By Dr. Paul Drew
Welcome to the third issue of volume five of Swish, a weekly periodical with recaps and photos of Santa Monica YMCA youth basketball games, and other pertinent info such as announcements and updates from the program.
As I enter this Fall season of youth basketball at the Santa Monica YMCA, I’m on my own as the director of the program, and wanted to share some advice that I sought when I took over this position. And if you are deciding whether you would like to lead a youth sports organization, the following advice will be helpful.
6 Tips for the New Youth Sports Director
From Engage Sports Blog-Youth Sports Matters.
Youth Sports Management Tips & Best Practices
By Paul Langhorst on 12/16/2015
As the newly elected or “volunteered” director of your youth sports association or league, you may be researching youth sports management resources to find tips on how to manage a youth sports organization. Or more aptly put…what have you gotten yourself into!
To help answer this question, and many more, we asked Eric Eichmeyer, newly elected president of the Kirkwood, MO Athletic Association (one of our amazing clients here at Engage Sports) to provide his thoughts. With two solid months under his belt as president, Eric has achieved expert status, so we thought the timing would be ideal to get his thoughts on taking over the reins of a youth sports association and to share some of his lessons learned. Here’s what Eric had to say…
Make sure your family is on board.
New youth sports director tipsUnless you’re retired or independently wealthy, we all have “paying” jobs. Make no mistake, to be the president of a sports association, of any size, is like having a second job. I’ve spent many evenings at meetings, or reviewing documents for the park, to the exclusion of family time. Likewise, I’ve even had to miss my own children’s’ sporting events on occasion to tend to park matters–even if my kids are playing at my own park!
Your family, unless they’ve been getting up with you at 6 am on a Sunday morning to go check the fields for a tournament, won’t understand the time commitment at first–even if you’ve already been serving on the board. The better job you do of explaining to them what’s involved with being “president” the better for you in the long run. (I realize that presumes you know what all is involved already–which you won’t).
If you have full time, paid staff, let them do their jobs.
Having the luxury of an organization which can afford full time staff makes things exponentially easier for you. The absolute worst thing you can do as a new president is to try and put your “stamp” on the organization by changing procedures/plans/expectations/goals just because you can. Every new leader has ideas of how to improve things. I guarantee, if your organization has been around for any length of time, that unless you’re talking about new sports management technology (like EngageSports provides) that any idea you have has probably already been tried at one time or another.
The bottom line is that your staff will know their area of responsibility, whether it be administration, field maintenance or concessions, much better than you likely do, and absent some blatant errors in judgment, you need to rely on them to do their jobs.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions.
People often assume because you are president that you know everything there is to know about your association’s past, present and future. Now that you are president, especially a first time president, you know nothing could be further from the truth.
Everyone who becomes president of a sports association does so because they love helping kids. Your peers recognize you have certain leadership abilities in addition to that which is why you are now president. However, this doesn’t mean you know the cost of a pallet of field conditioner or where to get a good price on a new pretzel oven. Often people don’t want to ask questions for fear of appearing foolish or uninformed. Let me suggest that as president, you need as much information as possible to help in making decisions, because your fellow board members will likely follow your lead on things like authorizing purchases and budgets. The best way to get that information is to ask questions of everyone and anyone.
I, for example, have sought out the advice of prior board members and at least one “Founding Father” of my organization, as I find the history they provide me invaluable. In my case, they may also be able to explain things to you such as why a certain area of one of your fields is always sinking (buried tractor trailer!) or why one infield won’t drain as fast as the others (concrete base 6 inches below the surface from failed attempt at field turf 40 years ago!). They know “stuff” it would help you to know–seek them out.
Don’t forget, your fellow board members are volunteers too.
It is a fallacy to assume every board member loves your sports association as much you do, and is happy to talk to you about park matters any time of the day or night. Each board member has a different level of commitment which you must come to know and respect. The key to managing is getting the most out of each person based on their level of commitment and motivation. A good first step would be to visit with each board member, and ask how much time they, what nights are best for meetings, where they live (travel time), why are they involved, what area of the association they are most passionate about, etc. managing sports league volunteers
By becoming president, you’ve shown an extraordinary commitment to youth sports through your service to your organization. Just because someone is also serving on the board, does not mean that he/she has the time, or the commitment level, that you do. Scheduling multiple meetings, on multiple nights, will help drive away the very people you need to make your association work and make your job easier. Meetings need to be held of course, but, for example, scheduling multiple monthly meetings during your association’s sport’s season, when everyone is busy with practices and games, just ensures only you and the paid staff will attend.
Scheduling meetings with only essential and relevant board members (i.e. field crew staff do not need to be present for meetings about pretzel ovens and the same for concession staff when discussing how much field conditioner to buy).
If you have more than one sport using the park at the same time (i.e. softball and baseball) try holding sport specific meetings. If you need to, schedule them back to back so you can address any joint issues with everyone present.
Schedule executive board-only meetings (Pres./VP/Treas./Secy/Sport Supvrs) to minimize disruptions or try telephone conference calls–just make sure someone is taking notes.
Read your association’s bylaws.
This may seem a little silly, but every association is set up to run a little differently. Duties which you assume fall to a particular position, may not, or a position which you assume covers certain duties, does not. Most importantly, if you’re now the president, and presumably will be for at least the next year or two, wouldn’t it benefit you to know what your own job is? Unless you’ve been president of a multi-million dollar corporation, you’ll only have a vague idea of EVERYTHING that is involved. Reading the bylaws is a good starting point.
You are president of your association 24/7/365.
If your association is closely tied to your community, which most are, I promise that, after only a short time in office, you will be approached at church, the grocery store, other sporting events, etc.. about something that is happening, or has happened, at your park or with your association. People you’ve never met before will know who you are because of your position–word gets around fast.
All I can say is that it comes with the territory. You are the face of your association for better or worse. You will get blamed for things you had no control over (like the weather) and credit for things you had no input on (2 for price of 1 pretzel night or new and improved chicken fingers). Take it all in stride. Tell the critics you’ll try to do better next time and tell the others that it’s the other volunteers and your paid staff which do all the hard work and deserve the credit (because they do).
I hope this is helpful. Being president doesn’t come with an instruction manual or an app on how to do it. When in doubt, and there will be plenty of times for that, just remember to treat others how you would want to be treated and things will work out in the end. – Eric Eichmeyer
Rookies
Rookie action between the Animals and the Turtles. Photos by Adee Pelleg
The Bluesbreakers defeated the Rascals 15-3 in the early game on Sunday. The game started as a classic early season Rookie league defensive battle, with the Bluesbreakers up 2-1 at the half. Both sides had lots of steals and tie ups, and were figuring things out. Adrian Yen did hit a nice jump shot from the wing to get the scoring going.
In the second half, the pace picked up offensively. Stellan Haberli got the Bluesbreakers going with 6 quick points. Both teams then traded baskets to close out the 3rd quarter, including a nice shot by Dylan Greenberg of the Rascals, before the Bluesbreakers pulled away for good.
For the Bluesbreakers, Stellan Haberli finished with 9 points, Joaquin Jimenez added 4 and Adrian Yen had 2. Zeke Sarr played a strong all round game including 3 steals. For the Rascals, Dylan Greenberg led the way with 2 points and great defensive play. George Nicholas and Spencer Nelson played strong defense and racked up multiple rebounds and steals each. Submitted by Ralph Haberli
YARDBIRDS DON’T GET BRAINS EATEN BY THE ZOMBIES! — October 6th. Arya Nawathe came off the IR (injured reserve) as if shot from a cannon scoring our first points of the game. Later, Jake Silvera hit the baseline jumper we practiced during the week. And the Haro brothers went hero mode–James came into his own as a point guard with steals, a fast dribble plus field general-like passes, and Richard had the best offense move of the day, as he spun around a defender then used the backboard to nail the proverbial dagger becoming the YMCA Player of the Game. Everyone in gold & white contributed steals, rebounds and steely defense, thus as a coach I couldn’t be prouder of an early season showing. Final Score: Yardbirds survive the very cool-named, Zombies, 10-2. Submitted by Coach Pete Harris
The Turtles were looking to rebound from their loss to the Bluesbreakers last week against the talented Animals. This week Coach G. of the Turtles stressed 4 principles for the game against the Animals. 1. Put the ball in the hoop, 2. Stop the opponent’s ball from going in the hoop, 3. Shoot as often as possible, 4. HAVE FUN! The Turtles put up 16 points in a true “team effort”. Our player of the game was rookie sensation Austin Bernier as he was unstoppable “in the paint”. But more importantly, every player on the team should be praised for their efforts last Saturday. Coach G. was proud of Henok Tesfaye for making an important defensive stop late in the game. Nevoh Zach was a rebounding machine and is emerging as an important defensive weapon for the Turtles. Archie Lewis showed great progress as to his court awareness and will play a big role next week as a primary ball-handler on inbound passes. Cruz Hecklin is setting himself up for a big game next week as he’ll be one of the “tall guys” down low along with Austin Bernier. Daniel Gruft, Oguz Aghayev, and Hawkins Wakefield showed incredible grit and hustle as our primary defense force up at the top of the key. Lastly, Coach G. is proud of River Greenwell (his son) for taking more shots and improving his dribbling prowess. Submitted by Coach Chris Greenwell
Paul, it was nice seeing you at Austin’s basketball game this past Sunday, October 6th. Thank you for your continued dedication to the Y, and your kindness to Austin. He was thrilled to be named the Player of the Game when the Turtles played the Animals. The final score was 16-4 and Austin had 8 points with his unique over the head jump shot. Photos and submission by Arthur Bernier
The Animals huddle up and discuss strategy
Bantams
Bosses over Runaways: With some big Bosses back in town after missing our loss last weekend, we knew we would be more competitive this weekend. Our team defense was excellent throughout the game and after shutting-out the Runaways in the first quarter, I felt very good about how this game would go for us. We were getting plenty of good looks in this first half on offense, but few shots were dropping. In the second half, our offense caught up to our defense as we put up 17 second-half points. Everything was dropping for the Bosses.
Davis Forkner’s first game in Bantam filled the stat sheet with 6 points and plenty of steals, blocks, and assists. Ryan Lim’s first game in Bantam was just as powerful with 10 points and a full stat sheet. Vitalina Moncher was her usual self in making her presence known with many aggressive steals and helping run our offense and defense. Aaron Dyner played an excellent all-around game and showed improvement over the previous week. Evelia Brea also looked more comfortable and confident this week, as did Mason Alvarez; who showed some nice work on the offensive end. Of our 8 players in attendance, 6 scored, so that sort of balanced scoring will nearly always lead to a win. Lauren Bryan and Grace Samy made their Bantam debuts this weekend and both scored and played well on both ends. The season is all about showing improvement each week and the Bosses certainly did so this week. Submitted by Coach Rick Moncher
The Police & Revolution matched up during the preseason scrimmage a couple weeks ago, and this time it was for real. Both teams came out with energy and went to the half 8-6 w/ Police trailing by a basket. Both teams were playing defense decently, but by the end the Revolution was able to convert more than the Police leaving it 15-10 for the Revolution.
Highlights for the Police were Logan Cappicille with 4 points and 4 rebounds. Tristan Hayes with 6 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals. Theo Richards grabbed 4 rebounds, 3 steals, and an assist, plus had solid defense. Jaxton more had 2 rebounds, 2 steals, and an assist. Ryan Drew & Roman Gabrlel both had 2 steals and a rebound. Brandon Israels & Nick Varo both had 2 rebounds and a steal. Xander Zhou had a rebound. Submitted by Coach Holden Hayes
PRETENDERS vs HEARTBREAKERS: The Pretenders played their 2nd game this past Saturday and it was a defensive battle from the opening tip! With baskets at a premium we played lockdown defense for all 4 quarters. Victoria McNary, Aidan Hill and Dylan Kravitz led the way not allowing the Heartbreakers any good shots. Noah Norman had a great assist to Taylor Summers that led to our 1st basket and David Casparian made a free throw to make the halftime score 4-3. The 2nd half was more of the same with both teams scoring just one basket each. A battle of free throws at the end turned out to be the final scoring difference and the Heartbreakers won a literal ‘heartbreaker’ 7-5. Submitted by Coach Bill Kravitz
Minors
Clovers vs. Coasters: The Clovers intense D once again led the way to a 38-8 victory over the Coasters. To start the game, the Clovers came out singing a flat note and the game was close throughout the 1st quarter. However, by the mid-2nd quarter the team found its rhythm, turned up its smothering trap and started pushing the ball and created a hi-tempo contest. The ball moved well, everyone was involved had multiple shot attempts and memorable plays. By the 4th quarter, the team was focused on making at-least 5 passes and setting off ball screens. The stats outline some individual achievements, but this is an unselfishness, hardworking team. All of the kids played key roles – especially on the defensive end.
Player of the game, Jonathan Shu put up an impressive game with 10 points, 6 rebounds, 4 steals and 2 blocks. Leo Sikora was literally everywhere with 12 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals and an assist. He may be most remembered for his 7-foot reverse bank shot- without looking at the basket. From there, Ryan Schuster contributed 6 points, 4 rebounds and 2 steals. Guy Sikora provided great leadership and chipped in 2. Rowan Booher was his steady self and displayed great court awareness and had 2 points. Leo Mooney kept the point steady with great ball handling and poise and had 2 points, 3 rebs and a steal.
Patrick Chiang made his Clovers debut scoring 4 and grabbing 2 boards. Henry Olivier also played his first Clover game and showed strong poise and patience. He didn’t find the bottom of the hoop but took some good shots that will fall in future games. He had a few steals, a beautiful assist and a few boards.
Dominic Drew took several good shots and grabbed multiple boards. Rayan Etemadnia was all over the floor playing his trademark concentrated D, and had 2 boards. Aidan Man was solid in the post and tallied a team high 4 steals and grabbing 3 boards. Submitted by Coach Jonathan Schuster
The Drifters won again this past weekend. The team defeated the Delfonics 30-25. It was a come from behind victory that showcased the character of our players. Submitted by Coach Elan Mevasse.
Impressions move to 2-0 with win over Platters: Once again it started on the defensive end for the Impressions, whose aggressive man-to-man defense took the Platters out of their rhythm early and led to a 24-4 halftime lead on their way to a 38-23 win. Nicholas Huether was again a dominant force on defense, forcing turnovers and contested shots, and Josie Casas was everywhere, also contesting shots and forcing turnovers. Huether had four points to go along with three steals and many rebounds, and Casas had an assist, three rebounds and a steal in a solid all-around game.
The Impressions’ defense led to many fast break and broken court opportunities, upon which three players in particular capitalized: Julian Weinerman led all scorers with 12, while Theo Haberli and Kellen McDonough each had ten. Miles Boelke had two points and an all-around good floor game along with stifling defense. The Impressions continue to move the ball well, rebound solidly, and get many good shot opportunities, as all players dribbled, shot, rebounded and played good defense. Submitted by Coach Eric McDonough
Majors
Commodores Vs Spinners
Q1: Some solid defense and passing from both sides to start the game. Jesse Lister broke the deadlock to sink the first and second lay ups of the game following an amazing pass from Xailoh Hermosillo . The Spinners first points of the game from number 22, Eric Papazian. The first period ends 6-2 to the Commodores.
Q2: The second quarter opened with much of the same fast paced positive team play from the Commodores who pushed ahead to lead by 8 points. The Spinners defense is consistently up against it with varied attacks coming from all angles from the Commodores. The Spinners had little luck at the start of the second as every shot results in a turnover for the Commodores. Mickey Hanasab hit a three pointer to extend the lead 13-2. Benjamin Lavi made an easy lay up to make it 15-2 before the spinners call a third timeout to regroup before the end of the half.
Q3: Another Mickey Hanasab 3 pointer to help start the second half and we started to see end it end action as the scoreline grows to 25-10 very quickly in the period. The Spinners continue the come back with number 13 sinking from downtown to make it 25-13. Mickey continued to dominate with seven points in the period. Some scrappy passing from both sides and then a bucket from river to break the deadlock. The Commodores continued to keep the pressure up extending their lead to 31-13 and finish with a buzzer beater from River to end the period 37-13 in front.
Q4: End to end action but no points to start the final period. The next few minutes see both teams missing the basket but the temperature of the game is constantly increasing. The deadlock is finally broken by the Spinners after the switchover. Jesse makes four points to extend the lead to 41-15 with some sage passing from his teammates Eli Eng and River Mitchell. The Spinners showed great determination and continued to attack but this Commodores defense proved too much with a final score of 45-25. Submitted by Ben Lister
This Week’s Profile
Each week, Swish has a profile of a coach, player, or someone in the program who inspires all of us involved in Santa Monica YMCA basketball.
This week’s profile is of Robert Clark of Make it Official. Make it Official is the company, owned by Julian Perlman, that supplies are referees for the Minors and Majors games at the Santa Monica YMCA. Robert Clark is one of Make it Official’s most outstanding referees, who is not only a member of the Santa Monica YMCA, but has donated his time to help better the program, by providing instruction and advice to myself and the coaches in the program. I had the opportunity to ask him some questions for the Swish:
DocDrew: What do you enjoy most about being a referee for youth basketball?
Robert: Watching young kids develop their skills while having fun. Also having a hand, although indirectly, in teaching the kids as well.
DocDrew: What do you like about the youth basketball program at the Santa Monica YMCA?
Robert: Well my son, Ethan, is a product of the Santa Monica YMCA program. He played when he was 5 and 6 years old. He even won a “best free throw percentage”. At that time each player was granted free throws that didn’t score during the actual game. It was a great way to get those kids involved. But overall, the program is structured for kids to have fun and develop basketball skills. The recent changes that you have made I believe will maintain that direction.
DocDrew: What would you like to see in the future for youth basketball, not just at the YMCA, but in all youth programs?
Robert: I would like to see more girls teams. I think Santa Monica YMCA is on the right course with the first ever all girls majors team, the Supremes. Growing girls basketball for the YMCA should be a priority and it is nice to see Santa Monica take the lead.
Robert Clark and “Make it Official” are extremely valuable in helping to maintain the integrity and strength of our youth basketball program at the Santa Monica YMCA. This program would not be successful without the help, advice, and leadership that Robert and the other officials bring. We truly thank them, and remember, be nice to the referees!
Join Us in Supporting the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
One of our most beloved players in our program, Xailoh Hermosillo and his mom Wendy are involved in the following:
On Saturday, October 19, we are joining friends to walk in the Out of the Darkness Greater Los Angeles Walk – Santa Monica to bring more awareness about suicide prevention and support AFSP’s bold goal to reduce the suicide rate 20% by 2025. Most people do not realize how prevalent suicide is in the United States because our society often avoids talking about it unless it involves a celebrity. In 2017, suicide was the second leading cause of death among individuals between the ages of 10 and 34, and the fourth leading cause of death among individuals between the ages of 35 and 54. The suicide rate in 2017 had increased over 33% since 1999 – the highest it has been since World War II. We, and too many of our friends, have loved ones that we have lost to suicide, that have attempted suicide, or whose lives we fear for because they live with chronic depression. More than likely you know people affected by suicide, too. Suicide affects not only the lives of the victim, but their family, friends, and wider community – and because it is painful and difficult, it is not discussed enough. We are walking and raising money to help increase awareness and eliminate taboos so that our community is not afraid to speak about this issue, so that those that need help know that we care and that they will be accepted and given the support that they so desperately need. Please help us raise money that is critically needed to fund research into the underlying causes and best practices to prevent suicide. Please help us reach our goal by clicking the “Donate” button on our fundraising page. All donations are 100% tax deductible and benefit the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), funding research, education, advocacy, and support for those affected by suicide. We, our families, and our friends thank you for your support!
https://afsp.donordrive.com/participant/Wendy_Xailoh
** If you or someone you know needs confidential help, Please call 24/7 the SUICIDE PREVENTION LIFELINE 1-800-273-8255
SCORES
SAT 10/5/19
Majors
Wonders 40, Supremes 23
Miracles 65, Parliaments 48
Temptations 63, Godfathers 40
Commodores 45, Spinners 25
Bantams
Runaways 9, Bosses 25
Heartbreakers 7, Pretenders 5
Police 10, Revolution 15
SUN 10/6/19
Rookies
Rascals 3, Bluebreakers 15
Zombies 2, Yardbirds 10
Animals 4, Turtles 16
Minors
Delfonics 25, Drifters 30
Impressions 36, Platters 23
Express 12, Whispers 40
Coasters 8, Clovers 38
Standings:
Teams are awarded 5 points for a win, 3 points for a tie, 1 point for a loss, 0 points for a forfeit. Tournament games have greater point value. Teams are listed in their place in the standings with W-L-T and team points.
Rookies:
Bluesbreakers 2-0-0, 10points
Yardbirds 2-0-0, 10 points
Zombies 1-1-0, 6 points
Turtles 1-1-0, 6 points
Rascals 0-2-0, 2 points
Animals 0-2-0, 2 points
Bantams:
Heartbreakers 1-0-1, 8 points
Revolution 1-0-1, 8 points
Bosses 1-1-0, 6 points
Pretenders 1-1-0, 6 points
Beat 1-0-0, 5 points
Cars 1-0-0, 5 points
Runaways 0-2-0, 2 points
Police 0-2-0, 2 points
Minors:
Clovers 2-0-0, 10 points
Impressions 2-0-0, 10 points
Drifters 2-0-0, 10 points
Whispers 1-1-0, 6 points
Platters 1-1-0, 6 points
Delfonics 0-2-0, 2 points
Coasters 0-2-0, 2 points
Express 0-1-0, 2 points
Majors:
Commodores 2-0-0, 10 points
Wonders 2-0-0, 10 points
Parliaments 1-1-0, 6 points
Spinners 1-1-0, 6 points
Miracles 1-1-0, 6 points
Temptations 1-1-0, 5 points (-1 for UTF)
Supremes 0-2-0, 2 points
Godfathers 0-2-0, 2 points
Upcoming schedule
All games are played in the gymnasium of the Santa Monica YMCA
R=Rookies, B=Bantams, MN=Minors, MJ=Majors
SAT 10/12/19
10:30 AM B Cars vs Heartbreakers
11:40 AM B Bosses vs Pretenders
12:50 PM B Runaways vs Police
2:00 PM B Beat vs Revolution
3:10 PM MN Whispers vs Clovers
4:20 PM. MN Impressions vs Delfonics
5:30 PM MN Drifters vs Coasters
SUN 10/13/19 PICTURE DAY #1
9:30 AM R Animals and Bluesbreakers take photos
10:30 AM R Animals vs Bluebreakers
10:40 AM R Turtles and Yardbirds take photos
11:30 AM R Group photo with All Rookie Teams
11:40 AM R Turtles vs Yardbirds
11:50 AM R Rascals and Zombies take photos
12:50 PM R Rascals vs Zombies
1:00 PM MJ Godfathers and Spinners take photos
2:00 PM MJ Godfathers vs Spinners
2:10 PM MJ Temptations and Supremes take photos
3:00 PM MJ Group photo #1 w/ Godfathers, Spinners, Temptations, Supremes
3:10 PM MJ Temptations vs Supremes
3:20 PM MJ Parliaments and Commodores take photos
4:20 PM MJ Parliaments vs Commodores
4:30 PM MJ Wonders and Miracles take photos
5:20 PM MJ Group photo #2 w/ Parliaments, Commodores, Wonders, Miracles
5:30 PM MJ Wonders vs Miracles
Thank you very much,
Dr. Paul Drew, youth basketball coordinator at the Santa Monica YMCA, editor and publisher of Swish
