WELCOME TO THE 2017 UPWARD BASKETBALL & CHEERLEADING SEASON
WELCOME UPWARD FAMILIES Dear Families, Thank you so much for choosing Upward Sports Community Basketball and Cheerleading for your family s sports experience. We want to welcome you to our league and our team of churches that are dedicated to making this the best season for your family. We are a Christian sports league and we will do our best to live up to the high standards that God has set for us. Upward Sports mission is to promote the discovery of Jesus through sports. You know, God gave us the Bible to answer all of life s questions and to give us a standard to live by. There are sixtysix books in the Bible that outline the way we should live. He even broke it down into 10 commandments, but we, as the simple minded creatures that we are, want Him to make it even easier, so, He did. Jesus gave these two commandments that are the greatest commandments of all, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, your soul, your mind, and your heart AND to love your neighbor as yourselves. Our goal for this season is to spread the love of God by using basketball and cheerleading as tools. Part of your child s practice each week will include a devotion that they will be able to apply to their daily lives and every game will have a short devotion for our families. We want to provide a safe, fun, and convenient sports experience for your family and not only tell of Gods love but show it through our actions and throughout the league. We are excited about what God has in store for us this season and we can t wait to share it with you! In Christ, Daniel W. Everhart Upward League Director 1 COMMUNITY UPWARD
KEY DATES TO NOTES November 11, 2016 Last day for early registration - fee increases to $90 November 15, 2016-7:00 pm Coaches Training Location: Friedberg Moravian Church s Family Life Center November 17, 2016-7:00 pm Coaches Training Location: Friedberg Moravian Church s Fellowship Hall December 3, 2016-9:00-11:00 am Mandatory Referee Clinic Location: Friedberg Moravian Church s Family Life Center January 7, 2017 First games of the season February 4, 2017-6:00 pm Coaches Game (no daytime games) Location: North Davidson High School March 4, 2017 Last game of the season March 10, 2017-7:00 pm End of Year Celebration Location: North Davidson High School December 9, 2016 Deadline to register and be included in team photos December 17, 2016 - Time TBA Team and Individual Photos Location: Friedberg Moravian Church s Family Life Center December 23, 2016 Registration CLOSES for the 2017 basketballl & cheerleading season COMMUNITY UPWARD 2
2017 LEADERSHIP TEAM Community Upward Sports promotes character and self-esteem in every child, while teaching sportsmanship, athletic skills, and respect for authority in every situation. As our league s 6th year of existence, we have an extremely active leadership team who meets monthly and is proactive in being hands-on in all aspects of the Community Upward Sports League. Daniel Everhart Heidi Everhart Sherri Phillips David Brann Sean Burchette Carly Johnson David Watkins Christina Smith Laura Overcash Jim Newsome Dan Nelson Walter Bishop League Director Coach Commissioner: Hopewell Moravian Church League Referee Commissioner Senior Pastor: Friedberg Moravian Church 3 COMMUNITY UPWARD Assistant League Director & Director of Children s Ministry Friedberg Moravian Church Assistant League Coach Commissioner Marketing & Communications: Public Relations Associate Pastor: Friedberg Moravian Church League Prayer Commissioner Cheer Commissioner Marketing & Communication: Photography & Media Pastor: Hopewell Moravian Church
INCLEMENT WEATHER POLICY If you have any questions regarding practice or games schedules due to inclement weather Community Upward Sports has four (4) ways of notifying everyone, listed below. Just as a reminder for practices during the week, if Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School System or Davidson County School System closes early or cancels all afterschool activities, then there will be no practice that evening as well. If you ever have any questions, please feel free to contact your coach and they will help you out or they will direct you to the person who can. INFORMATION LINE WEBSITE Call Community Upward Sports Information line at 336-283-6162 for a recorded message, regarding any weather-related decisions. Community Upward Sports website, www.communityupward.org, will report any weather delays or cancelations. SOCIAL MEDIA TEXT NOTIFCATION Check out Community Upward Sports social media pages (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube & Instagram) for up-to-date weather information. Community Upward Sports offers text notifications, through REMIND, for weather information (see next page for instructions). COMMUNITY UPWARD 4
INSTRUCTIONS TO RECEIVE TEXT MESSAGING NOTIFICATIONS This season we are using a secure website to send information to your phone with important reminders and cancellations. To subscribe to this system, simply text: Number: 81010 Message: @upwardpar (this is case sensitive) You will receive a response and be prompted to go to a website to confirm your subscription or simply reply with your full name. Once that step is complete you will be registered for informational texts. If you have previously signed up for this application with us, you will not need to do it again. If you wish to stop receiving texts from this system, simply reply stop or unsubscribe. This is a non-reply system and will not except return texts. 5 COMMUNITY UPWARD
6TH ANNUAL COMMUNITY UPWARD SPORTS COACHES BENEFIT GAME Saturday, February 4th - 6:00pm Pete Jones Gymnasium North Davidson High School 7227 Old U.S. 52 Lexington, NC 27295 Each year, we gather together and play game with the coaches just for fun! Our cheer coaches also jump in and cheer on our players. Be sure to mark your calendar for an evening of fun and entertainment on Saturday, February 4th! Several years ago we began raising money for local charities and benefits. Once again, this season the league has chosen Sunnyside Ministry as our local charity. All season we collect non-perishable food items and money for this great organization. At the game, we will collect items that will go towards your child s team totals. We will also have a theme basket raffle to raise additional money. In between the quarters we will have minute to win it games and other activities for the children. Once again, our friend, BOLT from the Winston-Salem Dash has agreed to come and be our guest referee. Concessions will be available for purchase with all proceeds going to Sunnyside Ministry. It will be a great night of family fun and we hope to see you there!!! COMMUNITY UPWARD 6
VISIT OUR LEAGUE WEBSITE This season, Community Upward Sports is excited to introduce our newly designed website, www.communityupward.org. The new website is an all-in-one communication source regarding our league. It was created and built with our parents, players, and coaches specifically in mind. The website offers some of the following features: List of frequently asked questions Details regarding Community Upward Sports weather policy Important dates/events that you won t want to miss Information regarding the hard-working leadership team Link to view and purchase game day photos Downloadable registration, coaching, and referee registration forms Schedule of all games (will be posted once registration is complete) Links to all of our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages Plus much, much more!!! 7 COMMUNITY UPWARD
UPWARD GAME DAY & SPECIAL EVENT PHOTOS This season we are using a secure website to post pictures from the 2017 season. Unfortunately in the society we live in, we felt it was best to secure the photos of our players, cheerleaders, and families. To access the photo galleries: Visit www.communityupward.org, click on the Photos tab, then use the password upward2017. (This password is case sensitive and works for all game day facilities.) The password is only being given to parents of participants. If you choose to give a family member or friend the password you may do so at your discretion. In addition to using the website for security purposes the website allows us to raise money for our season s chosen benefit, Sunnyside Ministries. Below are some of the prices for the pictures if you choose to purchase them instead of only view! Digital Download $1.00 each Mini Wallets (set of 8) 2.00 each Wallets (set of 4) $2.00 each 4 x 6 Print $2.00 each 5 x 7 Print $3.00 each 8 x 10 Print $4.00 each 8 x 12 Print $6.00 each Please email questions related to photos and photo purchasing to laura.overcash@yahoo.com. COMMUNITY UPWARD 8
SUNNYSIDE MINISTRY COLLECTION Every year Community Upward Sports League chooses a local benefit to support. This season we have chosen Sunnyside Ministry again as our local charity! Sunnyside supports families in need by providing food, clothing, toiletries, and other common needs. To make it fun for the teams, we will have a little friendly competition to see which team can bring in the most items and or money. The winner of the competition at each facility will receive an end of year pizza party provided by Upward. All proceeds from the Annual Coaches Benefit Game will also go to Sunnyside. In the past four years combined we have donated over $9,000 and more than 5,000 items to aid in their cause. You may visit Sunnyside Ministry s website for more information on items that they are in need of at this time. Please help us give back to the community we come from and help this worthy cause throughout the season. What is Sunnnyside Ministry? The Moravian Church in America, Southern Province established Sunnyside Ministry in 1978 based on the vision of Trinity Moravian Church. With a staff of three full-time and two part-time employees, Sunnyside is only able to serve clients through the dedicated service of 200 volunteers. Their volunteers work diligently to emulate God s love through service to those in need within our community. Sunnyside Ministry is a non-profit organization that provides food, clothing, and emergency financial assistance to families in crisis. All funding for our assistance programs comes from donations and grants. How much does Sunnnyside Ministry help the local community? In 2014, Sunnyside Ministry provided $1,883,040 worth of services to families in crisis situations. Grocery orders were provided to 17,634 people and clothing to 15,483 individuals. For more information visit, sunnysideministries.wordpress.com 9 COMMUNITY UPWARD
RULES & GAME INFORMATION Rules unique to Upward Basketball are designed to recognize that Every Child Is a Winner by promoting the following: Character Self-esteem Player safety UNIQUE RULES TO UPWARD BASKETBALL Referees lead both teams in prayer at center court before every game. Home team is the team listed last on the game schedule. The Visiting team will receive the ball at the beginning of the game and the Home team will receive the ball at the beginning of the 3rd quarter. All other quarters and jump ball situations will go off of the possession arrow. All divisions will play man on man defense. Zone defenses are not allowed. The clock stops every quarter for predetermined substitutions. Coaches are given a rotation at the beginning of every game. All coaches will adhere to the substitution rules given to them at their training beginning of season. No timeouts are used in Upward Basketball (only exception = injury or sickness). The score will be discontinued when a team goes up by 20 or more points in the game. No league standings will be kept. Such standings add unnecessary pressure and intensity. High School Basketball rules apply where there are no unique rules in place. COMMUNITY UPWARD 10
GAME DAY RULES 1. Defensive players must stay within arm s reach of the player they re guarding. Velcro strips of different colors will be used (Orange, Yellow, Blue, Green, and Black) to indicate the person they should be guarding. 2. At the beginning of each quarter, coaches, and referees will make sure the players are properly matched up. 3. Full court presses are not allowed. Defensive players may not guard their opponents in the backcourt and must allow the offensive player to cross half-court. 4. Referees will call and explain all violations, and the penalty will be a turnover. These explanations will vary according to the age group and understanding of the players and should decrease as the season progresses. When possible, referees will advise players of potential violations before the violation occurs. 5. No technical fouls or protest of games are used. An Un-Christ-Like conduct foul will be awarded in situations as needed at the discretion of the referee or commissioner. For a player this results in the immediate removal from the game for that quarter no matter how many fouls the player already has. If there are less than two minutes left in the quarter then the player will also sit out the next quarter that he/she is scheduled to play in. If this is given to a coach then the team loses possession and the other team is awarded three points. Also the coach is subject to a meeting with Upward League Directors as well as possible further action. This foul includes but is not limited to, swearing, profanity, hitting or physical abuse, or any other behavior that is deemed un-christ-like. 6. No score will be given for a basket in the wrong goal. It will be treated as a turnover. 7. A player committing two fouls in one quarter must sit out the remainder of that segment. The referee will call out the foul to the scorer s table who will keep track of the fouls. The next player in the rotation comes in as the substitute. This does not change the normal rotation, because the fouledout player does not come back into the game until scheduled to do so. 11 COMMUNITY UPWARD
SUBSTITUTIONS The substitution system is designed to provide every player equal opportunity for improvement. The substitution system ensures the following things: Every child will play at least half of the game. No child will sit out more than one quarter at a time. Every child will have an opportunity to be in the starting lineup. Coaches are free from monitoring playing time for each player due to rotation schedule given to them. Playing time for all players is virtually even over the course of the season as long as there is no injury or fouling out. POST-GAME AWARDS Game-Day Stars will be given to your players at the end of all games!!! Parents and family members are encouraged to be a part of these presentations and to cheer for all players as the stars are awarded. BLUE is for Best Effort GOLD is for Best Sportsmanship GRAY is for Best Offense RED is for Best Defense WHITE is for Christlikeness COMMUNITY UPWARD 12
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES Our season would not be possible without the help of our dedicated volunteers. Upward volunteers are a blessing not only to the league but to the children & families they impact each season. We are always seeking volunteers to join our sports ministry team, so please consider rolling up your sleeves and becoming involved. Below is a list of some available opportunities: Coach - Impact the lives of children and have fun while you volunteer as a coach! Use your talents to teach sport fundamentals as well as the value of sportsmanship, teamwork, integrity and respect for authority. Assistant Coach - Have fun and make a difference in the lives of children by helping the Coach teach both athletic skills and life values for success on and off the field. Cheer Coach/Assistant - Use your talents to teach Cheer fundamentals as well as the value of sportsmanship, teamwork, integrity and respect for authority. Referee - Our training will teach you to develop and use this gift to have fun and make an impact in the lives of our players and their families as an Upward Referee. Prayer Partner - We are in need of those who will commit to praying each day for the Upward Basketball season to positively change lives. Score Board/Time Clock Keeper - Help keep the game time and score during the games. Photographer - Use your passion for photography to take pictures of the teams and players during the games. Announcer - We need individuals with an upbeat voice and delivery to clearly announce each team s players and coaches before every game. 13 COMMUNITY UPWARD
ITEMS TO REMEMBER: QUESTIONS TO ASK: COMMUNITY UPWARD 14
COMMUNITY UPWARD SPORTS 2178 Friedberg Church Road Winston Salem, NC 27127 Phone: Email: Website: 336-283-6162 upwardball@gmail.com www.communityupward.org Jesus said, Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these. - Matthew 19:14