I ran our basketball program for 2 years--on the board for 6
by veets (2021-04-15 13:13:20)

In reply to: Youth soccer recs  posted by 570tosb


When I got the top job, the basketball program was the biggest in the town--something like 2,000 kids. Then soccer took over.
Some of the things I implemented:

Rewrite of by-laws.
The township sports advisory board always pointed to the bylaws if a complaint bubbled up to them. We did a near-complete rewrite to be very specific or vague when necessary. If there were problems, we could point to the bylaws that every coach and parent were given access to. No surprises. It was especially helpful regarding playing time rules for the travel program. Bylaws covered everything from draft rules, playing time rules, special rules by age level, punishments/suspensions for violations, etc.

Adherence to by-laws.
No exceptions. Even if a parent/coach didn't agree with a decision, they understood it. No surprises.

Coaches/officials workshops.
Keeps coaches current on rules, common problems to be aware of, etc. Officials--same, but also to get them to call boys/girls games the same (what was a foul in a boys game was a "caution" in a girls game. It created a dangerous situation for the girls when they figured out what wasn't going to be called)

Program mission statement.
Kind of hokey, but we wrote a mission statement that headed the by-laws. It was meant to (mostly) prevent the travel team parents/coaches from treating the players like they were all on the road to college scholarships

Answering parent complaints if the league directors couldn't handle--always emailed and spoke to parents if the LD couldn't satisfy them.

Have people run the age group leagues you trust and are strong enough to make sure the bylaws are followed. It will save you headaches. Overall, you need to set the tone and instill the culture you want.