“Don’t hold other people responsible for the decisions you make. If you don’t like where you are in life... look in the mirror." - Anonymous
"This ain't funny so do you dare laugh, just another case of (someone) taking the wrong path (despite the directions & signs)" - Slick Rick
"This ain't funny so do you dare laugh, just another case of (someone) taking the wrong path (despite the directions & signs)" - Slick Rick
Program Rules & Policies (Taken From Our By-Laws)
Winston-Salem Stealers Rules / Policies
From The Winston-Salem Stealers By-laws:
Article IV , Section 2: The Board of Directors shall be responsible for the policies of the Winston-Salem Stealers, Inc., the team’s organization and the playing rules.
Article VII, Section 2: The Board of Directors shall have the authority, by vote of the majority, to suspend any member whose conduct is detrimental to the best interests of the program as outlined in Article II.
Our Board of Directors will be responsible for handling parent, coach, player, and team problems / issues that are brought to their attention by the Director of Basketball Operations.
Problems and issues include:
- Conduct at practices or games that is negative to our program’s image, growth or success.
- Conduct away from practice of games that is negative to our program’s image, growth, or success.
- Each problem / issue will be handled on a case-by-case basis as each case, from experience, has its’ own unique angle.
All coaches & bench personnel will need prior approval from our Director of Basketball Operations. *
*Our coaches & bench personnel can be teenagers. If they are teenagers, they must have at least three years of playing experience in our program.
All of our court coaches are volunteers, willing to take their time to give your daughter the opportunity to participate in our program.
Our program is not designed as a means to “recruit” players from another AAU program or to influence players to attend a certain school.
The fee each season will be determined by our Board of Directors and Director of Basketball Operations.
Payment of fees is due in a timely manner. Delinquent payments can and will lead to disciplinary actions by the Board of Directors. If you have written the program a “bad” check in the past, you are responsible to send in your payment via cash, money order, or certified check.
There is a $25.00 returned check fee for any “bad” check written to our program.
All teams are required to attend the Nationals during the summer (DI or DII) should they qualify. This is not an option. Failure to attend nationals, whether by an individual (unless granted permission by the Board of Directors) or a team, will ban that player or team from future participation in our program. *SPRING TEAM REQUIREMENT*
Uniforms must be turned in at the completion of each tournament, unless the team / player has prior approval from the Director of Basketball Operations to keep their jerseys for the next tournament. A fee can be assessed for late return of uniforms
All fundraising activities have to have prior approval by our Director of Basketball Operations / Board of Directors.
Assigned team parents are to send out information from the Director of Basketball Operations / Board of Directors. Assigned team parents are not to handle problems / issues on the team from disgruntled parents.
Team parents must have access to email or must have quick communication skills to send information to parents on their team.
All parents are responsible for checking our web site: www.thewinstonsalemstealers.com on a multiple daily basis. Updates to the site are made throughout the day.
Playing time is at the discretion of the coach. Problems or issues concerning playing time need to be handled in a professional manner by parents and coaches. Parents are to contact the coach during Monday-Thursday, and not during a tournament weekend, Friday-Sunday, concerning playing time. Meetings are to be done face-to-face, with no talk of another player taking place. If the meetings begin to take a wrong turn, the conversation is over, and the next step will be for the coach to alert the Director of Basketball Operations.
Parents are not to approach the coach about playing time, coaching decisions, or game management during a tournament. Parents are not to approach coaches during practice or game time to make suggestions or offer opinions on practice or game management.
Parents are not to come on the court during practice or games to instruct their children, or give “signals” as a form of instruction to their kids while they are practicing or playing.
There is a no return policy (Rule Since 2000-01). Once you become a Winston-Salem Stealer, you cannot leave the program, join another program, nor practice with another club program, and then tryout or play for our program again (exception would be coming back through the 292 Program for consulting and / or satellite program purposes – not to play on a travel team). Ask Coach RobinsonJ if you are unclear about our no return policy. Another club program is considered to be one that plays against other travel teams or club programs (AAU/ YBOA/ USAAA, etc…) in tournaments, invitationals or showcase events.
Each parent must fill out and sign the “Tryout Letter of Intent” and follow the associated rules that go with that Letter of Intent.
The tournament schedule is decided on by the Director of Basketball Operations, with the help of the coach if need be.
National expenses will be handled by each team. Coaches of the teams should not be expected to pay their own way to the nationals, thus each team should fundraise first for the coaching expenses, then for their team members. When the head coach is also a parent (rare occasion), the program will contribute half to the national coaching expenses.
We ask each parent to try and raise $100.00 each during the spring season, to support our hosting of an AAU-Sanctioned Tournament (i.e. regional or state tournament) to help off-set the cost of facilities and game officials, so that the money raised from the event can go to help the expenses of the coaches for the national tournament.
Teams that fundraise for nationals, but do not attend nationals, will have their fundraising money turned over into the program’s general account. Fundraising money cannot be refunded under non-profit regulations.
Each practice facility will be insured through the Winston-Salem Stealers. It is your responsibility to make sure that each facility is taken care of, and that siblings are being watched at all times. Do not let siblings, especially those that are younger, roam free around or outside of the facilities. You will be responsible for any damage that happens to a facility if it by you or a member of your family.
Parents are not to approach the hosting facility staff that we practice at to try and secure extra practice space that we have not secured through contract and / or payment with that facility.
Picking-up players for AAU National Tournaments: We will look in our own program first for players if we need to add a player or two to our teams. We will look outside our program second. If our team(s) does not qualify for AAU Nationals, and our player(s) is/are asked to play with another program, for AAU Nationals only, those players need to have prior approval from the director of basketball operations first. Guest players for AAU nationals will not be held to the “No Return Policy”, as long as that player’s team did not qualify for AAU Nationals.
Parents are encouraged to support their child, and all the team members, and not degrade or talk negatively.
Parents are to read the following pages on our web site:
Founder’s Philosophy / Straight From the Parent’s Mouth / Parent FAQs / Handling Situations
These web pages were designed by Brian RobinsonJ, founder, and are to help you work through your life as an AAU Parent. Many who came before you, have gone through the same highs and lows you have, are, and will experience. If this program’s rules and policies were good enough for those in the past, they are good enough for you, especially the beginners. AAU life is a marathon, not a sprint… let this program help you along, as it has helped others become the successful players and people they are today. - Coach R:)
All of our rules and regulations of our program are to provide a healthy, fun, and productive environment for our players and their parents. These rules are also trying to help condition the players and parents for future basketball life on the college recruiting trail. The program is set-up for your child, should she work hard and listen, to be successful. Our focus on skill development and fundamentals at a young age sometimes comes at the sacrifice of winning games. However, the Winston-Salem Stealers feel that it is better to be skilled at a young age and then winning more when the child is older versus winning a lot when the child’s team is younger at the expense of not learning skills and fundamentals. As the founder and director, I feel as though it is harder to try and catch up fundamentally and skill wise when the child is older, especially when, at the same time, you are trying to impress a college recruiter. Those, in our program, who have followed the skill development and fundamental blueprint when they are younger have seen the success with college recruitment when they are older. – Coach R:)
From The Winston-Salem Stealers By-laws:
Article IV , Section 2: The Board of Directors shall be responsible for the policies of the Winston-Salem Stealers, Inc., the team’s organization and the playing rules.
Article VII, Section 2: The Board of Directors shall have the authority, by vote of the majority, to suspend any member whose conduct is detrimental to the best interests of the program as outlined in Article II.
Our Board of Directors will be responsible for handling parent, coach, player, and team problems / issues that are brought to their attention by the Director of Basketball Operations.
Problems and issues include:
- Conduct at practices or games that is negative to our program’s image, growth or success.
- Conduct away from practice of games that is negative to our program’s image, growth, or success.
- Each problem / issue will be handled on a case-by-case basis as each case, from experience, has its’ own unique angle.
All coaches & bench personnel will need prior approval from our Director of Basketball Operations. *
*Our coaches & bench personnel can be teenagers. If they are teenagers, they must have at least three years of playing experience in our program.
All of our court coaches are volunteers, willing to take their time to give your daughter the opportunity to participate in our program.
Our program is not designed as a means to “recruit” players from another AAU program or to influence players to attend a certain school.
The fee each season will be determined by our Board of Directors and Director of Basketball Operations.
Payment of fees is due in a timely manner. Delinquent payments can and will lead to disciplinary actions by the Board of Directors. If you have written the program a “bad” check in the past, you are responsible to send in your payment via cash, money order, or certified check.
There is a $25.00 returned check fee for any “bad” check written to our program.
All teams are required to attend the Nationals during the summer (DI or DII) should they qualify. This is not an option. Failure to attend nationals, whether by an individual (unless granted permission by the Board of Directors) or a team, will ban that player or team from future participation in our program. *SPRING TEAM REQUIREMENT*
Uniforms must be turned in at the completion of each tournament, unless the team / player has prior approval from the Director of Basketball Operations to keep their jerseys for the next tournament. A fee can be assessed for late return of uniforms
All fundraising activities have to have prior approval by our Director of Basketball Operations / Board of Directors.
Assigned team parents are to send out information from the Director of Basketball Operations / Board of Directors. Assigned team parents are not to handle problems / issues on the team from disgruntled parents.
Team parents must have access to email or must have quick communication skills to send information to parents on their team.
All parents are responsible for checking our web site: www.thewinstonsalemstealers.com on a multiple daily basis. Updates to the site are made throughout the day.
Playing time is at the discretion of the coach. Problems or issues concerning playing time need to be handled in a professional manner by parents and coaches. Parents are to contact the coach during Monday-Thursday, and not during a tournament weekend, Friday-Sunday, concerning playing time. Meetings are to be done face-to-face, with no talk of another player taking place. If the meetings begin to take a wrong turn, the conversation is over, and the next step will be for the coach to alert the Director of Basketball Operations.
Parents are not to approach the coach about playing time, coaching decisions, or game management during a tournament. Parents are not to approach coaches during practice or game time to make suggestions or offer opinions on practice or game management.
Parents are not to come on the court during practice or games to instruct their children, or give “signals” as a form of instruction to their kids while they are practicing or playing.
There is a no return policy (Rule Since 2000-01). Once you become a Winston-Salem Stealer, you cannot leave the program, join another program, nor practice with another club program, and then tryout or play for our program again (exception would be coming back through the 292 Program for consulting and / or satellite program purposes – not to play on a travel team). Ask Coach RobinsonJ if you are unclear about our no return policy. Another club program is considered to be one that plays against other travel teams or club programs (AAU/ YBOA/ USAAA, etc…) in tournaments, invitationals or showcase events.
Each parent must fill out and sign the “Tryout Letter of Intent” and follow the associated rules that go with that Letter of Intent.
The tournament schedule is decided on by the Director of Basketball Operations, with the help of the coach if need be.
National expenses will be handled by each team. Coaches of the teams should not be expected to pay their own way to the nationals, thus each team should fundraise first for the coaching expenses, then for their team members. When the head coach is also a parent (rare occasion), the program will contribute half to the national coaching expenses.
We ask each parent to try and raise $100.00 each during the spring season, to support our hosting of an AAU-Sanctioned Tournament (i.e. regional or state tournament) to help off-set the cost of facilities and game officials, so that the money raised from the event can go to help the expenses of the coaches for the national tournament.
Teams that fundraise for nationals, but do not attend nationals, will have their fundraising money turned over into the program’s general account. Fundraising money cannot be refunded under non-profit regulations.
Each practice facility will be insured through the Winston-Salem Stealers. It is your responsibility to make sure that each facility is taken care of, and that siblings are being watched at all times. Do not let siblings, especially those that are younger, roam free around or outside of the facilities. You will be responsible for any damage that happens to a facility if it by you or a member of your family.
Parents are not to approach the hosting facility staff that we practice at to try and secure extra practice space that we have not secured through contract and / or payment with that facility.
Picking-up players for AAU National Tournaments: We will look in our own program first for players if we need to add a player or two to our teams. We will look outside our program second. If our team(s) does not qualify for AAU Nationals, and our player(s) is/are asked to play with another program, for AAU Nationals only, those players need to have prior approval from the director of basketball operations first. Guest players for AAU nationals will not be held to the “No Return Policy”, as long as that player’s team did not qualify for AAU Nationals.
Parents are encouraged to support their child, and all the team members, and not degrade or talk negatively.
Parents are to read the following pages on our web site:
Founder’s Philosophy / Straight From the Parent’s Mouth / Parent FAQs / Handling Situations
These web pages were designed by Brian RobinsonJ, founder, and are to help you work through your life as an AAU Parent. Many who came before you, have gone through the same highs and lows you have, are, and will experience. If this program’s rules and policies were good enough for those in the past, they are good enough for you, especially the beginners. AAU life is a marathon, not a sprint… let this program help you along, as it has helped others become the successful players and people they are today. - Coach R:)
All of our rules and regulations of our program are to provide a healthy, fun, and productive environment for our players and their parents. These rules are also trying to help condition the players and parents for future basketball life on the college recruiting trail. The program is set-up for your child, should she work hard and listen, to be successful. Our focus on skill development and fundamentals at a young age sometimes comes at the sacrifice of winning games. However, the Winston-Salem Stealers feel that it is better to be skilled at a young age and then winning more when the child is older versus winning a lot when the child’s team is younger at the expense of not learning skills and fundamentals. As the founder and director, I feel as though it is harder to try and catch up fundamentally and skill wise when the child is older, especially when, at the same time, you are trying to impress a college recruiter. Those, in our program, who have followed the skill development and fundamental blueprint when they are younger have seen the success with college recruitment when they are older. – Coach R:)
"True Success Is When You Have True Happiness."