Tryouts and Team Formation Policies

Burnsville Girls Traveling Basketball's goal is to make tryouts as fair as possible and give every girl a chance to make the top team. We use independent evaluators to evaluate the players but also give coaches some input on the formation of the teams. The board is not involved, except to ensure that the coaches select from the available pool of players. No system is perfect, but we feel very good about this process.

**We will be COVID compliant and following state guidelines**

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Tryout Coordinator

One person, the Try-out Coordinator, will oversee the work of the evaluation team during tryouts.

1. This person may or may not be an evaluator.
2. This person may or may not have a girl in the travel program.
3. This person must be approved by the Board.

Participation in Tryouts

1. Participation in all try-out sessions is mandatory.
2. The exceptions are injury, illness, or death of an immediate family member. A written medical excuse for illness or injury must be provided. We also understand that things do come up and plans are made in advance. If you are unable to attend for any reason please let us know as soon as you can so we can handle the situation accordingly.
3. The player must have registered and registration fees paid, by the registration deadline.
4. A spot will not be held on any given team for any player.
5. An injured or ill player with a valid medical excuse must be able to complete a make-up tryout with a doctor’s written approval.
6. If a make-up date is required, all coaches from the player’s grade level and a member of the Board will be involved in the make-up/try-out and a decision will be made by a majority vote of the Board Members.
7. After completing the make-up try-out, the player must be deemed as skilled as at least half the players on the team to which she will be assigned (if her skills qualify her to be placed on a team).

During the Evaluations/Tryouts

1. At the beginning of tryouts, each player will be assigned a number to be worn during tryouts. The number will be used to keep track of the players. All players will be given an equal opportunity in each assessment. The evaluators may choose to have some players participate for a longer portion in order to better assess their abilities.
2. Coaches will not have any communication with evaluators before and during try-outs. If coaches are assigned to teams at the time of try-outs, the head coaches may be seated in the gyms.
3. No Assistant coaches will be allowed in the gym.
4. Coaches will not have any contact or communication with players during try-outs.
5. Parents will not have any communication with evaluators before and during try-outs.
6. Parents may not be in the gymnasiums during try-outs.
7. Parents are discouraged from watching try-outs from the hallway.
8. The tryouts will take place over the course of one or two nights. The players will be evaluated in skills tests and also scrimmage situations. This will enable the evaluators to see the players perform at their best ability, in order to assign players to appropriate positions on the different teams. The tryout format will be at the discretion of the evaluators, subject to the supervision of the tryout coordinator and the Commissioner.

Team Formation

1. The number of teams per grade level will be determined by many factors including number of girls registered, talent at grade level, available gym space for practices and coaching resources. Teams will be formed at grade levels 4 through 8.
2. Traveling basketball is a competitive level of basketball and teams will be formed at levels in order to assure that the girls will be playing at a level that they will be able to compete but also at a level that will help develop their skills. This level will be decided by the Board and the Coaches along with using the evaluator’s recommendations.
3. The number of players on a team will be determined by the number of registered girls and their skill level. The preferred number of players for a team will range from eight (8) to ten (10). The Try-out evaluators, Try-out Coordinator and the Commissioner will suggest the roster size for the teams after tryouts are completed. The final roster sizes are to be approved by the Board of Directors.
4. Once roster sizes have been established; then the teams will be formed based upon the following criteria:
   1.  Evaluations will be used to measure each individual’s talent and skill level as well as the depth of the travel talent pool.
   2. Burnsville GTB will utilize independent third party evaluators to run the evaluations and help with forming the teams. Typically these evaluators will be either Burnsville High School coaches and/or hired third party evaluators.
   3. The evaluators will look to provide some balance of post and point players on each team, which normally affects player placement on each level.
   4. A player is not placed on a team, or “grandfathered in” because her parent or relative is a head coach or assistant coach of a particular team.
   5. When there is enough girls registered to form more than one team, than the numerical scores or overall ratings from the evaluators are to be used for the team formation process. This will also hold true if there is only going to be one team at any particular grade level and that cuts will be necessary in order to form that team.
   6. We do not select teams based solely on these rankings; Coaches will also have the opportunity to observe and evaluate and to use their own evaluations and judgment about what type of players are needed to fill out the roster.
   7. For the top team at each level (Gold), a certain number of girls automatically make that team based on their scores from the evaluation. We use these scores to determine who the “locks” are for the top team, and also who the remaining players are for which the coach may select players from to fill out the roster. These “Locks” will be determined by the team size. See below for team formation rules.
      1. Team Size - 8 Players Locked players based on rankings = 5 
         • Coach has the option to pick 3 remaining players from the pool to fill their roster.
      2. ​Team Size – 9 Players Locked players based on rankings = 6 
         • Coach has the option to pick 3 remaining players from the pool to fill their roster. 
      3. Team Size – 10 Players Locked players based on rankings = 7 
         • Coach has the option to pick 3 remaining players from the pool to fill their roster.
   8. If roster sizes are different than the above listed scenarios, the board will determine what the best option is.
   9. After the Gold Team has been picked then this process will repeat for the remaining teams until all teams are filled. There may still be girls cut if there are not enough girls to form an additional team.
   10. The team selections will be communicated to the players and their parents as soon as possible after the team selections have been completed

All teams are final once they are posted. All decisions by the tryout staff are final. All players who try out may not be selected to a traveling team. We may need to cut players to obtain the proper roster size. Registration fees are non-refundable after a player has been assigned to a team and they decide that they wish to not play. If a girl is not placed on a team, the registration will be fully refunded.

Playing Levels/Players moving up:

1. Players can play only at their current school grade level. Exceptions:
   1. If a grade-level is short of participants so that a team would not exist without adding participants from a younger grade level, that team may roster players younger than that grade level, with the approval of the Board. The younger player(s) will return to her original grade level the following year.
2. It is the Board’s recommendation that all players play at their grade level but we do understand that there might be special circumstances for some players. In that rare case a player may petition the board to play up one grade level. Taking into consideration all factors available to the Board, the Board will vote to allow the player to try out at the above grade or not. Only a rare player with unique skills who is unlikely to develop at her own age group will be allowed to play with older girls under the following conditions:
   1. The board will consider the impact on all teams to ensure that enough players remain to form a team.
   2. A girl may play up one grade level only, regardless of skill level.
   3. All players must play with their age group their first year in the program, and must have completed 3rd grade in school to play up.
   4. The GTB board will consult with the player’s previous coach and other trusted sources to determine whether she can continue to develop with her peers and whether she is prepared for a higher level.
   5. The player must try out with the girls at the higher age group. If independent evaluators rank her among the top three players, she may play the season at that level.
   6. A player who makes a team at a higher level based on her tryouts will be considered part of that grade in future seasons. She does not need to finish among the top three to maintain her spot and, in fact, may be placed on a lower level team at that grade if her tryout warrants it. She may also displace another player at that age group after she completes a year at that level.
   7. A girl who plays up may choose to return to her real grade level in subsequent years. She must then repeat the petition process to move up again. A girl who fails to make the next level (ranks in the top 3) will be placed on the top team within her own age group