St. Francis Cathedral CYO
Metuchen, NJ 08840

Some commonly asked Questions and Answers.

Q) What do I need in order to enroll my child in CYO basketball?

A) The registration form is available on this website. Fill it out and bring the form to the lobby of the CYO building along with the permission slip/medical form the nights of September 16 and 18 between 7:00 PM and 8:30 PM. Sign up also requires a $50.00 registration fee per child and a $100.00 Work Bond per family.

Q) Why do I need to provide a $100.00 Work Bond ?

A) The Work Bond has been used to encourage participation in working at the St. Francis concession stand in the lobby of the CYO on Saturday mornings throughout the season. The money raised at the snack stand helps to keep our registration costs down and to defray the costs for new uniforms, gym expenses, referee costs, tournament entrance fees and fundraising (such as candy sales) etc. 

Q) How many times do I need to work at the concession stand to get my Work Bond back?

A) The number of two-hour work intervals each family is required to help scales with number of children enrolled. (Usually it is three, two-hour sessions per player, and one, two-hour session per cheerleader).  However, the exact number of intervals per child varies with the total number of families signing up.  A meeting will held in October at the gym to outline exactly how many two-hour sessions each family is required to work.

Q) How can I sign up for the concession stand in October when I don’t know my child’s game schedule until late November?

A) We understand this is a difficult situation, especially when you receive your child’s schedule and realize that you are slated to work the concession stand on a given Saturday when your child has an away game.  Usually in these cases, parents can: trade work dates with another family; or they can have their child carpool with another team family that week.  The concession stand schedule will be on the web site to make it easier to trade off dates.

Q) Can I forfeit my Work Bond and elect not to work at the snack bar?

A) While this is always your choice, it is important to realize that we greatly need your help to work the snack stand.  Currently, over 90% of the families work at the concession stand (including coaches).  If you opt out of working the concession stand your Work Bond next year will increase $50.

Q) How do I get my work bond back?

A)  Your money will be returned you at the end of the year provided that you have complied with the work requirements and returned your child’s uniform  (some players participate in softball or baseball).  If you would like, you may roll over the Work Bond to next year – avoiding paying the work bond each year.  

Q) How can I sign up to coach my child’s team?

A) On the registration night, any adult over the age of 18 may sign up to coach.  Please realize that Bishop Bootkowski has required all CYO coaches to comply with the “Protecting God’s Children” program (see http://www.diometuchen.org/cyp/cyp_pgc.html   for information, and training dates and locations). As part of this program the prospective coach must also be fingerprinted.  The program wil be held here at St. Francis on dates to be determined.

All applications for coaching will be reviewed. Please realize that the number of head coaching slots is limited, but there is no limit to assistant coaches during practices.  Multiple assistant coaches are extremely helpful during practice sessions, especially with the younger players.  However, please note that during a game there can only be one head coach, one assistant coach, and one additional adult keeping stats on the bench.

Coaches will be required to be certified as coaches. A clinic to provide this certification will be sponsored by the CYO through Rutgers University at a date to be annnounced at no cost to the coach.

Q) What time commitment does CYO basketball require of the children signing up?

A) There is one, 1¼ hr. practice during the week and a game on Saturday (Sunday for High School).  Since CYO basketball requires the family/parent to provide transportation to an away game site, driving time also needs to be taken into account.  Some of the diocesan away games can be as much as a 40 minute drive.  Please consider the time commitment prior to enrolling your child in basketball. If a St. Francis team must forfeit a game because the requisite 8 players do not show up for the game, St. Francis must pay for both referees instead of just one.  Again, additional expenses like this adversely affect St. Francis CYO operating expenses.

Q) I understand that there are different types of CYO leagues and teams; can you elaborate on these differences?

A) The largest league, the umbrella league, is the Diocesan League of Metuchen.  You can view much more information about this league at http://www.yandyam.com/YM/sports.html.  All age groups can participate in this league. However, please know:

1. At St. Francis parish, every child, who signs up for basketball, plays. However, some parishes in the Diocesan League only have TRY-OUT teams.  So please be aware, in some instances, a St. Francis team, composed of children with a wide range of talents, more like a recreational team, may play against another Diocesan League team that is a try-out team.

2. Diocesan League regulations specify mandatory substitutions every half-quarter for three, full, quarters.   However, in the fourth quarter, Diocesan League rules allow the coach TO PLAY WHOMEVER HE/SHE WISHES.  If a team does not have sufficient players to follow the substition rule – the opposing coach may require a specific player be the one replaced. Some coaches at St. Francis continue with “equal time” philosophy and OTHERS MAY NOT.  Also, please realize, that across the Diocesan League, a good percentage of other teams do not continue with “equal time” philosophy in the fourth quarter.

3. St. Francis has its own 5^th-6^th Boys’ league.  Having our own league, and being the host site, helps to bring in more revenue through additional spectators and concession stand activity. Please note, however, that the St. Francis 5^th-6^th League adheres to the Metuchen Diocesan League rules.

4. St. Francis is not the only parish to have its own league. There are other basketball leagues within the Diocese of Metuchen.  In most cases, the St. Francis teams playing in these other leagues are try-out or by invitation.  If you want to know what type of play a coach expects in a particular league, it is always best to ask the coach up front. Many of these leagues play their games Sunday through Friday.

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Last modified: 06/04/10