General Notes:
Open Gym September and October
Evaluations early November
Season starts November 1st.
Region 20 games begin the 1st week in December
SMG Christmas tournament over the holiday week. tba
We practice and scrimmage an average of 2 times per week after school
or in the evening for about 1.5 hours each practice.
Almost all games are held Friday evening, any time Saturday and Sunday Afternoons.
There is usually a maximum of 2 games per weekend.
Skills your son will learn:
The following are my views on SMG basketball issues that arise on a yearly basis. I hope you trust my judgement in this regard. My experience in this area helps me put your child in a position to succeed and gain confidence and avoid failure and poor self image.
Playing time: A players playing time is normally divided fairly evenly over the course of a game based on his level of participation in practices, Skill level, and ability to play well with team mates.
Skill level- The goal is to build confidence of players of all
levels. This presents quite a challenge. Players with the highest skill
level will normally be rewarded with the most playing time. Yet, even the
best player(s) still need confidence building at this age. For them, being
asked to be leaders is almost always appropriate. Asking them to play more
of a game is also appropriate. With the weaker players, I am very cautious
not to put them in positions where failure to perform is probable. Embarrasment
of failure in front of team mates, friends and family is an issue. So weaker
players will be put in games based on the level of talent of the other team
that is on the floor. They will also be introduced into a game where they
may be largely overmatched in talent, but only for a short period of time.
It's ok to make mistakes but to continually be outplayed for a prolong period
of time is not helping anyone but the apponents confidence. As the season
progresses, players improve and gain confidence, you may notice they will
start to play more. Sometimes the improvement may never come. That is not
to say that your child has not been a valuable contributor to his team.
I constantly remind the players that success comes from the entire teams
participation in practices and their support of each other throughout the
season.
Team players- We rarely have any problems in this regard. But sometimes
spectators catagorize a skilled player as a 'ball hog'. Boys of this age
are almost always conscious of their teamates and not 'ball hogging' many
times to a fault. We spend most of the season encouraging players to be
aggressive, drive to the basket and shoot more regardless of the possible
failed outcome. It would be unfair for any team mate or spectator to catagorize
a player as a 'ball hog'. That is our responsibility.
Winning vs Losing: I subscribe to the old saying 'winning isn't everything, but it helps!' Everybody likes to win. players, coaches and parents. However, because of varying levels of talent each year, sometimes placing an emphasis on winning is unrealistic. Rather the emphasis is more focused on competing and improving and not quiting.
Goals: It is important to set realistic goals as the season begins
based on the talent and athletic abilities of the current players. However,
several goals remain the same each year.
Increase basketball knowledge, skills and strategies.
Learn how to be more aggressive and overcome fear of competing in a contact
sport.
Yes! basketball is a contact sport.
Learn why dedication, participation and responsibility is so important in sports and in life.
Improve respect for team mates, opponents, coaches and referees.
Establish or reinforce friendships
Improve conditioning, strength and coordination.
Here are some athletic reasons to play for your CYO team:
More games 20-30 vs only 8
Longer season Nov 1- Feb 1 vs mid Jan-Feb
Extended playing time
tournaments
Skills training in depth vs short season, large team numbers, limited
Structure Full uniforms vs ??
PIAA refs
scoreboards
cheerleaders
Additional reasons to play CYO sports:
Expand your childs ability to be independent and conquer shyness by having him establish new friendships instead of staying comfortable with existing friends. Your child probably sees his class mates at other school functions, in the nieghborhood and at community sports programs.
Increase your parish involvement. I'm sure both parents and students have considered ways to be more involved in your church, yet many times it's hard to donate time. CYO Sports are a great way to donate your time in the form of participating(child) and spectating (parents/siblings). This involvement is easy, fun and fosters development of the parish community.
Every CYO game starts with a prayer. What starts a grade school game?