022 – 2023

Allyson Coppola

Cheryl Mansfield
Chet Smith
Debbie Krause

Dennis Ahern

Jen Bernier

Jimmy Hastings
Josh Schneider
Josh Demaio
Jeff Egnaczyk

Liz Colanto

Michael Lawrence
Steve Siebenmorgen