Upward Basketball and Cheerleading is a 10-week season. The first two weeks prior to the Thanksgiving holiday consist of our first few practices practices/ After the New Year holiday, practices will be once a week for eight weeks. Practices will be on Mondays and Thursdays. Games will be on Saturdays. Game times on Saturday can vary.

Practices and Games will be held in the Family Life Center for First United Methodist Church Dyersburg.

Yes, we offer cheerleading for girls and boys during the basketball season. Cheer will follow the same schedule and information for Basketball.

K & 1st Grade - 8ft

2nd & 3rd Grade - 9ft

4th - 5th Grade - 10ft

We recommend a 28.5 inch basketball for all players. That is the size for all ages in our Upward League. We have basketballs for all kids to use during practice time here during our season.

Typically, all uniforms are reversible so that teams can be one of two colors. These colors change from season to season. Colors for our next season are: Blue and Red

Basketball Jersey Sizing Guide

Cheer Uniform Sizing Guide

Uniform Type

Practice Weeks (Mon, Thur)

Practices begin the week of November 7, 2022(pause at the start of Thanksgiving break) and will run through the week of February 23, 2023.

Game Saturdays

Saturdays January 07 - February 25, 2023

Awards Night

February 26, 2023

Please contact Tori Armstrong, Upward League Director, as each situation is handled on a case-by-case basis. We do have scholarships available and scholarship guidelines, but please contact Tori at 731-285-6454 to discuss details.

No. We use the valuation scores to balance the teams so one team is not overpowering the others in the division. We believe this promotes the balancing of teams and also kids making new friends.

No. As a non-profit league, we work hard to keep our league affordable and competitive in its pricing. The registration fee is the lowest it can go while still covering the costs of running the league.

Yes, provided that you complete the necessary steps including passing a criminal background check and attending mandatory coach training (and, of course, based upon availability). We’d love to have you join in! You can sign-up to coach here.

If your children are in the same age division (K5, 1st&2nd, and 3rd-5th), they will automatically be placed on the same team. There is no need to request it. Otherwise, they will be placed on different teams in the appropriate division.

After the registration deadline, all registrants will be considered to be on a “waiting list” and subject to availability. By the time evaluations roll around, the waiting list is generally long and availability is slim. Whereas we allow you to register at evaluations, the chances are much lower than getting it done on time. Please help us by communicating this to your friends and the community as we do not want anyone left out.

Evaluations/Orientation always take place here at the Family Life Center(on Elm St.) of FUMC Dyersburg (100 McGaughey Street). Here you will confirm registration, try on uniforms, watch an orientation video, and then enjoy the evaluation skills and drills. The skills and drills for basketball will be inside the Family Life Center. All cheer orientations will also be held inside.

You may visit their main website here(www.upward.org) or you may see more FAQ’s for parents here(https://www.upward.org/parent/).

There are no tryouts in Upward Basketball & Cheer. Each child will attend a mandatory evaluation/orientation week (See Key Dates) where basketball players will be guided through a few skills and drills to help identify each child’s skill level. These evaluations, held at our Family Life Center, are designed to create balanced teams and give each player an opportunity to improve their basketball skills. Cheerleaders will go through a brief orientation. Each child will also have the opportunity at evaluations to be fit for jerseys, be measured for height, and handle outstanding balances.