At Island Garden we consider Labor Day Weekend the end of the old year and the beginning of the new one. IG is closed for a few days while we refinish the floor and do other renovations. We will reopen on Thursday, September 9. The office will be open beginning Tuesday (September 7) to accept registrations for Fall activities.

We want to take this opportunity to sincerely thank all the players, coaches, parents, referees and everyone else who came in during the past year to enjoy playing and watching the great game of basketball. We truly appreciate your support over the course of the year. We promise to continue during the upcoming year to do everything posible to make your experience at Island Garden an excellent one by offering you outstanding service, highly organized leagues/tournaments/clinics/training, a safe and clean building and a friendly greeting from our staff every time you walk through our doors.

We have a number of improvements planned for the 2010-2011 season! Watch this site for exciting new announcements later this week.

In all, we just want to say thanks  for being part of Island Garden. We assure you that we will continue to work every day to offer you ever improving leagues, tournaments, training,etc.

Jim Fox and Staff

The FROSH/SOPHOMORE METRO TOP 100  is making its debut in New York this year.
Already run in other cities throughout the east coast, the Frosh/Soph Metro Top 100 has
played host to numerous players who went on to be among the top ranked players in
the country.  The event is intended to give the most talented underclassmen
prospects in New York an opportunity to be "discovered" and prove their worth against
the best competition from their region.  All players will compete in combine style
competitive breakdown drills before participating in five on five exposure
games.Evaluators from ESPN, Gotham Hoops, and the New York Recruiting Report
have alreadycommitted to attend the event.

This program is being operated by Hoop Mountain and the New York Recruiting Report.

When Island Garden opened its doors in October 1998, our first league was the High School Pre-season League which hosted over 40 teams from area high schools. Over the years, the league has sold out on a regular basis and has proven to be an excellent opportunity for teams to begin preparing for the upcoming season. We believe it is no accident that many of the teams that participate in the High School League are the same ones competing in the playoffs at the conclusion of the season!

Click here to register

We now have vacant space in the front lobby that previously was occupied by the printer. If anyone has a business that would be interested in occupying the space, please call Jim Fox  at 516-292-4956. It is great space directly inside the front door that can be expanded. The space provides access to over 200,000 people who come to Island Garden each year!

For the twentieth consecutive year Hoop Mountain is hosting the finest Northeast College Showcase for high school boys. For one day/night only, hundreds of college coaches/prep school coaches will be in attendance to observe the East Coast’s finest unsigned seniors and underclassmen. The program consists of round robin “mini” games and a brief discussion concerning updates on NCAA revised eligibility standards by a national scholastic talent scout. A basketball speed and strength specialist will measure participant’s athletic performance. In addition, prior to the“round robin” games, there will be basketball workouts for college coaches observation. Numerous prep school head basketball coaches will be present to answer any questions from parents and to observe senior high student athletes for placement for next year. Each player is guaranteed a minimum of several “mini” games. All attending participants will receive a Hoop Mountain  Shirt.

Every serious player regardless of level must participate in pre-season conditioning and individual skill development before tryouts for Super League, CYO, Middle School and High School teams. Working hard in September and October will give the player a much better chance of either making the team or being a key player on his/her team for the 2010-2011 season.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT SEPTEMBER 3: We have received a number of calls from players expressing interest in becoming part of an FE HOOPS team during the Island Garden Fall League which begins later this month. We would love to have enough players to field a team in every age division but that will depend on the overall response we receive. In order to bring this together, we will have tryouts on Saturday, September 11 at he following times:
4th and 5th Grade Boys - 10:00 AM
6th and 7th Grade Boys - 11:00 AM
8th, 9th and 10th Grade Boys - Noon

Any girls or Varsity Boys should contact Jim Fox at 516-351-6642 and if there is sufficient interest, we will hold a tryout later that same day.
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Do you want to play in the Fall league and do not have a team? Do you want to play for an experienced and highly regarded coach whose main interest is developing the team and individual skills of each and every player? Do you want to be part of an organization that is run by the same people who operate Lightning Basketball and Island Garden?

It is rare that four prominent and such well known caoches come together here on Long Island to offer strategies and tips to coaches at all levels. This is an opportunity for everyone in attendance to become a better coach this coming season.

On Septembeer 19 from Noon to 5:00 PM, Coaches Jay Wright of Villanova, Bruce Pearl of Tennessee, Tom Pecora of Fordham and Jim Ferry of LIU will cover such topics as pressure defense, special situations, player development, zone offense, press breakers, practice drills and "quick hitters".

The clinic will be held at Long Island Lutheran High School in Brookville and is being sponsored in part by the Island Garden.

Click here for the flyer

NEW POSTINGS AS OF SEPTMEBER 6:

We receive many calls from parents and players looking for teams either to play at Island Garden or to find an AAU team. This new  posting will be updated on a regular basis to publicize opportunities for players of all ages to  find Super League or AAU teams.  Coaches may send short articles to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it if he/she is looking for players to fill out a team.  I will post brief notices if the team is a registered Super League or AAU team.

We encourage all players and parents who are interested in participating in Island Garden leagues and AAU during the upcoming basketball season to monitor this website for opportunities to become part of a team. For the next few weeks, please check this posting  on a daily basis to find a team for you. We intend to do as much as possible to place every player

The Island Garden Men's League offers teams and individuals an opportunity to play in the premier facility in the Northeast. The league is sanctioned by the AAU and is directly operated by the AAU MEN'S BASKETBALL DIRECTOR AND THE GOVERNOR OF NY AAU.

Some of the highlights and specifics about the league are:

It is that time of the year when players regardless of their age or ability want to improve their skills so that they can either make their team or be recognized as one of the most talented members of the team. By improving your skills in such areas as shooting or ballhandling, you could be making all the difference in the world in how the coach of the team you want to be on sees you!

Island Garden offers several opportunities for you between now and tryouts. We have our Pre-Season Preparation Program run by Tim Capstraw and Bill Harkins which is held once each week beginning later this month or we offer an opportunity for a player to become part of an FE Hoops team that competes in our Fall League. Another option for players to improve their game in the short time remaining is to workout with a personal basketball trainer on a one on one basis.

We have made a substantial efforts to improve our offerings in this area.

Does your team need someone more experienced and objective to coach them?

FE Coaches have a track record of success in effectively teaching individual and team skills to young players. They coach every practice and game with the goal of developing the skill level of each and every player.

FE Hoops is fortunate to have a number of excellent coaches who are interested in bringing their experience and knowledge to your team.

For further details, contact Jim Fox at 516-351-6642 or Bruce Eiber at 917-225-7576.

Tim Capstraw has been a huge part of Island Garden from the day we opened the doors. He has conducted summer camps, run our developmental clinics in the Spring and Fall and designed our Future Hoops program. Tim is popular with the players and can always be counted on to provide outstanding instruction in a fun filled setting.

Based on popular demand, Tim has agreed to do individual instructions. He brings a very impressive background in addition to his long time affiliation with Island Garden. Tim is a fromer Division l Men's Head Coach and is presently the NJ Nets Radio Analyst and an NCAA Television Analyst.

By popular demand, Island Garden has partnered again with 5 Star Basketball to offer 2 separate one-day camps to increase your skills and to prepare players for their team tryouts.  We will offer 2 sessions on both Columbus Day and Veterans Day (which answers what to do with the kids on those days!); One session from 9AM-1PM for grades 2-8 for skill building, and one session from 1PM-5PM for grades 8-12 focusing on training for team tryouts. Register early as these sessions will certainly fill up quickly.

Our program for our youngest players resumes on September 21 and will continue for six consecutive weeks. The program focuses on training the basic fundamentals to players ages 5-8. We use smaller balls, lower baskets and an experienced instructor. Every child has a ball in his or her hands for virtually the entire session. The training is provided in a fun-filled and healthy environment. This program has been in existence for ten years.

The special new discount fee for the Fall Session is $150.00 for all the sessions or $28.00 for a single session.

Future Hoops meets every Tuesday from 4:30 to 5:45 PM.

Click here to register

For further information, please call Rosemary at 516-292-4956 or 516-351-6640

Jim Fox and Rob Pavinelli have been friends for close to 20 years. Jim's sons, Jimmy and Jeff, either coached with Rob or played on his NY State Championship team. It came as no surprise then when  Island Garden and Rob  agreed to work together to offer enhanced services and opportunities to basketball players of all ages throughout  Long Island.

Coach Pavinelli will be operating the brand new state of the art basketball facility on Route 25A in Northport known as Northsport. This facility will be able to host two games on beautiful NCAA courts ( or four practice sessions). The facility is slated to open this coming Labor Day Weekend .

The first actual joint vebnture between Island Garden and Northsport will be the Island Gadren/ Northsport Fall League.. For the past 12 years, the Island Garden Fall League has  provided an opportunity for high school, AAU, CYO, Super League and club teams to kick off their season. This new venture  will provide a venue close to home for teams in Suffolk County to play in the top fall league without having to travel to West Hempstead. Coach Pav and Jim have agreed that teams playing in both leagues will have a chance to face new teams from their adjoining county in order to provide highly competititive games.

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!