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Smyrna Basketball

Parents & Players


                        
Smyrna Basketball Association (SBA) has over 500 girls and boys each season. It is important to know that Board Members of this league are all volunteers. We take tremendous pride in providing the youth of our community with a program that is instructional, educational and fun to our players. This league depends on help from you, the parents and guardians of our youth for its success. The amount of help we receive from you will determine how our league does.

Volunteering: (a.k.a. How You Can Help)

SBA is a volunteer league that depends on our parents and guardians to have a successful season. 

SBA Board

We need help on the Board. If you have ideas on how we can improve the League, your input is welcomed. So, stay involved and help us to provide your child(ren) with a fun, instructional and enjoyable experience with Smyrna Basketball.

Parental Do's and Don'ts / Safety!

Please do not drop your young child off at the Smyrna Community Center or other practice facility. Smyrna Basketball or its coaches cannot possibly know or be responsible for every person that may enter these facilities. Also, please realize that the coach will be busy with the Team. Coaches cannot ignore the other players on the team to tend to your child if your child needs to leave the gym floor for the rest room or any other reason. Also, the coach should not be forced to remain with a child whose parent has left the facility and has not made it back by the time practice or a game ends. The best of plans can go wrong -- car accidents, bad traffic, long lines at the store, lost keys, etc. The coach should not be expected to stay late with a child waiting for a parent to handle these unforeseen delays. Finally, in the rare event of an injury, it is in the child's best interest to get to medical attention immediately, rather than waiting for phone calls to be made searching for parents, or waiting for those parents to return to the facility. Do not place that responsibility on the coach.

Let Your Child Enjoy The Game

We want your child to enjoy the game of basketball. We imagine that you want them to do so as well. Here is a great tip to help insure that they do: While at Smyrna Community Center or practice facility, make sure all of your comments are positive. The child that hears their parents cheering things like "Great Play" or "Good Try" will obviously enjoy the game much more than the child hearing "Why aren't you running harder" or "I'm not bringing you here any more if you don't do better.” Keep this tip in mind on the way home after the game as well. Give them time to relax after the game before providing critiques that may discourage them. Positive reinforcement will go a long way toward the children enjoying the game and continuing to play this wonderful sport.

Sportsmanship

Telling parents and guardians to behave sounds childish and insignificant. It almost sounds too ridiculous to even discuss. Everyone knows that we need to behave. Yet, sooner or later you will see on evening news or read about parents getting into fights with other parents, referees, or even coaches over their child’s game. In fact, a few years ago one father beat another man to death over play that occurred in his son’s hockey game. Sportsmanship is a very serious topic that needs to be discussed and stressed. We expect parents and players to display good sportsmanship. 

We expect our parents to lead by example. Parents must display the good sportsmanship that we hope our kids will copy and learn. Here at Smyrna Basketball we stress good sportsmanship. We achieved this reputation by trying to foster a culture where everyone realizes three simple facts. First, please remember that the other team is not the enemy. We ask that every parent go to each game with a desire to cheer for both teams. If you see a great move by an opposing player, cheer it. If you see a great shot, applaud. It is up to us as adults to make sure our behavior is setting good examples for our children. Set a good sportsmanship example and your game days will be more enjoyable for you; and more importantly, your child will enjoy the game more as well.

Second, respect the referees. Without a doubt the referees are going to make bad calls. Bad calls happen in every sport even at the highest levels of professional competition. Basketball is a fast-paced game that changes direction often. The referees have a lot to consider and watch. We believe that the best way to have the referees get the calls right is to allow them to officiate the game without parental heckling or obstruction. We ask that if a bad call is made the coach, and only the coach, should discuss the matter in a diplomatic fashion AFTER the game with the referee. The only two words a parent or player should say to a referee are "Thank You."

Three, let the coaches coach. Remember the coaches are volunteers. They are not professionals. They are spending their time to work with your child. Do not question their player subbing or decisions during the game, they are doing the best they can. Only address your concerns to a board member if you feel your child is not getting the opportunity to play the two uninterrupted quarters per game as the League rules specify. Your team may win or lose but ultimately the Smyrna Basketball Associate is focused on providing fun and basketball instructional for our youth, not determining winners and losers. That philosophy carries over to our coaches also. Please support them and thank them each week for their efforts.

Other things we can do to provide a pleasant environment at the gym:
  • Please sit in the designated areas. Please understand that confrontations may occur if we permit the parents to stroll up and down the sidelines; so please sit down during the games.
  • Smoking and the use of alcohol beverages are not permitted.

Smyrna Basketball

Mailing Address: 4480 South Cobb Dr., Suite H #217
Smyrna, Georgia 30080
Email : [email protected]
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