Cedar Valley Middle School Girl's Athletics Dear Parents and Athletes: Welcome to Girl's Athletics at Cedar Valley Middle School! This letter is to inform you of our athletic procedures and requirements. FORMS The following forms must be on file before an athlete will be allowed to practice or participate in a contest (this includes ALL students enrolled in athletics). 1. Emergency Card (fill out BOTH sides completely) 2. Physical Form, This includes the following: a. Physician exam (filled out by your doctor) b. UIL Participation Form (must be signed) c. Medical History (filled out by parents) d. General Eligibility Rules 3. Rules and Regulations Form (must be signed by athlete AND parent) (This form is the last page on this handout) 4. Steriod Use Form ELIGIBILITY “No pass, no play” Each athlete must maintain a 70 average or above in ALL subjects. Upon failure of ANY subject, the athlete will NOT be allowed to compete in any contest until the next grade-reporting period (3 weeks). At that time, the athlete must be passing ALL subjects to regain their eligibility. Subsequent failures may result in removal from athletics. TEAMS Those athletes selected to be on the “A” or “B” team will travel to and play against schools in and out of our district. These athletes will be issued uniforms (jerseys, pants, warm-ups, etc.) and are responsible for the care of this clothing. Players will be required to pay for damaged or lost clothing. Athletes must try out for volleyball and basketball. Athletes not chosen for these teams will go into the off-season program. This program consists of running, agility drills, weights, and other skills development techniques. There are no tryouts for track. All participants that complete the requirements for practice will be placed on the track team. However, meet participation will be based on times, heights, and distances of the athletes on an individual basis. Team selection is not necessarily permanent. Throughout the season players may be promoted, demoted, or removed from a team based on their performance, grades, and/or behavior. As coaches, we want as many participants as possible. Our primary objective is to build the skills that will be required to compete at the high school level. There is no guaranteed playing time in middle or high school athletics. Every effort will be made to be as fair as possible. Playing time decisions will be based on practice and game effort, enthusiasm, and attitude. Skill does figure into the equation, but is only one element in the decision of the coaches. OFF-SEASON ALL of our programs require a tremendous amount of RUNNING. This requires that our athletes remain in peak physical shape. ALL ATHLETES WILL MEET THE REQUIREMENTS OF OUR OFF-SEASON PROGRAM. There are NO exceptions. Medical issues will be addressed on an individual basis. This program begins immediately following the conclusion of volleyball tryouts. All athletes not on the volleyball or basketball team will participate in off-season. 7th grade athletes that choose to get out of athletics after the conclusion of volleyball may not be allowed to enroll in athletics in 8th grade. This is because off-season is such a critical part of an athlete’s development as an 8th grade athlete. PRACTICE Every athlete owes it to his team to attend practice and BE ON TIME. If an athlete has a combined total of 3 absences or tardies per week, he will NOT be allowed to participate in the next contest. THE ATHLETE MUST INFORM HIS COACH IF HE IS GOING TO MISS A CONTEST (GAME). This should be done in person or by phone at least 6 hours prior to the contest. Failure to do so may cause the athlete to be held out of an additional game at the coach’s discretion. Injured athletes should attend practice and games to observe and learn. Coaches will stay until all athletes have been picked up. Please be considerate and promptly pick up your child within 15 minutes of practice closure. If a student is ill or injured, a note from a parent is only good for 3 school days. After that, a doctor’s note must be given in order to excuse the student from workouts. GRADING The athlete will be graded as follows: 60% Participation (appropriate attire, cooperation, effort, attendance of practice and games, promptness, and RESPECT for the coaches AND FELLOW ATHLETES. 40% Skill ATTIRE “Dress Code” During practice and during the class period, athletes must wear BLACK athletic shorts and ATHLETIC T-SHIRT. Socks must be black or white. PLEASE LABEL ALL SHORTS AND SHIRTS WITH ATHLETE’S LAST NAME. Each athlete needs to have one pair of suitable running or basketball type shoes. These must be laced up tight to avoid possible injuries. Skateboard type shoes will not be allowed. Football players must also have cleats. These generally run $25-$40 and can be purchased at sporting goods stores such as Academy, Rooster Andrews, etc. Track participants need not purchase special shoes unless they want to. Cedar Valley sweats will be issued to students who make the track team. Off-season students may purchase sweats for the cold weather. However, ALL clothing worn must NOT display any logos or lettering that is disruptive to the athletic environment either during class or at competitions. The athletic coordinator will determine what is disruptive on an individual basis. Team members are required to wear clothing issued by the coaches to all games and meets, unless it has been preapproved by the head coach of sport in question. Hair must be worn in a manner that does NOT interfere with play (no distracting hairstyles). Absolutely NO JEWELRY can be worn during the class period, practice, or contests. This is a UIL rule for athletics and no exceptions will be made. This includes watches, earrings, necklaces, etc. Each athlete will be issued a locker in which he can store his personal property. However, we suggest that STUDENTS NOT BRING LARGE AMOUNTS OF MONEY OR OTHER VALUABLES (expensive shoes, watches, CD/MP3 players, etc.) to the locker room. This should be left in their school locker or at home. The coaches are not responsible for items missing from lockers. Once again, it is very important that clothing is marked with the athlete’s last name for identification purposes should the property become lost or stolen. GAMES Athletes will receive a schedule for each sport that includes the date, opponent, site of contest, and game time. For each away game, he will be given the departure time and expected time of return to Cedar Valley. Remember that players are required to notify coaches at least 6 hours in advance if they cannot participate in a game or meet. Our policy is that all athletes ride the bus to a contest. The exception to this may be certain Saturday basketball tournaments. However, parents may take their child home from an athletic contest by signing them out after their game. Only academically eligible athletes and managers may ride the bus to games. Athletes that misbehave on the bus may be suspended from the next contest and/or face additional disciplinary action. After the team returns to the school from the contest, the parent or guardian should pick them up promptly. The coach will stay until all athletes are gone. Athletes should be picked up no later than 15 minutes after arrival. Phones may not be available. Do NOT rely on a phone call to pick up. Please communicate all pickup times in advance. If an athlete is habitually late being picked up, he will NOT be allowed to compete in the next contest. Game schedules will also be available at a link on our school web site. STANDARDS OF BEHAVIOR Any athlete caught using tobacco, alcohol, or drugs will be suspended from all sports for a minimum of six weeks and may be dismissed from the team and/or the athletics program. They will also be placed on probation until the following school year. At the beginning of the next school year, the athlete’s actions and conduct will be reviewed to determine if the athlete will be allowed to return to the athletic program. For other violations, such as lying, stealing, excessive tardies or absences, poor conduct or attitude, academic problems, failure to dress out properly, disrespect of coaches, teachers, game officials, or other athletes, other school rules violations, and refusal to comply with coaches expectations, the head coach of that sport will discipline the athlete. Disciplinary action will be administered according to the seriousness of the violation and at the coach’s discretion. Possible discipline can include: extra work assignment, suspension from the team for one or more games, suspension from the team for six weeks, and/or removal from the athletic program. Students that fail to dress out or that cannot participate in the required activities may be given an alternative academic assignment and/or community service assignment (cleaning the school grounds). This includes ill or injured athletes. Students that refuse to comply with a coach’s instructions or that refuse to follow the rules of athletics will be taken out of the athletic class and/or be dismissed from the team. This can occur at any point during the school year. We look forward to rewarding and successful seasons in all of our sports this year. We hope to see each of you at the games cheering these fine athletes to victory! Parental support is a vital component of a successful program. Please call and discuss any concerns you may have. We also appreciate the positive calls and e-mails! We are here to promote the Round Rock and McNeil high school athletic programs and we want to make this year an enjoyable experience for each of our athletes. Thank you. Sincerely, Kelli Cook Janeane Petty- Girls Coordinator Please read the following Sportsmanship Attachment! Cedar Valley Middle School SPORTSMANSHIP Qualities and behavior that befit a sportsman. SPORTSMAN A person who can take a loss or defeat without complaint or a victory without gloating and who treats his opponents with fairness, respect, and courtesy. At all Cedar Valley athletic events, players and spectators are expected to model the qualities of positive sportsmanship. These expectations include the following: - Cheer for the players with positive encouragement and comments. - Allow officials to call the games as they see it. Negative comments directed toward officials are inappropriate and may cause your team to receive a technical foul or cause you to be removed from school grounds. - Allow the coaches to coach the students. Comments from the bleachers often frustrate and embarrass players on the court or field. Please save your coaching comments until the event has ended. Individuals who do not model positive sportsmanship will be reminded of our expectations. Individuals who continue to fail to meet our expectations will be asked to leave the event. Working together, we can set an example for others to follow. _________________________________________________________________