OVE
Ohio Valley EliteMiami Valley
Building champions on and off the court

Elite basketball
without the money grab

Competitive AAU-sanctioned travel ball for boys and girls, run by coaches who take no salary and parents who hold the checkbook. Founded in Steubenville, now expanding into the Miami Valley.

We're forming 2026–27 teams in the Dayton, Centerville, and Springfield area right now.

Next open gym
Wed, Sep 96:00–8:00 PM · $10 at the door
Where
Sinclair — Centerville5800 Clyo Road, Centerville, OH 45459
Who
Grades 4–10Boys and girls · every bracket
What a season actually costs

The number most
programs won't print

A full travel season with Ohio Valley Elite — uniforms and tournament fees included — runs a fraction of what families pay elsewhere. That isn't an introductory rate. It's what happens when nobody on staff takes a paycheck and nobody pads the schedule with cheap tournaments.

$200–400
Per player · full season
Covers uniforms and every tournament entry fee. The exact figure depends on how many tournaments your team votes to play.
$875
What one area program charged
Last season, for a comparable schedule — plus two mandatory fundraisers on top. Most programs around here run $800 to $1,500 and don't advertise it.
$10
Per practice · gym rental
Passed straight through to the gym, and we're working to remove it entirely through fundraisers and 3-on-3 events.

Why gym time is charged separately

Court space is the one thing that limits everything else, and it gets scarce the moment spring arrives. We rent it and split it evenly between teams. Two teams means two hours each. Four teams means ninety minutes each, and we go find another hour rather than shorting anybody.

Where we're trying to get to

The goal is to have next spring's gym time paid for well before the season starts, through fundraisers and 3-on-3 events rather than out of families' pockets. A program that has already paid doesn't lose its slot when every other team in the region comes looking.

How we run it

Five things we do
differently

Most of what frustrates parents about travel basketball comes down to who controls the money and who picks the schedule. We changed both.

01

Open books

Nobody on staff draws a salary and nothing is hidden in the fees. Every dollar goes to tournament entries, uniforms and gym time, and any family can ask exactly where theirs went and get a straight answer.

02

Parents and coaches pick the tournaments

The schedule is voted on together at the start of the season, and the number of events is agreed before anyone pays anything. No one gets entered into a cheap low-tier event to pad a margin.

03

Coaches are unpaid

Nobody on the coaching staff draws a salary, and nobody wants one. That's the reason the season price works, and it's the reason we can say no to events that don't serve the players.

04

Teams by ability, not by who signed up first

With multiple teams per age group, players are placed where they'll actually develop — an advanced gold roster, a silver roster for players still building their game. Nobody rides the bench all season to fill a roster spot.

05

We play up, not down

We target AAU-sanctioned tournaments with real competition. We'd rather lose to a better team than collect a trophy from a weak bracket.

Who we are

Founded in Steubenville.
Building here now.

Ohio Valley Elite was founded in Steubenville in 2023 by Katone Sims, and now fields eight to ten teams across the Ohio Valley. The Miami Valley program is brand new — we're building it from the ground up for the 2026–27 season.

We started by looking for two age groups. Families from every grade level turned up. So we're building wider than we planned, which means there is real room on these rosters right now — and a good chance of more than one team in some brackets.

We're working to lock in weekly gym time through next spring so practice never stops, and putting together a fall league so the younger teams get time together before the season starts. Recruiting continues through the fall and winter.

Players lining up during an open gym practice session
Open gym in progress
Player safety

Everyone here is
registered and checked

Every coach and every player in this program is registered, and no coach works with players before they are screened. If you're trusting us with your ten-year-old on a Saturday three hours from home, you should know exactly who's standing on the floor with them.

AAU membership required

Every coach and every player registers as an AAU member. No exceptions, and no playing outside your true age bracket.

AAU background checks

Every coach will be required to clear AAU background screening before working with players — on top of any other check they have already completed.

USA Basketball certified

Every coach will be required to complete USA Basketball certification before working with players.

Registered non-profit

Ohio Valley Elite is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

Open gyms & tryouts

Who we're looking for

Our current push is fifth and sixth graders, boys and girls — but we've had strong interest across every grade and we're building those rosters too. We expect at least one team in most brackets, and the younger groups are furthest along. Older players are often already settled with a program, so those teams take longer to build.

2035
Entering 4th grade
Boys & girls
2034
Entering 5th grade
Boys & girls · primary focus
2033
Entering 6th grade
Boys & girls · primary focus
2032
Entering 7th grade
Boys & girls
2031
Entering 8th grade
Boys & girls
2030
Entering 9th grade
Boys & girls · building
2029
Entering 10th grade
Boys & girls · building

AAU places players by age rather than grade, so we'll confirm your athlete's exact bracket individually.

Please text or call before you come — the head count decides whether we open one court or two.

What's expected

What you're
signing up for

Travel basketball asks something of the whole family, not just the player. We would rather you know all of it before tryouts than find out in March.

01

Playing time is earned

There is no guarantee of minutes at this level. A player might play nearly the whole game one weekend and very little the next — coaches play matchups, and every game is different. If that's not what your family is looking for, this is the honest place to find out.

Playing time is rented. And rent is due the very first minute of every practice.
02

Be early, and be there

On time means a little early, to every practice and every game. Teams come together through repetition, and a player who misses practice is a player the rest of the team can't rely on. Practice matters more than game day — you play how you practice.

03

AAU registration

Once a player has a spot, they register as an AAU member, same as every coach on our staff. That's what keeps age brackets honest and gives every player insurance coverage at sanctioned events.

04

The season runs March through August

Tournaments start in early March and run through the summer. Many teams are finished by June; stronger teams often keep going. There are events every weekend within reach — Dayton, Xenia, Cincinnati, Columbus — so you are not on the road every week unless the team decides to be.

05

We start local, then decide together

The first couple of tournaments stay close to home so we can see how the team competes. After that everyone meets — parents and coaches — and decides whether to stay on the same circuit or step up to tougher tournaments further out. Nobody gets committed to a travel schedule they didn't agree to.

06

If a season ends early

If a player suffers a season-ending injury, we refund the unused portion of their fee. If a player simply decides to stop playing, we don't — by then they have held a roster spot another kid would have taken, and the coaching time has already gone in. We'd rather tell you that now than argue about it in May.

07

Costs beyond the season fee

The player fee covers uniforms and entry fees. Travel weekends still mean gas, food, and sometimes a hotel, and that's real money on top. Families here help each other with rides and rooms, and we'll help coordinate carpools so distance isn't the reason a kid misses a tournament.

08

If something isn't right

Talk to your coach first. Most things get sorted in a five-minute conversation after practice, and your coach would rather hear it from you than hear it second-hand. If it isn't resolved there, contact Katone Sims, who founded Ohio Valley Elite and oversees all of our teams.

09

Staying in touch

Each team runs a group chat — not another app to download, just the one everybody already uses. Schedule changes, gym times and tournament details go there. You'll also be able to reach your coach or assistant coach directly; nobody has to go through a front office to ask a question.

An indoor basketball court

Come and watch first

Nobody has to commit to any of this sight unseen. Open gyms run on Saturdays — turn up, watch a session, talk to us, and decide afterwards.

Coaching staff

Who's on the floor

Between them, our coaches have won at the highest level of AAU competition and taken teams across the country. More coaches will be added here as the program grows.

Raven Webb coaching at practice

Raven Webb

Coach · Miami Valley

Eight AAU state championships, and teams taken to AAU national competition in Ogden, Kenner, Minneapolis, Orlando, San Antonio and Los Angeles.

Raven coaches and runs the Miami Valley program. He is recently retired, takes no salary, has no child on any of these teams, and has been paying for gym time out of his own pocket to get this started.

Katone Sims

Katone Sims

Founder · Ohio Valley Elite

Katone founded Ohio Valley Elite in Steubenville in 2023 and coordinates every team in the Ohio Valley area.

He is also the head coach at Edison High School in Richmond, Ohio.

Come see it for yourself

Bring your baller out
on Saturday

Two hours, ten dollars, no commitment. Watch a practice, meet the staff, and decide for yourself. Text ahead so we know how many courts to open.

Get in touch
Contact

Talk to us

Call or text either of us — we love talking basketball.

Raven Webb
Coach · Miami Valley
(937) 613-4711
Katone Sims
Founder · Ohio Valley Elite
(740) 232-9765 ohiovalleyelite740@gmail.com
Miami Valley
General inquiries
info@ohiovalleyelitebb.org
Sponsorship

Put your name
behind these kids

Ohio Valley Elite is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit. Every dollar goes to keeping players on the floor — nobody on our staff draws a salary. Donations are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law.

Tournament fees

Entry costs for AAU-sanctioned events through the spring and summer season.

Uniforms & equipment

Kit for every rostered player, included in their season fee rather than billed on top.

Gym time

Court rental so teams can practice year-round instead of only in season.

Travel

Helping families who would otherwise have to miss tournaments over cost.

Champion
$2,500+
  • Logo on uniforms, banners, website and social posts
  • VIP recognition at tournaments and events
  • Featured on our Supports Our Athletes page
Elite
$1,000+
  • Logo on the website and social media
  • Recognition at team events
Team
$500+
  • Name listed on team materials
  • Public thank-you on social media

Every contribution helps, whatever the size. Smaller gifts go straight into gym time and keep a kid on the floor who might otherwise sit out.

Donate
Donations are processed by Givebutter and go to Ohio Valley Elite, the parent organization, which funds every chapter including ours. You'll receive a receipt with our EIN on it for your records.
Ohio Valley Elite · 501(c)(3) public charity · EIN 92-0767699