Tuscaloosa Home Educators Athletic Committee

Policies and Procedures

​

Conference Alignment

Tuscaloosa Home Educators is a charter member of the Alabama Christian Sports Conference. As such, THE Athletics is governed by the policies and procedures of the ACSC as found in the most recent copy of their bylaws.

 

THE Athletic Committee members, the Athletic Director, and coaches are to have a copy of the most recent bylaws and become familiar with them.  Issues not addressed by the ACSC bylaws including rules governing play are governed by the most recent rule books of the National Federation of High School Athletic Associations.

 

THE Athletic Director

1. The Athletic Director shall be a member of THE’s Advisory Board and governed by the Bylaws of Tuscaloosa Home Educators and the Athletic Committee’s Policies and Procedures.

2. Nominees for Athletic  Director must have or have had a child involved as a student-athlete in at least one sport and have been actively engaged as a parent volunteer in that sport.

3. Nominees for Athletic Director must be willing to chair meetings of the THE Athletic Committee, attend the ACSC annual meeting, and attend as many ACSC Sports Committee meetings as possible.

4. Nominees for Athletic Director must be willing to attend as many games of the sports offered by THE as possible.  The AD will receive free admission to all home games in all sports.

5. Nominees for Athletic Director must be willing to support and promote THE Athletics in the homeschool community.

 

THE Athletic Committee

1. THE Athletic Committee is composed of the THE Athletic Director and the head coaches, assistant coaches, and parent representatives from each sport fielding a team(s) for the current academic year.

2. Each sport will select one or two parent representatives for the committee.

3. In matters requiring a consensus, each sport will have one vote. In the case of a tie vote, the Athletic Director will break the tie.

4. After approval by the Advisory Board for THE, actions taken by the Athletic Committee become binding policies for each sport.

 

Coaching Policies

1. Each sport will select its coaches but will consider advice from the AD, outgoing coaches, and parents on the selections. Under no circumstances will a person “declare” that he/she is the coach of a sport.

2. Background checks on coaches may be required at the discretion of the AD or upon a request from an Athletic Committee member.

3. All coaches (head, assistants) will sign THE’s Coaching Agreement. Anyone who refuses to sign the agreement will not be considered for a coaching position.

4. The Head Coach of each sport will follow the ACSC policies each season by providing nominees for All Conference teams, All Tournament teams, and the Christian Character Award.

5. Former coaches of a sport will be given free admission to home games of the sport he/she coached.

​

Student-Athlete Policies

1. The family of a student-athlete must be a member in good standing of Tuscaloosa Home Educators.

2. If a student-athlete voluntarily withdraws from a team during the season there will be a review process before he/she can participate in another sport during the same academic year.  The Athletic Director and a select group of Athletic Committee members and coaches will gather information on the circumstances which led to the withdrawal and grant or withhold permission for that student-athlete to participate in the new sport.

3. If THE does not offer a sport, the student-athlete may play for another non-ACSC school in that sport only.  The student-athlete may not play for a non-ACSC school in a sport offered by THE. (e.g. THE does not offer football so student-athletes may play football for another school.  THE does offer basketball so a student-athlete may not play basketball for a non-ACSC school.) Student-athletes who choose to do this are governed by the rules and regulations of the non-ACSC school and THE will have neither governance nor liability for the student-athlete in that sport.

 

Policies on Paperwork Required for Participation in THE Athletics

1. Student-athletes will provide the following documents with appropriate parental or medical signatures for each sport he/she will participate in: Copy of Original Birth Certificate – Birthdate must be legible; THE Registration and Release Form; ACSC Liability Waiver; ACSC Concussion Policy Sports Physical – the Sports Physical will be valid for one year from the date on the physical and may be used for multiple sports

2. Each sport may require additional paperwork for participation.

3. The AD will complete an Academic Validation Form for each church school represented on a team containing the names of the student-athletes enrolled in that church school.  The church school administrator will validate the academic eligibility of the student-athletes according to ACSC standards. This form will be submitted to the ACSC at each respective ACSC Sports Committee meeting.

  

Insurance

1. THE Athletics carries a limited liability insurance policy on the sports offered.  Each sport will pay a portion of the cost of the annual insurance. The amount will be based upon the number of student-athletes the sport had in the previous year’s season of that sport.

2. Each year a sport must provide a list of all practice and game facilities to the AD in order for Certificates of Insurance Coverage to be issued by the insurance carrier to each facility.

 

Financial Matters

1. THE will pay the annual conference fee at the ACSC Annual Meeting and the fee for each sport which is due at the ACSC Sports Committee meeting for each sport. 

2. Each sport will maintain a checking account in a local bank and give an accounting of income and expenditures to the parents involved in that sport.

3. Each sport will set the per player fee for their sport.

4. In fundraising matters, each sport will be mindful of the Christian standards which undergird all activities.  If there is a question about a particular activity the sport will seek the advice of the AD.

5. Each sport will try to coordinate its fundraising schedule with the other sports (e.g. Two sports don’t need to have a Boston Butt sale at the same time.).

​

Cheer Squad and/or Cheerleaders

THE Athletics will follow the guidelines issued by the ACSC regarding cheer squads or cheerleaders. Those guidelines will be the minimum standards and the Athletic Committee and/or the Advisory Board may require additional regulations.