TEAMS
Q: What teams does FYB have?
A: FYB has teams for different age groups and genders. FYB does not have co-ed teams.
The regular "Division" teams are divided as follows:
- Division 1 - 7/8th graders - separate girls and boys teams
- Division 2 - 5/6th graders - separate girls and boys teams
- Division 3 - 3/4th graders - separate girls and boys teams
Q: Can I request that two kids be placed onto the same team if they are friends? What about if they are siblings?
A: No, we do not accept any friend request due to our draft process. As for siblings, we do allow for them to be drafted together onto the same team if this what the parent desires and their ages qualify them for the same division. A parent can also request that they not be on the same team.
Q: Can I request a particular coach for my child?
A: Players are evaluated at division evaluations and then drafted by coaches. Therefore it is not possible to request a coach via our registration process.
Q: What division do I register for? What if my 2nd grader wants to “play-up” on a third/fourth grade team?
A: All players should register by grade (pick the appropriate selection based on gender and grade) during online registration. Players are not eligible to begin with us until third grade. Second graders are encouraged to wait a year and try out as a 3rd grader.
Q: What about a D2 or D3 player who wants to play up? Is that allowed?
A: If a D2 or D3 player wants to play up they must attend evaluations for both divisions. If they are ranked in the top 50% of the upper division then they can play up. If they are not in the top 50% then they must play in the division that corresponds to their grade level. The reason for this rule is that we don’t want players to play-up if they are going to be sitting on the bench for the fifth period. If they can compete with the older kids then it makes sense for them to move up, space permitting.
Q: Why does FYB have evaluations and drafts?
A: We have skills evaluation for the purpose of trying to make the teams as fair and balanced as possible. Players do not have to try-out to "make" the team. Experience has shown that unbalanced teams, either too strong or too weak, can discourage some players and parents. Although you cannot always tell which player is going to "bloom" during the season and exceed everyone's expectations, it is much more likely to get uneven teams when we place players on teams without seeing them. All Division players MUST attend one of their division evaluations to be drafted. If your child is injured, he or she still must attend the evaluation to be introduced to the coaches.
Q: How does the player draft work and how does it produce balanced teams?
A: Coaches are given a rated player list. It has normalized ratings of all players they may draft (no wait list players however). Each player's height and grade are included on the list. We will also include a notation if they played on All-Stars the previous year. Coaches are free to select anyone they want in any round. Only children of coaches (and assistants) are assigned rounds, based on where they were evaluated, and are forced picks.
Q: How are Division teams created?
A: All players must attend one Divisional evaluation session. Each division will have multiple evaluation sessions and players can choose which session to attend. The evaluation is used to rate players for the draft, to create balanced teams. PLAYERS WHO MISS THE EVALS WITHOUT PRE-APPROVAL WILL BE DROPPED FROM THE PROGRAM.
Q: How do I make a request to have my child on the same team as a friend?
A: Players are drafted by coaches and therefore there is no opportunity to fulfill requests for friends to play on the same team. The only way two friends would end up on the same team is if the coaches happened to draft both of them.
Q: I selected “Coach” as my volunteer job when I registered my child. What do I do next in order to let the chapter know I am interested in coaching?
A: Parents interested in coaching should email the appropriste Division Coordinator. You can find their email addresses here. You will also need to complete a background check , attend the Coaching Clinic and be fingerprint certified.
Q: What about assistant coaches? Do you allow assistant coaches to be teamed up with head coaches?
A: Often coaches are paired up prior to the draft. The first part of our process is contacting the head coach applicants to make sure we have enough for the number of teams we are planning. If we cannot find enough head coaches, we start contacting the people who volunteered to be an assistant coach to determine if they will step up to a head coaching position. Next we let all of the head coaches know who has volunteered to be an assistant coach. They can contact these volunteers to find their assistant coach that way. We typically have more assistant coach volunteers than spots.
This can also be done at the coaches meeting held prior to the draft. At this time there is often a pairing of coaches and assistant coaches. Some of the coaches already know each other and request to be placed together. If someone is new to the chapter and does not know anyone else then we introduce them to each other and make suggestions on who should coach together. We often have coaches who show up at the draft without an assistant coach and are able to find one there. Coaches then can make a request for one assistant coach at the draft. If the other coaches agree, then both children are treated as coaches’ kids for the draft. We have draft compensation rules if a coach and assistant's children rate in the same round of the draft to make sure no team gains an advantage by a partnership. However, we will not allow two first round drafts pick players to be placed on the same team. The information for doing these two steps can be found in the “Volunteer” section of the chapter homepage.
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PRACTICES & GAMES
Q: Can you tell me more about practices?
A: Division teams practice twice per week starting in October. Practices run 1 to 1.5 hours and are typically at local middle schools (e.g. Peterson Middle School in Sunnyvale, Blach and Egan in Los Altos, and some private gyms in Mountain View). Typically, one practice will be held during the week and a second practice will be held on Saturday. Starting in January, the divisions practices go down to one per week. We are always looking for more gym space. If you know of available gyms, please contact our Gym Coordintor by sending an email to info@foothillyouthbasketball.org.
Q: What level of team commitment is expected for practices and games?
A: We understand that most kids have many commitments to juggle. However, we do expect players who sign up for FYB to be committed to attending all the practices and games. This is especially important as we always have a wait list and do not want to take away a spot from a committed player for one who will be missing a considerable amoun tfo practices and games. Families should be thoughtful of this prior to registration. Absent players impact the team chemistry & skill progression of the team. A coach will also be required to limit playing time in games for players who miss a considerable amount of pratice.
Please be thoughtful of this when making family plans or scheduling vacations.
Q: Why must there be a female adult chaperone present at each girls practice? Does attending practices count as part of my volunteer hours?
A: The purpose of the female adult chaperone being present at the practices is so that there is never an adult male alone with a girl or girls. This rule originated from a policy to protect children, as did the rule that all coaches, assistant coaches, referees, and board members need to be finger printed and the results reviewed before allowing them to be with the players. Also, having a female adult present at practices is helpful in case one of the younger girls needs to use the restroom that is outside the gym (like at Egan and Blach). In this case the girl can be escorted by the female adult. The time spent chaperoning does not count as part of your six volunteer hours.
Q: When do the games start?
A: Please refer to the calendar on our website for the exact date for games. Regular season games are on Sundays usually at neighoring schools. FYB plays 8 games over the span of the season, on Sundays, accounting for holiday breaks. The regular season ends with a weekend tournament (before the Super Bowl)
Q: How long is the season?
A: Division teams practices start in October and games start in December. Regular season games are scheduled into February.
Q: What size basketball is used for each division?
D3 boys and D3 girls play with a 27.5 inch ball called a junior basketball
D2 and D1 girls and also D2 boys play with a 28.5 inch ball women's basketball called an intermediate basketball
D1 boys play with a 29.5 inch ball
The official basketball for California high school competition is the Spalding TF-1000 29.5 inch basketball for boys and the Spalding TF-1000 28.5 inch basketball for girls
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VOLUNTEERING
Q: Does FYB need my help?
A: Yes! FYB is a non-profit (501c3) volunteer-run organization. The success of the season rests on the involvement of volunteers. It takes a lot of work to run the league. Please consider helping us, and if you can't, please be patient with and appreciative of those that do. We always are in need of working committee members and coaches. You don't have to have children in the league to participate. You also don't have to be a working committee member or a coach to help out. There are always short-term tasks that can use volunteers.
Q: What types of volunteer jobs are available?
A: Board positions, coaches, assistant coaches, team parents, gym monitors, registration helpers and Picture Day helpers. If you are a new parent to the league it is recommended that you do not signup as a registration helper since that job takes place early on before parents know if they have made it into the chapter or whether they are on the wait list.
Q: I am volunteering to help with FYB. Do I need to have fingerprinting done?
A: The following jobs require fingerprinting: board member, coach and assistant coach. This will be done at the cost of FYB and by the FYB approved vendor. If you have been fingerprinted by another organization (soccer, girl scouts, employer) sorry, you will still have to be fingerprinted by FYB. Ideally this will be once and your records will be good for your entire FYB volunteer time.
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