Parent Prep Guide — SF Champions

Getting Started

Your First Week

The 5-day training week is the heartbeat of SF Champions. Every day has a purpose. Here's exactly what your kid is doing and when.

The 5-Day Academy Week

Monday through Friday — each session has a distinct focus. This isn't just open gym.

Monday

Skills Lab

4:00 – 5:30 PM

Weak-hand finishing, ball handling, footwork. Individual skill building. This is the lab where foundational habits get built.

Tuesday

Team Practice

4:30 – 6:30 PM

Offense, defense, team concepts. Players are graded on effort and coachability — not just skill — on Tuesdays.

Wednesday

Shooting Lab

4:00 – 5:30 PM

Form shooting, spot-up 3s, off-screen catch-and-shoot. This is where shooting percentage metrics are tracked monthly.

Thursday

Team Practice

4:30 – 6:30 PM

Competitive reps, game-prep, position work. Coaches give Thursday Pulse text to parents by 1:00 PM same day.

Friday

IQ Games

4:00 – 5:30 PM

Small-sided games. Coaches grade Basketball IQ (spacing, rotation, game management) on a 1–5 scale. These scores feed the Player Passport.

Attendance note: 90%+ attendance (4–5 days/week) = Elite tier. 60–80% = Developing tier. Below 50% triggers a check-in conversation. Attendance is one of four graded categories — it matters as much as shooting percentage.

What to Bring

Every session, every week.

👟 Basketball shoes (non-marking soles)

💧 Water bottle (64oz minimum)

👕 SFC practice jersey or black/grey top

🩳 Athletic shorts (no jeans or cargo)

🦶 Ankle braces if player normally wears them

🍎 Light pre-practice snack (eaten before, not during)

Communication

How We Communicate
With You

Three channels. Each one has a specific job. You will never need to text a coach asking "what time is practice?" — that information lives somewhere you can check yourself.

🌐

Tier 1 — The Parent Portal

Always-on. Self-serve. Permanent record.

The portal is where everything lives permanently. Tournament schedule (filterable by team), hotel links, travel hub, your player's testing benchmarks, the grading rubric. If you have a question at 11pm — the answer is probably here. parent-portal.html →

📱

Tier 2 — Thursday Pulse

Every Thursday. 1:00 PM. No exceptions.

Every Thursday at 1:00 PM you get a text for your specific team. It contains: this weekend's game time, venue address, court number, and jersey color. This is the only source of truth for weekend logistics. Not the group chat. Not word of mouth. The Pulse.

💬

Tier 3 — Individual Touch

Personal. Human. Specific to your kid.

Once a month, Coach Vic or a staff coach will text you directly with a specific observation about your player's development — not a form message. This is the relationship tier. You may also receive a personal text when a group placement changes, when a major metric milestone is hit, or when travel logistics need your attention.

🏀

Coach Vic — Program Director

Primary Contact · Text preferred · Response within 24 hrs

The 24-Hour Rule: If you have a concern after a game — about playing time, a coaching decision, or anything that feels emotionally charged — give it 24 hours before reaching out. This rule protects the relationship. It's not a barrier; it's a quality filter. Coach Vic will respond thoughtfully. He can't do that at 9pm on a Saturday after a tough loss.

Your First 30 Days

What to Expect

A new player goes through a real adjustment period. This is normal, expected, and part of the process. Here's the honest roadmap.

Week 1–2

The Learning Curve

Your kid is learning a new environment, new terminology, and new expectations. Coaches use this period to observe — not to judge. Attendance, body language, and coachability are what coaches notice most in the first two weeks. Skill level is almost irrelevant at this stage.

Week 3–4

Initial Group Placement

Based on the first two weeks of sessions, coaches assign an initial training group. This is not permanent — it's a starting point. Players move between groups based on objective metrics and attendance, not politics or favoritism. The grading rubric is available in the Testing Lab section of the portal.

Day 30

First Player Passport Update

You'll receive your first real metric update via text. Four categories: Weak-Hand Layup %, Champions 100 Shooting %, Sprint Time, and Friday IQ Score. This is your benchmark. Every month after this, you'll see the numbers move. This is how we show you your kid is getting better — not just tell you.

Parent Culture

The Sideline Code

Every family who joins SF Champions agrees to these. They're not rules — they're what makes the culture worth being part of.

✓ Do This

📣"Let's go!" "Great effort!" "You got this!"

⏰Wait 24 hours before contacting a coach after an emotional game moment

🤝Acknowledge good play from opposing teams

🚗Ask "Did you have fun?" on the car ride home

📱Check the Thursday Pulse before texting the coach about game time

🙌Trust the player placement process — it's data-based, not personal

✕ Not This

🗣️"You should have passed!" "Why didn't you shoot?" — your kid has a coach

😤Approaching a coach or referee immediately after a game

👎Negative comments about opposing players — ever

🚗"You should have played more" — they already know

💬Using the group chat as a complaint channel — text Coach Vic directly

🏅Comparing your kid to teammates publicly

Know the Language

SF Champions Glossary

Terms coaches use that you'll hear in the Thursday Pulse, Individual Touch texts, and on the sideline.

Thursday Pulse

The weekly logistics text sent every Thursday at 1:00 PM with game time, location, court number, and jersey color for your team. The only official source for weekend logistics.

Player Passport

Your player's monthly performance report. Four graded categories: Weak-Hand Layups, Champions 100 Shooting, Sprint Time, and Friday IQ Score. Scores are benchmarked against the level above to give a clear development target.

Friday IQ Games

Small-sided games on Fridays where coaches grade Basketball IQ on a 1–5 scale. Three categories: Spacing Awareness, Defensive Rotation, and Game Management. These grades feed directly into group placement decisions.

Re-Level / Recalibration

When a player moves to a different training group. Framed as a "recalibration phase" — a chance to build confidence through more reps and ball touches in a better-matched environment. Always preceded by a personal conversation, never a form message.

MADE Hoops Circuit

A national elite youth basketball circuit. Soldiers and Soldiers HS teams compete in MADE events (NorCal Clash, SoCal Live, Vegas Summer Live, etc.). These events require Stay-to-Play hotel booking through the official housing block.

Champions 100

A 100-shot shooting drill tracked monthly in the Shooting Lab. Divided into form shooting, spot-up 3s, and off-screen catch-and-shoot attempts. Percentage is logged in the Player Passport.

Stay-to-Play

A MADE Circuit policy requiring all families to book hotels through the official tournament housing block. Booking outside the block (Airbnb, non-approved hotels) can result in your team being removed from the bracket.

Individual Touch

A personal, specific observation from a coach sent once a month. Not a group text. Not a form message. A human note about something your specific kid did — good or developmental.

Common Questions

FAQ

Group placement is based on four objective metrics tracked monthly — not coaches' opinions, not favoritism, not personality. When a player is recalibrated to a different group, it means the data shows a better development environment is available for them right now. This is a process, not a punishment. Your coach will call or text you personally with a specific explanation before you hear it from anyone else.

Playing time in games reflects performance in the training week — specifically the Tuesday/Thursday team practices and Friday IQ Games. The four graded categories (Skill Mastery, Basketball IQ, Competitive Grit, and Lab Attendance) each contribute equally. A player who attends 5 days a week and grades consistently will earn more game minutes than a player who attends 2 days regardless of raw talent.

You can and should reach out. The right channel is a direct text to Coach Vic — not the group chat, not through another parent. Wait at least 24 hours after the event that prompted the concern. Coach Vic will respond with the specific data behind the decision. If you still disagree after that conversation, that's a legitimate discussion to have. We believe in transparency — the metrics exist precisely so these conversations can be grounded in data, not feelings.

Travel tournaments are part of the program for Soldiers and Soldiers HS teams — they're where the competitive development happens. That said, individual tournaments are marked optional where applicable. The Travel Hub in the Parent Portal has hotel links, city guides, and packing lists to make travel as low-friction as possible for families.

Attendance is one of the four graded categories and affects group placement directly. 90%+ attendance (4–5 days/week) is the Elite tier. 60–80% is the Developing tier. Below 50% triggers a check-in conversation about whether the current group placement is the right fit. We understand schedules are complicated — the best approach is transparency. Let Coach Vic know about ongoing conflicts upfront, and we'll work within them honestly.

MADE Hoops Circuit events require all families to book through the official tournament housing block. Booking outside the block — on Airbnb or non-approved hotels — can result in your team being removed from the event bracket. This is a tournament policy, not an SF Champions policy. All housing links are in the Travel Hub in the Parent Portal, organized by event.

Within your first 30 days. You'll receive a personal text from Coach Vic with your player's first four metric scores. These become the baseline everything is measured against going forward. Monthly updates are tracked in the Testing Lab section of the portal.

The Portal