Expected from Players

• Player Organisation – Take Responsibility as a player (NO EXCUSES)
• Player Communication – 2 Way Player / Coach Relationship
• Parent Communication – 2 Way Parent / Parental Rep Relationship
• Attendance – Minimum two sessions per week
• Dress Code – Stirling Knights Uniform (only) must be worn at all timeswhen representing the club
•  Focus 100% at all times
•  Respect and Attitude
•  Observe and respect the club and Basketball Scotland Code of Conduct.

Expected from Coaches and Club Officials

•  Support and encourage all of the above
•  Observe and respect the Club and Basketball Scotland Code of Conduct.

Expected from Parents

•  Support and encourage all of the above
•  Support and respect the Coaches decisions
•  Make Noise
•  Make More Noise
•  Make Even More Noise
•  Observe and respect the club and Basketball Scotland Code of Conduct.

Note: This is the age where most Players will either leave to pursue other things or work hard and realise their own goals.1.0            Code of Conduct:

1.1       Players

ATTENDANCE: All training sessions should be attended unless for a valid reason discussed with your Club Coach. Non-attendance along with attitude and Hard Work will be treated as the most contributory reason for playing time being reduced in League Games or non-selection in the first place. It is at the Coaches discretion who plays in each game with the ideal scenario to give everyone the opportunity to develop. If you have to miss a session your coach should be notified at least 1 hour before and with a good reason. Club Culture (Ballers, Athletes, Warriors) will be at the forefront of coaches mindset when selecting playing squads.

AVAILABILITY FOR TRAINING AND GAMES: As a performance basketball programme, we expect the maximum possible commitment from our players. This means, where possible, prioritising basketball over other sports and activities. If selected, every effort should be made to attend all sessions and games/tournaments. Attendance and commitment will be monitored closely by coaches. 

DRESS CODE: Players should attend each and every training session in the minimum of Reversible Knights training kit with matching shorts unless otherwise notified by their coach.

FOCUS: At all times when representing the club at training, games or supporters of the club, players must remain focussed on the task at hand. Players must also want to develop their game on their own as well as at training.

RESPECT: Players must show total respect to all Coaches, Players, Officials, Equipment, Facilities, Surroundings and all other club staff at all times during membership of our club.

ATTITUDE: Players should arrive for training no later than 15mins before their training session is due to start and be ready to warm-up and play. Players should always bring a Positive attitude to training and games with the emphasis on learning and Improvement. Players should learn from their mistakes yet not afraid to make them, Don’t be afraid to ask questions and lastly Players will be expected to train and play to a high intensity at every session.

COMMUNICATION: Each team has a dedicated and private Facebook group – we feel this is the quickest and most effective way of sharing information and plans and should be checked regularly.  Players and/or parents should sign up to be kept up to date. Please like the Facebook Page of the Coach and they will add to you to the closed group to be kept informed. If you don’t have a Facebook page, please tell us and we will make sure we have your current email address.

Players are actively encouraged to bond with their team mates off the court and actively get to know their team mates. Positive attitudes toward other team members provide strong bonds on the court and assist with Development of the TEAM.

CLUB CULTURE: Stirling Knights have a vision and culture of excellence, hard work and dedication, every time we step on the court to practice or play. As one of the top clubs working with basketball scotland to realise the vision of first class, excellent athletes for National and GB teams.

1.2       Coaches

It is expected that anyone coaching for Stirling Knights will adopt a Professional approach towards gaining the improvement of their players. Coaches will all be expected to promote the Club Culture above at all times to players and parents to reaffirm the clubs goals and objectives.

To be an effective coach they will need a number of skills. A coach needs knowledge of the sport, but more importantly, they need to know how to pass that knowledge onto the participants they are coaching.  To do this, a coach needs skills in: organising, observing, analysing, adapting, communicating, improving performance.

Coaches should:

·        Be a physical extension of the “Club Culture” at all times when representing the club.

·        be a good role model for the participants

·        show enthusiasm and enjoyment for the task of coaching

·        be self-confident, assertive, consistent, friendly, fair, competent and competitive.

·        ensure the safety of all participants

·        behave ethically and dress appropriately

·        maintain discipline throughout the session

·        be very organised, not only for each session but for the entire season

·        be able to justify, if necessary, why things are being done, or be ‘big enough’ to ask for suggestions when not sure and to admit and apologise when they make a mistake

TEAM MANAGEMENT: it is wholly within the Coaches responsibility to select his/her teams throughout of the season based on the performance of their players. This may be their physical performance and / attitude towards the task in hand ie: Coaches can deselect and players they choose based on non conformity of the Club’s code of conduct or attitude at training. Players are actively encouraged to attend as many sessions of Basketball per week as they can however no less that the two training sessions per week should be attended by ALL Players. If players cannot commit to the two core training nights they may not be considered for games. Likewise should they be selected and good attendance is not kept then their membership may cease.

REMOVAL FROM CLUB

Stirling Knights retain the right to remove members from the club. In this case a written reason will be communicated to the player/parent detailing all issues and a reason for the decision. Players/Parents do have a right of appeal and should they wish to do so should contact the Club Chairman who will facilitate a meeting to discuss possible solutions and or outcomes. In order to avoid any termination of memberships, Coaches and the PR should ensure that lines of communication are open to players/parents and any potential issues which could lead to removal are dealt with and discussed at the earliest opportunity.  (see role of Parental Reps below)

1.3       Parents

ROLE  - The role of the Parents in Basketball. A successful experience for the player involves the communication triangle between the parents , player and (the volunteer) coach. If handled correctly with bot parent and coach working together for the benefit of the player, the player experience can be extremely positive. Parents must realise and be aware that there is a delicate line between support / encouragement and interference. Parents should also note that Club Coaches are volunteers, giving up their time to promote sport, basketball and good health and wellbeing amongst their players.

RESPONSIBILITY – The responsibility is to the encourage the Player to adopt the club culture, work hard, bring the proper attitude to every session. The Parents should always consider the club culture and ethos whilst comforting the player with any other comforting words that may suggest the opposite ie: nevermind, I’m sure your coach will play you more next week, your coach clearly knows nothing. Yeah you played badly but none of it was your fault, I think you are amazing etc etc. There needs to be a real sense of realism adopted when supporting a player, none of which should be communicated during a game!

RELEASE – Parents should get to know their child’s coach and the goals that coach has for his/her players. Once trust is established one of the best gifts parents can give their children is to release them to the Coaches care of their Childs sport. If a parents feels the need to talk to a coach about a problem, he / she should allow the coach to choose an appropriate time and place. Note: a coach may wish to discuss with the player and / or player and parent. With regard to such problems, some concerns are appropriate, whilst others are not.

 Appropriate concerns to discuss with a child’s coach are:

• ·       ways to help your child improve
• ·       concerns about your child’s behaviour
• ·       mental and physical treatment of your child (Should be discussed in the first instance with the Club Child Protection Officer: Jen Sullivan via the Clubs Child Protection Policy)

Inappropriate areas of concern that parents should not discuss with their child’s coaches include:

• ·       playing time
• ·       team strategy of play calling
• ·       other team members

By releasing their child athlete to the game and coach, parents are sending the message that all successes are theirs, all failures are theirs, and all problems are theirs. There are not many places in a young person’s life where their parents can say: “This is your thing”. This can’t be done with many things in your child’s life but it can be done in Sport. The dilemma for most adults is that it is easy for them to see solutions in sport situations and too difficult for adults to let their children find their own solutions.  Basketball is the best place for young people to take risks and fail.  Is there a better place for a child to take a chance and fail than on a court? No downside exists for allowing a young athlete to take a risk and fail in a game of Basketball or at practice.

 

Red Flags: for parents that have not released their kids to the game:

• ·       continuing to live his / her personal athletic dream through his / her child
• ·       taking credit when the child has done well
• ·       trying to solve all his/her child’s Basketball related problems
• ·       trying to continue to coach his/her child when the child probably knows more about the game than the parent does.
• ·       taking everything too seriously and personally……if nervous before a child’s game, having difficulty recovering from a loss, making mental notes during the game so he/she can give advice later, becoming verbally critical of an official
• ·       player avoid parents after the game or embarrassed about parents involvement
• ·       athlete focussed on his parents in the stands for approval or out of fear, not on the game

What Players need from their parents:

• ·       The single most important contribution a parent can make during a game is to model appropriate behaviour, poise and confidence.
• ·       The second responsibility is to focus on the team and not their child. There child is only a small part of the game of Basketball. This focus helps parents not only get attention off their individual child, but also off all things that are not in parents control (ie. The score, the referees, the opponents, coaching etc)
• ·       Thirdly, kids only need one instructional voice offering advice during the game……the coaches voice.

There are only four roles during a game: Spectator, competitor, official and coach. Choose only one of these roles.

Finally – When parents stop and analyse experience for their children, the reasons they want their kids to play sports involve providing an opportunity to develop physically and emotionally and to enjoy themselves. The side benefit of playing sports is that kids are given a good opportunity to learn how to work and get along with others, to take risks in a public arena and survive, to learn to set and achieve goals by developing positive work habits, to learn how to succeed and fail with dignity, and to develop friendships that can last a lifetime.

Issues or Complaints

• ROLE OF PARENTAL REPRESENTATIVES (PR) – Stirling Knights have put in place parental representatives at every youth age group. Their primary responsibility is to deflect any concerns that a parent may have before discussing a particular topic with a Coach directly / inappropriately, resulting in non-essential conflict. NB: Any concerns or complaints can be raised with parental reps in the first instance. Should the PR feel they cannot mitigate the situation or the issue is serious and of a Child Protection nature, they may refer the issue to the CPO who will report to the Chair and Management Committee. The Management Committee, in turn, will consider the complaint / concern and decide on future action in consultation with Basketball Scotland.