Basketball Handbook Season

Transcription

1 Basketball Handbook Season

2 Valdosta-Lowndes County Parks & Recreation Authority Mission Statement The VLPRA continually strives to be the leading force in superior, affordable recreation services and facilities for all residents of Valdosta and Lowndes County. The Authority aims to promote high quality of life for the entire population and support residents values while growing a healthy, safe and environmentally responsible community. VLPRA Youth Basketball Mission Statement The mission of VLPRA Youth Basketball is to collaborate with the local school systems and the community to provide a safe and competitive learning environment for recreational players of all abilities. This league will work to develop athletic character, knowledge, sportsmanship, and teamwork in all players regardless of age and gender. As a united team of administrators, coaches, teachers, players and spectators, we will also demonstrate integrity and fairness to all.

3 WELCOME ADMINISTRATORS, PARENTS, PLAYERS, COACHES, and SPECTATORS: Youth sports can help shape a child in a way that lasts a lifetime, instilling values and developing character. We believe that youth sports is also a great avenue to bring children, parents, coaches and administrators together in such a way that promotes a healthy lifestyle, teamwork, fun, and a sense of community. It is at this level parents and coaches and administrators play a particularly remarkable role in making a child s experience in sports not only safe but enjoyable. Through basketball, children can learn a multitude of important life lessons such as ethics, winning and losing with poise, good sportsmanship, coping with success and failure, and respecting authority figures, as well as working hard both in the classroom and on the court. These traits truly provide the building blocks that will help the young children of our community become well-balanced and active adults. So, on behalf of the Valdosta-Lowndes County Parks & Recreation Authority (VLPRA), we want to thank you for being a part of our Youth Basketball program. We are extremely proud of this league and all of the facilities that we will have the opportunity to operate out of. VLPRA serves a great community and we are excited to collaborate with our local schools to bring such an exciting and innovative program to our youth. We are looking forward to a great season and are confident that you will be pleased with the professional staff, passionate volunteers and high energy structure we have created!

4 POLICY & PROCEDURES A. Registration Information 1. Registration begins approximately one month prior to player assessments each season. 2. Early registration is not permitted and a late fee may be applied for late registration. 3. One registration form for each participant and each program is required. 4. The age control date for the VLPRA Youth Basketball season is the current grade level of each participant. 5. Registration forms can be found online ( or at the VLPRA offices. 6. Registration for VLPRA Youth Basketball will be taken online at be completed at the VLPRA offices, taken at respective schools, or mailed to: VLPRA Attention: VLPRA Youth Basketball Registration P.O. Box 1746 Valdosta, GA Registration CANNOT be accepted over the telephone, fax or Registration CANNOT be accepted by volunteers. 9. Returned checks are subject to as much as a $30 fee. 10. Registration can be taken at the VLPRA Administrative Offices on Monday-Friday from 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. You may call (229) with any questions or concerns. 11. When paying in cash, please have the correct amount. B. Cancellation Policy 1. All leagues (school- grade/ gender) not meeting minimum enrollment will be cancelled or combined with another league (school- grade/ gender) when possible. 2. If your league (school- grade/ gender) is cancelled, you will be notified. Leagues may be cancelled due to low enrollment, lack of coaches, etc. 3. A full refund will be given for the cancellation of any league (school- grade/ gender). 4. All refunds for cancelled leagues will take 30 days to process. C. Refund Information 1. Refund requests must be completed in person at the VLPRA Administrative Offices during regular hours prior to the beginning date of the season. (The beginning date of the season is the assessment/draft date for each grade/school). NO REFUNDS AFTER THE DRAFT. 2. Refund requests must be in writing and are subject to approval by the VLPRA staff. 3. Refund checks may take up to 30 days for processing. There are No Cash Refunds. 4. Participants requesting a refund will be charged a $5 processing fee and any other applicable fees including cost of uniform, etc. D. Inclement Weather 1. RAIN-OUTS/ SNOW/ ICE- In case of inclement weather, please visit 2 hours prior to your game/practice time, check facebook.com/vlpra and sign up for rain alerts at You may also call (229) Participating school policy - if school is declared closed for inclement weather or any other unusual situation then all VLPRA Youth Basketball league play (practice or game) will be cancelled as well. 3. The safety of the participants, officials, and spectators is the primary concern in cases of inclement weather. Once a game/practice has started the Gym Director and/or officials will have the responsibility to remove the players from the facility if the conditions become extreme. E. Late pick up is considered 15 minutes following the end of a practice/game 1. The first late pick up will result in a written warning issued to the parent/guardian. 2. Second late pick up will result in parent/guardian paying a one-time $20 non-refundable late pick-up fee for each half hour following the initial grace period (15 minutes) before the child(ren) is permitted to return to any team function.

5 3. Third late pick up will result in child(ren) being removed from VLPRA Youth Basketball for the remainder of the season. F. Financial Aid 1. VLPRA recognizes the need to provide leisure activities for the entire community. A family or individual can apply for financial aid by calling (229) for more information. Some restrictions may apply. 2. Only completed financial aid applications will be considered. 3. Financial aid applications will not be accepted after the registration period ends. 4. Financial Aid is not available to participants who reside outside of Valdosta-Lowndes County. G. Registration Requirements 1. If the participant requires any special accommodations, the ADA Compliance Coordinator and/or VLPRA Staff is required to be notified within fifteen (15) business days prior to the beginning of the league in order allow VLPRA adequate time to attempt to make a reasonable accommodation. 2. Participants (or their parents or guardians) must click/sign waiver/release form prior to participation in any league. 3. Participants who reside outside of Lowndes County will not be permitted to play in the VLRPA Youth Basketball League. o Out of County residents who attend a private school within Lowndes County that meets the requirements to form a team will be permitted to play. o Out of County residents who attend a Lowndes County or Valdosta City School will be permitted o to play for that school. Per GRPA rules, no Out of County residents may be allowed to compete on an Athletic All-Star team. 4. Home-School participants (who reside within Lowndes County) will be placed on teams based on the residents public school district. 5. Drafts- no favor/requests to bypass the draft can be accepted in order to maintain the integrity of the league. H. Calendar of Events 1. A Calendar of Events will be provided during registration for each season to highlight all important dates and information needed. I. Parent Orientation Meeting 1. VLPRA requires that all teams conduct a mandatory parent meeting during the first week of practice. It is the responsibility of the Head Coach of each team to conduct such meetings. In order for your child to play in the league, it is mandatory that one or both of the parents/guardians attend. Important information such as policy and procedures, safety and first aid, medical alerts, expectations, responsibilities and team rules will be discussed in detail. This meeting is held in order to lay the foundation for open communication among coaches, parents and participants. If your head coach does not hold this meeting then report this to a VLPRA Administrator immediately. J. Medical Information 1. All minor injuries will be treated by VLPRA Staff/Gym Director or trained volunteer. Any major or life threatening injury or accident that may occur at the facility, during scheduled game/practice times will be handled as follows: a will be called immediately b. - Parent/Guardian will be contacted 2. Based on the professional decision of the EMT unit, the participant may be transported to the closest medical facility for immediate care. If medical transportation is required, the charges incurred will be billed to the parents/guardians and/or parents /guardians insurance policy. VLPRA staff are prohibited to transport a participant in a personal vehicle. 3. A doctor s Release Form must be submitted to VLPRA athletic staff before a participant may resume play. 4. Please notify VLPRA if your child has a pre-existing medical condition (i.e. allergies, medications, physical impairments, etc.) on the registration form. Also, notify the coach at the mandatory team

6 meeting. This is essential in order to determine the severity of an accident and to assist medical personnel who respond to the scene. K. Uniforms/ Equipment 1. A portion of your registration fee is used to supply the team with uniforms. Uniforms are expected to be worn in the condition that they are given out. DO NOT USE BLEACH or other harsh abrasives to clean uniforms/equipment. a. Teams may opt out of out of a VLPRA-supplied uniform. Uniforms that are supplied by individual teams must be of comparable quality, follow pre-set guidelines and gain approval by the VLPRA Director. 2. During games the players are required to wear their jerseys tucked in and shorts worn at waist level at all times. NO EXCEPTIONS 3. During games the coaches are required to wear proper coaching attire. Coaches must provide their own shirts in likeness of their team or wear a business casual shirt. A coach s dress code will be strictly enforced and should include the proper coaching shirt along with appropriate pants/ shorts/ shoes. NO EXCEPTIONS (Failure to comply will result in a technical foul to start the game.) 4. VLPRA will provide game day equipment necessary such as game balls, scoreboards and scorebooks. L. Volunteer Appointments 1. It is mandatory that each volunteer complete and pass the VLPRA volunteer application process to include a criminal background check prior to assuming any volunteer duties. 2. Coaches will be assigned to leagues/ teams as needed based on participation numbers. 3. There are NO guarantees in receiving a Gym Director position or coaching appointment from season to season. 4. Coaches conduct during the season and adherence to the coaches attire rules will be taken into consideration for future seasons and may result in a coach being prohibited from coaching for a duration determined by the VLPRA. 5. Approved coaches from the previous season will take seniority in the same league (grade level/ gender). Approved coaches in the league from the previous season moving up to the next league (grade/ gender) will take second priority. M. Player Selection 1. Player Assessments- An Assessment Day will be held in order to give coaches an opportunity to evaluate all eligible players. Eligible players that do not attend will still be eligible for the draft but special circumstances may affect their draft round status. If in any way the spirit and intent of player assessments or draft is abused, VLPRA may make decisions on a player placement in the best interest of the program. 2. Draft- A draft will be scheduled immediately following the player assessment process. 3. Only approved coaches will be allowed at this meeting. 4. Teams will draft according to the established rotating chart based on the number of teams in the league. Each team will draw for their draft pick # (1 st pick, 2 nd pick, 3 rd pick, etc.). Team draft order shall vary in each round so that each team will average out to approximately the same pick in each round. The sequence shall be resumed and so on until team sizes are reached by the drafting of all eligible players available for drafting. 5. There shall be only one draft per league (grade/ gender). 6. Unless requested otherwise, by their parents, in writing to VLPRA staff before the draft, siblings must be taken as consecutive draft choices by the same team. 7. Coaches children will be automatically placed on their father /mother s/guardian s team. Head coaches will automatically draft their child in the 1 st round and assistant coach will be in the 2 nd. If a coach has more than one child in the same league (grade/ gender), the second child must automatically be taken following the round of when the first child is taken or next available round. 8. Only players who attend player assessments may be drafted initially. The names of those participants not attending assessments will be placed in a HAT and blind drawn for at the end of the draft. 9. The draft-able players will be drafted as long as there are enough players to make an even round so everyone has the same amount of draft choices. Then the names of those players not drafted, along with

7 participants who are registered in the league (hat picks), but did not attend player evaluations, will be placed in a hat and drawn in draft order. In the last round drawn from the hat, if there are not enough players left for each team to receive a player, blanks will be inserted in place of names so that every team has a draw. Blanks will later be filled by potential participants who are on the waiting list in the order that they signed up. 10. Players, registered after player assessments including returning players, will be placed on a waiting list (some may be placed on a waiting list once player assessments begin, or prior to, if necessary) and will be assigned to the teams that need players in the same manner as stated above (HAT PICK- element of chance), provided vacancies exist. 11. In order to request that a player not be drafted by a head coach, the following conditions must be met: A written parental request must be received seven (7) days prior to player evaluations. (This can be done on the registration form or via by contacting VLPRA at administration@vlpra.com 12. A duplicate copy will be sent to the head coach listed. N. General Information 1. Other documents such as VLPRA Youth Basketball registration forms, draft order by rounds, criminal background application, etc. can be provided when requested. 2. VLPRA, on occasion, may photograph or videotape registrants, participants and spectators in programs, special events or facilities. Such photographs are for VLPRA use only and may be used in publications, brochures, pamphlets, flyers websites or video productions. Participation in VLPRA Youth Basketball is with implied consent to the use of registrants, participants and spectator s likeness and image for such purposes. 3. Pre-selected Valdosta-Lowndes County elementary school gyms and VLPRA Satellite Gyms will serve as the home site for each community/ school district (4-6 grades) but any pre-selected site of VLPRA Youth Basketball may be used if necessary for practice/ games. VLPRA will make every effort to schedule teams within their own elementary and/or middle school district for practices but there are no guarantees. 4. All dates, days, times and leagues (grade/ gender) are subject to change due to inclement weather and/ or number of participants/ teams. Monday through Thursdays between 6:00pm and 8:30pm are primary practice days/times. Saturdays are primary playing days for VLPRA Youth Basketball. 5. No solicitation of any kind will be allowed without prior consent from VLPRA.