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Holy Innocents CYO

431 Bedford Road

The Holy Innocents Friars basketball program operates as a component of the Holy Innocents CYO Youth Ministry and serves children in grades K through 8th. We are a volunteer organization, which is self-funding.

The objective of the program is to provide a team athletic experience for the children of the community, which promotes service and character. The team approach towards working hard to prepare for a competitive situation is stressed. Volunteer parent coaches will work with the children to teach basketball skills and strategies. Most importantly coaches will work to show how youth sports can help build lasting friendships, character, confidence, positive attitudes, respect for others and oneself, pride, discipline, willingness to serve others and to work hard towards your goals.

Please note the following information concerning our program:

Registration
will take place each year in September. Registration is open to all Parishioners, and eligible Non-Parishioners. In the past we have been able to accommodate most every child who have signed up for the program. Due to the increasing number of Non-parishioners and its impact on the program, we have set policies to insure that we are able to operate within the New York Archdiocesan CYO guidelines, and effectively administer the program.

Eligibility (3rd – 8th Grade Teams) – All parishioners are eligible to play and will be placed on a team. Non-parishioners are eligible to participate if they live within the boundaries of the parish, or live in a parish where a CYO program is unavailable to them, and Holy Innocents is the closet parish that can accept them in a CYO program. Those who played on a Holy Innocents team during the previous year’s program will be offered a spot on a team, if at all possible. Non-parishioners will be placed on teams if space allows.

Eligibility (Kindergarten – 2nd Grade Clinics)
– Please note that the clinic size may be limited. Registrants will be accepted on a first come first serve basis.

CYO Board – A CYO board comprised of @12 parishioners who have volunteered to help run the program has been established. The CYO Board is chaired by the CYO Basketball Coordinator. The Board reports to the Holy Innocents CYO Youth Ministry. The board will be active in many areas including; setting program policies, formation of teams, selecting coaches, budgeting and financial responsibilities.

CYO Leagues/Divisions - Teams are entered into the Westchester-Putnam Archdiocesan League, and play @ 12 games against other parishes. Teams also have the option to enter various CYO tournaments. The CYO program has “A”, ”B” and “C” divisions, with “A” being the most competitive. Most teams in the Westchester-Putnam league play in the least competitive, “C” division. Play-offs take place at the end of the season for all teams who qualify. The “C” division has its own play-off tournament, and the “A” and “B” division play in a joint play-off tournament. League games and play-offs are typically played on weekends. Game days and times will vary each week.

Level of Competition/Team Selection (3rd – 5th grades) - The children/talent in 3rd grade Holy Innocents program will be evenly divided amongst all Holy Innocents teams, with these teams being entered into the “C” division. The teams in this grade grouping will remain in the “C” division until 6th grade, unless Holy Innocents is forced to move a team to a higher division based upon team record/standings. If a more competitive team is formed in subsequent years, all players in that grade will be eligible for the more competitive team. Each year, the teams will be formed and selected by the parents who volunteer to coach each particular grade, and the CYO Basketball Coordinator. Each team will typically practice 1 weekday night each week, with a set time and day.

Level of Competition/Team Selection (6th – 8th grades) - Once in 6th grade, if the level of basketball talent allows, a more competitive team may be chosen to represent the Parish in either the “A” or “B” division. All children in the grade would be eligible for the more competitive team, if one is chosen. The teams will be formed and selected by the parents who volunteer to coach each particular grade, and the CYO Basketball Coordinator. Each team will typically practice 1 weekday night each week, with a set time and day.

Community Service - All teams are required to perform a community service project in conjunction with our CYO Youth Ministry. The time commitment and scope of the community service project will be appropriate for the age of the children. The community service project will be coordinated by team parents and coaches, who will work with the Holy Innocents CYO Youth Ministry.

Parent Volunteers – A parent of every child in the program will volunteer on some level. Some of the volunteer roles would be; coach, assistant coach, team parent/administrator, scorekeeper, admissions, concessions, service project, CYO board member or other important role which each parent feels comfortable in filling.

Gym Facilities – Holy Innocents utilizes various gyms in and around Pleasantville to run our program. St. Theresa’s Tarrytown Gym is our main gym, as we have exclusive rights to the gym 6 days a week during the basketball season. Based on need and availability, we will utilize other school and college gyms. We have utilized Pace University gym facilities for many of our older division games, and selected practices. Clinics are typically run in the larger School gyms to accommodate the larger number of children at each session.

Coaches – All coaches will be selected by the CYO Basketball Board. Criteria for selection will be basketball and coaching experience, availability for practices and games, ability to make the CYO basketball program a positive experience for all team members, ability to be a positive role model during practices and games and the wiliness to help promote the program objectives. All coaches will work with CYO Basketball coordinator to insure that the program is best serving the children of the program. All coaches will undergo an Archdiocesan background check.

Westchester Putnam CYO