Parent/Player Handbook Welcome to the Maricopa Starlings Volleyball Club (MSVC). We are proud to be part of the USA Volleyball Association. The USAV has divided the nation into 40 geographic regions. Each region s goal is to offer the USAV experience. We are part of the Arizona Region. Introduction The handbook is designed to educate you about our club, our coaching philosophy, and how to be successful within the Maricopa Starlings Volleyball Club. We hope this handbook will provide you with information that will be useful to your decision on whether to play for Maricopa Starlings during the upcoming season. We are a 501c3 nonprofit organization, with a goal to grow the sport of Volleyball here in Maricopa. We work diligently to keep costs low, so that no young lady is denied her dream of playing the sport of Volleyball, regardless of her social economic situation. Mission Statement and Coaching Philosophy We strive to promote the sport of Volleyball in the town of Maricopa through a transparent, non-profit organization; All efforts will be made to keep costs low, while providing a competitive fun learning environment for young girls (ages 10-18) in the sport of Volleyball, regardless of their social-economic circumstances. If a young girl has the desire and dedication to play volleyball, we will move heaven and earth to help her succeed in that dream; if there is a will, there is a way. We teach values such as teamwork, innovation, leadership, motivation, perseverance and other concepts common to personal development. We teach all athletes all skills, making an effort train all-around players. As athletes grow in the sport they do tend to specialize, but we maintain our focus on keeping our players able to play any position asked of them. Maricopa Starlings (MSVC) Administration The Club s leadership is composed a Director and a Board of Directors. All positions are voluntary and receive no compensation for any work done. Having a Board of Directors is dependent on having enough volunteers to create a board. All administrative positions will be evaluated prior to the start of each club season, anyone interested in participating should contact the club director. The director shall be appointed by board members by the end of August each year. We strive to have a board comprised of a minimum 1 coach, 1 parent and a community business member. The board positions shall be divided into the following positions with the assigned responsibilities current positions are held by: Director: Martie Swann - Overall management for the club including coach selection, practice locations and overseeing board meetings. Secretary: Martie Swann - Track all documents as required by USA Volleyball and the Arizona Region. Handle all accounts receivable and payable. Treasurer: Martie Swann - Monthly reconciliation of accounts and record keeping, tax documentation, etc. Activity/Fundraising Coordinator: Brenda Able - Locating fundraising opportunities, coordination of activities and ordering of team jerseys and equipment. Community Outreach Coordinator: TBD - The outreach coordinator will help to build relationships within the community. General Board Member: Brenda Able and Shannon Skoko - Help will tasks as requested. MSVC Season The MSVC regular season starts at tryouts in November and ends after the Arizona Regional Championships, usually scheduled in May. Post-season begins after the regular Arizona Region tournaments and continues through the end of June. Post season will require additional tryouts and selection if offered.
Coaching MSVC believes that talented and experienced coaching can provide the best results for each player. All of our head coaches have interviewed with the club directors to ensure that they are a great fit for our club. Head coaching staff shall comply with the following requirements: Arizona Region Policies Be at least eighteen (18) years of age at the time he/she begins coaching Be registered with the Arizona Region as a member/coach Be IMPACT certified Attend a referee/scorekeeper clinic Have satisfactorily passed a background check Tryouts Maricopa Starlings Volleyball Club (MSVC) will hold open tryouts each year to select players for our teams. Our tryouts will comply with Arizona Region policies that include player pre-registration, tryout date guidelines, and tryout fees. Tryout Preparation All required documents can be found and completed prior to tryouts by visiting maricopastarlings.org. Please plan to arrive early, at least twenty (30) minutes before the scheduled start time to complete all registration requirements. If you will be coming from another tryout, please contact one of our directors to let them know. The Team Selection Process The Maricopa Starlings Volleyball Club roster will have between 10-12 players and anticipate teams in the U12, U14, U16 and U18 age divisions. Final determination of teams will be based on the ages of players that arrive for tryouts. Multiple coaches and volunteers will participate in evaluating players during our tryouts, however, the final team decision will be made by each team coach. Selection will be based upon the following criteria: Player s performance during the tryout skill level, effort, competitiveness, and interaction with other athletes Player s athletic potential what she may be able to do over the course of the season Coachability/Attitude of the player Notification of Selection All players who have participated in tryouts will be notified immediately after the tryout whether or not they have been offered a roster position on a team or as an alternate. Finally, we will ask you and your parents to commit to the team. The commitment is binding, with a signed letter of intent and a nonrefundable deposit of approximately $300. If the offer is denied, MSVC reserves the right to offer the spot to the next qualified player. All players are required to commit to the scheduled tournament dates in the best interest of the team. Items due on Commitment Day: Copy of Birth Certificate USAV Membership Form USAV Medical History and Release Form USAV Concussion Form
Letter of Intent USAV Parent/Spectator Code of Conduct Form Parent/Play Code of Conduct Form Player Information Form Safe Sport Form $300 non-refundable deposit (approximate) Multi-Sport Athletes Sports and other activities are an integral part of childhood. If an athlete participates in another sport, conflicts may occur. MSVC requires your full commitment to this team for all tournament dates. Though we understand the scheduling challenges of dual sports, or other extra-curricular activities, dates missed could greatly affect the team as whole. Additionally, any missed practices for other activities could result in lack of preparation affecting participation in games. Parent Meeting All MSVC teams will have a mandatory parent meeting, to take place at the beginning of tryouts to discuss coach expectations, dates for practices and prospective tournaments, and answer any questions parents may have. Our goal is to be completely transparent communication with all team members and parents. If you have questions or concerns, please feel free to approach any of the board members. Team Mom A team parent is a position that helps the coach communicate with the team players/parents. The duties of a team parent include organizing tournament team camps, snacks and water, team bonding activities and assist with communicating team needs and tournament dates to all parents. Scorekeeper Clinic Every player and coach is required to attend a scorekeepers clinic. MSVC will schedule our club clinic in December. The clinic is free for MSVC players, and coaches that wish to attend. If players are not able to attend the scheduled club clinic, they need to contact the club director to find out about makeup clinic options. Practice We strive to practice a minimum of 2 times per week. Team practices are 2 hours in length. Some teams may have additional specialty practices based upon coach preferences for their teams. There are times when our practice schedule will change based on gym availability or holiday events. The club will make every attempt to reschedule gym time during that week rather than losing a practice. All players will be expected to participate in set up/break down of nets and cleaning of the gym at the end of each practice. Practice Rules Our focus with practice is to improve the skills and techniques in every aspect of volleyball to each player. To achieve that, certain rules are required by all teams as detailed below: 1. Every practice and conditioning session is important. It is expected that each player will exercise good time management skills so that scheduling conflicts are kept to a minimum. 2. All athletes are expected to make every effort to attend practice. If a player must miss a practice, a telephone call or text (not email) to their head coach is expected a minimum of 1 hour before practice. Only after attempting and failing to reach your head coach, can a player contact a teammate to relay the message to the head coach. Advanced notice is expected if the missed practice is due to vacation, school function or another event scheduled in advance. Missing practice may result in loss of playing time based upon whether the absence was excused. Excused absences are for family or school events in which the player cannot control the scheduling of that event (concerts, plays, or games.) Players who can only attend a portion of a practice because of another event should still come to practice. It is much better to get some practice time rather than miss the whole practice. 3. Injured athletes who can attend school are expected to attend practice to support their team and be available to help where they can, even if they cannot physically participate in practice. Players with fever or stomach flu (diarrhea and/or vomiting) should not come to practice.
4. Scheduled practice time is start time. Please arrive early enough to be dressed and ready for practice by start time. This usually requires arriving not less than 15 minutes before start time. 5. All practices are open practices. Parents are welcome to observe practices at any time. Parents may not coach or offer instruction to their daughter or another team member at any time during practice. 6. There will be no jewelry allowed at practice. Please leave your jewelry at home. Conditioning Some coaches may require a conditioning practice. Having the stamina and strength to play at the higher levels is very important to team success. If your team has a conditioning practice, this should be treated the same as all other practices. Missing conditioning practice can result in limited play time and potential injury if the player is not physically prepared for the challenges of the game. Playing Time Playing time, for many players and parents, is a central concern that can distract from our focus on the team s success and can often create divisions within the team. At MSVC we believe that playing time is earned. We guarantee the opportunity for every player to compete for playing time within their position during practice, but playing time during tournaments is not guaranteed, and is left to the coach s discretion. A player s court time will be affected by the following: 1. A player s practice attendance. 2. A player s ability to perform at the necessary level for a skill or position. 3. How a player s attitude adds to or detracts from the chemistry or performance of the team. 4. A player s past performance during the tournament or the last week of practice. 5. A player s effort and work ethic. 6. The importance of the match. 7. The needs of the team in the present as well as later in the season. 8. Not being in good standing with respect to team fees. It is our goal that all players have some on-court role every match. There may be exceptions with players recovering from injuries, problems with adherence to team rules/policies or when teams are trying to win a bid/move to a higher bracket of tournament. All playing time is decided by the coaches and is not negotiable. Coaches have the right to play whomever they think is best suited for a position and who helps contribute to the team s development and success. Tournaments The USAV Arizona Regional Tournaments (excluding regional finals) take place on Saturdays in two waves. Play time may occur in the morning wave, with tournaments starting at 8:00 AM or the afternoon wave with tournaments starting at 3:00 PM. Coaches will most likely require players to arrive at least one hour before the tournament begins. The Arizona Regional Championships mark the end of regular season play for MSVC. A few tournaments (National Qualifier, and Starlings National Tournament) involve two to three days of pool play, followed by single elimination bracket play. Parent Guidelines: We strongly recommend that players get a nutritious meal and have a 10:00PM curfew the night before a tournament. Parents are responsible for the transportation of their daughter to and from tournaments. Car-pooling can be arranged with other teammates and is encouraged. Please be considerate and either arrange a ride exchange or contribute toward the cost of gas. Please inform coaches of ride arrangements for tournaments. Player Rules: If a player knows that she will miss a tournament, be late or have to leave early from a tournament it is her and her parent s responsibility to notify the coach as soon as a conflict is identified. All athletes are required to be in the gym, ready to warm-up, at the scheduled start time set up by their head coach. Usually this will one hour prior to the start of the first match. Players are expected to avoid displaying negative emotions during matches. All athletes are required to stay at the tournament until the team has been released by one of the coaches. We play as a team, and we will leave the event as a team. Officiating:
All USAV tournaments are at least partially self-officiated. Officiating at tournaments is the shared responsibility of the entire team, including coaches. All players are required to help with the line judging, scorekeeping, score flipping, and down officiating. The coach may rotate officiating responsibilities but will often only use the most experienced scorekeepers. No headsets or cell phones are to be used during officiating assignments. This also includes cell phones at the scorekeeper s table. Team Area & Cooler: Upon arrival, the team will identify a team area where the girls can leave their bags and hang out between playing and officiating. The area may be a table or simply a spot outside. Either way, the team area represents our club and should be kept neat and organized at all times. Be sure to properly dispose of any trash and leave the area as we found it when the tournament is over. Each team representative will be responsible for organizing a team cooler with items assigned for each player to bring to that tournament. The food will be kept in our team area and everyone associated with our team will be welcome to use the team cooler Post-Season Play: No post season play is currently included for 2017-2018, due to extensive commitment issues last year. Due to the huge impact this had on the club, we will be ending our season after the USAV Regional Finals in May. In the event that we have an opportunity to have a post season and families who wish to commit, we will hold a tryout for post season. All post season fees will be handled separately from the regular season. Hotel Policies: MSVC policy is that players will stay with their parents when traveling requires the team to stay overnight. If a player will not have a parent at the tournament then the parent should make arrangements with another female parent or guardian on the team to stay with that family. In no case will a player stay in a room by herself. While not a requirement, we prefer to have the team stay together in the same hotel, if a family will be using a hotel. If that family has friends or other family in that community they can stay with them if they desire to do so. All players are expected to be in their rooms and in bed at curfew. Unless a coach has designated a specific time, the default curfew will be 10:00pm. Though your hotel is your temporary home, it is also the temporary home of many others. You must respect the needs of others by keeping your voice down throughout the hotel. No boys, who are not relatives, are allowed in your hotel room at any point, for any reason. Players may not leave the hotel area at any time without permission from their parent or the parent that they are staying with. Players should never be alone. Use the 3-buddy system (2 players together, and a third that remains with the team who knows where you are.) An athlete found in breach of the USAV Code of Conduct (use of drugs/alcohol or possession of weapons) will be sent home immediately at the expense of the parent or guardian. An athlete who damages any property at a hotel or lodging will be personally responsible for the cost to replace the damage. Team Fees/Tuition: Team fees/tuitions vary within the club based on how much a team practices, how many tournaments that are selected, and how many players are on the team. A player s tuition includes: Administration Fees- all equipment, dues, medical kit supplies, etc. Coaching Fees- covers coaching pay throughout the team s regular season, for both head and assistant coaches. Gym Fees- covers costs for practice gyms. Coaching Staff s travel- covers hotel, air fare if needed, and meal per diem for coaching staff including chaperone (not for players.) Uniforms- will cover the costs of jerseys, warm-ups for players, and backpack. WHAT IS NOT COVERED IN TEAM FEES/TUITIONS: Any travel expenses or meals for players. Team cooler expenses USAV membership for player AAU membership for player Apparel or accessories such as, kneepads, or shoes Membership fees for conditioning.
Billing and Payment Policies: All players will have to pay a non-refundable deposit of approximately $300 on the commitment day along with the player s letter of intent. The remaining balance will be divided up in five (4) payments due on January 15th, February 15th, March 15 th, and April 15 th. All monthly payments after commitment will be required to be paid through ACH draft. Parents must sign an approval for drafts at commitment. Alternative Payment Plan- If a different payment plan is needed for your family; please contact our Secretary to make arrangements. Once a payment plan has been agreed upon, it is the parents' responsibility to adhere to the dates set, late fees will be applicable if more than 10 days late. Delinquent Payments- All actions are left up to the discretion of the board. A player who is severely delinquent with a payment may not be allowed to play during a tournament. However, players will still be able to participate in practice. Accounts that remain unpaid will be addressed on a case by case basis which could include, collections, small claims court or removal of the player from the team. Mandatory Fundraising: Our club strives to keep tuition fees low, as a result of this effort, a portion of the costs associated with the club must be fundraised. The club will have a yearly mandatory fundraiser that all players must participate in for a set fundraised value of approximately $200. Any families who do not participate or are not successful in the fundraising effort will be expected to pay this additional amount out of pocket. Fundraisers, Scholarships, and Need-Based Aid: MSVC is committed to the goal that no deserving athlete will be prevented from being in the club for lack of funds. Our club offers fundraisers where participating player s accounts are credited directly with the proceeds earned. We have a Fundraising Coordinator that is always looking for volunteers to help with current fundraisers and ideas for other possible fundraisers. Every club season, Maricopa Starlings Volleyball Club may award partial scholarships to one or more families needing assistance with an athlete s fees. Families will be required to fill out an application and/or write an essay, which can be found on the club s website. The amount available every year fluctuates and all funds are distributed at the discretion of our Board on a need-basis. In the event that an athlete is voluntarily or involuntarily removed from the team, the responsible party for that athlete must pay back the full scholarship amount. Communication: Routine Team Communication: Good communication between Player, Coach, Parents, and Club is very important. It is critical that you provide the club and your team s coaches with all email addresses where you want information sent as well as cell phone numbers for both parents and player. The primary way that you will receive communication from your coach will be established at your team meeting in the beginning of the season. If a last minute change occurs with a practice or with a tournament, the club will contact the team representative to spread the word among parents on the team, as well as post it to the Maricopa Starlings Facebook page. Player to Coach: Both players and coaches are responsible for establishing a relationship of trust and mutual respect. Bringing up a problem can be very difficult for a player, but this is one of those life skills that sports can teach. Parents may need to push their daughter to take the first step. Our coaches work to be approachable and to create a safe environment for players to bring up concerns. Player to Player: It is our expectation that if a conflict arises between players on a team, then it gets resolved outside of practice/tournament time, if possible, so as to minimize the effect that it can have on the chemistry of the team. It is important for players to realize that they do not have to like everyone on the team or be friends with them but they can still respect their contribution to the team. If the conflict is not reconcilable then it is our expectation that the players involved should not aggravate the problem by involving other players or parents on the team with gossip, rumors, or attacking people on Facebook or in other forms of social media.
Parents to Coach: MSVC encourages all communication to take place between the player and the coach, however, if parents feel that communication is needed with the coach the conversation needs to take place at an appropriate place and time. Coaches can be approached before or after practice, or by phone or email. Under no circumstances should a coach be approached while at a tournament. Poor Sportsmanship. The club will not tolerate aggressive parent behavior toward any of coaches, coaches of other clubs, parents, or officials. If a parent exhibits this type of behavior, they will be appropriately sanctioned, which may include being asked to not attend tournaments in the future or even dismissal from Maricopa Starlings. Website: Our website www.maricopastarlings.org has a lot of information and resources for parents and players. A directory exists on the website with email and/or phone numbers of all board members and coaches as well as our club s mailing address. Parents will be asked to sign a release to post player names, pictures or recruiting information on the website. A player s home address or other contact information will never be posted on the website. Facebook and Social Media: Maricopa Starlings has a Facebook page and we encourage you to post the page and update everyone with results and pictures of our players and teams. Social media can sometimes have a negative role and we would encourage players and parents to use social media in a way that would NOT be disruptive to team chemistry and cohesion. A good rule of thumb is to not post anything that you would not feel comfortable saying directly to the team or particular person.