Coachs' Letter

Dear coaching candidate,

Thank you for your interest in coaching basketball. Coaching young people is an exciting way to be involved in sport. But it isn’t easy. It requires dedication, commitment, and a desire to shape the lives of kids in a positive manner.

Coaching with Parks & Recreation is a voluntary activity. It should only be done by those who are mature, responsible, and self-controlled. The motto of Parks & Recreation basketball is “Kids First; Winning Second!” This philosophy recognizes that striving to win is an important, even vital, part of sports. But it emphatically states that no efforts in striving to win should be made at the expense of the players’ well-being, development, and enjoyment.

The following steps are required to complete the application process. First, fill out a coach’s application and send it back to Parks & Recreation. This is enclosed with this letter. Your application will trigger a mandatory criminal background check. If you pass the background check and are accepted as a coach, you will be contacted by Parks & Recreation. If you have not already been certified through our coach’s training course, you will next need to attend one of two coach’s training sessions, either Saturday, Nov. 1, at 11:00 a.m. or Thursday, Nov. 6, at 6:00 p.m. in the Parks & Recreation office at City/County Park. This coach’s training course is mandatory and, once passed, will certify you to coach for three years. The course takes about 1.5 hours to complete.

Players will be evaluated during set evenings in early November. Specific dates and times for player evaluations will be established. We request that you be present when the league(s) you coach in are being evaluated in order to help us evaluate the kids. Teams are selected based on these evaluations, so it is in everyone’s best interest to have proper evaluations done.

Teams will be selected after evaluations have been completed. You will receive a schedule for the date and time of the selection for each league. Once teams have been selected, it will be your responsibility to call each child selected for your team to let them know about practice times, etc. You will be responsible for choosing your team name, practice time and location.

We look forward to your application and your participation with us. Together we can make this season a memorable and positive experience for all and can produce players who are hooked on the game of basketball for a lifetime. Thank you in advance for your help in accomplishing these goals.

John Howard
NJCPR