Jim Snow Youth Basketball Frequently Asked Questions.

Why can’t I change my child’s team?

Rosters are set following team placement, we cannot change teams because following the team placement all teams carry the maximum of 10 players and we have no teams to switch them to. Team placement is also designed to allow for a competitive balance. Switching of players leads to teams gaining an unfair advantage which we have no way to regulate. This ends up being detrimental to the league as a whole. If you realize you have a conflict after you have already registered, please contact the recreation department and we will be happy to change your one practice night request prior to team placement. We will not make changes following team placement day for any reason except in the case of  a coaches child not being placed on their team.

I requested a specific (practice night, school, teammate) and didn’t get it, Why?

We ask that parents select the one night they cannot practice and we certainly do the best we can to avoid scheduling your child for practice that night. We do not honor any other requests in terms of teammates or schools to practice at. With over 1000 participants in the league it becomes impossible to meet individualized needs of every child. While we understand the desire for children to be on teams with their friends or the need for carpooling, we cannot possibly accommodate all the requests we receive from registrants and we hope this is viewed as an opportunity to make more friends and make connections with other families.

My child missed team placement day, What happens?

We will attempt to evaluate your child based on the opinions of coaches who may know them from previous seasons or other sports. If not possible, your child will still be placed on a team on team placement day.

My child missed practice, will he/she be benched?

No, we understand that families have conflicts and cannot make practices on occasion. We fully expect our coaches to not allow this to impact the playing time of a child in a recreational league.

My child seems more advanced than the other players in his/her division. Can they play in a division for older players?

We do not allow children to play “up.” This is a recreational league and children prefer to play with their peers and friends in their own grade. 

Why are practices so late?

We have a limited amount of gym space. There will be almost 1100 children playing basketball throughout the town of South Windsor and in order to schedule a practice for that many teams, some teams will have to practice later in the evening. We reserve the early times for the teams with younger players

Why was my child placed on the waiting list?

If your child is placed on the waitlist it is because the registration deadline has passed. Registration begins in late August and runs until mid October. You can register anytime during this period. Following the deadline, we make decisions such as number of teams needed, game schedules, jersey purchases, gym usage and more. All these decisions are based upon how many participants are registered at the deadline. We do strive to maximize each team at 10 players so if a division has 58 children registered, we will still plan for 6 teams and continue to take registrations until those two remaining slots are filled.  At this time each team is maximized at 10 players. From this point forward any new registrants will remain on the waiting list until a cancellation is received. We do not make teams of 11 as it is unfair to affect the playing time of participants who registered in a timely fashion.

The referee made a horrible call and my child’s team lost as a result. What can I do about it?

The answer in short is nothing. There will be 35 to 40 games played each Saturday or Sunday meaning 35 to 40 teams will lose a game. You may not agree with the call but you must accept it.  Be aware that the official had a much better view of the play from the floor than you did sitting four or five rows back in the bleachers . Our referees do the best they can, while they do receive a small stipend, they are primarily here to give back to the community. A referee will never change his/her call no matter how much you may try to convince them.  Please remember our referees are your neighbors and approaching them after a game or other inappropriate behavior may result in your expulsion from the gym for the remainder of the season.

Another team in our division seems stacked with better players. How is that fair?

As in any sport some teams will be better than others. While we strive for some parity, it is not uncommon to have teams go undefeated while other teams struggle. We do not  “stack” teams with better players. We hold a draft very similar to the NBA’s college draft. This is the most efficient way to achieve equality. However; due to a number of intangibles (player improvement, coaches knowledge of the players or of basketball etc) , the parity we strive for may not be reflected in the final standings.

The jersey my child received is way too big/ small for him (her). What should I do?

Long before the season starts we order jerseys from a local screen printer, we receive 12 jerseys per team in an assortment of sizes appropriate for the age level. Coaches should be giving out jerseys based on size of the jersey, not by a players favorite number. If there is an issue, talk to your coach about possibly trading with another player until everyone is wearing a jersey a little more appropriate in size.

Why can't my childs team change, add or makeup a practice?

We cannot change a practice night because teams are selected based on their players ability to attend a set practice night. Changing to a different night runs the risk of several players missing practice.

We do not add practices because every team gets exactly the same number of practices. Adding a practice would mean an unfair advantage to the team gaining the practice. School holidays and closings for school funtions are known about in advance and accounted for on your schedule. In this way every team has the exact same number of practices.

The only time we may be able to do a makeup practice is if an individual school closes on one particular night. At which time we will try to schedule a makeup However; it will be a different night of the week than the normal practice.

In the case of snow days, we do not offer makeups. This is because on any given day 14 to 22 teams are practicing and we just do not have enough free slots to make up all those practices.

 What is this ECHO logo on every players shirt?

In cooperation with The Justice Education Center, the South Windsor Recreation Department instituted the ECHO (Empathy, Character, Hope, Opportunity) program into the Youth Basketball Program. This ECHO partnership is the first of its kind in a municipal recreation sports program. The ECHO program is designed for “developing character and integrity in the lives of our young people through sports” providing coaches training, coaches evaluations, player evaluations, site visits, administrative support and financial support. The ECHO program “endorses a coaching philosophy in which caring adults provide a positive model of mutual respect and community service in a healthy and positive environment that encourages strong personal and professional relationships.” The program reviews the negative cultural values in athletics; unhealthy competition and the concept of winning at all costs, redefining winning and success, healthy self-esteem, developing empathy, and developing strong positive relationships and then presents methods to implement these values through “teachable moments” in practice and games.