Don’t miss practice. We will practice or play every school day, and on some days when there is no school. It is very important to be at practice and it is very important to be on time and ready to practice when practice is scheduled. If you are hurt and can’t practice, you are still expected to be there.
Hustle at all times! Don’t walk on the basketball court. When I or another coach blows the whistle, stop what you are doing and listen.
If you don’t understand something, ask questions.
I expect every player to be a good student. I expect you to pass every subject/class, and to behave in school. This is one of the things that every player is judged on. If you are failing two subject before tryouts, or you are misbehaving in school, you may not make the cut, and be selected to join the team. If you are selected and fail two or more subjects, you will be ineligible to play until the grades are brought up. I will be checking with your teachers during the season and if you are having trouble in a class, I will expect you to use the time before our late practices to get extra help. Mr. Phillips will be in charge of weekly grade checks.
Parent Expectations Our job as middle school basketball coaches is to teach fundamentals, and prepare these young ladies to play at the next level. We believe that if a girl comes to practice, works hard, and does the things she has been taught to do, she deserves a chance to play. However; we also believe the best players and the players that give the team the best chance to win, should and will play the most. We will try to make sure every girl that is suited up, gets into the game. How much she plays will depend on the situation, and how well she does while she’s in the game.
Parents please understand, your girls are no longer playing Parks and Rec. ball. This isn’t “everyone must play or where everyone plays an equal amount of time”. This is competition, and we are going to try to win every game. We are going to compete as a team, and each of your daughters are going to have to compete for a position and for playing time. This is what she will face when she gets to high school.
“Playing time is not Guaranteed, it is earned.”
Game Management: Ideally I like to keep 8 to 10 players per team. Each player can play in a maximum of 6 quarters on a given day. The way they count quarters is if a player makes an appearance in any quarter, even if it is for as little as 1 second, it counts as a quarter played. We play 6 minute quarters, and have 10 regular season games, with two tournaments, for a maximum of 16 games.
Because the Black team plays just before the Purple team in most cases, we may suit up 2 or 3 of the Purple team, non-starting players for the Black game and we may suit up 2 or 3 of the Black team players for the Purple game. They might not be the same players every game, but if they are one of those girls that are playing in both games they may play between 2 and 4 quarters in the Black game, and may not play at all in the Purple game. It will depend on the situation and the position they play.
Absences: Two types of absences: Excused and Unexcused. The girls are expected to be at every meeting, practice, game or team sponsored activity unless it has been cleared with me in advance prior to the activity. Prior to the activity does not mean the day before a game or practice. An unexcused absence is any absence that I don’t know about before a practice, meeting or game starts. If your daughter tells me she is going to miss a practice, meeting or game for some reason I do not consider to be reasonable, I will tell your daughter it will be considered an unexcused absence. There will be consequences for unexcused absences. Miss a practice, miss the first quarter of next game. I am reasonable and realize emergencies do happen. This boils down to a couple things:
Communication! I need to know what is going on way in advance so I can plan accordingly. I would like to see the girls to take ownership of their responsibility and let me know ahead of time of any issues. Good communication is key!
We are a team and we have all committed to this team. Everyone is working hard to get better and improve. We will be stronger if all parts are working properly. If one person is missing from the team, the whole team suffers. Honor your commitment!
By MSHSAA Rule-14 practices must be met prior to first contest for each athlete.
Parental Behavior During a Game: I expect every parent to show good sportsmanship, and to set a good example for their daughter and the other players. It’s my job to talk to the refs and question any calls I don’t understand or disagree with. We are not going to get NBA qualified referees at the 8th grade level. I don’t expect you to agree with every call, but I do expect you to act properly and control your comments and language.
Parental Behavior After a Game: As a coaching staff, we are always open to discuss any concerns you have, or to answer any questions you might have regarding your daughter’s progress and/or playing time. However; we will not discuss these issues immediately after a game. If you feel the need to talk to any of the coaches about playing time or anything else that occurred during a game, you should call and make an appointment, and we can discuss your concerns at another time. Also I will not discuss playing time or any other concerns you may have, through e-mails and/or text messages. If you want to communicate with me, or any of the coaches, regarding something you are unhappy with, talk to us in person. It is too easy to misinterpret the meaning, or intent, of something written instead of spoken.
Practices: The early practices will be from 2:30 to 4:00 PM, C team (Sliver) practices from 4:00-5:00pm and the late practices will be from 5:00 to 6:30 PM. A&B teams will practice 6:00-6:45am on Fridays of late week practices. Due to COVID-19 these times are subject to change based on amount of players that make the team. You will be expected to provide a ride for your daughter and to have her picked up when the practice is over. My practices are open but I would asked that you let me know in advance so I can plan accordingly. Also the girls are expected to ride the bus to and from the games. There may be times that you need to take your daughter with you after a game, but in those rare circumstances you will need to sign an acknowledgement that you are assuming responsibility for your daughter, and relieving the school and coaches of any accountability. We will never leave your daughter unattended and there will always be a coach staying at school until the last girl is picked up. I understand there may be times that you will be late picking up your daughter, however, this should be an unusual circumstance and not a common occurrence. There have been a few transportation changes for games days due to COVID-19. These will be discussed at a future date.
Player Participation Fee: There is a $25 player participation fee. This fee is applied towards all things basketball. Please pay before the first game. Checks can be made out to Lakeview Middle School.