Dartmouth kindergartners, first graders, and second graders will spend the next month and a half getting a crash course in teamwork and basketball.

The Dartmouth Girls Athletic League (DGAL) basketball clinic teaches aspiring pros to dribble, different passing styles, game rules, and how to work as a team, said coach Nicole Mello.

“My goal in anything I do is to have fun and build teamwork,” Mello said. “It’s a huge thing to learn to be a team player to get far in life.”

At the first practice on January 14, coach Steve Winarski ran the girls through warmup and agility drills before teaching them passing and shooting techniques. His trick is to make practice sessions fun, combining exercises with games to keep the girls engaged.

“We just want to get the fundamentals down,” Winarski said.

The program runs from January to early March, said Mello, and this year, the second grade class is 12 strong. Next year, those girls will graduate to the league’s regular youth program.

“There’s only two new girls that joined the [second grade] team this year. You can see a lot of repetition,” Mello said, explaining that many of the girls first sign up in their kindergarten year.