GENERAL

What does AYB do to ensure safety?

Almaden Youth Basketball provides several safeguards. Every individual (Board Member, Coach, Assistant Coach, etc.) associated with AYB is required to register on-line. In addition to address and telephone information there are also a series of Yes/No questions that relate to an individual’s fitness and eligibility to be involved in youth sports. Lastly, all individuals are subject to background investigation and/or fingerprint verification to determine suitability for this sensitive community position. If a felony conviction appears, that individual as well as the AYB Director is immediately notified in writing that the individual can no longer be associated with any AYB activity.

REGISTRATION

Can I request a division team or coach for my player?

No. The purpose of evaluations is to form teams with parity. Granting requests for certain teams or coaches disrupts the process in which the teams are formed.

What do I do if my child is on the wait-list?

Once we reach the maximum number of players per age group, all subsequent players who register will be placed onto a wait-list. If a player in his/her age group drops out, we may pull you off the wait-list. At that time, registration payment will be due within 24 hours. 

Is there a refund policy if my child decides not to participate?

Registration fees (minus $3 administration fee) are only refundable before the team drafts are done or in other words before the teams are formed. Once the teams are formed, there will be no refunds.

EVALUATIONS

What are evaluations and when are they?

Every player must be evaluated in order to play. This allows the coaches to assess all of the players and try to assure evenly matched teams. Divisional evaluations are usually in mid to end of September. Rookie evaluations are usually in November. Evaluations are also when players will try on uniforms and decide on their sizes. 

All competitive teams will have try-outs to determine who makes the team. For the Winter season, players who do not make competitive teams will automatically be drafted onto a divisional team.

What if my child can't make it to evaluations?

Attendance to evaluations is MANDATORY. This is the only opportunity that all the coaches will be together to assess the players. If your child cannot make it to evaluations, he/she MUST attend the make up session. NO EXCEPTIONS! The make up session date, time and location will be communicated AFTER all primary evaluations are complete. Players who do not attend an evaluation are not guaranteed to be drafted onto a team.

PRACTICES

When and where will my child practice?

Practice days and times are scheduled by the league. There is one weeknight practice and one weekend practice per week. Practice length is 60 – 90 minutes depending on schedules. AYB is dependent on school schedules and gym time availability. As a result, sometimes schedules come late or last minute in the early season. Please do the best that you can to communicate with your coaches regarding your player's availability. Attendance at practices is critical for both player and team development. We really can't stress this enough. The coaches absolutely need all of their players to attend practices. There is a limited amount of practice time, and most coaches have several offensive plays and different defenses. If a player misses a practice where plays are introduced it is very difficult for them to catch up and it takes time away from fundamentals.

Why are the practice schedules not already set? And why aren’t they at the same time all season?

Unfortunately, the schools we use have both scheduled and unexpected blackout dates in their gyms that change on a monthly basis. School plays, school team tryouts, school team practices, school games, etc., all create uncertainty to the schedules. We monitor those and put together new practice schedules towards the end of each month. We cannot give teams the exact same practice days/times for the entire season. Practice days, times and locations can be very desirable or very undesirable and it is not fair to give teams the same spots all season.