Long Beach NJB

I have had the complete opposite experience. This is my first time signing up with NJB. We did not know ANYONE in the league prior to signing up. My son loves basketball and we have been in 4 different basketball organizations. We have never quit any of them (sometimes we play them simultaneously) and they all have bumps and bruises.
I never expected the practices to be at CSULB and I never read anything saying that they would be there. I assumed the games would be and they are. It is true that the coaches have to find their own place to practice and I do feel that there should be a guaranteed indoor place to practice but the costs would go up dramatically. It costs a lot of money to rent/​use any facility even if it is only for practice due to liability and insurance.
Compared to other organizations for basketball the price is pretty similar (this one had a picture and jersey included (which our other places did not). It’s just about $ 40 more, but I can’t imagine what it costs to rent CSULB (even if we are not in the main gym). There was a game cancelled in the beginning due to double booking from CSULB… not sure how NJB could have avoided that.
Whereas practice on the other side of Long Beach might have been 30 minutes away for you… it may have only been 5 – 10 minutes away from others. One of the basketball leagues we are in is in Orange County and once you’ve been around for awhile you understand how it works… not everything is close.
Here’s another thing… I would NEVER pay over $ 50 for my child to be in anything that was his first time. That’s the joy of the city. Long Beach parks and rec was our first stop for basketball. To see if this is what our son likes and it turned out he loves it… so a year later… we have left the park and moved up to a more demanding type of league.
I also know that we ended up on the team that we did due to practice day problems and the owner treated us great and the communication was great. The problem that many people have today is that they feel that everything has to be perfect and that’s not life. I expect that when things aren’t right and I contact you… that you fix them… and this is what I have experienced in this league. I am a picky person and like perfection, but I also understand that’s not reality. Please understand that gym rental eats up most of your fee that you pay to league and then you have marketing, jersey, pictures, staff at the gym, etc… Also, the coaches at AYSO are volunteers as well and we paid just about $ 100 and there are more kids so the costs of renting the field is spread across more people.
I read the other reviews and most of them never even started the league so how can there be a fair review. It is true that the beginning was bumpy (reason for the 4 stars… not the 5), but ever since the first game everything has been just fine for us. I also agree with the other reviews that the YMCA and the parks are best for most people. NJB and other leagues are for when your child starts to get serious with the sport.

Parents beware! This is a poorly run, mismanaged organization. In reality, it’s a total scam and I only wished that I had seen the reviews for a similar program before I had signed up (look at the up the other NJB reviews here on Unilocal).
Here is a list of issues:
1. Their website says the location is Long Beach State. Wrong! Only the games are there, the practices (if you have any) can be at the location of the coach’s choice anywhere in area. Our «practice» was finally set up less than a week before our first game at a middle school located between Compton and Paramount almost 30 mins away. Keep in mind, we have a 5 year old… that is a long way to go for a practice. And subsequently our first game never happened either — it got cancelled because they didn’t have the game courts confirmed. Disorganization. get used to this theme.
2. On the topic of practices, there was little clear communication about where/​when/​if there would even be any practices. In speaking with the «owner» of the Long Beach NJB, that is also the choice of the coach. if they choose to have practices or not and where. Isn’t that what we were paying them for? Wrong! I was then told that the coaches were merely volunteers and they don’t get paid. so what was my $ 200 registration for? Just to set up a times that a bunch of kids who have NEVER before played basketball (they are 5 — kindergarteners) to get together and just wing it? The «owner» said that the games they play is practice enough and that just playing is learning, trying to justify the fact that they may or may not ever practice. He also asked me in a condescending tone if I had ever played any sports, because if I had, I would know that just playing is enough to teach you how to play. Then why am I paying them to just have my kid «just learn from playing?» Can I at least get a little bit of groundwork for them about rules, dribbling, shooting? No, just nothing. just go out there and do… something? I can have him shoot hoops in my backyard for free and with just as much coaching as they are implying he needs.
3. Communication is extremely poor. Team rosters, practice schedule, game times… all were delivered late or just non-​existent from when they were promised. I don’t really even blame the coach. the organization for whom they are working for seems to just leave it up to these poor coaches who apparently are «just volunteering» but the owner takes no responsibility for what is actually happening and just throws the coach under the bus. «Coach controls where they practice, or if they practice. Coach was supposed to communicate that to you. It’s the coach’s responsibility for everything and the NJB has no accountability for anything …» and yet the coach does’t get paid? So what is the NJB organization doing to earn their money if the coach is the one responsible for everything? Seems like the coach is getting a raw deal too.
4. Refund policy is complete baloney. They say on the site that after evaluation day, there are no refunds. They do not even hold evaluations for the 5 year olds, so there is no evaluation day. The first time we ever heard from them was after the arbitrary eval day, (and people were still able to register their kids after this time too). After weeks of no communication, no practices, basically, nothing at all had happened in this program, I tried to pull out and receive a refund to which I was denied. So beware, once you sign up, no matter when it is, they have selected an arbitrary date and they are going to stick by it, no matter if there has been any communication/​activity or not… you will not get a refund.
Overall, I’m pretty disappointed because this program is such a slap in the face after dealing with so many other youth sports organizations that seem completely dedicated and organized. Once you sign up, it’s a total crapshoot. It’s sad because I had really high hopes and convinced others to join with us (and some have subsequently decided to opt out like we have for all the same reasons). It’s not a matter of getting a refund or not, because none of us are getting refunds. It’s just the principal of it. There is no need to expose your kids that are learning basketball for the first time to an organization like this. You want to develop a love for the sport and the confidence they gain as they start learning how to play. Long Beach NJB is not the place for that. You’ll get frustration and a total lack of accountability, and that’s nothing that you want yourself or your kids exposed to.