Parents And Families | CYO Athletics | Catholic Charities Diocese of Cleveland

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Catholic Charities Corporation Administrative Offices:

7911 Detroit Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44102
(216) 334-2900

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Resources for Parents & Families

We offer general tips, access to resources, and documents for download for CYO parents and families.

Documents & Forms

DOCUMENT	DESCRIPTION
Incident Report	If an incident occurs at a practice or a game, please complete our online form. 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
Updated COVID-19 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. 2022-2023 Grade School Section Assignments
High 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. Eligibility for High School Athletes and 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

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 sport pages to download individual season planners.

Coaches

The coaches of your team are selected and approved by your athletic director and member administrator. These are the leaders of the athletic program at your parish/school. All coaches have to meet age requirements, attend our Coaches Development Program, and complete VIRTUS training classes as well as an online concussion awareness program. Coaches must also submit an application and background check to the parish/school prior to starting to coach.

If you have a question or problem with your team’s coach, talk to him/her first. Your next conversation should be with your athletic director and finally your member administrator. The Diocese of Cleveland CYO is always available to help you through this process.

Meetings

It is recommended that each parish/school have 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.

As a parent, you can listen to the program expectations from an athletic director, as well as get to know the mission of CYO, practice and season dates, and training and fundraising information.

Coach meetings should be held three weeks prior to the start of practice and parent meetings one week before the start of practice.

Deadlines

Deadlines are important for a program with more than 22,000 participants. As a parent, you will be made aware of registration and roster deadlines by your athletic director. Please respect those deadlines. If you miss a deadline, it could impact the ability for a team to be sponsored or for your child to be added to a team roster.

If you see information online regarding athlete registration, or if your child brings home paperwork, please complete it as soon as possible to guarantee your child a spot on the team.

Lindsay's Law

Ohio law requires all teachers and coaches to undergo annual training to recognize the symptoms of sudden cardiac arrest. The Ohio High School Athletic Association, along with the Ohio Department of Health and the Ohio Department of Education, have developed the training material, which is available here. Please note, there is a separate parent component that most be completed by all CYO parents with athletes in grades 7 to 12. Please review the materials before your upcoming parish/school parent meeting.

Parent Articles

CYO Athletics is proud of the coaches and parents who support our teams and improve every child’s experience. As parents, you are the primary teacher of your child. Your positive example and actions at the game are an integral part of your role as sports parent. Parents are expected to respect the dignity of every athlete and use a positive approach that involves praise and encouragement for the effort displayed instead of the final outcome.

We kindly ask parents to read the article below:

Download Article

Hospital Partnerships

CYO Athletics has partnered with University Hospitals to provide you with a resource that can help you prepare for your child’s participation in youth sports. Please read the UH Sports Medicine Playbook below or visit University Hospitals website for additional information.

Through CYO’s partnership with University Hospitals and Akron Children’s Hospital, parents may take their athletes to receive free concussion baseline testing. This is valuable if a child experiences a head injury. The child can be tested after the injury to assist with the assessment of the effects of the head injury in light of the baseline information. Our partners offer this service at no cost to CYO athletes. Visit our Concussion Awareness page for more information.

UH Sports Medicine Playbook