Athletic Director | CYO Athletics | Catholic Charities Diocese of Cleveland

Section Navigation

Resources for Athletic Directors

General tips, resources and documents for CYO athletic directors.

Documents & Forms

Document

Description

Incident Report

If an incident occurs at a practice or a game, please complete the form below. The incidents can range from player injury to adult conduct.

Let us know what happened so we can let the leaders of those involved know as well.

Online Form

Pre-Participation Form

The pre-participation form is to be completed and submitted to the athletic director before the athlete is eligible to participate in a practice or game.

The form contains the physical, release form and emergency medical authorization information.

The complete pre-participation form is valid for thirteen months from the date of the physician’s signature.

Exam Form

Grade School Section Assignments

Looking for what section and zone your parish or school is in? Please note athletes can only participate in their Section and Zone. You must contact the athletic director of the parish or school to see if you are eligible.

Section: Large group of programs that can work together to form teams if no teams can be formed in their zone.

Zone: Small group of programs that can work together to form teams.

Provisional: Athletes from these parishes can play with any program within the zone.
No Zone: Cannot have athletes from any other program participate on their teams without express written permission from CYO administration.
School: Cannot have athletes from any other program participate on their teams.

Download the Grade School Section Assignments below.

2021-2022 Grade School Section Assignments

Download the FAQ for Registration and Revised Grade School Section List below.

2021-2022 Grade School FAQ Assignments

High School Section Assignments

Eligibility for High School Athletes/Teams

If the high school athlete is registered at a CYO member parish:

They are eligible at the parish in which they/their parents are registered parishioners.
If their parish does not have a team, they must play in their zone first then within their section.
See zones below. Follow the zone guidelines for grade school sections.
They may not jump into another section.

If the high school athlete is enrolled at a parochial high school who is a CYO member with a team and the parish they are registered at has a team:

They can play on their high school team where they are enrolled OR
The parish in which they/their parents are a registered parishioner AND their parish has a team.

If an athlete is enrolled at a parochial high school but is not registered at a parish, the athlete:

Is eligible to participate at the parochial high school, if they have a team, OR
Must play within the section closest to their primary home address.
Must complete a CYO special request form - see CYO website high school basketball

If the athlete is a parishioner of a no zone parish and that parish does not have a team:

May not move to another section.

Download the High School Section Assignments below.

2021-2022 High School Section Assignments

General Tips

Entry: Having your teams registered on time is one of the most important responsibilities of a CYO athletic director.

Calendar: Knowing when the season begins can help you manage the tasks that need to be completed before the start of the season. Knowing when practice begins, games begin, rosters are locked and tournaments are held can give you a road map to a successful season. Visit your specific sport's page to download individual season planners.

Players: Begin your player registration as early as possible. It is recommended that player registration open at least six weeks prior to the team entry deadline.

Coaches: An early registration window will give you time to begin talking to parents about being coaches. Use the church bulletin, website and school newsletters to get to word to out other members of the community who may be interested in volunteering.

Once you have a coach, he/she needs to attend a Coaches Development Program session and complete all other requirements before they start coaching.

Meetings: We recommend every CYO coach holds member-wide coach and parent meetings before each season. This is a great way to get a consistent message to all participating families and coaches. You can talk about your expectations as an athletic director, the mission of CYO and your program, practice and season dates, training and fundraising.

A coaches meetings should be held three weeks prior to the start of practice and a parent meeting one week before the start of practice. Remember to invite your pastor to the meeting to help set the tone for the season.

Each season, CYO Athletics also holds a General Coaches Meeting. Please have your coaches attend for their sport's season, as these organizational meetings are very informative and help better prepare coaches for the upcoming season. Check the calendar for details.

Deadlines: All teams must be registered in SportsPilot and fees must be paid by the team entry deadline.

Late Roster Addition Reporting

Member athletic directors may add athletes to the team roster up to 14 days after the first scheduled regular season competition of the sport, regardless of roster size. If a team does not have the minimum number of young people on the roster, additions are permitted after the 14 day period by submission of an Eligibility Request Form.

If a team has the minimum number of athletes noted below on the team roster, the 14 day period stated in Bylaw 5-3-2 will be in effect. If a team has fewer than this number, it can add athletes that meet the eligibility rules to the roster at any point until the roster reaches the following threshold:

Baseball – 13 per team

Basketball – 8 per team

Cheer – 6 per squad

Cross Country – 7 per competition division

Football: Flag – 10 per team

Football: Tackle – 20 per team

Lacrosse – 5 per team

Soccer: 11 v 11 – 14 per team

Soccer: 8 v 8 – 11 per team

Soccer: 6 v 6 – 9 per team

Softball – 13 per team

Track & Field – 7 per competition division

Volleyball – 8 per team

If this situation applies to your team, please contact CYO Athletic Administrator Mary Ann King.

CYO Athletics