Have more games and better quality places for practice to include room for parents

The experience has been great. We had a wonderful coach who really tried to teach and be fair to the kids. The only challenge was early practices. Nothing before 9am would be ideal!

It would benefit player development if the Refs called traveling or out of bounds occasionally and more for teaching moments. My child played in the 7-8 year old category, and I realize you can't make every call, nor do I want them too, the game would constantly be interrupted, but to continuously let players go out of bounds, or to double dribble 10 times in one possession doesn't teach the child how to correctly play basketball. I know a lot of this rests in the coaches instruction, but with a 30 min practice prior to the game doesn't allow much time to teach correct principles and this season we had three games that did not include a practice. You could instruct refs to blow the whistle a few times throughout the game to provide correction. For example, if a child never dribbles, or is constantly picking up the ball and then double dribbling it's ok to whistle and let them know they need to pass or shoot, otherwise they continue to double dribble. My son has been taught to pass or shoot if he picks up his dribble, but at the end of the season he just said " forget it!" And then began double dribbling to put himself in a better position to score, because he thought "might as well" everyone else is doing it. It's frustrating because I felt like this season I paid money for my child to enjoy "pick up games," as he was given limited instruction, and the referees really never blew the whistle or directed the games in a way that players were learning the rules of the game. I believe the Referees can play a part in this and better enhance a YMCA experience.

Our coach, Elliot Vermes, was absolutely amazing! He taught the team new skills, encouraged everyone, and gave children with both high and low skill levels a chance to succeed at every practice and game. I am very happy that we participated this season and will be back next basketball season.

We LOVE YMCA basketball! My son's coach this year was phenomenal. However, I encountered some other coach that I heard making fun of my son's team. My son's team (7-8yo) were all very beginner level and not like many other teams we played. They lost a lot, by more than 40pts some games. When I heard the other coach make fun of my son and then the team, I did alert the staff member that was working the game. I also wanted to give major kudos to the staff member that worked the games. I ran the scoreboard the whole season and I absolutely LOVED working with him!! He was so fun and does a lovely job keeping YMCA Saturday basketball running perfectly. Please tell him that! He's just an all around great guy!

Inclusivity

It would be helpful if the practice schedule per team was done up front and consistently. When we signed up we knew we couldn't participate onTues/Thurs and basically missed the first 1/2 of the season until practices moved to some Mondays. Otherwise, glad to have participated.

Sports for all ages

Charge for Jersey for an already short season. No coach so you have to force a mom who cancels most practices. No concern or interest from your admin. The admin lady just seems to not be there and uninterested in sports.

We had an amazing coach and the facilities were very nice.

It is fun for the girls and helps gain skill BUT I do NOT like boys playing with the girls. In 5th grade, boys are still stronger than teammates. Boys should not be playing with girls at this age.

Always love volleyball with the YMCA. Thanks for all the hard work behind the scenes.

Well organized and great communication.

schedule is great, positive atmosphere

My son was very much looking forward to his flag football season and then it was canceled

Yes. We have been very pleased with the volleyball program at YMCA. Great organization, coaching, facilities and refs.

The refereeing is terribly inconsistent. Kids with colored tshirts typically end up officiating games with no training. Our game last week had a girl listening to music on her headphones during the game. She was also staring and picking at her nails throughout the game and not watching what was happening through large stretches. This is just one example. The teams are terribly unbalanced as well. Seems like a talent evaluation would greatly benefit these kids so you can schedule accordingly. My son was on a team where he was the only kid that has ever played. We played multiple teams where the kids were very experienced players. Our team got steamrolled and the game was decided in minutes. This example shows that this is not a competitive environment for any kid regardless of skill level.

I want to compliment the referees. They have been doing a great job of being fair and explaining to the kids why they call certain fouls or other calls. Keep up the great work.

You need to get the refs to call fouls, especially in the 9-10 age group. Right now fouls are not being called and the games look more like rugby than basketball. Ball handlers get fouled every possession by most teams.

Everything out of the YMCA has been very organizes and clear. That is very helpful for a first time coach!

some very bad teams ... leagues/teams should be evaluated for similar competition

Great sports program for the kids!

The basketball season has been fun. My only complaint is the girls always have the auxiliary gym and the boys are in the nicer gym at the same facility. Maybe next year the girls can have the nice gym once in a while.

Although this yeR a i feel you probably did the besst to eben the kids trams out age wise there still is a pretty drastic difference. But still sorka le

Earlier practices and more coaching help. The age 5-6 group is great