Mini Metro Coaches, players, parents – PLEASE DO NOT MAKE ACCOUNTS ON THE TEAM page.

This feature is only for Vermont Cats coaches during AAU and is not functional at this point.

Games will be played today, January 8th. Please leave early, drive carefully watching out for icy spots, and make sure to be careful in parking lots, etc. Temps have dropped from last night and there may be ice in areas that were just wet yesterday.

Mini Metro is now taking orders for t-shirts.

T-shirt front logo- Mini- Metro Hoops 2011-2012 - In Pursuit of Excellence + back will have school initials at top, ex: BFA or Barre with players last name + number below it. I am unable to attach the t-shirt front graphic, but would be glad to email it to you as an attachment if you are interested in seeing it.

 Sample t -shirts can be seen at Essex HS - Barre - CVU- Enosburg

 Any color t-shirt the team desires - be specific on color - ex: blue - navy or royal or carolina light blue ex: red - red - maroon -- hot pink ex: yellow - yellow or gold or vegas gold,  ex: green - pine or kelly

 team order - all same color - short sleeve $12 each / individual order $15 each

 long sleeve $18 each / individual order $20 each

 may include parent and grandparent t-shirt in team orders

 basically adult sizes- small-medium -large -x large - 2x large and youth sizes if needed - youth large- youth medium -youth small- in order be specific

 order online by sending order to email vtcats @vtcats.org

 order deadline Dec 15th if hope to have before Christmas

 orders will be filled on a first come / first serve basis by team once your money is received.

 order will need names + numbers + sizes + color plus - contact person name- address- cell - work - home -phone no. - email as to how we can reach contact person for order pickup at Mills + Greer  Dorset St - So. Burlington,VT

 payment - make checks out to Mini-Metro Basketball

 mail one team check for total team cost and check for separate individual orders to:

Bill Callahan -15 Oakcrest Drive -Burlington , VT 05408

 

 

Please refer to the schedule page to the left under the Mini Metro page

Coaches - if you have not yet done so - please send your email address and cell phone number to vtcatscorrespondence@gmail.com

Notes from the Annual Mini Metro Organizational meeting – 9/7/11

The meeting began at 7:00 p.m. with information presented from Bill Callahan, Doug Cheeseman, and Dick Falkenbush.

 

2011-12 Season dates:

   October 30

   November 6, 13, 20, 27

   December 4, 11, and 18

   January 8, 15, 22, and 29

   February 5, and 12 (playoffs)

   No games on December 25 or January 1

Important Dates for 2011/12 Season:

   October 12 – all monies to be received by Dick Falkenbush for all teams

   October 19 – all email addresses for coaches must be sent in to vtcatscorrespondence@gmail.com.

   This will allow for necessary communication during the season regarding schedules and schedule changes.

   October 24 - all MMBL Waiver Forms and rosters to be received by Dick Falkenbush

    Late fees + forms may mean you will not get into the league or not be eligible to play on Oct 30 - 1st weekend

Please make checks out to Mini Metro

Dick Falkenbush

15 Keari Lane

South Burlington, VT 05403

Notes: All checks must contain team identifying information – team/district name, and team level. For Example: BFA 7/8 Boys A team – Coach John Richards

If checks are not received by the deadline, teams may not be included in the league.

 

Fees:

Teams that provide a gym for the complete season: $500

Teams that provide a gym for half the season: $600

Teams that do not provide a gym: $700

Teams/Players:

It is recommended that you select players for your teams from your high school district. Players from other districts may be included if their district does not have a team. It is not advisable to cut players from your own district to include any out of district players. Approval is needed from the Mini Metro Directors for use of non-district players.

There is a maximum of 8 teams per district.

Players must be the appropriate grade level for teams. It is not recommended to include 4th graders on a 5th/6th grade team unless you do not have enough players. Players may not play on more than one team and no 9th graders are allowed to play.

Players who receive two technical fouls in one game will be ejected from that game and required to have a two week/game suspension.

Teams that have two forfeits in a season will be eliminated from play for the remainder of the season. Due to this it is advisable to enter teams with adequate numbers of players. If you only have 7 or 8 players and one or two become injured, ill, or have conflicts, you may be faced with a forfeit. For that reason the league directors will be reviewing the numbers of players you register with your rosters for approval. We have to be aware and considerate that teams are travelling a distance to play and deserve to have the scheduled opponent show up to compete.

Waiver forms must be completed for each player and turned into the league. Rosters must include player name, address, school, and grade information- plus the roster should be labeled with team identifying information. Please make a copy of this waiver form for each player and keep it with you in your first aid or med kit in case of emergency.

Players must play in 50% of the regular season games in order to be included in the playoffs. Consideration will be given to injury situations, but then players should be on the initial team roster for this.

Please correctly label your team as “A” or “B”. If your team is a very weak B team, you might want to make the decision to not enter this team in the league. It is not fair to other teams to play teams that are markedly weaker than other teams. Recommendations in this regard are that if the overall teams are 5th or 7th graders – the teams should be B. If 6th or 8th – A. Combo teams 5th/6th, 7th/8th depend on experience and ability.

Other than the limitations listed above, team selection, tryouts, coach selection, etc., are all “local decisions.” Please utilize your varsity coaches or your local boards to assist or govern in these decisions.

Team Entry into Mini Metro League:

We will take entry requests from teams, with priority being teams that are currently in the league. We have never had to turn down a team requesting entry, but it depends on gym availability.

Coaches:

High school coaches are eligible to coach. District coordinators and boards should play careful attention to the selection of coaches - know your coaches. Currently our insurance does not cover sexual abuse situations, but our carrier may make additional requirements such as background checks for this year. We will keep you informed of this. Any costs associated with these checks will be borne by coaches or local boards.

Coaches are responsible for their own behavior and the behavior of their players and fans. Please emphasize sportsmanship and support of the officials. If a coach receives two technical fouls in one game of if he or she confronts the officials after the game, there will be a consequence of a two game suspension. If this happens twice, the coach will be ejected from the league and not allowed to return. We need to ask coaches to be excellent role models for the players. Our continued usage of the gyms is really very dependent on maintaining excellent behavior in the facilities. Please step up and ask your fans to behave appropriately for the betterment of the league and our relationship with our community facilities.

Coaches may not contact other coaches to make schedule changes or set up alternate times/gyms.

Competitive Spirit, Player Development, and Sportsmanship:

The emphasis in Mini Metro is not on winning games, but on competitive spirit, player development and sportsmanship. All adults need to model this expectation at all times. Gym Coordinators should read the Sportsmanship statement at the beginning of all the games for the first Sunday and at any other time deemed appropriate. This statement is listed as an attachment at the end of this page. Coaches can also supply their parents with a copy of this statement so they are aware of league expectations.

If a team has a 20 point lead, they should no longer press the other team until the lead drops below this guideline. Teams should also utilize man-to-man defense when possible, and play the bench in lopsided scoring games. Starter players can learn different roles in different situations and bench players can improve given more playing time. Your team can possibly play defense with their hands behind their back to emphasize foot movement and position on defense and thus enable the overmatched team to pass and move the ball on offense easier, to allow the weaker team the opportunity to score.

Scoring of Games:

Both teams should provide a scorer for books for the game. The home team will be the official scorer, but it makes things run more smoothly if there are scorers for both teams at the scorer’s table. Gym coordinators need to provide staff to run the scoreboard/clocks. High school students or parents can be used in this capacity. There was some discussion of this coverage and how difficult it is to obtain at some gyms, especially where multiple gyms are in use. Some gyms may need help running the scoreclocks. Any adult who has experience in running the clocks could volunteer to help. Secondly, high school players often need community service credit and can be organized in advance to fulfill their commitments by helping with the scoreclocks.

Schedules:

Home team will be listed first on the schedule.

An initial schedule for 1-2 weeks will be posted by the Wednesday prior to the first games – October 26th. Then a schedule for the rest of November and through December will be posted. The plan will be to NOT make changes in these schedules except in the case of error or league director discretion. It is not fair to make changes to help one player or one team when that impacts 10-20 other teams. The league cannot make changes or accommodations for players involved in other sports or other activities. We know everyone is busy and that all players just want to be able to be at their teams’ games, but the league directors have to be able to put together a schedule that is stable and that coaches can use to plan. The directors are in charge of the schedules and any comments or issues should be sent directly to them through email at vtcats@vtcats.org The league cannot correspond directly with parents regarding schedule and requests for accommodations. Coaches need to let parents know this and route all communication through coaches only.

During this initial 7 weeks, coaches should evaluate their level placement and let the league know if they should stay at the level they established at the beginning of the season. Changes to level designation will be at the discretion of the league directors. Changes in the level of competition start as soon as the directors are convinced from the weekly results and from the coaches’ recommendations that they are in the wrong level of competition. Stronger teams will play A, and weaker teams play B and some teams may get competition in both levels. Changes for these reasons often begin happening as early as weeks 5-8.

While the league does sincerely appreciate the efforts of gym coordinators, if these individuals are also coaching teams, it cannot be guaranteed that they will always have home games. It is thus recommended that you utilize assistant coaches to travel with your team, if your gym responsibilities require your presence at the gym during games. It is also recommended that you try to involve high school coaches to help in these situations.

If there are an odd number of teams in a category, a team may be asked to play two games on a Sunday. This is to avoid “byes” for other teams and it affords more playing time for your team. Please advise your parents and players that this is a possibility and be prepared.

Game Times:

Games will generally run starting at 11, 12, 1, and 2. Some gyms may require a slightly different schedule. See the schedule when it comes out for all times. Gym coordinators need to open the gym 30 minutes prior to the first game.

Weather Cancellations:

If there is bad weather in the forecast, then the league directors will make the necessary decision regarding cancellation by 8:00 am, on game Sundays. This information will be posted on the vtcats.org website. If the games are cancelled all games that Sunday are to be cancelled. Coaches may not contact other coaches to put together a make-up game or time.

Equipment:

Reversible jerseys are recommended to avoid conflicts. Colors should be white on one of the sides and numbers should be on both colors and both front and back of the jerseys. If you choose to not use reversible jerseys – then bring pennies to avoid conflicts.

Mouth guards are recommended but not required.

ll teams should have first aid kits which include ice or cold packs. Parental medical waiver forms should be carried in the first aid kits.

Teams should also have their own basketballs for use, with a game ball available. Teams should have scoring books for the season. The smaller size 28.5” ball will be used for all girls’ games and for the 5/6 boys’ games. The regulation size 29” ball will be used for 7/8 boys’ games.

School/Gym Usage:

The league directors would like to thank those teams who are able to provide gyms for games. The job of the gym coordinator is a difficult one and we must support them. The league cannot afford the loss of the use of a gym due to issues between the league and the schools. Thus, it is important to supervise the fans to insure good behavior and no inappropriate access to non-gym areas of equipment. Of particular concern are siblings or other guests running around outside of the gyms and poor sportsmanship directed at officials or other teams. Warnings may be given to such fans, and then removal may be necessary if the behavior continues. Siblings can be directed to sit with their parents. Some gyms are “Water Only” gyms and they prohibit Gatorade, coffee, or other beverages. We must comply with these instructions – so please inform your players and parents. Info on which gyms have this requirement will be posted on the schedule page.

Please encourage your teams to clean the bench areas after their games and the bleachers also.

We currently are working on establishing usage of gyms for this season.

If others want to offer gyms, please let us know ASAP.

Money matters:

Dick Falkenbush will provide a checkbook for every gym coordinator. These checks are to be used to pay the referees. They are paid $25 per game. Please complete the check registers appropriately.

Gyms must charge admission: $2.00 for general admission, $1.00 for students and seniors (60+) and free for children under age 3. These fees help pay expenses such as the referees and help keep the per team costs down. Door monies should be deposited in a timely manner and the deposit slips sent to Dick Falkenbush – with gym identifying information. Coaches need to tell parents about these fees and about possible gym policies regarding food and drink so parents are not surprised on the first few Sundays.

The directors prefer that adults handle the admission responsibilities.

Results:

Please email in your results to Cindy Chornyak vtcatscorrespondence@gmail.com . Winning coaches should send in the results on Sunday. Please list team numbers and scores for both teams. For example – Team #65 beat#63. The score was #65 = 28, #63 = 24. Results and standings will be posted weekly. Please confirm your results frequently during the season as they are used for team level decisions and playoff seedings.

Forms:

All forms are posted below as attachments. If you have trouble opening an attachment, please let Cindy know and she will send it to you via email.

Officials:

Officials are paid a small stipend for their work - $25 per game. The league emphasizes support of these officials. Bill Callahan is in charge of all aspects of the officials – selection, scheduling, and resolution of any issues. If you are upset with a referee, please do not call Bill on a Sunday evening to discuss this. Wait until Tuesday and see if you are still upset and then feel free to call and discuss any concerns. The league understands that the referees are human, and mistakes may be made, but we still need to show our best behavior and sportsmanship at all times.

Contact Information:

All coordinators and coaches should email their name, address, phone numbers, and email addresses to: vtcatscorrespondence@gmail.com

Practices:

The league is aware that practice time is hard to come by, but please avoid conflicts with school teams and school functions.

Contact Information:

Bill Callahan

15 Oakcrest Dr.

Burlington, VT 05408

862-6238 (h) 338-7494 (c)

 

Doug Cheeseman

268 Buckingham Dr.

Colchester, VT 05446

658-5846 (h) 598-9738 (c)

 

Dick Falkenbush

15 Keari Lane

South Burlington, VT 05403

658-6322

 

The WORD document for parental permission for all players is

an attachment to this page, as is the Mini Metro Sportsmanship Statement.

Attachment	Size
Mini Metro REG form.doc	24.5 KB
Sportsmanship statement MM.doc	24.5 KB