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Winston-Salem Stealers Legends Program 2027

Winston-Salem Stealers Legends Program 2027

Before they got here,

They all started here.

     

     

All LEGENDS had to have a starting point and ALL LEGENDS always go the extra mile. – Coach R

The 2027 Legends Program, formerly the Year-Round Additional Tournament Team (YRATT), is for 3rd-11th Grades.

The “Additional Tournament Team” is an entirely separate team from your regular season team.   This is not Stealers For Life.

The plan for the 2027 season is to have our large Alumni base have their names attached to the teams.   Donations from the alums will also help keep the costs down as many of these tournament registrations continue to rise each day. 

To learn more about our Alumni Assoication Program, you can click on this LINK.

The format for the 2026-27 season is to go with a year-round plan for the 3rd-8th grade participants.  The older players 9th-11th grades will play the majority of their events in the spring and summer (July college events).

Note:  If your daughter is or isn’t in Stealers For Life, she will play on the team that she makes following 2027 tryouts.    The team she makes will play a regular schedule as in years past.  

Note: The Legends tournament schedule will not conflict with the TTG-2025 practice schedule.or the W-S Steaelers regular practice schedule.

This page is for those interested in playing in additional tournaments in 2027.

Purposes of the 2027 Legends teams:

  • To help parents best prepare for the 2027 season so they know almost a year in advance the dates and sites where the tournaments will be played.
  • To better prepare our players for the upcoming competition that are played at the national level.
  • To have stronger team chemistry heading into the nationals tournaments by trying to keep as many of their regular season team members together in the Legends events.

History of additional tournaments:

  • The Stealers have fielded additional tournament teams since 2003 providing our players opportunities to play in extra tournaments throughout the year.
  • Some players and parents wanted some extra exposure in front of college coaches and / or to play in a national tournament setting so our program provided those opportunities.
  • The team would practice once, maybe twice, before playing in these events. 
  • The tournaments were sometimes held around holidays or during spring or summer breaks which would cause folks to miss thus hurting the roster numbers.
  • The tournaments used to be offered individually, basically sign up and play.

Coach R’s thoughts with the 2026 Additional Tournament Team Plan:

  • For the past several years it has been harder to field a full team at the regional level and even sometimes at the national level for national tournaments from the regular season Stealers teams.
  • Having a team of 8-10 players at the younger grade groups (Rising Stars, Myrtle Beach) would help with substitutions during games.  Playing with 6-7 players may work for a game or two, but over the course of 3-4 games it gets tougher along with the hope that no one gets injured.  
  • Having a set team, with the potential of adding 1-2 players at a later date, would allow the teams to practice together longer which in turn should help the overall competitive level at these events. The team again, made up of mostly your regular season players, should help with team chemistry.
  • Preparing players for future national team tournaments through additional tournament experiences can only make the players, and parents, more comfortable as both will know what to expect ahead of time.
  • National tournaments are hard, and for the older players, their goal is to hopefully play in college.   Any additional opportunity to prepare and then perform should be beneficial.

3rd-8th Grade Additional Tournament Schedule – Please note dates and sites are subject to change. These are the 2026 JUNE and JULY dates and sites sent to me from the tournament directors.

  • June 12 or 19 Warmup Event in the Triad
  • .June 24-27 in Myrtle Beach (Thursday – Sunday)
  •  July 6-8, 2026  Rising Stars Tournament in Louisville, Kentucky (the 4th grade division will only attend if there is enough interest in our program)

Note: the “range” are anticipated dates based on year’s past.  The tournament will not be held every day in that range, but instead 2-3 of those days.  Once those days are set by the tournament director, the dates will be posted here.

Cost for the additional tournaments:

  • 3rd-8th Grades:
  • What is the cost?  
    • If your daughter is in TTG, the W-S Stealers Program and a member of Stealers For Life (SFL), the cost is $30.00 / month. If you want to pay in full, the cost is $325.00.
    • If your daughter is in TTG AND in the W-S Stealers program, but not SFL the cost is $40.00 / month.   If you want to pay in full, the cost is $450.00.
    • If your daughter is TTG OR in the W-S Stealers program the cost is $50.00 / month. If you want to pay in full, the cost is $550.00
    • If your daughter is not in either TTG or the W-S Stealers, then her cost is $60.00 / month.  If you want to pay in full, the cost is $650.00

Roster Makeup:

  • The goal is to have a minimum of eight (8) and no more than ten (10) players on a team.

Potential Questions:

  • Why is the summer tournament schedule posted so early, almost a year in advance?  Answer:  Families that attended Louisville know that booking rooms for any of the three events in July is difficult. Rooms get booked quickly as this is not just a national, but a global, event.  Also, these tournaments offer early bird discounts for programs that not only register early but signup multiple teams for their events, so the plan is to register in August of 202.5       The earlier we register, the better.
  • When will the full roster be set? Answer: Depends on who signs up for the Legends program
  • Could the roster change after setting it?  Answer: Yes, illnesses and injuries unfortunately happen as do family emergencies, sometimes players quit and sometimes there are unforeseen circumstances.
  • When will practices start?  Answer:  In November 2026 for the 3rd-6th grade teams.
  • How many practices per month?  Answer: Depends on gym space, but the plan 1-2 for the first few months and then add a more regular schedule as the spring teams wind down and the summer team begins to prepare.
  • What if I paid for an additional tournament in 2026 and we didn’t attend (Myrtle Beach, Louisville, etc..); can we apply that fee to the 2027 additional tournament team or get a refund. Answer: No. Those fees were paid to the tournament registration for each team that attended in 2025.
  • Don’t most all of our teams run the same plays?  Answer: Yes they do which allows a varying amount of success (i.e. Myrtle Beach teams), but practicing together and playing together a little longer makes the play on the court stronger.
  • What if I sign up for the additional tournaments and then my daughter cannot attend, can I get a refund?   Answer:  You will have to request a refund through our Board of Directors . Email Coach Robinson first.
  • Will the dates and times be updated if there are changes and will an email be sent to those who signed up?   Answer: Yes.
  • Is there a chance the tournament dates and times could be changed?  Answer: Yes, but the dates and times shouldn’t be too far off from what has been posted so far.
  • Do the Stealers book hotel rooms or require their program members to stay in a particular hotel?  Answer: The Stealers don’t, but most of the tournaments are a stay to play. When those stay to play hotels are released, the Stealers will send those out to those signed up for the additional tournaments.
  • How do I pay?  Use Venmo @Teach-TheGame , CashApp $TTGWSS , Check made payable to: WSS- Girls Basketball or Apple Pay. No PayPal.
  • What is the “Don’t Forget Form”? Answer: The Don’t Forget Form is a reminder to everyone who wants their daughters to try and play up a grade or two or sometimes even higher, but then hesitates to play when their same daughter is the older one playing with younger players.   Remember, you don’t want the older players, who may be fighting for a college scholarship, looking down on your daughter who is trying to perform well as a younger player in an event, so thus you shouldn’t do the same when the shoe is on the other foot.

2027 Tentative Summer Dates:

  • June 24-27 Myrtle Beach Grades 3rd-9th
  • July 5-7 Rising Stars for Grades 5th-7th
  • July 11-13 Championships for Grades 8th-11th.

2027 Season Registrations:

11th Grade:

  1. Ellie Niederer

10th Grade:

  1. Cecilia Drabik
  2. Abery Vestal

9th Grade:

  1. Cali Brister
  2. Makayla Brooks 
  3. Claire Couts 
  4. Allie Keller
  5. Brylea McKinney
  6. Caroline Moore
  7. Carly Shamblen
  8. Annabelle Wright

8th Grade:

  1. Ellie Kesler
  2. Ann Marie McMillen
  3. Ainsley Meadows
  4. Caitlynn Molesa
  5. Skylar Spanburg
  6. Emma Swofford
  7. Quinn Vanhoywake

7th Grade:

  1. Mia East
  2. Eloise James
  3. Julia James
  4. Ellie Keever
  5. Katie McGovern
  6. Harper Small
  7. Rachel So

6th Grade:

  1. Luciana Beasley
  2. Hadley Brinker
  3. Bailey Cannon 
  4. Avery Hutchens 
  5. Sophia Rezler
  6. Charli Robinson
  7. Alexa Skordahl
  8. Ashton Skordahl

5th Grade:

  1. Shannon Holdren
  2. Sadie Mankey
  3. Lennon Marston

4th Grade:

  1. Charlotte Litaker

Legends Program 2027

By typing yes (in any style), I understand, as parent / guardian of the above-named participant, the purpose of the "Don't Forget" philosophy.