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Upward® believes that “Every Child Is A Winner™”. Upward is a basketball ministry aimed at leading 1st through 8th grade children to Christ through the development of a positive and productive basketball experience.
Registration for the 2015 season will begin June 1st.
Coach Registration Referee Registration
Spread the word on Facebook and Twitter, Upward season is about to begin!
Reasons to participate in Upward:
- All players receive equal playing time.
- Upward is committed to building self-esteem in all players.
- Upward costs less than most leagues.
- Players are usually matched up with players of similar skill level.
- 1 hour of practice and 1 hour game per week.
Schedule:
- Registration begins: June 1, 2015
- Early Registration Ends: Saturday, August 15th
- Coach/Referee Training: 8/20, 8/25, 9/5, 9/10
- First Evaluation: Saturday, August 15th
- Second Evaluation: Saturday, August 22nd
- Registration ends: August 22nd
- Meet and Greet: Saturday, September 12th
- Practice schedule starts: Week of September 14th
- Practice held on: M, T, R, F (6, 7 or 8 pm)
- First Game: September 26th
- No practices: September 28th-October 2nd
- No game: October 3rd (Ladies Retreat)
- Picture Day: October 10th
- Final Game: November 21st
- Awards Night: November 23rd
General Info
- The Upward Experience -
Getting Ready
- The best way to register is On-line and can be done so HERE
- Complete the registration form and get it to the church early for a discount.
- Each player must attend one evaluation. The player will be fitted for his/her uniform and perform basic drills to attempt to evaluate the player’s skill level. This is an excellent opportunity to sign up as a coach or referee or any of our other volunteer positions.
- Within 2 weeks of the evaluation you should receive a call from your child’s coach providing team and practice info.
- During the initial Meet & Greet practice on Saturday September 13, the coach will be eager to meet the players and parents.
Practices
- The practices will be one hour per week, and always on the same day, time and location.
- Players may want to bring a drink.
- During practice, each team will take a short 5-10 minute break, where they will have an opportunity to hear a word from God. The parents are encouraged to take part in these team devotions.
- After each practice players will receive a green star for their participation.
Games
- Games will be during the day on Saturdays.
- Players should bring a drink and should report to their coach 15 minutes prior to game time
- The game last 1 hour, with 36 minutes of actual playing time. It will consists of (6) 6-minute segments with a halftime after the 3rd 6-minute segment.
- The players are rotated during each segment so that each one receives approximately equal playing time. No player ever sits out back to back periods.
- During half time the players will exit to a classroom for some rest and encouragement while a short devotion will take place on the court.
- After the game, the coaches, players and their parents will meet. Parents will have the opportunity to volunteer to bring in drinks and snacks for this post-game meeting.
- The coach will say a few words about the game and pass out colored stars based on an area where the player either excelled or has greatly improved. Every player gets a star every week.
Circle of Affirmation
Upward has the desire to maintain a positive atmosphere for the children. Upward believes that atmosphere starts with a positive attitude from the coach, which filters to the parents and then down to the players, creating a game-winning experience for everyone.
Season Celebration
At the end of the season all the players, coaches, volunteers and their families will meet for a season-ending celebration. This celebration typically involves prizes and giveaways, an entertainer, and a gift for each player at the end of the night. During the celebration, the players will wear their game jerseys and sit with their team.
Upward Rules
Upward Official Rules
1st and 2nd Grade Boys
- No score will be kept in this league.
- Stealing the dribble is not allowed. When control of a dribble is lost beyond arms reach, the ball is loose, and therefore free to grab.
- The closely-guarded 5-second rule will be a point-of-emphasis for referees.
- Stealing the pass is allowed.
- Play begins with referee awarding the ball to one team for a throw in, then the alternating possession rule is in effect (no jump balls).
- 3-second lane violations will not be called, but the intent is to keep the players out of the lane for extended periods of time.
- Backcourt violations are not called.
- No defense allowed in the back court (must wait until offense reaches half-court).
- Blocking shots is allowed.
- Help defense is allowed only under guidelines provided in Upward Coach training
1st – 3rd Grade Girls
- No score will be kept in this league.
- Stealing the dribble is not allowed. When control of a dribble is lost beyond arms reach, the ball is loose, and therefore free to grab.
- The closely-guarded 5-second rule will be a point-of-emphasis for referees.
- Stealing the pass is allowed.
- Play begins with referee awarding the ball to one team for a throw in, then the alternating possession rule is in effect (no jump balls).
- 3-second lane violations will not be called, but the intent is to keep the players out of the lane for extended periods of time.
- Backcourt violations are not called.
- No defense allowed in the back court (must wait until offense reaches half-court).
- Blocking shots is allowed.
- Help defense is allowed only under guidelines provided in Upward Coach training
3rd and 4th Grade Boys
- Stealing the dribble is allowed. **NEW
- The closely-guarded 5-second rule will be a point-of-emphasis for referees.
- Stealing the pass is allowed.
- Play begins with referee awarding the ball to one team for a throw in, then the alternating possession rule is in effect (no jump balls).
- 3-second lane violations will be called.
- Backcourt violations are not called.
- No defense allowed in the back court (must wait until offense reaches half-court).
- Blocking shots is allowed.
- Help defense is allowed only under guidelines provided in Upward Coach training
4th – 6th Grade Girls
- Stealing the dribble is allowed.
- The closely-guarded 5-second rule will be a point-of-emphasis for referees.
- Stealing the pass is allowed.
- Play begins with referee awarding the ball to one team for a throw in, then the alternating possession rule is in effect (no jump balls).
- 3-second lane violations will be called
- Backcourt violations are not called.
- No defense allowed in the back court (must wait until offense reaches half-court).
- Blocking shots is allowed.
- Help defense is allowed only under guidelines provided in Upward Coach training
5th and 6th Grade Boys
- Stealing the dribble is allowed.
- The closely-guarded 5-second rule will be a point-of-emphasis for referees.
- Stealing the pass is allowed.
- Play begins with referee awarding the ball to one team for a throw in, then the alternating possession rule is in effect (no jump balls).
- 3-second lane violations will be called
- Backcourt violations are not called.
- No defense allowed in the back court (must wait until offense reaches half-court).
- Blocking shots is allowed.
- Help defense is allowed only under guidelines provided in Upward Coach training.
7th and 8th Grade Leagues
- Stealing the dribble is allowed.
- The closely-guarded 5-second rule will be a point-of-emphasis for referees
- Stealing the pass is allowed.
- Play begins with a jump ball, then the alternating possession rule is in effect.
- 3-second lane violations will be called
- Backcourt violations are WILL be called. **NEW
- No defense allowed in the back court (must wait until offense reaches half-court) until the last 2 minutes of each half, when full court defense is allowed. The No Double-Teaming rule is still in affect.
- Blocking shots is allowed.
- Help defense is allowed only under guidelines provided in Upward Coach training.
- Each team will get 1 45-second timeout to be used in the final 6 minutes of the game.
- Clock will stop on all whistles in final 1 minute of each half.
- During the last minute of each half, free throws will be taken for teams in the bonus.
Volunteer
Volunteer Opportunities
We are all called to fill the mission that God has intended us to, and Upwards provides many different opportunities to do that.
Coaches
If you feel that you can connect with children and would enjoy the opportunity to spread the Gospel to children via basketball this would be an excellent way to serve. The commitment of 2 hours a week is nothing compared to the joy you will see as your players grow physically and spiritually.
Please see head director or coaches director for more details.
Referees
Being a referee provides a opportunity to be a leader on the court. It allows you to teach the children basketball, but more importantly to teach teamwork and sportsmanship, 2 God-honoring qualities to be taught to our boys and girls.
Please see head director or referee director for more details.
Devotions
During halftime of every game there will be a devotion in which you will have an opportunity to share a word from God. This can be through a personal testimony, a story, an illustration or even a demonstration.
Please see head director or advertising director for more details.
Concession Stand
If you don’t mind selling hot dogs and sodas for just an hour at a time, for a couple of weeks in the season, we can really use you. The concession stand really supports this ministry and allows us to make sure that we are able to provide for the league.
Advertising
Get the word out ! We are seeking young boys and girls as well as volunteers and partner churches to get the word out that God is alive and present in Titusville. Upward is a ministry and Upward is our tool to evangelize and go into the world and preach the Gospel to every creature.
Please see head director or advertising director for more details.
Local Churches
We are looking for local churches to join the effort in supporting this ministry. You can partner with us by committing to advertise Upward and become a collection point for registration forms, providing speakers for the halftime devotions, encouraging your members to coach, referee, or even become a league commissioner, and by following up with players at end of the season.
Contact / FAQ
Contact Us
Phone: 321-269-6702 EXT. 404
Email: Upward@parkavenue.org
Frequently Asked Questions for Titusville League
1. What do I do with the stars ?
The stars are ironed onto the sleeves of the games shirts. Typically the green ones (for practice devotions) go on the right side and the game stars go onto the left side.
To apply the stars onto the basketball shirts (not jerseys), use these instructions to help avoid damaging the garment and to ensure laundering durability.
1. Use an iron set at medium high temperature.
2. Set the iron to no steam.
3. Press using both hands for 15-20 seconds.
4. Do not move the iron back and forth as in ironing, just press down firmly.
2. What time do I need to show up for practices ?
Once your coach tells you which day and time you have practice, it will always be at the same time. There are a few weeks where there will be no practice and those days will be posted on the home page. It is a good idea to show up to practice 5 min early to be ready to start on time. Practices last one hour.
3. What time do I need to show up for games ?
Games will likely always be on Saturday, but the times will vary. The Game schedule will be posted on this web page once it is created. It is a good idea to find your coach about 15 min prior to game time so he can set the lineup. If you are not going to be at the game please let the coach know, especially if it is on picture day.
4. Why do I have to come to evaluations before the game ?
A key part of Upward is making the basketball experience fair and rewarding. Upward evaluates the players prior to the season and gives them a score based on how they evaluated. This score is used as an attempt to create equal and balanced teams. It is also used to matchup the players of equivelent abilities so that a new player of lesser ability is not being covered by a player who may have a lot more experience.
5. What color jersey and shorts do I wear for home and visitor games ?
Colors this year are Maroon and Gray.
Home team color will be Gray and the visiting team color will be Maroon.
6. How do you determine when my child will play ?
Upward follows a strict substitution policy that ensures that every child plays an equal amount of time. The only exception would be if that player were to show up late for a game and miss their slot. The coach has a roster of all his players in an order that never changes. Every six minutes, the next 5 players on the list are put into the game. When the list gets to the end the coach starts back down from the top. Each game the initial 5 players moves by one so everyone will have started approx the same number of games. A player will never sit back to back sessions (unless they were supposed to play in the first one and showed up late)
7. How do you determine who my child will play against ?
As mentioned in question #4, the players are evaluated in the pre-season and given a ranking on how skilled they are. The goal is to match up the players based on skill level. Unfortunately height is not taken into account for the evaluation. To mitigate this, the coaches may agree to switch some of the players around. We still need to try to make a balance between height equality and skill level. In some cases, the height may not even be a factor.
8. Does my child have to remember the scripture to earn a green star ?
No. The green star is simply for the participation of the devotion. We want to use the stars as a form of encouragement for the players, in hopes that they would want to learn their memory verse and be ready to discuss.
9. Are snacks and drinks allowed to be consumed upstairs after the games ?
Yes, as long as the classrooms are kept clean we will allow snacks. We do ask the parents and coaches to make sure that the classrooms are cleaned up before leaving and that the players do not eat at the teachers desk.
10. How are carpool, coach and player request handled ?
As mentioned in question #4, a key to the success of Upward is balancing teams. Whenever a request for a specific coach or to be with a specific player is made, it impacts our ability to do that. In addition, it makes it very difficult to draft teams with all the constraints that go into it. What this means is that we are asking that you no longer make coach and player request and that any carpool requests you make are absolutely necessary.
11. Do I have to know a lot about basketball to coach ?
No. While any knowledge you can gain will be helpful, you do not need to know much about basketball to start coaching. Upward provides every coach with a DVD that contains drills and information to help you along and that is usually sufficient for the younger age groups that are still learning the basics of basketball. In addition you will likely be matched up with a coach who does know about coaching, but may need someone who is strong in leading devotions.
