A new basketball-playing option is coming to Newtown just in time for this season’s March Madness.

AC Connecticut Basketball, led by Director Donnell Harvey, will be run out of NYA Sports & Fitness. AC Connecticut Basketball will include Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) teams, skills camps/ clinics, leagues, and more. The newly-formed AAU program will field teams U10 to U17, boys and girls, and offer children of various age groups the opportunity to compete in regional and state level tournaments.

Tryouts for the spring season are underway.

These teams will be coached by Harvey, Isaac Gyimah (Newtown High School freshman head coach and varsity assistant), and many other coaches from Western Connecticut.

“The AC Connecticut Basketball program is focused on placing players in the proper environment to develop and compete. Our objective is to provide players in Newtown and all of Western Connecticut with a pathway to obtain success on and off the court. Player development, coaching, and competition are the building blocks to our program,” Harvey said.

“The goal is to give kids the opportunity to play and meet kids from different backgrounds,” Gyimah added.

Robert DiSibio, a senior captain at Newtown High and the team’s leading scorer, has trained under the direction of Harvey in private leagues out of town.

“I can’t speak highly enough about Donnell,” he said, adding that the direction provided by Harvey and Gyimah are “a big part of how I got to be the player I’ve become.”

Tryouts began in late February and run through March 17 at NYA Sports & Fitness. Specific dates, times, and registration information may be found below and at www.acconnecticut.com.

There is no cost for tryouts. League fees range from $650 to $850, depending on age group.

Tryout schedule is as follows:

March 3, 5 pm grades 4/5; 6 pm grades 6/7/8.

High school girls and boys:

March 10, 5 pm boys, 6:30 pm girls.

March 17, 4 pm boys, 5:30 pm girls.