Dear Coaches, We just wanted to take a moment to thank each of you for your dedication, hard work, and passion in coaching in our league. Your commitment to developing players, fostering teamwork, and creating a positive environment does not go unnoticed. We truly appreciate the time and energy you invest in helping the athletes grow on and off the field. Thank you for making such a positive impact on the league and for your unwavering support of the players!

Sincerely, 
The GWAC

Requirements

Online Concussions Management Training:  In Ohio, individuals are not allowed to serve as a coach or referee for a youth sports organization, whether volunteer or paid, without successfully completing, every three years, a program that trains in recognizing the signs and symptoms of concussions and head injuries provided by the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) – OR – holding a Pupil Activity Permit (PAP) from the Ohio Department of Education. There are three free online concussion training programs available that the ODH recognizes.   Two are offered by the National Alliance for Youth Sports and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

Sudden Cardiac Arrest Training (Lindsay’s Law) Lindsay’s Law, Ohio Revised Code 3313.5310, 3707.58, and 3707.59 becomes effective on August 1, 2017.  In accordance with this law, the Ohio Department of Health, the Ohio Department of Education, the Ohio High School Athletic Association, the Ohio Chapter of the American College of Cardiology, and other stakeholders jointly developed guidelines and other relevant materials to inform and educate students and youth athletes participating in or desiring to participate in an athletic activity, their parents, and their coaches about the nature and warning signs of sudden cardiac arrest. https://odh.ohio.gov/know-our-programs/lindsays-law/

Here are some things to remember...
Teams in 3rd through 8th grade must report their scores within 72 hours. The system should send you an email with a link to report the score. If you don't receive an email, it is probably because we don't have your current email. Please make sure we do. Send to cincygwac@gmail.com

3rd through 8th grade teams must turn in a roster. You will be sent instructions on how to do this. They must be in before your first game. 

Only games that have been rained out can be rescheduled. Please work with your coordinator and opposing team coach to find a date and field. Please reschedule these games within 72hrs. 

Unsportsmanlike Conduct—Team Responsibility: The coach is responsible for setting an example of sportsmanship and fair play and controlling the conduct of the team’s players, players’ parents, and fans before, during, and after the game.

Officials and Referees: Officials and referees are the officials of the game and have the authority to order a player, coach, or spectator to refrain from doing anything that affects or interferes with league rules and policies. Officials have the authority to banish players, coaches, or spectators from the game, the player’s bench, and the facility (i.e., park or field) for misconduct, delay of game, or for the good of the game. Officials’ decisions shall be final.

Scheduling FAQs

How are schedules created - 

The list below covers answers to Frequently Asked Questions regarding our GWAC schedules. This includes setting up teams, determining divisions, and creating schedules. Hopefully, this helps answer your questions. If you need more information, you can always contact us. We look forward to seeing you on the courts/fields this year!

What grade levels does the GWAC offer? Volleyball and Basketball are offered for grades 3-12, and softball is offered for pre-K through 8th grade.

How are GWAC teams formed? GWAC teams are formed by parishes/schools under the direction of the parish/school Athletic Sport Coordinator. Each organization holds sign-ups, and all participants are required to register prior to participating on teams. Schools with multiple teams in the instructional grade levels are required to split their teams up evenly, while teams in 5th through 8th grade are evaluated, and players are split into teams by ability level. There are three levels of play for the upper grades: A - B1 - B. This is done to ensure that all kids are matched against like opponents as much as possible, which helps facilitate a fun environment where kids can grow and develop their skills at the right pace. Divisions are formed once all the teams are entered.

Can teams submit schedule requests? Yes, schools can submit requests or conflicts as needed before each season. The schedule request deadline is when your sports coordinator turns in the required paperwork online or in a printed copy. All requests must be submitted by the sports coordinator, who will forward them to the GWAC. Coordinators know the allowable conflicts. While we work hard to accommodate all requests, requests are limited to required school or parish events. Personal coach or individual player conflicts are not considered because of the high volume and priority of parish and school events.

How are game scores posted online? Our software system lets coaches quickly enter scores following games so that results can be immediately updated online. Once the winning coach enters the score, that score will be “live” online, and standings will be updated accordingly.

How are teams placed in divisions for the season? Teams are placed in a division by their sports coordinator. All coordinators are asked to honestly evaluate their teams before placing them in the divisions. Teams are placed by the sports coordinator following the GWAC placement guidelines. Placement is by the number of teams your school puts in each division level. Schools placing two or more teams in a division must divide those teams evenly. For example, a school puts 2 5/6 B teams in the league. Those teams must be divided evenly.

What about instructional teams? Do you review their performance to create schedules? We do! Remember that this is an inexact science, as there are a lot of variables in performance at this level that can differ from week to week or as different teams play each other. Competition is positive whether teams win or lose, but we do match up teams by grade level to promote skill development that is fun and beneficial for the kids. Hopefully, this provides a fun experience for the regular season. On the instructional level, no score or standings are recorded.

Who schedules the games? The scheduling committee is primarily responsible for scheduling games. However, they have help from the GWAC board in reviewing schedule drafts and creating the final schedule released to the public.

Why doesn’t my team have more games in our home gym/field? One of the hottest schedule topics is always the number of home games a team gets. This is becoming the most challenging variable to accommodate as schedule requests increase and gym/field availability decreases due to more parish activities. For many years, the GWAC has worked hard to ensure that each team has five home games. However, in recent years, less gym or field time has been given to the league for this to continue. We will continue to try to provide as many home games as gym and field availability allows at each school. To be transparent about how we handle this, how about a look at the complete process used when scheduling. The following is an example of scheduling a volleyball season: Your sports coordinator is given a date when all of the information regarding her/his teams is due to the GWAC. They are given access to our scheduling portal, where they are asked to enter their teams in the proper divisions, along with coaches' contact information. At this time they are also asked to enter any school/parish conflicts. To check for accuracy, we also require that they submit paper copies of this information as well. Your sports coordinator also gives the league your gym availability. This time is what we use to schedule your games. Once we have all this information, we enter or check what is in the scheduling system. We schedule each division individually, usually beginning with 3/4 grades, then moving to 5/6 grade, 7/8 grade, and then high school. We are mindful of the net height differences for each grade level in volleyball. Once a division is scheduled and all requests/variables accounted for, we can then see a running report of game locations for each team in each division. At this point, we review the match-ups, schedule, and locations (home games) before making more tweaks and moving on to the subsequent division. In between drafts of the schedule, we also go back through each division one by one to double-check those same components. By the time the final schedule has been published, it has been reviewed many times over in different formats (by the gym, by division, by the team) and by multiple people to ensure it’s the best possible version and as balanced as possible. In terms of home games, the vast majority of teams will have more than one. Ultimately, it’s true that parishes with more teams and less gym availability will have fewer home games than those with fewer teams and more gym availability. Regardless, we do our best to balance this as much as possible.

Why wasn’t my schedule request accommodated? Most schedule requests submitted on time to the GWAC are accommodated. Unfortunately, this does not always mean we can accommodate your request. Due to the high volume of schedule requests, we prioritize any request that is a parish or school event affecting a team. Often, if your request was not accommodated, it is because of a request with a higher priority that also came into play. Other times, it may result from gym/field availability or other variables that affect where and when teams play. We always do our best to accommodate requests, but with hundreds of busy families involved in the GWAC, we realize this is not always going to be possible. If we were not able to accommodate your request, we do apologize!

We have a conflict that just came up. Can we change game times? Once the season schedule is released, the only changes will be made for unforeseen parish or school events that must be accommodated. We cannot accept other requests for changes during the season for various reasons. We take scheduling very seriously and work hard to balance the schedules as much as possible to provide the best possible experience for all players and families. Sometimes, our hands are tied in this process, and we can only use what gym/field time the sports coordinators give the league to use.