1

Ss. Colman-John NeumannBasketball Survey2009/2010

2

Athletic Board Purpose

From the Athletic Board’s Constitution:The purpose of the Athletic Board is to foster the physical, moral and

emotional growth of youngsters who are members of either St. Colman or St. John Neumann

Parish and/or attend SCJN School by establishing a program of sports which stress:

1. The concept of Christian principles2. Respect for just authority and for one’s peers3. Individual conditioning and effort4. Knowledge of fundamentals, sportsmanship, teamwork and5. Reinforcing a positive self-image for all children

It is the responsibility of the Athletic Board to set a tone for the programs that stress

participation and individual responsibility.

3

Overview

This is the 5th consecutive year the Athletic Board has conducted this specific survey and at a “macro” level the results are good. 86% of the respondents felt the overall experience of the student athletes was positive. With the very high expectations our parents place on an “all volunteer” program, the Athletic Board feels the program has been consistent in providing a positive experience to our young student athletes.

When you look at 5 years of data, provided by a “normal” response rate, our grades are slightly down. We have tried very hard to provide consistency in our approach to coach selection, player evaluations, and program expectations among others. We spend countless hours each year trying to make the experience a good one for our student athletes. The generally consistent, above average, “actual” program results suggest this approach is working.

We continue to move away from parent coaches which we believe in the long run is better for the athletes and the program. We have tried very hard to stress to all of our coaches the need to keep in perspective the goals of the program both at practice and at games and believe they have, by and large, adhered to this request. Regardless we will continue to try and understand how we can improve the program and make adjustments.

Finally, it is not uncommon to receive a few concerns during the season, this year being no different. We take all feedback seriously and try to address these concerns quickly with as much confidentiality as possible. Most, if not all, tend to be complex issues which unfortunately, despite our best efforts, are not always resolved satisfactorily. We appreciate those parents who do raise concerns to us and hope they feel their concerns are not falling on deaf ears.

We wish to thank all the parents and coaches who have volunteered their time this year to assist with the basketball program and to those who responded to this survey. We promise to continue to try and improve the program each year so that the experience your student athletes have is a positive one.

4

At the end of the basketball season, a mostly close-ended, on-line survey was sent to every parent who had a child in the basketball program. This was the 5th year in a row the same questionnaire was distributed. The response rate (completed surveys returned) was 42% (n=41)

up from 37% last year. The confidence interval at 95% confidence is +/- 12%.

2009-10’ 2008-09’ 2007-08’ 2006-07’ 2005-06’

Response Rate: 42% (n=41) 37% (n=35) 30% (n=30) 28% (n=26) 33%(n=30)

Boys / Girls: 66%/34% 69%/31% 43%/57%78%/22% 57%/43%

A Team / B Team: 59%/41% 63%/37% 50%/50%49%/51% 53%/47%

JV / Varsity: 34%/66% 46%/54% 63%/37%77%/23% 53%/47%

% distribution of total responses by team

09-10’

Boys

JV

Boys

Varsity

Girls

JV

Girls Varsity

A 22% 15% 2% 20%

B 10% 19% 0% 12%

It is recommended that survey results are interpreted at a total-level only

5

Parents rated their child’s overall experience for the 2009/2010 season as positive with an average score of 4.90 out of 6.00. Slightly lower than last year, this is still a good response but does indicate a decline in the program from prior years. 2009-10’ = 4.90

2008-09’ = 5.29/ 2007-08’ = 5.39 / 2006-07’ = 4.85/ 2005-06’ = 4.81

Excellent Disappointment

2%0%3%4%3%

10%7%0%8%

13%

15%11%13%11%10%

29%31%17%35%27%

6 5 4 3 2 1

41%51%63%38%43%

Distribution of responses

Q1.) Please evaluate your child’s overall experience this year?

2%0%3%4%3%

14% of players (approx. 6) indicated they were dissatisfied with their experience compared to:

7% (3) in 08-09’, 6% (2) in 07-08’, 16% (4) in 06-07’ and 19% (6) in 05-06’.

Year

09-10’08-09’07-08’06–07’05-06’

6

Parent’s expectations continue to remain fairly high and consistent from year to year - Learning “teamwork” and “sportsmanship” are the attributes parents continue to feel are the most important.

11.5

22.5

33.5

44.5

55.5

6

2009-10

2008-09

2007-08

2006-07

2005-06

Most Important

Least Important

Q2.) What attributes are important to you and your child in a basketball program?

7

Compared to last year, parent “expectations” were higher (previous chart) in 2009-10’. Clearly the program did not meet those expectations. More concerning is the downward trend seen over the past few years. While not at an alarming level, it does give rise to question why.

11.5

22.5

33.5

44.5

55.5

6

09-10 expectations 09/10 actuals 08/09 actuals

07/08 actuals 06/07 actuals 05/06 actuals

Achieved

Did not achieve

Q3.) How did the SCJN basketball program rate against these attributes?

8

As noted in the previous slide, parent’s expectations increased last year over the prior year. The “actual” ratings indicates a larger gap than in 2008-09 between the two ratings given rise to some concern. While the “actual” scores are generally good (all over 4.5) a review of this years results suggest more attention needs to be given to many of these criteria.

11.5

22.5

33.5

44.5

55.5

6

Importance

Actual Rating

9

Written Responses from Survey

Describe what your child enjoyed the most about the program: Social Aspect: Being with friends, new friendships….(multiple

responses) Improving skills, learning the game….(multiple responses) Teamwork Playing Competitively, good CYO competition (A teams) Lots of playing time (B team) Very good coaches. Liked young coaches, non-fathers…could

relate (multiple responses)

10

Written Responses from Survey

What one improvement should be made for next year: More practice to develop skills. Work on

fundamentals….frustration with lack of skill development. Learning more strategies to improve skills. More positive reinforcement from coaches in both games and

practices. More gym time; more practices before the season starts More playing time for A team players More scrimmages, games, tournaments Playoffs for B teams.

11

The performance of the coaches continues to be seen by the parents as positive.

Q4.) Did the coach display… (6=always; 1=never)?

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

Attitude Understanding Fairness

2009 / 2010

2008 / 2009

2007 / 2008

2006 / 2007

2005 / 2006

15% (6) of respondents were dissatisfied with fairness compared to 6% in 08-09; 17% in 07-08’ and 35% in 06-07’

12

Most parents felt their child’s team improved during the season and that the number of games played was about right.

83% (94% in 08-90’; 90% in 07-08’ and 88% in 06-07’) of parents felt their child’s team improved during the year.

The number of games played: 80% (91% in 08-09’; 83% in 07-08’ / 73% in 06-07’) of parents felt

the number of games was about right 15% (9% in 08-09’; 17% in 07-08’ / 23% in 06-07’) felt too few

games were played 5% (0% in 08-09’; 0% in 07-08’ / 4% in 06-07’) felt too many

games were played

Q5.) Did the team improve during the year? Q6.) Was the number of games: about right, to

many, to few?

13

In Summary

The Athletic Board appreciates the feedback you have provided and will make every effort to improve the program and experience for our young student athletes. We appreciate the countless, and in many cases unrecognized, hours many of you provided to us, the coaches and the basketball program on behalf of your children. Our goal is to continue these surveys each year in an effort to measure our successes and correct weaknesses.

Please continue to provide us your thoughts and ideas. We will make every effort to seriously consider and implement these ideas in the interest of our young student athlete’s development.

Thank you!

SCJN Athletic Board