Austin Girls Basketball

 Play Hard………Play Smart………and Play Together.

THE PACKER PRINCIPLES

1. Respect Yourself and Others

• Individual success is a myth. No one succeeds all by herself

• People who do not respect those around them will not make good team members

2. Take Full Responsibility

• There are no shortcuts to success

• Admit to and make yourself accountable for mistakes

• Make every situation a learning experience

3. Develop and Demonstrate Loyalty and Trust

• To your team, school, family and yourself

• You have to give it to receive it

4. Discipline Yourself So No One Else Has To

• Self-discipline helps you believe in yourself

• Discipline produces a unified effort toward a common goal

5. Make Hard Work Your Passion

• Nothing worth having was ever attained without it

• Think big, work small

· The harder you work, the luckier you get

6. Don’t Just Work Hard, Work Smart

• Winners are not born, they are self-made

• Know your strengths and weaknesses then work on them

7. Put The Team Before Yourself

• Teamwork allows common people to obtain uncommon results

• Role players are critical to team success

• In team success there is individual success

8. Make Winning An Attitude

• Attitude is a choice. Maintain a positive outlook

• No one ever got anywhere by being negative

9. Be a Competitor

• You can’t always be the most talented person on the

   floor but you can be the most competitive

• By being competitive you can affect how your opponent performs

10. Handle Success Like You Handle Failure

• You can’t always control what happens, but you can

   control how you handle it

• Sometimes you learn more from losing than winning

A man may make mistakes,

but he isn’t a failure until he starts

blaming someone else.

John Wooden

GIRLS BASKETBALL EXPECTATIONS

PHILOSOPHY

The selection of the Varsity and Junior Varsity teams will be done differently this year. The top 16 to 18 players in our program will be named to the two teams. There will be a tryout period and cuts potentially may be made.

A. Varsity – The coaching staff will make the decisions to put what we feel is the best team on the court. Athletes will be evaluated by their athletic ability, attitude and ability to be a team player. Playing time is not determined by a player’s age or grade. If a younger player is ready to play at this level, she will play.

B. Junior Varsity – This team will focus on improving basketball skills and their understanding of the game. Opportunities will be provided for players to gain more playing time than they would get at the varsity level alone. Playing time is not equal.

C. B-Squad – The focus of this team will be to continue development of basketball skills in the athletes for future varsity competition. All players may not play every game.

B-squad players will also be responsible to take varsity statistics and videotape the game. When taking statistics, they will sit behind or on the bench.

D. 9th Grade – The focus of this team will be the continued introduction and development of basketball skills needed for potential varsity competition. A 5th quarter is usually played in games to provide extra playing time.

ATHLETE’S RESPONSIBILITIES

A. Attend all practices.

B. Listen to and learn from your coaches.

C. Take care of all equipment and uniforms and keep them clean.

D. Be a role model and conduct yourself in an appropriate manner.

E. Put the team before yourself.

COACH’S RESPONSIBILITIES

A. Select the team.

B. Determine the starting lineup and playing time.

C. Establish team expectations.

D. Establish lettering requirements

E. Prepare and conduct practices.

F. Put the athlete’s safety and welfare first.

PARENT’S RESPONSIBILITIES

A. Be positive and supportive to your daughter and other team members.

B. Please be supportive of the program. If you have a concern let’s clear it up.

C. Help your daughter to adhere to the team expectations.

GENERAL EXPECTATIONS

A. Sportsmanship/Conduct

· Conduct deemed detrimental to the team will be dealt with on a case by case basis by the coaching staff

· All players, coaches, mangers and team personnel are expected to used appropriate language at all practices, games and team activities

· Always conduct yourself with the utmost class, both in practice and games

· Always encourage each other and have a positive attitude

B. Physicals/Activity Fees

· Athletes cannot participate until fees have been paid and forms turned in

C. All players and managers are expected to be in bed by 11:00 pm the night before a game.

D. All players and managers must be in school before the start of 2nd period to be eligible to participate in practice or games. Exceptions would be pre-excused absences. For example: funeral, doctor’s appointment. See Activities Handbook for the complete policy.

NOTE: A parent’s note saying you were ill is not considered excused

E. Your health

· Make sure you are eating right and getting adequate rest

F. Road Trips

· All players (B-squad, JV and Varsity) are expected to ride the team bus to and from all games and scrimmages.

· Bus leaves at the scheduled time. Don’t be late.

· If circumstances arise and you must ride with your parents, you must give your coach a note from your parents.

· You can only ride with your parents even if you have your parent’s permission to ride with someone else (school policy)

G. Practices

Be dressed and on the floor at the appointed time.

· Get there early and get extra shooting done

· We will lift weights on Mondays and Wednesdays either before or after practice depending on whether we are early or late.

· Practice jerseys are required dress with a t-shirt underneath

H. Dress Guidelines

· All team members will “dress up” for all games, home and away

· Not following this guideline will result in lost playing time

· All players will wear all white socks (Packer socks acceptable)

· Head bands are not acceptable

· Wrist bands will be worn on your wrists only

Violation of the team expectations could result in:

The first offense: Missing part of or all of the next varsity game. The player will sit on the bench in street clothes and help with statistics or the video camera.

The second offense: The team member will miss the next game. The player will sit on the bench in street clothes and help with statistics or the video camera. The team member may not return to the team until after a conference with the coaching staff and a parent/guardian.

The third offense: The team member will be dismissed from the team for the remainder of the season.

ACADEMICS

A. Basketball is a thinking man’s game. How you perform in the classroom often reflects your performance on the court. Keeping up with your academics is paramount!

· Being academically ineligible not only hurts you but the team as well

UNEXCUSED ABSENCES AND TARDIES

An unexcused absence or tardy (more than 10 minutes late) is one that is not approved by the head coach or that does not result from an illness or emergency.

A. First unexcused absence: The team member will miss the next game. The team member will sit on the bench in street clothes and help with statistics or other duties.

B. Second unexcused absence: The team member will miss the next two games. The team member will sit on the bench in street clothes and help with statistics or other duties. Also, the team member will not return to the game competition until after a conference with the coaching staff and a parent or guardian.

C. Third unexcused absence: The team member will be dismissed from the team for the remainder of the season.

DEALING WITH QUESTIONS/CONCERNS

There is a chain of command to follow when addressing concerns

1st step - Talk to your coach

2nd step - Meeting between the coach and parent (athlete may or may not be present)

3rd step - Meeting with coaches, the athlete, parents and Activities Director

“Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success”

LETTERING POLICY

A varsity letter is something that is earned, it is not a gift given to every player.

A. Play in one-fourth of the quarters in all varsity games and complete the season

B. All seniors who have played in the program throughout high school and have showed exemplary leadership, attitude, and dedication

C. Coaching staff has the discretion to letter individuals who have contributed to the program but may not be a player (managers, statisticians, video people)

D. Coaching staff may use their discretion in determining all letter winners

E. If the varsity team qualifies for the state tournament, all players on the varsity roster will receive a letter

MINNESOTA STATE HIGH SCHOOL LEAGUE RULES

A. Penalties will be assessed according to the guidelines of the state. Refer to the Student Activities Handbook for specifics.

B. Getting a violation not only violates my trust in you, but you also let your teammates down as well.

C. Violation of the High School League rules result in becoming ineligible for any post-season team awards or honors.

Play Hard….Play Smart….and Play Together

Austin Packers

Girls Basketball