Basketball season is almost here, and for the Perry Parks and Recreation Department, that means the return of their youth camp and boys and girls basketball leagues.

The Youth Basketball Camp is designed for boys and girls in kindergarten through 2nd grade. Participants will learn fundamentals and basics, working on things like passing, dribbling, shooting, and defense. Practices will be held Mondays at 6 p.m. at the McCreary Community Building, with scrimmages taking place Saturday mornings. Practices will start October 22nd, with games running from November 3rd through December 15th. The deadline to register for the camp is Monday, October 15th by 8 p.m.

As for the Youth Basketball Leagues, Assistant Parks and Rec Director Becky Halling says they are for students in 3rd through 6th grade and will be split between boys and girls leagues. In both cases, participants will get some new competition. “For our Youth Basketball League, we have actually joined with the Adel and Van Meter Parks and Rec Departments this year, which I’m very, very excited about. And then their league is a little bit different (than the camp), so they’ll be split into two different seasons. So that way they can get a little more playing time and it won’t be so chaotic as trying to schedule things out.”

The girls season will run from November 3rd through December 15th, while the boys will play from December 1st through January 19th. All practices will be scheduled by the individual coaches, and all games will be played at 1 p.m. at a variety of locations. The deadline to sign up for the girls league is October 12th, and for the boys league on November 2nd. For the camp and both leagues, the cost to participate is $25 per person for rec center members, and $35 for non-members. Perry Parks and Rec is also looking for volunteers to be coaches for each program, and anyone interested can contact the McCreary Center at 515-465-5621.