Tuesday, November 10, 2015
7:00PM – 8:30PM
Forestville Elementary School

Great Falls Basketball
Welcome and Introductions

GF Hoops Overview
Website Review
Gyms & VBD Test
Training Program
Referee Program
Leadership by Example
(Coaching)
Breakouts with GGCs
Coaches/Assistants
Phil Simonides
Greg Potteiger
Debbie Volpicelli
Larry Zmuda
Michelle Claude
Phil Simonides
All
All – match up

 Directors Leaving
 Neal Abravanel
 New Directors
 Brian Geoghegan

Michelle Claude
Phil Simonides
Dick Warrick
John Brennan
Laura Bean
Brian Geoghegan
Philip Nickles
Margaret Brown
Larry Zmuda
Greg Potteiger
Debbie Volpicelli
Malia Kishore
Jace Johnson
Bina Clark
Commissioner & Director of Referees
Director of Coaches
Director of Select
Asst. Director of Select – Boys League
Asst. Director of Select – Girls League
Director Boys/Girls K-2
Director of Girls House Grades 3-12
Director of Boys House Grades 3-6
Director of Boys House Grades 7-12 &
Director of Player and Coach Training
Director of Information & Scheduling
Director of Facilities
Director of Equipment
Treasurer
Secretary & At Large Director

 Girls 2/3 and 8-10 are new this year
 We have eliminated interleague play with
Reston and Herndon based on feedback
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High school grade groups will remain open until after Langley tryouts, subject to coaching limits
Website – must remain central source of info
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Draft data is confidential and is not to be forwarded electronically once given to GGCs
Know your grade group local rules – see Grade
5 coverage at end of the meeting

 1,008 Players (886 House/86 Select/36
Development)
 1,176 Parents (conservative estimate!)
 108 Teams (96 House/9 Select/3 Development)
 141 Referees
 630 House League Games
 1,890 Referee Assignments
 985 Uniforms
 8 Gyms

 14 Board Members
 12 Grade Group Coordinators (GGCs)
 100 Coaches
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8 Coaching Multiple Teams

Director of Girls House
Grades 3 - 10

Director – Philip Nickles
Grade 2/3 - Doug Britt
Grade 4 - Marli Kerrigan
Grade 5/6 Heather O’Donovan
Grade 7 - Chrissy Conner
Grade 8-10 Karen Doody

Director of Boys House
Grades 3 - 6

Director – Margaret Brown
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Boys Grade 3 - Melissa Laskin
Boys Grade 4 Heather O’Donovan
 Boys Grade 5 -Angelique Bennett
 Boys Grade 6 - Joanna Sachtleben

Director of Boys House
Grades 7 - 12

Director – Larry Zmuda
Grade 7 - Cori Johnson
Grade 8 Heather O’Donovan
Grade 9-12 – Larry Zmuda

Director
Information & Scheduling

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All League information (Schedules, Rules etc.)
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Should be parents “ First Stop ” for information
Coaches: responsible for updating / maintaining certain information:
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Game Scores / Outcomes
Game Summaries / Coach ’ s Blog (optional)
End of year player evaluations
Coaches will receive:
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Usernames and passwords
“ Help ” sheet before season start

Director of Facilities

Capacity is Tighter Than Ever (AGAIN!)
Just Received Winter Gym Allocations…
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Gym Upgrades:
 Great Falls and Colvin Run – New full side baskets, adjustable!
Update on Prior year Space Reductions:
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Last year we lost 13 hours of weeknight practice time at Lake Anne and Cooper
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 We got 8 hours back this year at Lake Anne
Lake Anne returned to us on Saturdays
Current Year Impact:
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Forestville ES Closes for Renovation late January
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Games that start the year at Forestville, will move to new location mid January
Not used as primary practice space – replacement space only
Rescheduling for Gym Closures:
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Planned closingsrescheduled week by week in advance…check your emails regularly
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Unscheduled closings, generally due to weather, will not be rescheduled.
Cannot Practice Implications for Practice Times:
New FCPS Gym Allocation Guidelines:
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Unused practice space

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We need to behave in gyms so we don't lose them
The gyms you use are someone’s “classroom”
 Police your group
 At first practice, talk to parents and kids about the gyms
 No food or drinks, except water
 No bouncing balls in hall
 Respect practice start and end times

Coaches,
If you have an issue at a gym on a weeknight or weekend:
 First, try to find custodian on site
 Call Director of Facilities, Debbie Volpicelli, at
703-389-3202
 If you can not reach her, call the County at
703-609-8870

Volunteer Building Directors
 Coaches go to: http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/ncs/athletics/vbd.htm
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Create an account
Watch the video
Take the test on-line.
Certificates - sent via e-mail. (Certification good for 2 years)
Please email your VBD Certificate to your GGC
 Coaches – you are the face of the organization
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Protect and enhance the GF Hoops reputation
The facilities we share must be treated with care and respect.
Leave GYMS in EQUAL to or BETTER shape than when you arrived.

Nov 11 (Wed) through Nov 17 (Tue)
House League Player Allocation/Drafts
Nov 16 (Mon) Training for House League Coaches
Nov 17 (Tue) Training for House League Coaches
Nov 17 (Tues) House League game schedules published to web site
Nov 18 (Weds) House Practices Start
Nov 21 K-2 Program Begins
Dec 5-6 House League Regular Season Begins
Dec 12-13 House League Games
Dec 19-20 House League Games
Jan 2-3 All Gyms Closed – No Games
Jan 9 (Sat)
Jan 9 & 16
Feb 20-21
Picture Day and House League Games Resume
“Shots for Shots” – Fundraiser/Competition for Charity
First week of playoffs
Feb 26
Mar 6-7
Coach/Volunteer Appreciation Mixer @ Brix
Final Playoff Weekend and All Stars

Director of
Player and Coach Training

Agenda of Topics
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Player Training and Development
Fundamentals
Safety
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Coach Training Programs oneononebasketball.com

 Coaches:
Primary Source of Training and Development
 One on One Basketball, Inc.
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K/1 st Grade – 12 weeks skills and drills training
2 nd Grade – 12 weeks Full Court Games
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3 rd thru 8 th Grade
 One on One - assists all teams for one entire practice.
 Coaches to identify areas of need in advance .
 One on One then provides team specific sessions.

 One on One Basketball, Inc.
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Mandatory attendance at 90 minute session on either Nov 16 or Nov 17 session (see next slide for times)
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Each night:
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One session for 2 nd – 5 th grade
One session for 6 th – 12 th grade
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Offering Age Group Appropriate:
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Skill Level Assessment Methods
Drills – individual and team
How to Structure Practices and Practice Plans
 Q & A Sessions

Mark Your Calendars
 Coaching Clinics
Group A : Grades 3-5 Group B: Grades 6-12
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11/16 Forestville 6:00PM –7:30PM Group A
Elementary 7:30PM-9:00PM Group B
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11/17 Forestville 6:00PM –7:30PM Group B
Elementary 7:30PM-9:00PM Group A
 Coaching Blitz
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If you want additional help in December, send a note to larry@gfhoops.com
and we will set you up with a trainer at your practice session
In January at your practice location – Mandatory

The Referee Program

Michelle Claude
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Recruits Referees
Trains Referees
Manages Referee
Performance
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Reviews game feedback from gym coordinators, coaches, and others
Provides feedback to referees
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Nick Claude
 Assigns Refs to Games
 Keeps Work Records
 Computes Pay
Spencer Beckwith, Jack
Bonham, Mark Murray,
Mackenzie Regen, Dante
Vasiliadis, Jason
Volpicelli, Joe Ulepic
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On-court ref trainers in grade 3 games and grade 4 games.

100+ Referees
Experience
1
2
3
4
5+
Total
2013
28
19
10
11
51
119
2014
34
25
17
9
53
138
2015
22
23
20
16
60
141

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Your best reffing experience in GF Hoops was ….
 when I had just finished a game my first year of reffing and a little boy came up to me and told me how well I did.
 end of my first year when the coaches came up to me and told me I did a great job after the game.
As a young referee this gave me a lot of confidence and made the job better for me going forward.
becoming a desk ref
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 I greatly appreciate whenever a coach or parent goes out of their way after the game to thank or compliment my reffing
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Your worst reffing experience in GF Hoops was…
 when a coach yelled at me because he thought that the lineup he put in for the fourth quarter was following the rules. (he had a player sitting out for two quarters in a row and one player (his child) that had never sat out)
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 my second game as a referee - I was struggling to make calls on the court and I felt very nervous the whole game. To add on to the struggle, the parents on the sideline where yelling to a point where the desk referee had to step in and ask the parents to settle down.
when i didn't call out of bounds when the ball obviously hit the ceiling.
happened in a young girls game, when one of the girls was constantly out of control when driving with the basketball. This made block/charge calls extremely difficult and controversial to the parents, because most times the defender did not establish legal guarding position but the offensive girl's movements were just so violent everyone thought charges should have been called instead of blocks.

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Your “pet peeve” that coaches do....
 yell at young referees while they are learning and trying to focus on the game. Remember – this is all for FUN!
 when they look over your shoulder while you are trying to do your job as desk ref.
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 when teams play zone defense or double team at the younger age groups. Some coaches in the past have told some of the kids to roam in the lane and shadow the other teams best player. This is against the rules.
when coaches don't teach proper defense to their kids
 Something refs do that is wrong and it REALLY bothers you. (for example, my pet peeve is when a ref calls a “reach”…not something we call in GF Hoops)
 when refs aren’t loud when making a call
 when refs do not call fouls when one player bumps another with their body. It is easy to call a foul when a player slaps another on the arm, but I think refs should look more for bumps with the body.
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When refs don't confirm the 3 pointer when they do not actually count in the back court and when it ends up taking a while to get the ball across midcourt and then they arbitrarily call a 10 second violation

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Blow whistle ASAP when they see a foul (then collect thoughts and inform desk ref)
Watch the zone – not the ball
 Louder whistle/louder voice/confidence/carriage
 Setting tone of game from the start
 Watching for illegal screens and other offensive fouls (i.e., charge/player control fouls)

All Contact is a foul
Myth
In order for a defender to draw a charge, he/she must be stationary.
Truth
The mere fact that contact occurs does not constitute a foul. Incidental contact with an opponent which is permitted and is not a foul. A foul should be called when:
• The player causing contact gains an advantage
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Player causing contact put the opponent at a disadvantage
The defender does not have to be stationary; he/she can be moving laterally, backwards, or can be jumping vertically, provided he/she is maintaining a legal guarding position and does not move into the offensive player (must be in a vertical “plane”)
Only if contact occurs Over the back is a foul
During a spot throw-in if the thrower-in steps on the line it is a violation
If a diving player secures a loose ball and slides on the floor, it is a traveling violation
A coach may say anything they want provided he/she is in the coaching box
If an offensive player remains in the lane for 3 (or 5 for grade 3) seconds, it is a violation
Sidelines and endlines are out-of-bounds. Thrower-in may step on the line (but not over it) during a throw-in
Not traveling if his/her momentum causes them to slide on the floor while diving for the loose ball
Regardless of whether a coach is in the coaching box, it is a technical foul to make unsporting comments.
3-second (or 5-second) clock resets after each try for goal. There can be no lane violation during a rebounding action (no one has possession during a rebounding action)

Director of Coaches
&
League-Wide Behavior

Logistics
 Skill Evaluations
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Read the process document before tryouts
Five Skill Areas:
 Ball Handling
 Shooting
 Defense
 Passing
 Rebounding
Board Member – collect data and give to GGCs
Consistency
 Drafts (player allocations)
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Goal: Balanced Teams
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Information sharing
No substitutes may draft in your age group
No pre-assignment of asst coaches if they have a child in the group
Board Member attending has final say in any issues

You Are The Key to Our Success!
 Model positive behavior – both in winning & in losing
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Teach children the game
Spread playing time – come in with rotations
 Manage your parents
 Respect referees
 Introduce yourself to desk refs before games
 Diffuse situations before they get out of hand

 Encourage and help our youth coaches
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Use me as a resource throughout the season
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Text email or call and make sure you ID yourself to me if texting
 All assistant coaches must be registered only two coaches on sidelines at a time
 Explore internet resources for coaching/practice ideas such as: breakthroughbasketball.com
 Have fun!

DON T’s
 Flagrant Fouls
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Running up the score
Too many “ coaches ” yelling during game
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Harsh coaching
Improper substitutions
Abusive behavior from coaches to refs
Coaches taunting each other
DOs:
 5 pass rule, no press, no
3 pointers, change player positions
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At most two assistants
Be positive AND instructive
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Have a playtime game plan (beforehand)
Control your players/yourself – no trash talking and unsportsmanlike conduct

 Issues
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Spoke to several coaches after games
Behavior of assistant coaches deplorable in some instances
Parents and coaches battling on some issues
Harsh coaching styles addressed
Some coaches not asked back
Players suspended and ejected from league
 Themes
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Parents thought refs weren't calling games closely enough and it was too physical
Parents thought their child was being called too frequently for fouling
Coaches/parents calling fouls out too often
Refs got intimidated – embarrassing to GF
Hoops

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Goal: Model Positive Behavior for the kids.
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This is more than basketball.
It's about teaching good sportsmanship.
Zero Tolerance: for verbally abusing the refs.
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They are an important part of our program.
Contact your coach or Michelle Claude...don't yell at the refs.
Yelling raises the tension in the gyms and impacts the players very negatively.
Their play tends to get more physical and emotional and it makes the situation worse.
Remember: Our refs are kids.
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Think - about the impact of yelling at children in a public forum

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Same points as parents -- plus the following:
You went to the Coaches meeting and know what we expect. You acknowledged Code of Conduct when you registered
Be a positive role model
 You need to focus on positively coaching the kids, not arguing calls.
 Most parents spoken to acknowledged that they handled the situation poorly and were apologetic.
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We had mixed results with the coaches.

Find it on the GFHoops Website
 Code of Conduct
 House Coaching Checklist
 Master 2015-2016 Calendar
 House League Rules of Play
 Tryouts and Player Allocation/Selection
Procedure
 Everything you need is on the website
 Email Director of Coaches @ phil@gfhoops.com
or text or call 703-851-2880 and mention who you are please!

 We will hold our second annual Shots for
Shots Competition this January.
 Last year GF Hoops proudly raised $3,500 over the course of two fun weekends!
 We met our vaccination goal in Haiti and the remaining funds were put towards funding wellness checkups for the school children and dental care!
 Our extra t-shirts went to Haiti where the kids are wearing them with pride!
 Talk up the contest with your players and start practicing!

Great Falls Basketball
Synopsis of House League Playing Rules &
Girls Grade 5
Here is a brief outline of key House League playing rules. We strongly encourage you to review the complete rules so that you are fully aware of how we do things in Great Falls Basketball. The full rules can be found on the GF Hoops website.
Key Rules Common to All Age Groups
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Players may not wear watches, rings, necklaces, earrings, bracelets, hard casts (even if wrapped) or other items that could present a safety hazard to themselves or other players.
A game consists of 4 quarters of 8 minutes duration each.
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Each player MUST play in two (2) complete quarters, one in each half; no player may play more than three full quarters unless all other players will have played at least three full quarters.
Substitutions can only occur at the midpoint of the 4 th quarter or when there is an injury.
Each team is allowed 2 one minute time-outs per half. Time-outs cannot be carried over from half to half.
If needed, overtime periods are 3 minutes in duration. In overtime, each team is allowed 1 one minute time-out (no carryover of unused time-outs from regulation play or one overtime period to another).
A team forfeits if the team is unable to field 4 players within 5 minutes of scheduled game start.
If previous game runs late, next game starts five minutes after the previous game ends.

Grade Group specific rules summary for Girls Grade 5:
• There is no Zone Defense
• There is no Isolation Offense
• These groups must play man-to-man defense: there must be a reasonable “arm’s-length” distance between defender and the player they are covering. It is the responsibility of the defender to remain with the player they are covering.
• Double Teaming is allowed only when the shooter is below foul-line-extended and making a legitimate try for goal – this is called “Help Defense.”
• Full-court-press is not allowed under any circumstances in these groups.
• Basket height is 10 feet.
• Free Throw line is 13 feet.
• Lane violation is 3 seconds. This applies only to the offense – no lane violation will be administered against the defense. A lane violation will occur on the offense when an offensive player not in possession of the ball remains in the lane for a full 3 seconds; however, if a shot is taken, the 3second clock resets.
• Ball size for these groups is 28.5”.
• There is no three-point-shot awarded for these age groups.
• Free-throws: players on the lane during a free-throw may not leave their position until the ball leaves the shooter’s hand.
• Standings are kept.
• This group will have a playoff tournament and select All Stars.

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Q and A
Breakouts with GGC ’ s
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Coaches meet Assistants – could all assistants please stand? Now coaches who want an assistant please stand…ok let’s match up!
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Determine Team Names (new wrinkle, if head coach is Simonides and team is Thunder please name it “Thunder (Simonides)” for easier identification by all
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Get Practice Slots
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Determine draft date, time, and location if possible