ST. IGNATIUS CYO COACHES MANUAL

ST. IGNATIUS CYO COACHES MANUAL Updated 9/15

TABLE of CONTENTS Page 3 Page 4-5 Letter from the CYO Board Important Contact Information Coaching Credentials / Regulations / Guidelines Pages 6 Practice Schedules / Open Gyms / Start Times Page 7 Creating Teams Page 8 Parent Meeting / Team Meeting Page 9 Team Service Project / Team Mass Page 10 Uniforms / Equipment / Expenses Page 11 Number of Games Allowed / Tournaments 2

Dear Coaches, To begin, thank you! The time and talent you are sharing with the students of St. Ignatius Parish is greatly appreciated by the CYO Board. We would not be able to offer the number or variety of sports that we do without you. In an attempt to keep everyone on the same page, we have put together the following information packet. Please be sure that you and your assistant coaches read it through before your season begins. If, at any time, you have a question or concern, please do not hesitate to call or e-mail one of the people on the contact list. Thank you, The CYO Board IMPORTANT CONTACT INFORMATION Name & Position Phone E-Mail Address Athletic Director Melinda O Neill Assistant Athletic Director Chrissy Ward CYO President Joe Marx Father Stokes CYO Spiritual Advisor stignatiusad@gmail.com Christine.l.ward@outlook.com jmarx@ebay.com jfstokes1977@hotmail.com St. Ignatius Facilities Staff 484-333-8888 stifacilities@yahoo.com John Chibirka County Athletic Director john.chibirka@verizon.net 3

COACHING CREDENTIALS Prior to the first practice, ALL coaches, assistants, and volunteers must complete the following: Diocesan Code of Conduct Diocesan Sexual Abuse Code Criminal Background Check Protecting God s Children Workshop Concussion Training Certificate (must be attached to final roster)*. This can be complete at http://www.cdc.gov/concussion/headsup/training/index.html Sudden Cardiac Arrest Form (must be attached to final roster)* Coaches Code of Conduct Form (must be attached to final roster)* Coaches Application** *These forms need to only be submitted once per season per coach. All forms can be downloaded from the CYO web site, www.stignatiuscyo.com in the coach s section. **Coaches only need to apply once per sport. Applications will be kept on record. Upon completion after one year of coaching, ALL COACHES must complete the COACHES CLINIC (Diocese Coaches Training Program). This only has to be done once and within one year of coaching your first CYO sport. Information can be found on the CYO web site, www.stignatiuscyo.com. Please note, the CYO board will reimburse coaches for the $25 registration fee. Please just complete the reimbursement form found in the appendix and return it to the CYO mailbox. 4

ST. IGNATIUS CYO COACHING REGULATIONS 1. There must be AT LEAST TWO coaches rostered for each activity. AT LEAST TWO coaches must be at practices and games. 2. Do not use instant-messaging with students. 2. Copy e-mails to parents/coaches. Do not correspond one-on-one with students. 3. Do not provide rides to one student, unless attended by a third party. 4. For basketball games, grades 3/4 through 6 have four 6-minute quarters, which may not be lengthened. Should a team complete a contest 15 minutes prior to the beginning of the next game, an additional quarter may be added. However, teams must clear the floor ten minutes prior to the scheduled start time of the next game. 6. Players are not allowed to play up. Ex. A 4th grader cannot play on the 5th grade team. Only when a lack of players are registered to field a team can a player be moved up. This will be handled on a caseby-case basis, and the final decision is will be made by the AD/Athletic Committee, not the coaches. If you feel you have a situation that needs review, please refer it to the AD. COACHING GUIDELINES 1. If confronted by a parent, set a time the following day to contact the parent. Do not compare one player s playing time with another s. Use skills to determine playing time. 2. Setting an example for our student-athletes (Increased control and autonomy for head coaches) Should a coach or fan verbally accost one of our volunteers and/or coaches or show a severe lack of sportsmanship, a head coach should weigh the behavior and determine if a warning or ejection is necessary. If ejection is necessary, and a party refuses to leave the premises, a forfeit may be taken (as a last resort). Announce this policy to coaches and referees prior to all games. All incidents need to be documented and submitted immediately to the AD and the CYO President. 3. Should a student wish to join your team prior to the last day of registration, he/she must complete all necessary registration forms (see CYO web site: www.stignatiuscyo.com). After the forms have been completed, you will complete a ROSTER with all of the necessary information regarding players, coaches, and assistants. Required coaching certifications must be attached. All completed ROSTERS must be verified by the School Principal, who will review and verify the status of each prospective player. After Principal approval, the ROSTER must be approved by the Religious Education Office. Upon approval by Religious Education, the Spiritual Advisor will review the form and provide final approval. Once final approval has been given, the Head Coach must make a copy of the final roster for him/herself and a copy to be given to the Athletic Director original ROSTERS must be delivered to Charlie Jones, Berks County CYO Athletic Director. Players may not participate in games until this required process is completed. Please submit rosters to Religious Education AT LEAST one week prior to the due date to Charlie Jones to allow time for the office to check and finalize them. THE HEAD COACH IS RESPONSIBLE FOR COMPLETION OF ALL STEPS IN PROCESS 5

PRACTICE SCHEDULES The Athletic Director, with coaches input, determines each team s practice schedule. During the basketball season, when the gym is almost constantly in use, this will require a scheduling meeting. If your practice schedule changes or you cancel a practice, it is IMPERATIVE that you contact the St. Ignatius Facilities Staff (preferably by phone: 484-333-8888) and the Athletic Director. The Monthly Gym Schedule will be posted outside the gymnasium doors. OPEN GYMS Open Gyms can be held two weeks prior to each sports designated start date (EXCEPT for 7/8 grade which cannot start before the designated start time set out by the Diocese). HOWEVER no team may hold an open gym out-of-season. Open Gyms are optional for all players. Two coaches with all coaching clearances must be present at Open Gyms. Teams can have NO MORE than two Open Gyms a week. Coaches need to have a sign-in sheet with each players name, age, grade, and school. These sheet must be kept on file by the coach. All Open Gyms must be approved by the AD. Open gyms must be open to all St. Ignatius and CCD students. Open gyms must be advertised through Option C and a flyer to St. Ignatius and CCD students and by all other means at our disposal - new web site, parish bulletin, etc. Open gyms are not meant to be practices or tryouts. Athletes should be there to just play and develop skills in a non-competitive atmosphere. BASKETBALL START TIMES Basketball practices for the season will start as follows: o Varsity/JV: Typically the third Monday of October. AD will confirm and notify 7 th /8 th grade coaches of this date. o 5 th /6 th Program: Third Monday in November o 3 rd /4 th Program: First Monday after Thanksgiving or First Monday in December as determined by the AD. SPORTS START TIMES The AD will inform all coaches of official start times as determined by the Archdiocese of Allentown. 6

CREATING TEAMS CYO Board policy for creating teams and determining playing time: VARSITY TEAMS (Volleyball, Boys & Girls Basketball, Softball and Baseball): Teams are selected by coaches based on athletic ability Teams are selected to play a competitive schedule Playing time determined by coach based on ability, practice attendance, attitude and game conditions (In the spirit of CYO, an effort should be to involve all players and try and give fair playing time) Coaches should be aware of game score and level of opponent and substitute appropriately. DO NOT EMBARRASS YOUR OPPONENT. Because of numbers, softball, volleyball and baseball may carry 6 th graders (Please notify the AD prior to making this decision) Basketball may also carry 6 th graders based on cases outlined above. NO player is allowed to play for a PIAA School Jr. High or Middle School sanctioned team and CYO team in the same season per Diocese By-Laws GRADE SCHOOL TEAMS (3/4th, 5th, 6th grade Volleyball, Boys & Girls Basketball): 3/4th and 5th grade teams should be broken up evenly 6th grade basketball teams are to be broken up equally based on skill (No A/B teams). All team participants should play 50% of the contest as long as they have made all practices and are following the Participants Code of Conduct. CYO XC is open to all children of the parish, grades K-8 and all runners can compete at the set age groups and is not based on ability. BERKS LEAGUE TEAMS Both boys and girls participate in the Berks League, as a competitive league Separate rules and bylaws govern each league, guidelines will be provided in a separate addendum 7

PARENT MEETING / TEAM MEETING You must have a Parent Meeting before practice begins. This is a great time for coaches to explain the following: Purpose of the season Coaching philosophy Communication mechanism Expectations Coaches need to hand out CYO parent guidelines for proper format for disputes. At this time you should distribute the CYO Sports Form Packet. This paperwork must be completed and returned to the coach before a student may practice. This can be found at the CYO website, www.stignatiuscyo.com under the form section or it can will be emailed to you by the AD or coach. Please make sure you have all you parents emails and phone numbers Many coaches find it helpful to have a Team Parent or Team Manager. This person can be in charge of communications, Team Mass, Team Service Project, uniform distribution & collection, game day snack bar, etc THIS IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED The CYO Board no longer provides money for end-of-season or team parties but a team may schedule & fund a party through parent donation or collection. A Team Parent or Team Manager could provide assistance in this area. NOTE: The St. Ignatius Meeting Rooms may not be used for parties/gatherings involving food or drinks. 8

TEAM SERVICE PROJECT & TEAM MASS Each team is REQUIRED to do a Service Project during the season. A list of Service Project ideas will be provided to you but feel free to be creative. A signup sheet will be circulated at the Coaches Meeting, if you do not choose a project at the Coaches Meeting, you MUST contact the Athletic Director within one week to register your chosen Project. Please notify the Athletic Director and the Religious Education Office once your team has completed the Service Project. Each team MUST attend a Mass as a team. Again, a list of available Masses will be circulated for your convenience. Please choose one Mass for your team to attend together. You must let the religious education office know which Mass you will be attending. Players attending Mass should wear their uniform top and sit together in the pews, accompanied by Coaches and Assistants. Any player NOT in attendance for a MASS or SERVICE PROJECT must provide an approved excuse for their absence and will be given an alternative Mass date to attend (with another group) or Service Project in which to participate. Any player not in compliance with the above requirements, shall be subject to being benched for the next scheduled game/meet. 9

UNIFORMS & EQUIPMENT All uniforms are the property of the St. Ignatius CYO and are stored in designated bins in the CYO cages. Uniforms may only be signed out by the Athletic Director or Assistant Athletic Director or a representative of the Athletic Committee. Uniforms will be distributed by the Athletic Committee on a scheduled Uniform Handout Day one coach from each team must be present to receive the team s uniforms NO INDIVIDUAL UNIFORMS WILL BE GIVEN OUT Upon receipt of uniforms, it is the Head Coach s responsibility to make sure that ALL players read, complete and sign a Uniform Agreement Form. The signed Agreement forms and $25 Deposit Check must be given directly to the AD or Asst. AD. Please impress upon players that uniforms are NOT to be worn outside of CYO sanctioned games/events they are NOT to be worn for gym days at school. Coaches are responsible for ALL uniforms and equipment assigned to the team. All items signed out MUST be returned in the same or very similar condition (normal wear-and-tear not withstanding). All returned uniforms should be CLEAN. Following the end of the sport season, an Equipment Turn-In Day will be scheduled. At that time, a coach or representative will be responsible for turning in ALL uniforms and equipment. INDIVIDUAL RETURNS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED unless prior arrangements have been made through the Athletic Committee. Any player NOT returning a uniform or other equipment, will be ineligible to participate in any future CYO activities until the outstanding items are returned. ATHLETIC EXPENSES Any requests for uniforms, equipment, or tournaments must go through the AD and be approved by the CYO board. At the end of season, please submit a request to the AD for any equipment needs for the next season. Also, please advise if any equipment is damaged or unfit and needs replacement. 10

NUMBER OF GAMES Varsity teams must follow the PIAA guidelines for number of games that a team may play in. No team may exceed the PIAA limit of regular season games. o The PIAA limits of games are as follows: o Baseball 20 o Basketball 22 o Track 16 o Softball 20 o Volleyball 22 o Cross Country 16 TOURNAMENTS Teams must follow the Diocese rules concerning Tournaments as laid out below. o Teams may participate in any tournaments during the school calendar year provided said tournaments do not conflict with the Diocesan Athletic Program on scheduled playoff dates. Single elimination tournaments count as one game. Double elimination tournaments count as two games. No Varsity team may exceed the PIAA limit of games. o Teams participating in Diocesan CYO Playoffs may not participate in another League or Tournament during said playoffs. o Teams violating Rule C, Section 1, will become ineligible to participate in the Diocesan CYO playoffs program for a period of one year. Varsity/JV teams can enter no more than three tournaments per season and must seek board approval. 5 th /6 th Teams are limited to two tournaments per season. 3 rd /4 th teams are limited to one tournament per season. 11