Welcome to HRK Eagles Boys and Girls Basketball 2024-2025  

Skills, competition, teamwork, discipline, devotions, and fun! 

We are preparing for our 2024-2025 season.  Early registration begins July 15th.

First Practice begins Monday, October 21st.  Make sure you get on the BAND app for upcoming and updated information.  Email the AD or coaches for the invite link. 

We are excited to play for God's Glory at HRK - as we strive for Honor, Righteousness and Kindness, on and off the court!

Who: HRK exists to serve Full and Part-time Homeschool students entering grades 5th - 12th in Fall 2024. There MAY BE opportunities for NON-homeschooled students on a team on a case-by-case basis. (4th graders who have basketball experience may be considered as practice players depending on available spaces on the team - Please contact Oumalay Cavaiani to discuss at scheduling@hrkeagles.org)

When: October 2024 thru February 2025 (early March for high school). Practices and game days vary. Practice times will be a 2-hour slot between 3 and 9pm. Generally, the 5th-8th grade teams will practice between 3 and 7:30pm and the high school teams will practice in the evenings. No Wednesday evening or Sunday practices will be held.

Evaluation Dates:    Boys high school: TBD;  Boys 5th-8th grade: TBD.  Girls evals (all levels): TBD

Junior High (5th- 8th grades) Overview: 

Registration Fee: The registration fee for 2024 is $350.  Individual fundraising/sponsorship is highly encouraged!

Uniforms: Players must purchase a team uniform and warmup. The expected cost is $115. Be prepared to supply sizing information for your players when you register. Returning players from 2023-24 may use their uniforms from last season.  Returning players must also purchase a warmup.

Teams: Our Junior High players are typically divided into two teams: a 5/6th and a 7/8th.  Games/Tournaments: Our Junior High teams primarily play in the NICC against private schools in Lake County, IL. In addition, we will strive to play in 1 major homeschool-only tournament, in an atmosphere unsurpassed in youth sports. This is known as the NCHBC Midwest Regional Tournament, February 20-22 at the Pacers Athletic Center in Westfield, IN.

Practices & Games: Practices begin with evaluations. Practice will generally be 2-3 times a week. Practices are at Village Church in Gurnee (VCG) & Village Church-Barrington (VGB). On dates when those gyms are not available, we may practice at one of the following locations: Trevor Wilmot School, Gardner Fieldhouse. We will NOT hold practices on Wednesday evenings or Sundays.  No games on Sundays. Practice days are Mondays (VCB) 6pm-8pm, Tuesdays(VCG) 6pm-8pm, and Thursdays(VCG) 6pm - 8pm.  Please not these practice times may vary, any changes will be communicated.  We will have between 20-25 games per season. This number includes single head-head games and tournaments. 5/6th grade team and 7/8th grade team will travel together for games.  These two teams will not have a game day at different locations.

7/8th grade Coaches: Head Coach - Andy Kaufman  Assistant Coach - Jon Clements       5/6th grade Coaches: Head Coach - Jon Clements  Assistant Coach -Andy Kaufman

High School Overview:

Registration Fee: The registration fee for 2024-25 season is $400.  Individual fundraising/sponsorship is highly encouraged!  We offer a monthly payment plan to break up the cost.  

Uniforms: Players must purchase a team uniform and warmup. The expected cost is $115. Be prepared to supply sizing information for your players when you register. Returning players from 2023-24 may use their uniforms from last season. Returning players must also purchase a warmup.

Teams: Numbers allowing, our high school players are typically divided into two teams: JV and Varsity. Games/Tournaments: Our high school teams play in the Great Northern Conference which consists of homeschool teams from Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin. We will attend games and tournaments during the week and on Saturdays. Many of these will be at Trevor Wilmot School (Trevor, WI). We will not have games on Wednesday evenings. In addition, we will strive to play in 1 major homeschool-only tournament, in an atmosphere unsurpassed in youth sports. This is known as the NCHBC Midwest Regional Tournament, February 20-22 at the Pacers Athletic Center in Westfield, IN.    *Hotel and travel expenses are not included in the HRK registration fee, but we work together to make it very affordable!

Practices & Games: Practices begin with evaluations. Practice will generally be 2-3 times a week. High School will practice at Trevor Wilmot School, Village Church in Gurnee (VCG), Nippersink, or Gardner's Fieldhouse.  On dates when the VCG gym is not available, we may practice at one of the following locations: Rec Plex (Pleasant Prairie, WI).  Boys practice: Mondays 6pm-8pm, Tuesdays 6pm-8pm, and Thursdays 6pm - 8pm. Starting in December, HS boys will move from Monday practices to Friday practices, 6pm-8pm.  Girls practice: Mondays 5pm-7pm, Tuesdays 7pm-9pm, and Thursdays 6pm - 8pm.  For both the boys' and girls' programs, times and locations may change this will be communicated to the teams.  Each team will have between 20-30 games this season.  This includes single head-to-head games and tournaments.  We will have some Saturday games/tourneys. We will NOT hold practices on Wednesday evenings or Sundays. No games on Sunday.

Coaches: Boys' Head Coach - Kevin Robson  Boys' Assist. Coach -Karl Johnson

Girls' Head Coach - Nate Gardner  Girls' Assist. Coach - Oumalay Cavaiani 

 WHY IS HRK BASKETBALL MAINLY FOR HOMESCHOOLERS? 

IHSA prohibits their teams from playing against non-IHSA programs like HRK. Additionally, the organizer of large homeschool basketball tournaments will rule HRK INELLIGIBLE if we have players on our teams who are not homeschooled. This is their definition of homeschooling: “Homeschooling” is defined to mean that a student’s education is parent-directed and done at home. As such, the parents shall be directly involved in their child’s education, playing role of the headmaster thereby (1) selecting curriculum, (2) selecting and/or approving course materials and study schedules, & (3) selecting tutors, coop’s, teachers, dual enrollment options, &/or resources for their child’s education. HomeSchooling would also include a person of legal responsibility* of the student filling the role of a parent (*must be pre-approved by the NCHC) In September 2020 the EAB Rules Proposal Committee voted over 80% in favor of keeping the NCHC Online At Home policy posted below. As such this entire section has been updated. 

NCHBC Online At Home – The #1 eligibility question we had in the Summer of 2018 & 19 was “what is the NCHBC stance was with “Online at Home” (Connections Academy, K12, Epic, etc.) The response we have had to this each time has been the same: “The NCHBC does not have an approved or unapproved curriculum.”   

The bottom line is the NCHBC leaves curriculum choice to the parent’s discretion, provided it is done at home and the parents have the ability to change curriculum at their discretion.   

If you are experiencing a financial hardship (such as loss of job, medical emergency, etc) please reach out to HRK Treasurer, Mike Klug, to discuss how we can help make playing for HRK Eagles manageable during this time.  Contact Mike at treasurer@hrkeagles.org.