Who are the Lady Runnin Rebels?

We are an AAU organization located in the greater Philadelphia area, founded in 1990, by Bill McDonough Sr.  Bill is a pioneer of women’s grassroot basketball who helped create the concept of girl’s exposure camps & tournaments.  He founded both Blue Chip Basketball exposure camps, and The Lady Runnin Rebels.  

Bill has been inducted in the Hall of Fame for his great contributions to women’s basketball, spanning over 50 years in this business.  His influence in the women’s game and with HS & college coaches is bar none.  

The Lady Runnin Rebels have cultivated a basketball culture resulting in over 300 of our Rebels playing college basketball, 5 WNBA players, and over 10 players currently coaching in the NCAA.  The Lady Running Rebels continue to be committed to developing our players with an elite coaching staff, many who have played high level collegiate basketball and/or coached at both the HS & collegiate level.  All of our coaches are USA basketball certified.

What is the mission of the Lady Runnin Rebels?

Develop & enhance skills, character, and game play.  We aim to provide our athletes with optimum exposure for the next level while helping them improve each year. 

Here are some of the key values and goals that make up our mission: 

• Skill Development: Prepare girls for high school and college basketball through coaching, comprehensive practices, and competitive environments.
• Character Building: Instill fundamental life lessons and values like character, discipline, respect, and sportsmanship.
• Exposure: Offer optimum college recruiting exposure for players aspiring to the next level.
• Continuous Improvement: Strive to help players get better every year.
• Positive Environment: Work together to cultivate a safe and positive atmosphere where players can reach their full potential. 

When does the season run?

Typically the season starts with practices around the first week of March.  For some HS players their HS season may still be going on so we understand & expect players to still be committed to their HS playoff season.  The Rebels season ends for HS players in the end of July, and the MS season finishes in mid June.

How often does the team practice?

Generally 2x per week.  Each practice runs 1.5-2 hours.  Once practice days & respective gyms are assigned to each team they will run concurrently throughout the season typically on the same day of the week & time.  There may be some exceptions throughout the season.  

How does communication work?

The Rebels utilize Team Snap for scheduling and communication purposes for coaches, players, and parents.  You should have received an invite for your assigned team already.  There you can access your player’s team roster, as well as coaches contact information.  Once the practice & tournament schedule is set, that will be placed into Team Snap as well. Please use TeamSnap to set your availability for each event.

What gear/uniforms are available?

Uniform orders were taken as part of your roster spot acceptance and registration.  We utilize 2 uniform sets:  a home uniform (white) and an away uniform (black). In addition to uniforms, each player gets a shooting shirt to be worn during game warm-ups, a practice pinnie for use at practice, and a backpack. Returning players have an option to re-use pieces of last year’s uniform, or the entire uniform.  New players, or returning players who want a new uniform, can order that as well.  We like to stick to a simple uniform motif and colors that best allows college coaches to see players' names/numbers.  

Returning players maintain their uniform numbers from the prior season. All team members will have the opportunity to select an available number of their choice.

Additional fan gear will be made available for purchase. Rebels will send out a link for an open online store where players and family members can order additional gear at their own cost.  The store will be open all year, and merchandise will be shipped directly to your home.

What college exposure can we expect?

While we recommend that players routinely reach out to colleges of their interest, at various levels, providing film, academic info and interest; we couple that by ensuring that our teams play in tournaments making our players visible to college coaches.

Unlike other sports, the NCAA imposes strict guidelines on when Division I coaches can evaluate women's basketball players at live events. These evaluation periods are referred to as LIVE periods. NCAA grants 5 periods for Division I coaches to evaluate players; 4 for non-scholastic events, and 1 for scholastic events. In 2026 those dates are:

• April 17-19
• May 15-17
• June 18-20 (this is for HS teams only, meaning no AAU tournaments can take place during that time.  Your HS team may enter a LIVE tournament in which you can be seen with your HS team)
• July 10-13
• July 24-27

The Lady Runnin Rebels will ensure that our teams are competing at LIVE events that provide them exposure that is appropriate for their level of play. 

LIVE events run for a minimum of 3 days. The 3 days are always over a weekend during the school year and bleed further into the work week in July. Please block your calendars now to accommodate week day games.

Additionally, our teams will compete in non-LIVE tournaments, which occur outside of the LIVE periods listed above. D2 & D3 schools can attend these tournaments to watch athletes compete.  D2 & D3 college coaches may attend both LIVE & non-Live basketball events.

Does my player need to have a NCAA ID?

Yes. All high school aged players must have a NCAA ID in order to participate in a LIVE period event. Please see the link below for more information on how to create this: https://s3.amazonaws.com/fs.ncaa.org/Docs/eligibility_center/Student_Resources/Registration_Checklist.pdf 

Are there any other certifications required?

Players have no further action beyond registering for a NCAA ID. Rebels will purchase a AAU membership for each player providing additional insurance coverage. Additionally, all of our coaches are USA Basketball certified.

Will the Rebels compete on a circuit?

In 2026, the Rebels are invited members of the Elite 40 Circuit or E40.  This is a premier national circuit, and we were invited as one of the top programs representing the mid-atlantic region.  Elite 40 is home to the Run 4 the Roses Tournament in Louisville, Kentucky,  which is the largest girls AAU exposure tournament in the world. We were invited to be part of other circuits (e.g., NB, S40), and after thoughtful analyses determined that this would provide the best competition and exposure.

Our National level high school teams will compete in the E40. All teams will compete in several Select Events, Ohio Basketball and local (e.g., Comets) tournaments against high level competition.

How many tournaments will each team play?

HS aged teams will play in approximately 9-10 tournaments during both the LIVE & non-Live periods.  Middle school teams will play in approximately 8 tournaments.

Attendance is expected at all tournaments but critical for LIVE events for college exposure.  Travel for LIVE periods will take place & may require hotels, long drives or hotels.  We will make efforts to minimize travel during non-LIVE periods, while still providing strong competition and quality tournaments.  

Will our team have a media day? 

We are partnering with Athletically Challenged, a Sports Media company for this year.  All Players will partake in a Media Day with their respective teams.  A follow up communication will be sent out with this information as per time & date.  All players will receive 4-6 individual digital pictures/poses as well as multiple team pictures.  Media day is included in your registration.

Additionally, we will share the information for Athletically Challenged as they do offer video services which you can purchase for your player.

What about social media

We are active on multiple social media platforms:

• Instagram: @Ladyrunninrebels       
• X: @ladyrunnin                                 
• Facebook: Lady Runnin’ Rebels    

We love to highlight players and their accomplishments on our social media to provide extra exposure. Here are some tips:

• Posts should originate from a player (e.g., highlights, accolades) or a media outlet (e.g., Rare Footage, newspaper). Profiles/posts should be public so coaches and media can access
• Rebels will NOT highlight posts originating from a family member’s account (e.g., Parent posting highlights from their account. Highlights should be posted by the player).
• If you were featured by a media outlet and we missed it on re-post, please share with us by DM’ing our social account.
• Coaches are on all platforms, but we find them most often on X.
• Videos should be less than 2 min and uploaded directly to the platform. Don’t post a link to HUDL and force someone to spend 60s watching an ad - they will scroll past.