About Jr Sentinels

Jr Sentinels is a non-profit athletics program focused on offering accessible, high-quality skills development and training to 2nd -8th Grade students in CUSD 201.

Why Jr Sentinels?

Over the last ten years, Westmont’s Community Unit School District 201 has developed a strong academic program. The district has received state and national awards, and has competed with schools three to four times its size in neighboring communities. However, our community has observed how having a small district with a limited number of students can restrict the overall success of our sports programs. Despite this, we are choosing not to accept that as an excuse,, instead partnering as community to support our student athletes in their development.

Our Goal

To build a legacy of community-minded student athletes that compete with confidence, dignity, and respect at all levels of the game.

Offering accessible and affordable after-school skills camps for students through high-quality coaching
Partnering with park district programs, local programs and clubs athletics for continued interest and development.
Providing financial scholarships by application to students for Jr Sentinels and partnering athletics programs
Building leadership & mentorship opportunities for legacy students as they elevate to Jr High, High School & Beyond

As a Title 1 District, Westmont has a larger population of underserved and/or resourced families, making access to costly, high-quality extracurricular athletics and coaching a roadblock for many. Jr Sentinels’ priority is to partner with high-quality coaches who focus on building foundational skills, while helping offset the typical costs for such programming for our students.

JRS is in year 2 of our basketball programming, partnering with, Mike Rose Basketball, run by former professional basketball player and current CUSD 201 staff member, Mike Rose (mikerosebasketball.com). In the 2022-2023 school year, we’ve had 130+ students, grades 2-8, attend 7 6-week sessions of this afterschool skills program, also resulting in greater interest and registration within our community’s park district basketball program.

Our mission does not stop with basketball. We aim to expand, with direction of the schools and available coaching resources, into additional core athletics that serve the high school program.

Offering these skills camps and high-quality coaching is only made possible through regular donations and through our inaugural fundraising event, the Westmont Legacy Hoopfest 3 on 3 Basketball tournament.