St. Dunstan Catholic School

Program: The basketball program is open to boys and girls in grades 4 – 8. All eligible students of St. Dunstan Catholic School and the St. Dunstan Religious Education Program (CCD) are encouraged to play. Teams participate in the Peninsula Parishes/Schools League (PPSL). The league is comprised of Catholic Parishes from South San Francisco to Redwood City. Fourth graders play on “training” teams where the emphasis is on learning the sport in a fun and non-competitive environment, no scores are kept, everyone plays 2 full quarters and teams are balanced. Starting in fifth grade, when there are enough participants to form more than one team, teams are formed by the skill level of the student-athletes. This provides the appropriate level of competition for each participant. Game scores and league standings are kept in fifth grade. In grades 6 – 8, teams may compete in post-season playoffs to determine PPSL champions.

Time Line: Sign-ups for basketball take place in October. Permission slips and registration fees are due at sign-ups. In grades 5 – 8, when there are enough participants to form more than one team, the Athletic Board will conduct player evaluations. Boys will be evaluated and may begin practices as soon as the baseball season is over, usually early November. Girls will be evaluated and may begin practices as soon as the volleyball season is over, usually mid-November. Practices begin in earnest in December after the Thanksgiving holiday. Teams generally practice twice each week. The lower grades practice in the Parish Center from 6:00pm to 9:00pm while the upper grades use either Mills High School (girls) or Capuchino High School (boys) from 6:00pm to 9:00pm. Each practice session is 1 to 1½ hours long, depending on gym availability. Teams will participate in pre-season tournaments when possible. Tournaments may start as early as Thanksgiving vacation for the boys. Tournaments for the girls generally occur in December. PPSL games are played January through March. PPSL games generally take place on Saturdays (girls) and Sundays (boys) at gyms in the area, we use Mills High School (girls) and Burlingame High School (boys) for our home games. Saturdays usually start with a fourth grade game at 9:00am, and then games are played one hour apart for the rest of the day in ascending order by grade. Sunday games will start at 12:30pm. The season will conclude with an Awards Night where we recognize the efforts and accomplishments of our student-athletes and coaches.

Coaches and Parental Participation: Coaches are chosen by the Athletic Board. Upon completion of this most valuable service, coaches are credited 40 service hours. Contact the Basketball Commissioner or Athletic Director if you are interested in becoming a coach. Parents can earn service hours on game days as official scorekeepers or by running the game clock and scoreboard. All coaches are required to attend a Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) Coach Workshop. Parents attend a Positive Coaching Alliance Parent Workshop every three years. Our volunteer coaches deserve our respect and support. Parents can support the coaches by dropping off and picking up their kids on time and by assuring the student-athletes are dressed appropriately and have all their equipment for games and practices. On game day, parents can support the team by cheering and praising their play. Remember to leave the coaching to the coaches. As we are reminded in our PCA workshops “Coaches coach, referees referee, and parents praise.”

Uniforms: Game uniforms will be loaned to each student-athlete. Uniforms are for game use only. The Uniform Commissioner will schedule uniform distribution and return days. Coordinate in advance with the Uniform Commissioner if unable to make the scheduled date.