Welcome

Welcome to the "Team Name TBD" Team Blog. I'm Coach Mike (Ryan's dad). This is my fourth year coaching youth basketball in the Sunnyvale Youth Basketball League (SYBL). I also currently coach a girls 4th/5th team in the Cupertino Hoops league.

I'll use this blog to communicate team information, such as practices dates times, game dates / times, other team events, photos, etc.. It's easy to post into to a place that will archive it for both you and I. Email announcements will be sent out from time to time, but if you need up to date info, this is a good place for it.

For your childs protection, I will not publish last names or any other personally identifiable info on this blog. Photos are always fun to share, so if you want to have them posted here, email them to me and I'll get them added. If you do NOT want your child's image posted on the blog, please let me know.

Please Note: This blog is open to the world, so anyone can access this information. Feel free to pass it on to any family and friends that might be interested in the info here.

Some things to think about:

1) For practices and games, I suggest that your child wear some form of tennis shoe or sneaker.

2) Comfortable shorts are also nice for games. Since practices will be held in the evening, sweat pants can be convenient if it gets cold.

3) Team shirts will be distributed at the first practice. Our team color is TBD.

4) I'll let the kids pick out a team name, but we'll try to have it associated with whatever color we are issued (e.g. "The Green Guacamole" or whatever a bunch of 5-year olds can come up with!)

5) The kids should bring a bottle of water to both practices and games. Running around for an hour tends to dehydrate, so be prepared.

6) We'll setup a snack schedule for games, rotating amongst each family. Ryan's mom Sonya will help to coordinate some of this. If your child has any dietary restrictions, please let one of us know.

7) One of the hardest skills for a new basketball player to pick up is dribbling the ball. If you have a basketball laying around the house, encourage your child to spend some of their free time just bouncing the ball around the backyard. Establishing a feel for the ball will make them more comfortable in practices and games. If you choose to make an investment in a new or used ball (not required), the kids will be playing with a "mini" sized ball (I'll post teh diameter later...but they're using a REALLY small ball for this new kindergarten league).

8) Since we only have one practice slot per week, attending practices is important. It's also easier to run through practices with a full squad (we only have 10 players). If you can't make a practice, please let me know ahead of time.

9) PLEASE make sure your kids are on time to both practices and games. They should arrive no less than 10 minutes prior to practices and 15 minutes to games. It's also important that you are there at the scheduled completion of practice and games to pick up your child. My post practice babysitting rates are a lot higher than what you're probably used to...ok, maybe not, but you get the point.

and finally

10) This league is all about learning the game, so I'll stress this throughout the season. Winning is nice, but I'll spend most of my time focusing on game fundamentals, good sportsmanship, team play and most of all, making this an enjoyable experience for everyone.


If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to shoot me an email or grab me at practice.

Looking forward to a great season,
Coach Mike