Heat Fire League Policies & Guidelines - 2022/2023 Season

Heat Fire League
             Policies & Guidelines – 2022/2023 Season
Section 6.1 Club Communication Policies and Guidelines
Parenting and coaching are important and complimentary vocations and by working together
we are able to better provide benefits to the player. Since he/she is beginning to move into the
adult world, one of our goals is to empower them to share their voice.

Our goal as a program is to move each athlete forward in their development as a player and a
person, it is our request that you encourage your child to discuss any concerns first with their
coach when appropriate. I.e. specific positional drill requests and practice focus, playing time,
position, rotational questions, feedback about a skill, etc. If your child is unclear of the
resolution after the conversation, please feel free to contact the coach with your child present.

Situations may arise that may require a conference between the coach and a parent. These are
to be encouraged, and it’s important that both parents/guardians of the player have a clear
understanding of the other’s perspective. Coach may ask for a board member to be present.

Section 6.2 Reporting Inappropriate Behavior of Club Staff
Heat Volleyball Club Fox Valley vigilantly maintains a policy that places the safety of the young
athletes entrusted to our care and instruction as our highest priority. We watch team activities
and interactions closely to try to prevent miscommunications that cause discomfort to any of
the athletes or parents.

If you see behavior of a Heat Volleyball Club Fox Valley employee that you believe to be
inappropriate, report it immediately either to the Club President (Kim Lee) or Vice President
(Trisha Voigt). Their contact information can be found at www.heatvbc.com under board
member tab. All complaints will be investigated.

Any contract coach or volunteer found to be in violation of policy will be subject to discipline,
which may include dismissal. There will be no retaliation against any complainants and/or
witnesses who participate in an investigation. If you have any questions regarding the Heat
Volleyball Club Fox Valley policies or procedures, please do not hesitate to contact one of the
club directors.

Section 6.3 Conflict Resolution Procedure

       The following steps must be taken if a player has a concern with a Coach:

       1. Player should discuss the concern with the Coach and try to arrive at a solution if
            they are comfortable doing so, depending on the topic.
       2.   At this time the Coach should inform the Club President or Vice President with the
            specifics around the conversation including facts, time, date, and how the player
            communicated their concern (i.e. via phone, text, email, etc.)
       3.   If the matter is not resolved and there is a legitimate concern, the player and
            parents may make an appointment to speak with the Coach.
       4.   Parents should not approach a Coach or Board member to discuss a concern during
            practice or prior to 24 hours after the end of a practice or scrimmage. This
            pertains to in-person, text, phone call, Groupme and/or email. Your Coach will
            ONLY meet with your parents when you, the athlete, is present.
                 a. If a parent approaches a coach during a scrimmage regarding a concern, we
                     have instructed them to refuse to discuss the situation, to refer the parent to
                     the Club President or Vice President, and walk away. This is encouraged to
                     avoid any public communications that are not healthy.
                 b. We also instruct our coaching staff not to get involved in a texting or lengthy
                     email conversation back and forth.
       5.   If the matter still remains unresolved, the parent can request a meeting with the
            Club President or Vice President, along with the Coach and the player. THE PLAYER
            MUST BE PRESENT AT THE MEETING. Either the Coach or parent may reach out to
            the Club President or Vice President to schedule a meeting with the Coach, parent
            and player.
       6.   It is important that players and parents alike understand that conversation with a
            Coach is allowed and encouraged at any time throughout the season as long as it is
            civil and polite. However, when problems arise, we will all need to be rational and
            calm before discussion occurs.
       7.   If the matter still remains unresolved, the situation will be presented to the Heat
            Board for final resolution.

Section 6.4 Grievance Procedure
Heat Volleyball Club Fox Valley will not acknowledge or act upon any negative and
unprofessional email, texts or phone calls. While convenient for conveying details, email and
text can also leave room for interpretation of feelings and misunderstandings.

Grievances
To initiate the grievance process, please contact the coach by phone or schedule an in-person
meeting.

       1. Effective May 2019, any person who has a grievance will submit their grievance, in
          writing, to either the Club President or Vice President. That executive board
          member will present the grievance to the Board at the next scheduled Heat VBC
          Board meeting to be reviewed, discussed, and voted on, following Board voting
          guidelines.
       2. A grievance decision will be finalized within 30 days from time of receipt, unless an
          emergency decision is needed, in which the Heat VBC Board meeting needs to be
          called sooner.
       3. All grievances must follow the Heat VBC code of conduct guidelines prior to filing a
          grievance unless due to the grievance severity, sensitivity and/or sense of urgency,
          grievance needed to be escalated per the discretion of the parent, player, coach or
          Board member.

Section 7.0 Player Fees & Heat Refund Policy
       1. When you accept an offer to participate, you accept the financial obligations for the
           entire league fee for that season. When teams are built, monies immediately go
           directly into t-shirts, coaching pay, facility rental, equipment, etc.
       2. Due to our non-profit status and budget requirements, we do not offer refunds.
           Refunds will not be given to athletes who choose not to play because of conflicts,
           team assignments, coaching assignments, or an individual’s amount of playing time.
           Prorated refunds will be considered for athletes who suffer season-ending injuries
           while playing for Heat Volleyball Club, on a case-by-case basis with a physician’s
           letter. Injuries occurred outside of Heat Volleyball Club will not be considered for a
           refund.
       3. Dues are NON-REFUNDABLE for ANY reason, even in the event that your
           daughter/son quits, is suspended, etc. or injured outside of Club at any point in the
           season.
       4. The Board of our club will review all requests for refund based on individual
           situations.
       5. After Board approval, refunds will be allowed until March 1, prorated to the start of
           the season after dues have been paid in full. Any refund after March 1 will not be
           allowed.
Section 7.1 Badger Region Volleyball Association’s Policy on Unpaid Player Dues:
       1. This is directly from the Badger Region Volleyball Association’s Club Director
           Handbook:
       2. A Junior Club player must remit all club fees as specified by their Club/Team, within
           the club’s scheduled time frame. If fees are unpaid at the end of the Club’s season,
           the Club Director may use any legal means necessary to obtain payment, i.e.

collection agency. Nonpayment will result in the athlete’s name being submitted to
           the Badger Region Office, resulting in the athlete being restricted from registering or
           participating with the Region until the fees are paid.

Section 7.2 Our Program Options and Fee Information
       1. Heat Volleyball Club Fox Valley offers programs for many different age and skill
           levels. We offer programs for girls and boys from ages 5 to 18. Your AGE GROUP is
           based on how old you are on July 1st.
       2. Club Fees are per team within the Fire League as day of the week determines how
           many practices will take place between December – end of March.
       3. Fire League program fees for the 2022-2023 season are $18 per practice. (2 hours)
           Heat does not charge for Scrimmage nights, that is an added bonus. As a result if
           your team ends up needing to cancel practices due to inclement weather, we do not
           refund monies as your player will be getting the free scrimmage time to make up for
           it. Practices that need to be canceled due to inclement weather will not be
           rescheduled.

Team Fees include:
      1. Beginning of December through end of March season, depending on when the last
          scrimmage/practice lands.
      2. Volleyball practice once a week for 2 hours.
      3. Heat Fire League t-shirt
      4. Practice facility expenses
      5. Use of Heat’s Volleyball equipment
      6. Coach salary
      7. Administrative fees and supplies
      8. Club Holiday staycation – date to be announced
Section 7.3 Additional fees/cost that will be covered by the player
       1. Practice attire and gym shoes (knee pads optional)
       2. Payment in full due at registration
       3. Any player whose account is out of compliance will not be allowed to practice. Only
           exception is next bullet.
       4. On an individual family/player basis, dues and fee structures can be modified to
           accommodate family/player circumstances. Reach out to Heatvbctrish@gmail.com
           regarding this matter. The Heat board members will not discuss specific
           arrangements with anyone other than the family. (Board member will need to seek
           board approval. Names will not be shared and Coaches will not be notified)
       5. Heat Volleyball Club offers fundraising opportunities every season which can reduce
           the out of pocket expenses by several hundred dollars if you put forth the effort.

I agree to all of the previously mentioned Heat Volleyball Club Policies, Guidelines & Conflict
Resolution Procedure terms listed for the 2022/2023 Heat Volleyball season. I understand my
responsibilities as a player/parent, and I will do my best to fulfill my duties as part of this club.

Parent(s) Name/Date: ____________________________________

Parent(s) Signature: __________________________________