Scholarships are available. 

Families should submit the application to [email protected].

Awarded scholarships cover 1/2 of the registration fees.  Please request prior to registering as fees cannot be refunded.

cjs scholarship request.pdf

Carbondale Junior Sports Code of Conduct and Expectations

code of conduct and expectations july 2022.docx


Carbondale Junior Sports Code of Conduct and Expectations

Mission Statement:

Our mission is to encourage and promote youth athletics in Carbondale. This will be done through various means that develop physical fitness, competitive spirit, team play, and good sportsmanship. We will develop and promote an understanding of the fundamentals and advanced skills in every sport in which a child participates.

Expectations of parents/guardians

• Support your child by attending games whenever possible. Embrace that this is your child’s journey, not yours. Do not live vicariously through them. Focus on being a supportive parent.

• Make sure your child attends all practices; communicate to the coach when unable to practice. 

• Be supportive of all other players

• Refrain from coaching from the sideline/stands the only voice a player should receive instruction from is the coach during games and practices. Cheer them on all you want but do not coach them from the stands.

• Encourage your child to communicate any concerns or questions directly with coach.

• Please do not undermine a coach to your child at home or in the car etc. as subtle, passive aggressive behavior like “your coach doesn’t know what they’re doing,” This does not comfort your child even if this is not your intention. This enables bad attitudes and excuses both which are unacceptable.

• Communicate with the coach in appropriate ways; discuss any concerns outside of the game and in private. We recommend the 24-hour rule: wait 24 hours to pass before contacting the coach regarding something. This will allow time to think about the situation and emotions not to get in the way.  If you feel you are not being heard after taking these steps reach out to Carbondale Junior. Sports commissioner or Board.

• Be respectful of officials and other teams’ fans; be the example to your children and show good sportsmanship.

• Always hold your child accountable to the player expectations.

• Understand that the goal of youth sports is for player development and improvement, not necessarily to win every game.

• Look for opportunities to work with your child to improve their game, not only during the season but also in the off season. 

• Sports should be fun for the kids and the parents should strive to keep it that way. 
  

Expectations of players:

Do your best in practices and games; always give 100% to your coach, team, and yourself.

• Work every day to get better. Focus on the fundamentals of the game.  If you want to win games you have to learn how to not lose them. This will make you better as you get older and should be worked on outside of practices and games.

• Be on time to practice and games.

• Stay attentive in practice and learn to listen to coaches.

• Communicate directly and respectfully with your coach. Don’t be afraid to ask to speak with your coach privately to ask any questions, share concerns or confusion.

• Always display a positive attitude on and off the court; this includes your body language.

• Cheer your teammates when you’re on the court and on the bench.

• Always be a good sport at practice and during games; win or lose.

• Be respectful to the officials- talking back to officials will not be allowed!

• Don’t get discouraged when making a mistake; learn from mistakes and remain positive when receiving instruction and feedback from your coach, officials or teammates.

• Work hard off the court:

  • Study hard and focus at school- if your grades or effort at school are not meeting your parents’ or teachers’ expectations, this could affect your playing time at a game. School is a priority.

  • Stay out of trouble- make good choices at school, home and in public. Any misconduct of fighting, being disrespectful of people or property and anything your parents deem punishable could result in your playing time at a game reduced.

  • Always remember sports are fun!

Expectations of coaches and officials

“A player is not an X, he/she is not an O. They are a person. As a coach, pour your soul into them. It doesn’t matter where he’s going on your scribbles if they don’t trust you.”

• Build relationships by showing them you care. Say something to every player every day. Look them in the eye. Listen to them. Sacrifice for them. Show genuine interest in their lives.

• Give meaningful physical expressions of caring. Shake their hand. Pat them on the back. Give them a fist bump. Build on the relationships by showing them open affirmations.

• Give verbal affirmation when they get it right. When they do something positive that we want to see repeated, we must let them know that their effort is noticed and appreciated.

• Care about them enough to hold them accountable. Never let them be ok with less than their best. Let them know that because we care about them, we are going to be demanding as well. Push them to develop into being the “uncommon” man.

Expectations of all:

• Remember that you represent your family, Carbondale Junior Sports, and the Carbondale community.

Violence or other inappropriate behavior

CJS strives to offer quality, competitive and meaningful sports programs to youth of the area.  This includes promoting sportsmanship and team building among the youth participating in our programs.

CJS also has the responsibility to provide a safe. welcoming environment to all youth participating in our programs, their families and the staff who come out and volunteer their time to provide these activities.  CJS must take appropriate measures to ensure the safety and well-being of all involved.

Any incidents of violence or inappropriate behavior or outbursts by parents, players, coaches or officials may result in the removal of the parties involved for one day or the season, solely at the discretion of the Carbondale Junior Sports commissioner and/or Board. Refunds will NOT be issued due to removal of a participant (parent, player, coach or official.)

Background Check Policy


background check policy july 2022.docx

Carbondale Junior Sports

Background Check Policies

Adopted July 2022, updated October 2023

PURPOSE
It is the intent of this policy to establish certain guidelines wherein the Carbondale Junior Sports (CJS) Board can seek to protect our program participants by investigating the background of coaches and volunteers (hereinafter referred to as “candidates”) who will be involved in CJS.

 GENERAL

A. Criminal background screenings are conducted by an outside third party who specializes in such work.  Candidates provide information online in the privacy of their own home.  It takes about five minutes.  The cost will be paid by CJS.

B. Any person who has been found guilty, pled guilty; or pled no contest, regardless of adjudication, to any of the disqualifying offenses listed in this policy will be immediately disqualified from coaching and/or volunteer positions with CJS. CJS also reserves the right to disqualify a person for any crime that would be considered a potential risk to children and/or vulnerable populations. A candidate who willfully fails to comply with this background screening policy shall be automatically disqualified.

C. This policy will apply to all CJS board members, coaches, assistant coaches and officials participating in sanctioned Carbondale Junior Sports athletic leagues. Each person will be screened every two years for as long as he or she continues participating in CJS. (Updated October 2023)

The criminal background screening is mandatory, there are no exceptions.

 

SCREENING PROCESS

All candidates must sign a Release for Criminal History provided by Protect Youth Sports [PYS] (www.protectyouthsports.com)  This release allows PYS the right to check criminal history records and verify social security numbers. This release and screening is executed directly by PYS.  CJS does not conduct the background check.  The secure URL on which candidates can execute their background check        https://opportunities.averity.com/CJS

No other personal information (e.g. work history, financial, credit, etc.) is checked or researched. 

PYS will cross-reference the screening results with the disqualifying crimes listed in this policy. Results will then be relayed to CJS Board President based on the cross-reference for review by the CJS Board President or board members assigned the duty by the President. A pass grade will be issued for any candidate that has zero disqualifying crime matches.  A fail grade will be issued for any candidate that has one or more disqualifying crime matches. All information pertaining to the background check will remain with PYS, subject to the applicable laws requiring disclosure. 

If PYS reports any “fail” violations, the President of the CJS Board shall notify the candidate that he or she is disqualified for their desired position. Upon request, the candidate will receive a copy of the background check from PYS.

To help ensure confidentiality, criminal background reports shall be kept in a secure location by the CJS board – for a period as required by applicable law.

 

APPEALS PROCESS
If a candidate’s background check includes a charge set forth on the list of disqualifiers below, the CJS Board shall immediately disqualify a person from their position. There shall be no appeal of a decision to disqualify a candidate, if the candidate’s relevant criminal history is accurate; all decisions are final.

If a candidate wishes to dispute the content of the profile report, the candidate shall contact PYS by PYS at the contact information. listed on the report. The candidate is responsible for providing any or all documentation to support his or her claim.

If, in the future CJS decides to contract with a firm other than PYS to conduct background checks, the same stipulations as described above will apply with the new vendor.  

 

DISQUALIFYING CRIMES

If a candidate has been convicted of having committed any of the following crimes, the candidate will be disqualified.

1) All felonies involving a minor regardless of when such offenses occurred.  

2) All felonies involving bodily harm regardless of when such offenses occurred.

Examples of felonies involving bodily harm include but are not limited to murder, manslaughter, rape, sexual assault, sexual battery, kidnapping, robbery, aggravated burglary, etc. 

3) All other felonies within the last ten (10) years.

4) All misdemeanor violence offenses within the past five (5) years.

Examples include, but are not limited to: simple assault, battery, domestic violence, hit and run.

5) Any other misdemeanors within the past five (5) years that would be considered a potential danger to children.

Examples include, but are not limited to: contributing to the delinquency of a minor, providing alcohol to a minor, etc.

6) All misdemeanor drug offenses within the past five (5) years or two (2) or more offenses within the past ten (10) years.

Examples include, but are not limited to: simple drug possession, possession of drug paraphernalia, etc.

7) Two (2) misdemeanor alcohol offenses within the past five (5) years or three (3) or more offenses within the past ten (10) years.
Examples include, but are not limited to: driving under the influence, drunk and disorderly, public intoxication, etc.

 If a coach or board member is arrested or formally charged with any of the offenses associated with (1) through (6) or a second offense for (7), that individual will be barred from participating in a CJS program until a resolution occurs not resulting in a conviction or entering a guilty plea or a no contest plea.  

In some cases, questions can arise as to what constitutes “bodily harm”, “violence offense”, “potential danger to children”, etc.  In these circumstances, the CJS Board will decide via a majority vote whether to disqualify an individual.