West Suburban Dream

Congrats to the lil Dreamers for winning their last winter tournament. The girls beat Xplosion’s 6th grade team in the championship game of the Xplosion Shootout. These girls are tough. They’re always undersized since they have to play up, but there isn’t a team out there that works harder. Another awesome winter season in the books. Nice job, Dream! ❤️🏀💙

We are so proud of Aspen Weeks for receiving her first offer as a freshman from Lewis University. I’ve been waiting for Coach Banks to post this story so I could share. Needless to say, Aspen has come a loooong way, and as Coach Banks says, she is “Dream Built!” Aspen, your Dream/Midwest Elite families are so excited for you. This is only the beginning! Congratulations! ❤️🏀💙

From Coach Banks:

One of the proudest coach’s moments.
About 4 years ago while working out at Eola Community Center, I saw a youth basketball team with 1 tall girl practicing bounce passes and chest passes. Although Aspen could not catch very well, she was the only 1 in the group that could pass the ball hard enough to reach the other player. I went and approached her dad. I told him she had a ton of potential, and I would love for her to come practice with our travel team. I gave him my number. A couple weeks later, he called and started to bring her to our practices. For weeks we only played catch with a basketball separate from the rest of the group. After she started catching the ball better, we started working on dribbling and ball handling. After she could dribble the ball better, we started doing layups and doing all the stuff with entire team. Dream Built!!

They did it again! 6th grade girls champion at today’s Super Bowl Shootout. Congrats, girls! ❤️🏀💙

❄️Congrats to the West Suburban Dream - 5/6th Grade Girls. They are Frozen Four Shootout champions! We’re so proud of these young ballers for carrying on the Dream tradition! 💙🏀❤️

As our girls gear up to start their high school seasons...

Congrats to the One Day Shootouts Blue Chip Fall League 10th-12th Grade Silver Champion (pictured first). For the Gold division, our girls came up short by only one point in the championship game. Congrats also go out to the West Suburban Dream - 9-11th Grade Girls - Spooktacular Shootout Champions (pictured second).

These were some of the last games we played as the Dream, and the girls certainly did the organization proud! Good luck, girls! We will be out to see as many of your high school games as we can, and we look forward to continuing our journey with Midwest Elite. ❤️🏀💙

Our good friends at CHADEFFECT are hosting a holiday event at:

Yellow Box Church
1635 Emerson Ln.
Naperville, IL 60540

There will be over 25 vendors, and it’s going to be so much fun!

All proceeds go to the mission of helping under-resourced kids play basketball.

If you are a crafter interested in participating, please send me a PM.

Congrats to Erin O’Connor and Lexi Salazar for making the All Star Team at the USJN Battle of the Programs & Fall Finale. We are so proud of you girls! ❤️🏀💙

Midwest Elite & West Suburban Dream Open Gym at Calvary Church in Naperville with about 45 girls.

Five years ago, it was Team Banks and Team Marren, battling it out for the Y championship. At the end of the season, we learned that, sadly, Coach Marren was moving. Coach Banks suggested combining the two teams to create one “Dream team.” Thus, the West Suburban Dream was born. What started out as one team of eight players eventually became five teams of 60 players. Never in our wildest dreams did we think the program would grow into what it is today.

We wanted to:

• Create a basketball family in which every player feels loved and accepted for who they are.
• Provide an environment in which all players can grow and thrive.
• Teach our players the importance of giving back to the community they live in.
• Focus on basketball fundamentals while playing as many games as possible and bringing home a championship or two! ;)
• Allow girls to play travel basketball at a high level who may not have otherwise been able to play. (Our coaches never took a paycheck!)

We’ve had some pretty spectacular moments over the last five years. We’ve had a parent anonymously pick up the bill of a family that didn’t feel they could afford to stay at the team hotel. One of our players wrote a paper in school saying the Dream believed in her when she didn’t even believe in herself. We had players who felt rejected by other programs… and players who couldn’t catch a ball to start… grow into amazing, thriving athletes who play on our top teams. We have remodeled a house, assisted at basketball tournaments and events, and baked Christmas cookies, all for the benefit of those who are less fortunate than we are. Needless to say, we have accomplished so much.

Our mantra has always been “for the girls.” We have come to a point in which we feel joining another program would be what’s best for our girls. Midwest Elite is an unbelievable program with amazingly talented coaches. They have the longevity and the reputation we have not yet had the chance to build. They are the only team playing on the Nike EYBL circuit in Illinois, and they are in the business for all the right reasons. Simply put, they can offer our beloved players opportunities we could only dream of offering them, and we are beyond grateful for this relationship.

We would like to sincerely thank all our families and all our friends who have supported us on this journey. We cannot wait to see the next chapter unfold!

If having trouble with the PayPal site to sign up and pay for the basketball clinic for this Saturday. Please use the following link.
http://www.paypal.me/westsuburbandream

Please email me at [email protected] for any problems or questions

Thank you

Pay West Suburban Dream using PayPal.Me Go to paypal.me/WestSuburbanDream and type in the amount. Since it’s PayPal, it's easy and secure. Don’t have a PayPal account? No worries.

West Suburban Dream is hosting a youth basketball clinic for both boys and girls from 5th - 9th grade on Sept 14th from 9am to 1pm sponsored by Chad Effect Chicago. This will be different than a normal camp to work on dribbling and shooting but instead help educate players and parents on the different levels of youth basketball thru college and will include skill sessions and demonstrations.
Again for both boys and girls 5th-9th grade on Sept 14th at the Plainfield Community Sportsplex in Plainfield,, IL.

We’re getting lots of views at this time of year, so I am guessing people are looking for tryout information. We typically don’t host tryouts. We have girls come to a practice and see if there’s a fit. Please note that, for our fall season, we only have high school teams. If your player is interested in the West Suburban Dream, please send an email to Coach Banks, [email protected]. Thank you!

College Coach comments on top things he looks for when recruiting Prospects which are the things that make a Great Teammate. So to all my players, stop thinking you have to be a scorer and be a Great Teammate.

The West Suburban Dream is so excited to welcome a new addition to our basketball family! ❤️🏀👶🍼💙

Milo Alex Smith
came into this world at 12:16am on
Friday, August 9th.
He weighed 8 pounds 6 ounces
and is 19 1/2 inches long!

We are so happy for Coach Kris (grandpa), proud Auntie Julia, and the entire Smith family! We cannot wait to meet Baby Milo!!!

YES!!! 🏀❤️

Congrats to the below West Suburban Dream players for their All Star Team selections at the USJN 16th Annual Summer Final-Midwest.

🏀 Lexi Salazar (14U)
🏀 Lexi Lamanna (15U)
🏀 Angelica Cirineo (17U)

Your Dream family is so proud of you girls!

Congratulations to West Suburban Dream's Olivia Vanderworde for receiving a scholarship offer to Morton College today. Well, Well Derserved!!!
DREAMHARDTHENWORKHARD

As most West Suburban Dream supporters know, our organization has a special relationship with Chad Effect of Chicagoland. Chad Effect does great things to help children and families in need, and we are proud to be their partners and teach our players how to give back to their communities. In lieu of a basketball tournament this year, Chad Effect is hosting a Family Fun Night at Wilderness Falls in Bolingbrook on July 27th from 3-9 pm. Please come out and join us, and bring all your family and friends! It’ll be fun!

For more info or to sponsor a hole for $50 please visit our website:
https://www.chadeffect.org/donate.html

💙🏀❤️

West Suburban Dream would like to thank the college coaches who attended our practice yesterday. Always appreciate the exposure for our athletes who are interested in playing at the next level❗️

West Suburban Dream's Olivia Vanderworde was 1 of 28 players spotlighted by Midwest Hoops Spotlight at the Nike Tournament of Champions. Great job Olivia and Dream 17u.

West Suburban Dream had 4 teams play in the Nike Tournament of Champions this week. 4 teams this year compared to only 1 last year. 14u, 15u and 17u went 3 - 2. All teams played well and hard. DREAMHARDTHENWORKHARD!!!

Congrats to Maddy Saracco and Shy Jackson on making the all-tournament selection at the Chicago Summer Jam! Your Dream family is so proud of you both!!! ❤️🏀💙

Congrats to 14U Blue on taking home the championship trophy at the ! Let’s keep the momentum going into the Nike Tournament of Champions! ❤️🏀💙

Way to go, Maddy! Dream 14U Blue going 2-0 today @ . 💙🏀❤️

https://twitter.com/PassThaBall/status/1147503587972603904?s=20

PassThaBall.com on Twitter “Meet 2023 😈💪🏽 https://t.co/vgeHK4AtpD”

All five Dream teams combined went 13-4 this past weekend. Highlights include 14U white taking home the medals (and the big trophy) at the June Heat Tourney and 14U blue taking home the championship and the medals at One Day Nationals. 17U was down four players with a couple of 15U players subbing in, and they only lost the championship game by three points. We are so proud of all our players for representing the Dream so well, on and off the court! ❤️🏀💙

The West Suburban Dream 14U (Blue), 15U, 16U, and 17U teams played in The Classic in Louisville, KY 5/17 - 5/19. Our girls faced some of the best competition they’ve seen all year in one of the biggest tournaments around. All our girls played their hearts out, and there were so many close, close games! Our 14U (Blue) team (pictured below) ended up taking the Gold Championship at The Classic. We’re so proud of every single player that took the court, and we had so much fun bonding as a team. The sky is the limit when you “Dream” big! ❤️🏀💙

Congrats to these 6th, 7th, and 8th graders for respecting their mommas by taking home the medals at the “Respect Moms Shootout!”🥇 And Happy Mother’s Day to all our Dream mommas out there! 💐 Your girls will always remember how you loved and supported them by catching rebounds in the driveway! Enjoy your day! ❤️🏀💙

What a run over the past few weeks including the 2 USJN'S. All 5 teams with overall winning records since the beginning of the season. Especially proud of our 17u team who we were told that without certain players the Dream should not have a 17u team. Well that 17u team is now 5-3 in USJN 17u divisions and probably played their best basketball as a team today. 9 Sophomores on the team playing up to 17u...
DREAMHARDTHENWORKHARD... Proud Coach!! GO DREAM!!!

Congrats to our 16U, 15U, and 14U teams on taking home the medals this weekend at the Kentucky Derby Shootout yesterday and the Culver’s One Day Shootout today. Loved seeing all five teams cheering each other on and going 13-2 on the weekend! We are so very proud of every single player in this amazing family of ours... Teamwork makes the Dream work! ❤️🏀💙