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Sunday, April 22^nd, We Held Our Annual Spring Members’ Meeting

The agenda:

o A recap of the 2012 season.

o Treasurer’s report, showing over $10,215 in the bank and, after allowing for $3735 designated for scholarships, about $2000 more on deposit than same time last year. It is “probable” that registration fees will not increase for the 2013 season (preliminary estimate).

o A committee of the board of directors (Jim Stuyck, Yvette Williams-Elliott, and Dee Zuniga) was appointed to look at MCBA’s Bylaws with the objective of suggesting updates/revisions. for the committee’s recommendations, which where adopted by the members.

o The Board of Directors was elected, and at least two members in attendance indicated they would give serious consideration to serving as commissioners in the upcoming season. for the list of MCBA’s Board of Directors for the 2012/13 season.

o The 2012-2013 school calendar for H-E-B ISD poses some “unique” requirements on MCBA’s schedule, so we asked the coaches and board members to offer suggestions. to get an idea of the problems we face. This season’s “big hurdle” is how to deal with having only two school days following New Years Day before the first Saturday of January. That’s only enough time to get in one practice per team before the first game. Don’t want to start practices in December (added gym rental and accident insurance expense, plus the interruption of Winter Break); don’t want to “slide” the season a week (too many families would have planned a quick getaway at the start of Spring Break); don’t want to reduce the regular season to seven games; don’t know if we could squeeze in a whole weeks’ worth of games into double headers the remaining seven Saturdays in January and February; don’t know if we could/should schedule weeknight games, and so on.

o This summer the board will come to a decision about how to put together the next season.

o The annual Fall Members’ Meeting will be Saturday or Sunday, September 29 or 30, 2:00pm, at a location to be determined. That’s the meeting that entertains rule proposals and sets the stage for player registration activities. for the procedure for submitting rule proposals.

The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Basketball Rules Committee posted the 2012-2013 “Basketball Points of Emphasis".

League	Coach of the Year	Sportsmanship Award
Rookie Boys First Grade	Senecca Wall – Blaze	Mycah Ray Taylor – Stealers
Rookie Boys Second Grade	Jody Castillo – Nuggets	JaVontay Bryant – Eagles
Junior Boys Third Grade	Gregg Madsen – Aggies	Hex Fonua – Bulldogs
Junior Boys Fourth Grade	John Joe – Lakers	Jarrod Dreier – Lakers
Major Boys Fifth Grade	Bill Preskenis – Thunder	Joshua Bowman – Lakers
Major Boys Sixth Grade	Henry Lucio – Mavericks	Daniel Murguia – The Dream
Senior Boys	Ted Achuff – Stars	Calvin Roeun – Express
Senior Boys “Select” Division	Andy Leonard – Stone Age Romeos	Enrique Huerta-Umanzor – Difference Makers
Rookie Girls	Devin Marcotte – Heat	Tallulah Koenig – Storm
Junior Girls	David Wade – Dolphins	Alexa White – Hawks
Major Girls	Jonna Boyle – Jaguars	Deyana Wilson – Texans

Sportsmanship awards are presented annually in memory of Louise Koontz, former Junior Girls’ Commissioner, and Bill Rippy, long-time MCBA President. Recipients are invited to return the following season, without paying a registration fee, if they have eligibility remaining (not yet in the ninth grade).

When the school principals of our Sportsmanship Award winners were notified, their responses included:

o Thank you for letting us know.

o We will announce this on school TV. We are proud of him!

o This is so great. We will share this with her granddad when he comes in today.

o Awesome! We will recognize him during our morning announcements.

o Thank you for sharing. What an honor. He is a super kiddo.

o Thanks for the info; I'll congratulate him today. :)

o Excellent!

MCBA’s Post Season Tournament, the “Playoffs.”

for “everything you ever wanted to know” about our “March Madness” tournament. A new browser window opens.

Game Schedules

for “everything you ever wanted to know” about game schedules and scores. A new browser window opens.

High School Varsity Coaches’ Summer Basketball Camps

As the coaches of Trinity, Bell and Birdville High Schools provided them to MCBA, we posted their camp “fliers” on our web site. In addition, for these six camps MCBA furnished mailing labels to the coaches so that the fliers could be sent to kids living in their attendance zones.

for the LD Bell Girls’ camp, June 18-21.

for the Birdville Boys’ camp, June 11-14.

for the Trinity Girls’ camp, June 11-14.

for the LD Bell Boys’ camp, June 11-14.

for the Birdville Girls’ camp, June 4-7.

for the Trinity Boys’ camp, June 4-7.

Also, for the University of Texas-Arlington Boys’ camps, June 18-22 and June 25-29.

for the Dallas Mavericks’ Hoop camps at many Metroplex venues throughout June, July and August.

Our web site has a search engine feature. Try it: to search MCBA’s web site. A new browser window opens.

This search engine scans through the files on this web site “now,” which makes updates (especially additions) show up immediately: We do not use a “cache.” A search for “bobby smith” might take about 8-10 seconds.

MCBA has published Frequently Asked Questions since 1999-2000.
for the FAQ for the 2011/12 season.	for the printed version of the FAQ. This is in “booklet form,” intended to be duplexed (printed on both sides) and stapled for distribution at player registration.

Thinking ahead to October registration and the 2013 season, RETURNING players’ options based on current MCBA rules (reference: MCBA Rules 2.0 and 3.0):

The 2012 season’s first graders (RB1, some RG) normally stay together in the second grade Rookie League (RB2 or RG), but may be reassigned. Second grade teams are formed by “consensus” of the commissioner and coaches with “neighborhoods” and “buddies” given maximum consideration. The 2012 season’s second graders (RB2, some RG) form NEW teams in the third grade Junior League (JB3 or JG3). No more that TWO “protected players” per team and the rest thru a “blind draw” WITHOUT regard to “buddy” or “car pooling” preferences. NO EXCEPTIONS, no refunds if you’re not on the same team as your buddy. The 2012 season’s third graders (JB3, some JG) normally stay together in the fourth grade Junior League (JB4 or JG4). A returning player, with his/her parent desiring to be a HEAD coach, may become the first “protected player” on a NEW team. Any other RETURNING player may “go back into the blind draw” which is his/her ONLY option, NO EXCEPTIONS. In other words, if you played on “team A” this season, and you wish to be on another team with another coach, you must “take your chances in the draw.” The 2012 season’s fourth graders (JB4, some JG) form NEW teams in the fifth grade Major League (MB5 or MG5). No more that TWO “protected players” per team and the rest thru a “blind draw” WITHOUT regard to “buddy” or “car pooling” preferences. NO EXCEPTIONS, no refunds if you’re not on the same team as your buddy.

The 2012 season’s fifth graders (MB5, some MG) normally stay together in the sixth grade Major League (MB6 or MG6). A returning player, with his/her parent desiring to be a HEAD coach, may become the first “protected player” on a NEW team. Any other RETURNING player may “go back into the blind draw” which is his/her ONLY option, NO EXCEPTIONS. In other words, if you played on “team A” in this season, and you wish to be on another team with another coach, you must “take your chances in the draw.” The 2012 season’s sixth graders (MB6) are encouraged to register for the Senior League (SB) in October. No more that TWO “protected players” per team and the rest thru a “blind draw” WITHOUT regard to “buddy” or “car pooling” preferences. NO EXCEPTIONS, no refunds if you’re not on the same team as your buddy. Sixth grade girls (some MG) might form SG(S) teams. The 2012 season’s seventh graders (some SB) probably stay together in the Senior League (SB), if they wish. They may find themselves on newly-formed teams. We will continue to form a “select league” – SB(S); teams of seventh and eighth grade boys that compete against each other, completely separated from the SB “draw” team league. In fact, should four or more teams of seventh and eighth grade girls sign up, we’ll organize a SG(S) league.

NEW players (those that did not participate in MCBA during the 2012 season) enter the grade-appropriate/gender-appropriate league, either through the “blind draw” or as a “protect” (subject to the limitations of protected players). The Frequently Asked Questions contain an outline of how the “blind draw” is conducted.

MCBA has many informational materials for reference:

Document	HTML Version	PDF Version
MCBA’s Bylaws † (updated for 2012/13)	Click	Click
MCBA’s Rules † (may be updated in September)	Click	Click
Player Draw Rule Explanation, Rulings †	Click	Click
Rookie League Rules Summary †	Click	Click
Junior League Rules Summary †	Click	Click
Major League Rules Summary †	Click	Click
Senior League Rules Summary †	Click	Click
Coaching Box Rule †	Click	Click
Player Participation Policy †	Click	Click
Criminal Background Check Policy for Coaches † (minor update for 2012/13)	Click	Click
MCBA’s Awards Policy †	Click	Click
Background information about our tournaments †	Click	Click
Post-Season Tournament Notes †	Click	Click
Rules and Conduct at Practices †	Click	Click
Reference for Clock Keepers and Scorekeepers †	Click	Clock Keepers Scorekeepers
A simple check list for MCBA coaches †	Click	Click
Often Heard Gripes (by kids!) †	Click	Click
Attachment to License (“contract”) † (updated – dates)	n/a	Click
Nonschool Use of School Facilities †	Click	Click
Calendar of Events † (work in progress)	n/a	Click
Practice Session Selection Memo	Click	Click School Map †
Reference material primarily for MCBA’s Commissioners	Click	Reference Compensation
Reference material primarily for MCBA’s Coaches (updated)	Click	Click
Discussion of uniform colors and numbers (new colors)	Click	Click
Credit Card Policy	Click	Click

† Most of the items listed above, and several others, are included in Reference Information for MCBA’s Coaches and Officials, 2011-2012 Season. This is in “booklet” form, intended to be printed on both sides of the paper, folded and stapled (the pages appear out of order unless printed the way designed). Head coaches receive a copy at the time of team formation.

for the cover and for the content of the booklet.

Also, for the cover and for the content of the 2012-2013 version of the booklet as they are developed. Not yet “finished products.”

These documents are available only in Adobe Acrobat format (PDF):

Coaches’ Application Form – no matter when a person wishes to become an MCBA coach, he or she must complete and submit these two pages. Player Registration Forms – We use a GIRL’S Form and a BOY’S Form to avoid mistakes (weird things once happened!).
“Block” a Team or Coach Scholarship Policy and Sample Form To go along with the MCBA Player Participation Policy: Worksheet to help plan player substitution and playing time Click HERE for a completed example of the player participation worksheet	National Federation Instructions for Scorers and Timers National Federation Basketball Signals National Federation Basketball Uniforms Specifications National Federation Basketball Court Diagram NFHS Suggested Guidelines for Management of Concussion

for our 2011-2012 calendar of events. MCBA used the H-E-B ISD school calendar as a guide, adjusting our schedule to begin following Winter Break and end with a week to spare before Spring Break.

for our 2012-2012 calendar of events, as it’s being developed. This season’s “big hurdle” is how to deal with having only two school days following New Years Day before the first Saturday of January. That’s only enough time to get in one practice per team before the first game. Don’t want to start practices in December (added gym rental and accident insurance expense, plus the interruption of Winter Break); don’t want to “slide” the season a week (too many families would have planned a quick getaway at the start of Spring Break); don’t want to reduce the regular season to seven games; don’t know if we could squeeze in a whole weeks’ worth of games into double headers the remaining seven Saturdays in January and February; don’t know if we could/should schedule weeknight games, and so on.

We routinely produce a “Quick Status Report” from our records following key events, one page that shows us “where we stand.” for the end-of-season status reports since 2005, working backwards from the most recent season.

for a registration analysis (size of leagues), each season since 1996. to see where our players attended school (demographic) each season since 2005. These are now completed for the 2012 season.

for MCBA’s voting members – head coaches and the board of directors.

for the season’s budget.

Many of the following “click here’s” open a new browser window because there’s potentially page-after-page to go through.

for the list of coaches. for the list of players. for the list of teams.

These are team rosters, which include game schedules: RB1 RB2 JB3 JB4 MB5 MB6 SB SB(S) – “select” RG JG MG

MCBA made no effort to give each Junior, Major or Senior League team equal “experience.” The emphasis was to balance “height” within, typically, 3-inch ranges. Only after the players are placed within their height category are they then ordered by experience, and the teams with the fewest players when the draw takes place get an edge on experience. If you consider alternatives like a “draft” or “coach look” instead of a blind draw, or distribution by experience instead of height, they are all unattractive. Nevertheless, for NEXT year any kind of well thought out rule change proposal would be taken up by the voting members.

Parents and coaches: See something in MCBA’s records that needs fixing? The spelling of a name, height and experience are typical examples, so let us know. Avoid the telephone. The best option is to e-mail info@midcitiesbasketball.org with your correction or update.

Coaching certification overview:

Every coach, head or assistant, must be certified by the National Youth Sports Coaches Association, NYSCA, in order to “take the floor” or “take a seat on the bench” with our players. “Certification” of coaches is a requirement of the Mid-Cities Youth Activity Council, MCYAC, to which MCBA belongs in order to qualify to rent H-E-B ISD gyms for practices and games. And, it’s a GOOD IDEA!

Below, under “Links,” you can get more information about this program. MCBA paid the fees for all returning certified coaches and all new coaches that attended one of our coaching clinics.

for details about our NYSCA clinic schedule.

Our clinics have three parts, taking about three hours total time: (1) NYSCA video and discussion about how to be a good youth coach, followed by an NYSCA “skills and drills” video to give the coach some ideas for initial practices; (2) a brief session about MCBA’s rules, with emphasis on coaches’ bench decorum and giving every player at least “half a game, every game” playing time; (3) for Rookie and Junior League coaches an on-court walk thru and demonstration of MCBA’s unique playing rules.

for the outline of part 2, the session about MCBA’s rules. Should a coach decide to pay his/her own way (see LINKS below) please review that outline and research the points that aren’t totally clear.

Every team is entitled to a head coach and no more than two assistants. We think it’s not a good idea to allow non-certified “helpers” at practices and we will carefully limit game-day participation to our certified coaches who have also passed a criminal background check. We do allow a little leeway the first week of practice (but NOT on game day) as new assistant coaches are identified.

If you have a question for MCBA, send us a note clicking HERE and we will get you an answer.

for the list of MCBA’s Board of Directors for the 2012/13 season. Comments to individual officers/commissioners can be sent via e-mail links.

Comments about this web site are always welcome. Send the “webmaster” a note by clicking HERE.

	MCBA leases the facilities of the Hurst-Euless-Bedford Independent School District. H-E-B ISD waives the gym rental fee ($20 per player recently) for all “scholarship” recipients attending District schools (100 or more youth annually). Click for the direct link to the school district’s Child Nutrition Services - Free and Reduced-Price Meals. The direct link to the school district’s weather info is http://schoolctr.hebisd.edu/weather.
		Unless specifically altered, MCBA uses the basketball rules of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS). Use this link to order the 2012-2013 Basketball Rules Book, provided free to new head coaches when they attend our coaching certification clinic. Item BKRB13; Retail Price $7.20 plus shipping. Due in stock at NFHS in August, 2012.
	ALL MCBA coaches are certified through the National Association of Youth Sports (NAYS). MCBA’s Coach Certification Clinician conducted three classroom clinics for our prospective coaches in December, after teams were formed but before practices begin. MCBA’s clinics include league-specific breakout sessions to cover our playing rules. MCBA pays the membership fees for those attending these clinics and for all coaches renewing their memberships. Coaches whose schedules make it inconvenient to attend our clinic may elect to take the online version at their own expense ($25 – requires a credit card). Use this link to find out about the Coaches Certification Program (NYSCA). If you decide to take the online class, you pay your own fee and will be asked to identify your “chapter.” Select “H.E.B PARKS & RECREATION - 2954” from the drop-down menu offered.
	America’s Best Sports Photography is our photographer and a substantial Association Sponsor.
These valued vendors provide significant cost savings and exceptional service to our association.	T-shirt awards		Specialized printing	Office supplies, copying, and office equipment	Uniform jerseys
“Click” on the vendor’s logo to go to their home page. A new browser window opens.	Equipment		Mailing services	Trophy awards
	Many of the forms/documents MCBA uses are available in PDF so that, no matter your computer system, they can be printed in a uniform way. Click on the Get Adobe Reader icon for a free download.