Middle School Basketball - Boys Philosophy and Policies
We are called to honor and glorify God in all that we do. With that being our foundation, it is important to establish a philosophy for each of our basketball teams at CPA.
The philosophy of the middle school basketball program is one that combines the competitive aspects with the developmental aspects. Winning becomes part of this process, but as is the case in any sport at CPA, it is not the ultimate objective. For example, learning what it takes to win or learning how to handle both winning and losing is much more important than focusing strictly on the results of the scoreboard. With this in mind, the following policies have been developed for middle school basketball:
Due to constraints in facility space and coaching staffs, each team will carry no more than 10-12 players. Teams will be posted after try-outs. Try-outs become part of our on-going evaluative process and are held on a date or dates after middle school football season is over and before middle school soccer practice begins. Times will be announced but will begin with two sessions on Friday (one before school and one after school). If deemed necessary, Saturday can also be utilized.
Our middle school basketball programs maintain a developmental aspect in practices as well as games. This is accomplished in games by allowing each player to consistently receive a chance to compete in game situations.
All players will need official school practice equipment, which includes a jersey and a pair of shorts. Any player who participated on a CPA middle school basketball team in the past and still has practice equipment in good condition can continue to use that equipment. New players or returning players who need new equipment, will have that equipment ordered by the school but paid for by each individual player/parent. Players will be charged a game uniform fee and a participation fee. (The purpose of the game uniform fee is to have an account that middle school basketball teams can use in the future when there is a need to purchase new game uniforms.) Each player will be able to keep the practice uniform, but obviously not the game uniform. We will also investigate the cost of a team shoe, which normally means we can get a better shoe at a lower cost for the player. Final costs will be determined and communicated prior to try-outs. Following team selection, checks should be made payable to CPA and turned into that grade’s coach or the varsity high school coach after the player has officially made the team. Refunds are not available if a player who makes the team is unable, for whatever reason, to fulfill his responsibilities as a member of his team.
By trying out for middle school basketball, the player is accepting financial responsibility for all fees should he make the team.
Success in terms of administration of the program is directly tied into parental involvement. The head varsity high school coach will conduct a middle school boys’ parent meeting after team selections. At least one parent or guardian of each boy selected for a team should be present. Information will be forthcoming on potential dates and the location of the meeting. It is extremely important to have parents willing to share and take on the various responsibilities such as team parents, game management (i.e. clock operator, score book person), transportation, etc. The past strength of our programs at CPA has been directly tied to the parents, as they have been so willing to help in every needed area. We are truly thankful for their support.
Information on who will be coaching each middle school team will be made available as soon as the final decisions have been made for each team.
Information on final practice schedules and game schedules will be communicated after each one is completed. Practice normally begins in early December and the season will be completed by mid-February.
