STARTING a HOMESCHOOL SPORTS PROGRAM

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1 STARTING a HOMESCHOOL SPORTS PROGRAM Why start a homeschool sports program? While it is possible in Iowa for dual enrolled homeschooled students to try out for sports teams through the public school, that is not an option that is feasible or sometimes desirable for many families. AAU and community sports programs also offer sports opportunities for kids of all ages, but the cost or various other reasons may keep families from participating in those. Homeschool sports programs offer several benefits: 1) The opportunity for a child to gain confidence in a sport 2) The chance for a child who might not make the team in a school situation to be part of an organized homeschool team 3) The possibility for kids with similar world views to form a stronger bond as teammates 4) The chance for parents to get to know each other better as they cheer together and work together to benefit their sports program 5) A great opportunity to show kids and parents a different way praying before the game, expecting NO ridiculing of officials, showing Christ-like sportsmanship on the court and off, praying with the opponent at center court after the game, having team devotions Where do we begin? Begin at the level where there s interest and you have sufficient numbers. Ideally it works best to have at least eight to ten kids to form a team, although teams have been formed with as few as seven kids. It isn t necessary to wait until you have plenty of kids at every age level before you begin. Just start with those you have. If that s only junior high boys, start there. The Hardin County Home Educators sports program began in 1997 with a group of athletic second grade boys. The enthusiasm grew, and we soon had girls and boys teams at every level. Currently we have elementary coed basketball, JH, JV, and varsity basketball for both girls and boys, and JH/HS girls volleyball. The Loft Lions, the newest homeschool team in Iowa, had a very motivated grandmother who was willing to help coordinate activities for the homeschooled kids in their area. She held a meeting to discuss all opportunities, and at that time it was determined there was interest in exploring basketball possibilities. A follow-up meeting of families solidified the idea, a coach volunteered, and a practice location was secured. The first year they had only boys basketball. The second year girls volleyball was added. Some years groups are not able to field a team at a particular age level. They just compete with the levels they do have. How do we decide what sports we will offer? What is the interest of your kids? In Iowa there is homeschool competition primarily in basketball with volleyball growing in popularity. Nationally, there is homeschool competition available for every sport imaginable from basketball and soccer to tennis, track and field, wrestling, and MUCH more.

2 How do we locate coaches? For the majority of homeschool teams, the coaches are parents or homeschool alumni. In considering who might coach, we are looking for the following: 1) A Christ-centered, trustworthy, mature adult 2) Someone very knowledgeable in the sport 3) Someone who is able to teach patiently and treat players with discipline and respect 4) Someone whose schedule will allow them to be available for evening games and practices as well as occasional Friday and Saturday games 5) Someone to whom the parents and players can relate well The Hardin County Home Educators have been blessed to not only have wonderful volunteer head coaches, but also a number of terrific assistants. Our coaches are not paid. What will be your teams sports philosophy? You will want to determine from the outset whether your purpose is for recreation solely or whether you will play to compete. You may even start with the intention of just teaching skills and encouraging conditioning and then develop into a team that plays to compete. It is quite possible, however, that there won t be the dedication from the kids if there isn t an opportunity to take what they ve learned and try it in real game situations. Bob Appel of the Des Moines Warriors homeschool team notes that, Competition will drive the players to improve and commit to a team. Who will be allowed to play on your team? If you already have a homeschool group, will your team just consist of those students? Will you combine with another homeschool group to have enough for a team? Can dual enrolled homeschoolers in your group play? If you re not part of an organized homeschool group, are there homeschool families within a driveable radius who would like to organize a team? How is a homeschool sports program financed? Some homeschool teams assess player or family fees to cover the cost of their programs; others rely on donations, fundraisers and income from home games. Following are the ways three Iowa homeschool teams finance their teams according to those who manage their programs: Hardin County Home Educators New Providence We do not charge any player fees to participate, although that option has been considered. Our funds have come through donations, fundraisers, concession stand profits at our home games, and admission to the games. All the pies and cookies served at our concession stands are homemade donated by families. Our fundraisers have included tip nights at area Pizza Ranches, a freewill donation meal at an area fire station, and a homemade pie-by-the-slice sale at a community celebration. Additionally, we

3 were also asked to run a concession stand for a three-day prep school basketball tournament. We are on the RAGBRAI route this summer, so plans are being made for a fundraiser there. At our games, we keep a donation bucket near the concession stand in case there are those who want to give to the program. Our teams are an extension of our Hardin County Home Educators organization to which families pay dues to join. Initially we financed our sports program through that fund. We are now able to maintain our own self-supporting separate sports account and no longer rely on the HCHE general fund. However, when replacing our uniforms this year, a substantial contribution to the uniform fund came generously out of the HCHE general fund. Loft Lions - Corwith Our first year for boys basketball, we only had four families involved (7 players). We divided all costs between those four families. We did not try to fundraise that first year but did use the admissions and concessions at our home games to help offset the cost of hosting that game. The second year, we did a summer fundraiser by holding concessions at a park during a nearby town s annual celebration. The profits were divided among those who worked or provided food. We also divided the known costs (gym, insurance) among the number of players from the beginning and asked that amount as a player fee at the beginning of the season. Des Moines Warriors Des Moines 1) Form a governing board 2) Build a program document that clearly defines program structure and philosophy leveraging information from established clubs 3) Clearly define costs, parent expectations, and sportsmanship rules Where do homeschool teams practice and hold games? Many teams find this to be the most difficult challenge. Check with churches, schools, communities where schools have been closed, Park and Rec programs, colleges, etc. You may even find a family who has their own private indoor court. Following are the answers provided by two Iowa teams: Hardin County Home Educators New Providence We live in a town of 200 people, however, we are incredibly blessed to have access to two gyms in our town and three other gyms 10 miles away. Our school consolidated many years ago, and that vacant gymnasium became home to the Hardin County Home Educator Chargers for many years. More recently, we have been allowed the access of a beautiful college-size gymnasium with enough room for all our JH and HS girls and boys teams to practice simultaneously. It has been great for families to be able to bring all kids to the same gym at the same time. We have maintained great relationships with a neighboring community school district, as well, and they have allowed us to use their school gyms on the rare times that we need additional gym space as long as they aren t using them. The fee has been nominal.

4 Lastly, we have maintained good relationships with the State Training School staff, and they have allowed us to use their beautiful facility with three basketball courts when we have hosted tournaments. Loft Lions This was one of the most difficult hurdles for us. Although there were many gymnasiums in our area (including several abandoned school gymnasiums), we struggled to find one that would suit our needs. Most importantly was location. Our players were coming from a 30 mile radius, and we didn t want anyone to have to travel more than 30 minutes to practice. One abandoned gym had no heat; three of them would charge us $50/use. We practiced twice a week, so that would have been too expensive for us. One private school had a stage set up in their gym for two of the months of basketball season. The local schools gyms were frequently already book for practices or games. The YMCA was open for use, but also to the public, so all gymnasiums had to be shared with active and sometimes quite noisy kids. For our first year, we used four different locations throughout the season to meet our needs. The second year, we were blessed to be at one location the whole season. How do homeschool teams obtain uniforms? The cost of uniforms doesn t have to be a huge burden. When the Loft Lions began their team two years ago, they were greatly blessed to acquire at no cost uniforms that a previous homeschool group had used. There are also many online resources as well as options available from local stores. Teams not ready for the expense of complete uniforms sometimes ask each player to provide their own shorts (all the same color), and the team purchases screenprinted shirts with numbers. Hardin County Home Educators replaced their basketball uniforms for all teams this past season. Purchasing reversible uniforms (home on one side, away on the other) was the option we chose. When purchasing uniforms, consider buying extra in various sizes as uniforms do get discontinued, and it is not always possible to purchase matching ones a few years later. How are contacts made to schedule games/matches? Currently in Iowa, there is not an Iowa homeschool sports director or a central homeschool sports website. Teams contact each other to schedule games. There are six established homeschool sports programs Ames Vision, Des Moines Warriors, Loft Lions, Classics, Sioux City Warriors, and Hardin County Home Educator Chargers. A seventh team the Cedar Rapids Defenders, is comprised of homeschooled and public schooled players. Additionally, homeschool teams play church teams and Christian school teams not associated with the IHSAA (Iowa High School Athletic Association). Connections are also made with homeschool teams in the bordering states. Some teams have websites; others do not. The Hardin County Home Educator Chargers hope to have their new site up by this fall. Getting team contact lists from established teams has proven to be the greatest help in scheduling games.

5 It is not possible in Iowa for homeschool teams to play public school teams or private school teams in the IHSAA. The IHSAA rules prohibit that. Determine within your team how many games you want to have and how far you are willing to travel to play. Oftentimes teams will play Saturday triangulars. A team will invite two teams from opposite directions to meet and play round-robin games at their facility. JH, JV, and Varsity games for both boys and girls are interspersed throughout a very long but very fun day. How are officials retained for games? Especially at the high school level, the goal is to find certified officials with no connection to your coaches or players. Making arrangements with a referee coordinating service is invaluable. All our referees are paid their going rate. We do not expect them to volunteer their time, although we have had referees who generously contributed back their pay to our team. It is much easier to find referees on nights that are not traditional public school game nights. Tuesdays and Fridays in the winter, for example, are very difficult times to get refs. We try to keep our games to Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. As a general rule, officials will charge less per game the more consecutive games they are reffing For example, a ref may ask $50 for reffing just one game but $75 for reffing two. If we find enthusiastic parents and players, a gymnasium, coaches, uniforms, and referees, is there anything else we need? People willing to do each of the following: Serve as your athletic director to schedule practices and games, reserve gyms, communicate details, be the contact for your team Organize the concession stand and recruit the volunteers Retain referees Keep track of the finances (This may be done by a board already established.) Organize home game details gym unlocked, locker rooms ready, scoreboard ready Run the scoreboard, keep the scorebook, keep the stats

6 When you have questions about starting a homeschool sports teams, there are those who are very willing to answer questions you have. They are anxious for you to help grow the number of homeschool sports teams there are in Iowa. Contact: Diane Nelson ddnelson@heartofiowa.net Bob Appel robertappel@gmail.com Kristy Pavelka pavelka@mchsi.com If you start a sports program, don t forget to end your season with a celebration. Our potluck sports banquets have been incredibly special times that our families will long remember. It s a chance to thank the much-loved coaches, to appreciate all the volunteers, and to acknowledge the teamwork and fun of the season.