Maple Athletics Questions

It is important to remember that each and every coach is not out to do anything other than what is best for each and every member of a team. Our coaching staff gives up much of their own personal time to be here for all of our student-athletes. If there is an issue, it is expected that the parent/coach communication protocol be followed.

There are contractual obligations that must be followed during the hiring of all stipend positions. Please see the Education Association Agreement (Collective Bargaining Agreement) on the District 30 Website for more details about hiring extra-duty stipend positions.

Once that process is followed, positions are opened up to outside building applicants. All coaches must do the following to be considered for any coaching position: be fingerprinted and cleared through the FBI Database, pass the IESA Coaching Requirements (Coaching and Concussion Tests), be available at 3:35 pm daily for practices/games, attend all practices and games, travel to and from all away events on the team bus, stay at Maple until all student-athletes are picked up by their parents/guardians (this can and has been as late as 7:30 pm), willing to put in at least 100 hours of work.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to: creation of practice plans, equipment distribution/collection, parent meetings, practices, games, tournaments, and other coaching responsibilities, have time during the day to attend individual meetings at Maple with parents/students if there are concerns, keep accurate records of student attendance, compile an updated list of parent emergency contact numbers, respond to emails from parents within 24 hours during normal school hours when school is in session, and be able to follow the rest of the guidelines/expectations as they are listed in the Athletic Coaches Handbook before, during and after the season.

When all of this is deemed manageable by the applicant and at the very least discussed with the administrative team, an applicant can then share their coaching philosophy and resume. All of these steps need to be completed before the hiring process begins through the school and district.

Please share the information above with them before recommending them and refer them to the Maple School Athletics’ Website to review the Athletic Coaches Handbook prior to having them contact the Maple Athletic Director. All prospective coaches should also be sure to checkout the extra-duty stipend schedule at the end of the Education Association Agreement (Collective Bargaining Agreement) for salary information.

These dates will be added by the end of the summer and prior to the start of the upcoming fall school year.

After all event dates have been scheduled and confirmed between conference school they will be added to the team websites and athletic calendar as soon possible to help assist families in their planning.

Only fall and winter sports schedules will be uploaded prior to the start of the school year. All spring sports schedules will be added after the winter session of the conference AD meeting. The spring season dates are typically added after Maple’s Winter Break, but are subject to being posted later depending on the exact date of the AD meeting.

All team events will be posted on the Athletics Calendar.

Any in-season cancellations due to weather, emergencies, etc. will be announced by the front office as soon as the information becomes available and a message from the Maple Athletics Remind will be sent out. As student-athletes are notified, they will be given the opportunity to contact parents/guardians to notify them of changes from the phone loctaed in the Maple Front Office. Please also be sure to check the Maple Athletics Calendar and Maple Athletics Website regularly to stay up to date with your team's information.

We understand that there may be unavoidable circumstances for students to miss a tryout date; however the more opportunities the student-athlete has in front of their coach the better. Just in case a player has a rough day, they get a second chance for coaches to evaluate the student(s) over two separate days of tryouts. Any students that are not able to attend all of the tryout dates should be sure to talk to their potential coach. Each one of our coaches is in charge of their own team’s tryouts and selection of their teams. This framework allows the coach to remain within their personal philosophy. It would be in the student’s best interest to make sure the coach is aware of why they are missing and to ensure that there is a valid reason for the absence ahead of time.

All parents/guardians should attend the mandatory pre-season parent meeting. All parents/guardians were made aware of the necessity to attend this meeting during student registration (InfoSnap). This meeting typically occurs after a practice, but please check with your student-athletes coach or the athletic calendar for details. 

They can attend the clinic and tryouts, but if they are not active in P.E. they will not be able to do anything physically active; unless a doctor's note states otherwise. Any/all doctor’s notes must be submitted to our school nurse and the note will be forwarded along to the coach(es) to keep everyone on the same page with the injury/illness status. A separate tryout may be setup for when the student has returned to full strength; as long as they have arranged the seperate tryout before the start of scheduled tryouts.

If the injury/illness occurs during the school day, there needs to be communication with the coach to assure that they are excused for that day. Injured students have been able to act as team managers if they and the coach agree to that decision. Having a separate tryout is something that can be arranged to occur as part of a team practice in the future. There are no guarantees to the change in roles; it is only a possible outcome, based on an opportunity.

All coaches have rubrics/scoring systems for evaluation purposes, but those are confidential to our staff only and will not be used to discuss individual students. If there are concerns regarding why a student did not make a particular team, they can follow the parent/coach communication protocol to discuss any concerns. If protocol is not followed, the concern/question will not be discussed.

There are many factors’ that cause an event to last either shorter or longer than anticipated. Typically the issues that cause events to run longer are weather, traffic, pace of play, or the amount of participants competing. If individuals/teams are more competitively balanced, the events usually last longer. 

Average length of events are listed by the season they occur below; this does not include travel time, breaks, etc. It only is outlining the actual time of the event occurring at either the home or away school.

FALL SPORTS*

Girl’s Volleyball - matches last about 1-hour per grade level
Soccer - games last about 1-hour per grade level
Cross Country - meets last about 1-hour
Cross Country Conference Meet - 2 hours+

WINTER SPORTS*

Boy’s Basketball - games last about 1-hour per grade level
Girl’s Basketball - games last about 1-hour per grade level
Wrestling - dual meets (about 1-hour and 30 minutes), tri meets (about 2-hours)
Poms - usually only perform right before the start of home events (see coach for any weekend dates/times)

SPRING SPORTS*

Boy’s Volleyball - matches last about 1-hour per grade level
Softball - last about 1-hour
Track- meets last about 2-hours
Track Conference Meet(s) - 3 hours+

Reminder that these times are all “guesstimates” and that there is no way to give an exact time these events will conclude.  It is better to error on the side of caution and prepare for longer times.  Please plan ahead by looking over the calendar for your sport on the Athletics’ website before tryouts to ensure there are not too many conflicts.  Without practice and attendance it becomes increasingly difficult for all parties involved to get the most out of practices, games and the overall team experience.

*Tournaments and their times are listed below and vary based on the sport.

7th/8th Grade Boy’s/Girl’s Volleyball can last multiple hours after school over two days if teams advance.

If held on Saturday’s they will be from 9:00am-2:00pm.

7th/8th Grade Boy’s/Girl’s Basketball can last multiple hours after school over two days if teams advance.  

If held on Saturday’s they will be from 9:00am-2:00pm.

Wrestling is all day from weigh-in times until the middle to late afternoon.

6:30am-6:00pm is average for larger tournaments with 10 or more teams

All coaches will discuss their individual teams practice schedules and those dates/times will be posted on the athletic calendar. Please email your teams coach, not the athletic director. Each team has their own schedule that their coach is responsible for each season/year.

Our coaches give up a ton of their own personal time throughout a season, but they are not compensated for late parents/guardians. Many of our coaches have families of their own, second/third jobs, etc. and they need your support in getting to Maple on time for your student-athlete.  

If coaches are having to wait on parents/guardians for pick-ups after practices or games, student-athletes may be removed from the team. We understand that emergencies occur, but if this becomes habitual, an administrator or the Athletic Director will contact the parent/guardian to discuss the issue. However, the next occurrence will result in the student-athlete being removed from the team.

Transportation is provided for all of our sports teams via buses for weekday away events only. This includes weekday end of season tournaments. Transportation services are for any team leaving from Maple on regular school days only, no transportatin services are provided on weekends.

Transportation is roundtrip, with the returning bus bringing any students,managers, or coaches back to Maple following an event. Student-athletes are instructed to call their parents following the conclusion of an event to ensure they will be picked up at Maple as soon as the bus arrives. If coaches are having to wait on parents/guardians for pick-ups, student-athletes will not be allowed to travel to away events.  

We do not use buses for any weekend events. Historically, the only teams that have weekend events/tournaments are the Poms and Wrestling programs. Occasionally, basketball and volleyball may have a weekend tournament. Poms has had one weekend event per season in the past and they all have their parents drive them to and from the event. Wrestling follows the same policy for all weekend tournaments. 

For wrestling in particular, we have additional schools from outside of District 30 that are involved with our co-op program. We follow the guidelines as listed. There are no buses from any schools to Maple on practice, meet or tournament dates. It is up to each parent to either bring their wrestler or setup a carpool. No carpools are setup by any member of the Maple Athletic Department. Carpool setups are up to each individual family and is not a coaches, AD's, or any other athletic dpeartment members responsibility. The Athletic Director address this at each teams mandatory pre-season parent meeting. 

For return trips from away schools, we do provide transportation to anyone that chooses to use our services. Student-athletes can go home with their parents/guardians following an event. If they choose to do so, the parents/guardians picking up their student-athletes must sign a travel release form. Thsi form is provided to coaches and is available on the athletics' website for each each away event. Before leaving an away event, the parent/guardian must sign their student-athlete out on that vary form. Any student going home with anyone other than their parent/guardian must have a note signifying permission (Carpool Permission Form). This form must be submitted to the coaching staff in advance of the first team event. If a student is not properly signed-out follwoing an event, they may be removed from future events not held at Maple. Student-athletes who are not signed-out following an event will take the bus back to Maple or will only be allowed to leave with their parent/guardian after signing the travel release form at the away meet. No exceptions.

As they say, "practice makes perfect". That said, showing up and working hard at Maple practices simply may not satisfy some athletes’ appetite. There are numerous camps and individual lessons one can attend outside of Maple practices. Practices are key to not only helping the individual player improve, but attending practices helps improve the overall team. 

We encourage as much support as each student-athlete can garner. However, when it comes to coaching, if your student-athlete is wearing a Maple uniform, then the Maple coaches will coach. 

Follow the process as listed on the Athletics’ Website under the tab, Parent/Coach Communication. All parents/guardians were made aware of all expectations during student registration (InfoSnap). This process will be followed as stated. For more information please follow the link provided: Parent/Coach Communication.

The replacement cost for the item will be placed on the student-athlete (family). Our uniforms come in complete sets and the cost to replace these items individually is very expensive ($100.00+ for each individual replacement depending on the sport). If the item is stolen it is also the responsibility of the student-athlete (family). Uniforms are considered school property and should not be altered for fit. Any modifications/changes to the uniform will result in student-athletes (family) to be charged as if the uniform was lost, damaged or stolen. 

Yes, 6th grade boys and girls are eligible to tryout for the 7th grade soccer team if there are low paticipation numbers from our current 7th and/or 8th graders trying out. If the tryouts are opened to 6th graders an announceent will be made at school and sent out via the Maple Athletics Remind. FYI - Maple soccer is co-ed; all teams within the conference are comprised of both boys and girls on their teams. Participation numbers for boys and girls change from year to year and amongst each of the ten schools that offer soccer. 

FALL SPORTS

Girl’s Volleyball - athletic clothing, gym shoes
Soccer - athletic clothing, cleats (rubber only), shin guards
Cross Country - athletic clothing, running shoes

WINTER SPORTS

Boy’s Basketball - athletic clothing, gym shoes
Girl’s Basketball - athletic clothing, gym shoes
Wrestling - athletic clothing, wrestling shoes, mouthguards (mandatory with braces per IESA rules) 
Poms - athletic clothing, gym/dance shoes

SPRING SPORTS

Boy’s Volleyball - athletic clothing, gym shoes
Softball - athletic clothing, gym shoes or cleats (no gloves or bats)
Track- athletic clothing, running shoes

For All Sports Teams

Any personal protective gear that an individual student may want to wear including, but limited to:

Mouthguards 
Sports Goggles/Glasses
Knee Pads
Ankle Braces

Water bottles are always encouraged, along with a light/healthy snack for before practice/games/etc.

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