SIFA Athletics

SIFA Athletics Program

The mission of SIFA Athletics is to enrich the mental, physical, emotional, and social well-being of all student athletes by providing cooperative and competitive opportunities which foster the development of lifelong values of sportsmanship, commitment, integrity, ethical behavior, teamwork, individual effort, and good citizenship by all involved with education-based IIAG Athletics.

SIFA Athletic Forms

Coaching Philosophy

SIFA Athletics utilize many coaching and counseling techniques that are designed to effectively accomplish our training goals. In general, these techniques fall into the following main methods: Instruction – Learning to play volleyball, or any sport, requires the guidance of an experienced coaching staff who can communicate with the players to help them develop their fundamental and advanced skills in the sport. Repetition – We believe that repetition of skills is necessary to master the sport. Our training techniques look to include every player extensively in each drill to increase the number of touches that they get each practice. Feedback – We believe that player development is enhanced when coaches interact with the players by providing feedback. This feedback can come in many forms and may include both constructive criticism and positive reinforcement. Competition – We believe our players must compete. Whether it be to make the program, the team, earn a starting position or simply competing on their own team. Competition is at the core of what we do. We provide many opportunities to compete in practice and have an extensive tournament schedule for each program. Players must earn their playing time through competition for their spot. Players are given opportunities every day to compete and learn valuable life lessons as well.

Athletic Goals

Our Goals Develop the individual player. This is accomplished in several ways. First, we strive to develop complete volleyball players that are taught all the skills of the sport. Second, we also focus on the development of self-discipline, dedication, and confidence in each athlete, qualities that will assist them as they grow into young women of character. Develop our teams. We believe that learning how to function in a positive team environment is one of the most useful life skills a player can develop. We want our teams to compete at a high level relative to their program and have them compete not only in tournament play, but also in the training environment. Teaching our players to compete within a team environment will help them in learn how to both work with different personalities, and figure out how to be a productive member of teams they serve on in their lives. Prepare our players for the next level. We excel in preparing those players that have the desire, athletic ability and academic standing to play at the high school and collegiate level. Whatever their goals may be, we know that we will strive every day to help them take it to the next level.

Athletic Communication

SIFA Athletics will communicate information with our players and their families throughout the season in several ways. These may change during the season.

Below are some communication methods with examples of the type of communication.

SIFA School Website
E-Mail Communication: athletics@sifalacs.com and specific sport/coach email.

Our administrative staff will use email/text to communicate the following throughout the season:

Club Announcements
Dues: Uniform or Fundraising
Payment Reminders
Season/Tournament Schedules
General Practice/Schedule Announcements

Playing Time Policy

SIFA Athletics does not guarantee playing time to any player. However, we do believe players are entitled to know what is affecting play time as well given instruction on how to increase their playing time. We ask that players approach their coach with these questions whenever there might be an issue or concern. We know that all players want to play and the vast majority of concerns by players and parents involve the amount of playing time that is allocated to the player.

The following outlines our general philosophy on playing time.

We agree that all athletes should play.
Playing time is not guaranteed, is not equal, and must be earned.
Playing time is based on the player’s performance at practice and in matches, as well as the flow of the set/match.
Your coach and the flow of the game will determine who plays and how much. They will take into account many factors in coming to that decision, but the decision is theirs

Practice Arrival & Preparation

Players should plan on arriving at the facility no more than 10 minutes before a scheduled practice time and then follow all check-in procedures. Players MUST wear one of their official practice t-shirts and knee pads along with bottoms of their choice to all practices. Head coaches are allowed to create additional policies, such as wearing the same color t-shirt on an individual team basis. Additional practice t-shirts may be purchased throughout the season if necessary from our team website.

Practice Attendance Practices are MANDATORY and a player’s attendance is EXPECTED. Practice attendance will factor in determining a player’s role on the team. Attendance will be kept throughout the season.

All absences will be considered unexcused with the following exceptions:

Family Emergency
Illness / Injury (A doctor’s note may be requested)
School Sport (in season) /Activity Conflict (Supply a schedule to the coach)
College Entrance Exam
Religious Education
Allotted Homework Day (see section below)

Should a player have 3+ or more unexcused absences the following consequences are in place: 1) 3 unexcused absences will result in a player being held out of one match in a tournament (with attendance required) 2) 4 unexcused absences will result in a player being held out of an entire tournament (with attendance required) 3) If the player has 5 or more unexcused absences, a meeting will be held with the player and her family to determine how to proceed.

Finally, while excused absences do not have any direct consequences, we want players and parents to understand that the player’s role may be affected if they miss significant time training with their team. Missing opportunities to work within the team’s system and develop the timing and chemistry necessary to compete may or may not affect how the player is used in tournaments. We anticipate that our coaching staff will work closely with those players to communicate where the coach stands on the situation and ensure that the player is fully aware of the circumstances dictating any such decision.

NOTE: Missing practice for homework and studying (including finals) is not considered an excused absence. This is an important part of our student athlete’s time management skills. Exceptions may be made on a case-by-case basis, but are not encouraged. Academics are extremely important to us so we have added Homework Days for each player to use throughout the season. Please contact your coach in advance when you will be missing practice

Homework Days

Homework Days are EXCUSED absences that can be used throughout the season in the event that a player needs to miss a practice for academic purposes. Some examples may be:

Final Exams
School Project
ACT/SAT Prep
Significant homework load
National Honor Society event
Private Tutoring

The number of days is 2 days/season and must be communicated in advance. Any additional days taken for these reasons would be considered unexcused.

Role of Parent

The role of the parent for SIFA Athletics (in the most basic form) can be clearly defined. We ask that parents provide support to both their daughter and the team at all times. The success of our teams can be affected both positively and negatively by the role that the parents assume in the process. Parents who are supportive of their sons/daughters and the team will assist in helping create the positive atmosphere and chemistry that is a key ingredient to a team’s ultimate success. Parents who are disruptive and critical of either their daughter or members of the team (including coaches) can unfortunately help to create a dysfunctional atmosphere that will ultimately hinder the development of the team and individual players throughout the season.

The vast majority of parents and families of our players have been very supportive in the past, and we hope that support will continue to grow each year. We hope that parents support their athlete(s) by attending their matches and giving positive encouragement. We expect you to refrain from criticizing your child, their teammates, their coaches, or the officials.

SIFA Athletics realizes the sacrifices that are made by all of our families and appreciates the time and commitment of the parents throughout their athletes’ club careers. We have an open-door policy with our families and encourage you to address any concerns you have with our staff under the guidelines we have set forth. We ask you to help us create the positive environment necessary for our athletes to succeed both on and off the court.

Team Parent Program

The SIFA Athletics “Team Mom” or “Team Dad” will be a volunteer position for each SIFA Athletic team.

Some of the roles and responsibilities could be:

Coordinating travel/carpooling for parents and players to events.
Passing along information to team parents from the coaches during events.
Taking photos/videos during events.
Coordinating team dinners/snack schedules for team events and 8th-grade Night and/or End-of-season team events.
Helping with fundraising events.
Serve as an additional chaperone at team events.

Want to be a TEAM PARENT? Sign up here.