ABA CELTICS
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
1. What night is practice?
During the registration period (mid-August through mid-September), information as to which night your child will be practicing is not available. This information only becomes available once registration closes, evaluations are held, teams are assembled, selected and balanced (normally in late September). We make every effort to work around your child’s other commitments. Although it often works out, we cannot guarantee with certainty that conflicts will be avoided due to limited gym availability and the need to accommodate the commitments of our volunteer coaches. Make sure to advise the coaches at the Team Selection and Balancing Practices if there are any nights that your child can not practice.
2. When will my child’s weekly MBA game occur?
U10 and U12 teams play on Saturdays. U14, U16 and U18 teams play on Sundays. These games are scheduled by the Metro Basketball Association coordinators. Games can be played at any gym within HRM. You can check the MBA website for game times and gym locations. www.mba.goalline.ca
3. What does the registration fee cover?
The registration fee covers the cost of balls, equipment, uniforms, gym fees for evaluations, weekly practices, a weekly league Metro Basketball Association game (which includes gym fees, referees and a scorekeeper), a limited amount of insurance, a Basketball Nova Scotia fee and a Canada Basketball fee and all other fees associated with running the ABA Celtics Basketball Club.
4. What does the registration fee not cover?
Clinics, Tournament fees and Nova Scotia Provincial Championship fees. These fees must be covered by your team and range from $300-$400 per team per tournament. The registration fee also does not cover second weekly practice time, gym rental and exhibition games. All of these costs are divided proportionately between the players on each participating team and are not covered in an individual players registration fee.
5. What size basketball should I purchase for my child?
U10 and U12 use size 5 (27.5"), U14, U16 and U18 Girls use size 6 (28.5"). U14, U16 and U18 Boys use size 7 (29.5").
6. Are uniforms provided?
Uniforms are provided once teams are set. They stay with your child throughout the season and must be returned to your coach at the end of the year. We will be collecting a uniform deposit cheque from all players. This is a cheque dated for the end of the season. If you return your uniform, the cheque will NOT be cashed. If you do not return our uniform the cheque will be cashed.
We try each year to do a uniform order and allow players to purchase a jersey with their number of choice. Players who purchase a jersey shall be entitled to their number during the season. If two players on a team have the same purchased jersey number and the issue of who should wear the number in games can not be resolved between the players then the issue shall be resolved by shooting 10 foul shots and whoever makes the most shall be entitled to wear the jersey for the season and the coach shall issue a club jersey with an available number to the other player.
7. When do teams selections and balancing take place?
Team selection and balancing practices commence the week of September 20th. Players will be contacted by phone or email.
8. When can I expect practices and games to begin?
After team selection and balancing practices are complete, teams are assembled and you can expect practices to begin shortly thereafter. Typically, practices start early October and the first MBA game happens Saturday, October 23, 2010. You will receive a phone call or email from your coach.
9. How long does the season last?
The season extends to February 5th and 6th and then breaks until March 5th and 6th this year to accommodate the school break, with the MBA playoffs wrapping-up around the second week in March. However, after the MBA playoffs are complete, many teams will continue to practice into April if they will be entering Basketball Nova Scotia’s Provincial tournament or the U10 Jamboree.
10. What division will my child play in?
When you register, your child will be placed in the appropriate age division: Uder10 , Under 12, Under 14, Under 16 and Under 18. All are based in December 31st year end. Therefore, a player must be under the ages above December 31st of the current year
11. Can the child play up a division?
It is the ABA Celtics policy that each registered player will play in his/her age group. Playing with older players can inhibit the development of the player, result in less “touches” and restrict involvement in the game. There is also an increased risk of injury for participants playing outside of their designated age classification. However, with the consent of the player, parent, last year’s coach, this year’s coach and one member of the executive, the player can move up an age classification if there is a reasonable expectation that the player is one of the top 5 players on the team (or the equivalent thereof). Another consideration is the number of players on the teams in question. If the player requesting to play on a higher level team will leave the lower team with too few players this will be considerred in the ultimate decision.
12. How does the MBA align the Divisions? We got beat by 40 points last week.
See the MBA league website www.mbans.ca and visit ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.
13. How do the shifts work?
See the MBA league website www.mbans.ca and visit ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.
14. Scheduling Questions:
See the MBA league website www.mbans.ca and visit ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.
15. Storm Day Policy:
See the MBA league website www.mbans.caand visit ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.
If you as a parent do not want to take the risk of travel then please contact your child’s coach and tell them that you will not be there.
16. How can I ensure my son/daughter gets fair playing time?
See the MBA league website www.mbans.ca and visit ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.
See the ABA Celtics policy on Fair Play and Equal Play:
17. How do I make sure that my child’s picture does not appear on this website?
If you do not want your child’s photo website, please contact the ABA Celtics executive immediately. We hope to get pictures of all of our teams and action shots of all of our players posted on the web page in the near future.
18. Are there any subsidy programs that provide financial assistance for registration ?
The Kidsport Nova Scotia program (http://www.sportnovascotia.ca/KidSport/tabid/145/Default.aspx) and HRM Kids (Healthy Recreation Motivates Kids) (http://www.halifax.ca/rec/HRMKids.html) provide financial assistance for registration for basketball in certain circumstances. If you are planning to use either of these programs for financial assistance with registration then please put a note on your ABA Celtics Registration form advising our Registrar of the program that you have applied for and when the funds for registration are expected to be received.
19. My child is in high school and intends to tryout for the school team. If he/she makes it, can he/she play for both the school team and ABA Celtics?
If your child makes the high school “A” team (Varsity), he/she cannot play for both the school team and the ABA Celtics . If he/she makes the school “B” team (Junior Varsit), then playing for both is allowed. We encourage players to register with our Club just in case they don’t make the high school A Team.
20. My child made the high school “A” team but is already registered with the ABA Celtics. Can I get my registration fee refunded?
If your child withdraws from the ABA Celtics as a result of making the high school “A” team, your registration fee is refunded in full. To initiate this action, please send an email to ABACeltics@gmail.com.
21. What is the ABA Celtics team selection and balancing process?
The ABA Celtics uses a team selection and balancing process in determining player placement on teams from the U12 age level (grades 5 and 6) up to U18 age level. We discourage the use of the term “tryout” as the best players will not necessarily be placed on a tier one team. But there are some competitive teams that will have formal tryouts.
U10 players (grades 2, 3 and 4) will generally play with their friends and neighbors and classmates. At this level it is about fun, new skills, positive attitudes (NOT necessarily winning). At this entry level, we are interested in new players enjoying the basketball experience, and having fun with their friends. We also want new players to learn new skills and develop a positive attitude towards involvement in team sports.
All players at each age level will participate in a team selection and balancing process. This process is to determine which players have similar skills and we attempt to place these players together on the same team. Other items also come into play when selecting teams, such as a players coachability, work ethic, attitude, effort, etc.
We believe players have a better experience and more fun when they play with others who have similar skills. It is always nice to be with your friends, but we also believe that it is also good for players to make new friends and to play basketball with players from various neighborhoods in Dartmouth.
The Division Coordinators and Coaches who will coach in that division usually determine the final selection of players on teams. We may bring in a third impartial party, generally a coach from another division or a member of the executive, to help determine team selections. Team selections are usually carried on over one or more practice sessions involving most of the players in that age group.
Coaches coaching in the same age group will work together to pick teams. We make every effort to place every player on a team who registers to play. Of course, this depends on coach availability and gym availability. If we cannot accommodate all players, we will consider the amount of time returning players have played with the club, skill level, attitude, coachability, work ethic, etc.
We are aware that other factors may come into the selection process: friends wanting to play with friends, choice of practice day or time, car pooling and the history of previous experiences. We will try and accommodate requests to match players with friends on the same team, but only if they have skills needed for the level of team they will be on. We are also mindful of the fact that occassionally keeping an experienced ball handler, passer or rebounder on a lower division team so they can have more “touches” and better develop their skills if it is likely that their touches would be restricted on a higher level team.
22. How do I order the Celtics hoodies, warm up jerseys, shooter shirts and other Celtics’ gear?
Every year we try to put in an order for Celtics’ gear in time for Christmas. The coach will forward the order form to the players. The orders can then be placed directly with the provider.
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