For 20 years, Island Garden and Lightning have offered the New York Metropolitan basketball community outstanding leagues, tournaments, camps and clinics. We are now announcing a new offering that we anticipate being as successful as our Super League and AAU Tournaments.

Beginning this February, we are teaming up with our friends at Fundamental Sports Training to host a series of well run, fully insured and exciting one day tournaments for boys and girls ranging in age from the third grade through high school. These tournaments will be operated by the staff of Island Garden which is second to none in terms of experience and success in operating youth basketball events. Add to that, the beautiful newly renovated and expanded two court facility at FST and the Northsport facility and you have the formula for a great basketball experience!

UPDATE AS OF JANUARY 26: All is going very well. We have more teams than ever before and even with newly rented space at FST, we are again sold out! Most importantly, we want to thank the coaches, players and parents for their excellent cooperation as well as support of the Astoria Bank Super League

Click here for standings and schedules.

For more information .......

Do you want to play AAU Basketball in the Spring of 2012? Do you want to be a part of the largest and one of the most successful AAU programs in the entire country? LIGHTNING BASKETBALL will be holding tryouts in February for high school players at the Island Garden. Each year we add to our existing teams as well as form new ones for each grade level. Our experienced coaches and administrators are on the courts all day selecting boys and girls who want to wear the now famous Lightning uniform. It is the same uniform that over 125 players who have gone on to play college basketball have worn. It is the same uniform which has sent more teams to the National AAU Championships over the past seven years than any other club in the New York area. It is the same uniform that college coaches recognize as representing a truly exceptional program that produces excellent players and students. Some of those same college coaches have actually coached for Lightning in the not so distant past (Jim Ferry, Head Coach of LIU, Tim Cluess, Head Coach of Iona, Jim Fox, Top Assistant at Davidson, Daniel Mark, Assistant Coach of CW Post, Chris Diasparra, Graduate Assistant at Adelphi to name a few). We are also very proud of the fact that many of the top high school coaches on Long Island are either Lightning Board Members ( Bill Harkins of St. Mary's, Jack McCutcheon of Kellenberg) or acive coaches (Rich Slater and Jon Lawniczak of LI Lutheran, Mary Lepore of St. Mary's, Mike McDuffie of Roslyn, just to name a few).

Virtually every player who has been a part of Lightning has gone on to play for their middle and high school teams. Our emphasis is on training and development while providing opportunities for players of all talent and experience levels to compete against other top players from a wide geographical area. Being a Lightning player requires dedication and commitment. It is not for the casual player! Every team will play at least 25 games between early April and late June. They will practice at least twice each week with one of those practices being specifically designed for skill development and run by our top trainer at Island Garden.

The times of the tryouts at Island Garden  are as follows:

25+ year coach Ron Remick (C.W. Post) will again run our very popular camp from February 20 to 24. The camp runs from 9am to 3pm for boys and girls of all ability levels in grades 2-9. This camp will place an emphasis on skill development, game play, fun and advanced skills.  Proper shooting form, full-court games, fundamentals, advanced skills, one-on-one moves,  and many additional skills will be emphasized. 

It has been a fast start to the Adult Winter Season! Lightning, the Fall Champion is 2-0 as is the runner-up Flint Tropics in Division l. There is also a  three way tie for fist after two weeks in Division ll with Gators, Franklin Square and Ballers all at 2-0.

Schedules and results are  posted here.

President's Day Weekend - New York City Classic for age groups: 10U, 11U, 12U, 13U, and 14U; Register by Feb 3.

This program is designed to provide beginner players with explicit tutorial instruction on the game of basketball. Each session will focus on a different area of the game and each player will leave with an enhanced ability to play and a higher basketball IQ.   Sunday mornings

This week the Island Garden welcomes a brand sponsor that will have a profound impact on our kids and our community: TUTOR DOCTOR. Tutor Doctor helps people from 3 to 88 achieve and exceed their educational goals. You can find them at www.tutordoctor.com or click on the Read More tab...

Island Garden is an excellent place to hold your son's or daughter's next birthday party. We provide the entire package so that all that mom and dad have to do is watch, enjoy and take pictures!