Elev8 Vision
The vision for Elev8 Basketball (part of CPC's Elev8 Sports ministry) is a high-quality basketball experience in a Christ-centered environment. Thus, coaches and referees have a dual function.
The first is to provide a Christ-centered environment for our players and parents. This starts with ourselves: making sure we are in God's Word regularly, worshipping Him in a Biblically based church, and seeking to grow in our faith daily.
How do we provide a Christ-centered environment for our players? We do this through teaching Biblical principles and modeling the Christian lifestyle. During each practice, each team will have a 5 to 7 minute devotion from the Scriptures that will center on the truth of the Gospel. These are provided for you on the Devotion pages of this site, divided by league. The devotions are designed to stimulate further discussion, so be open for opportunities to share your faith and life with your players and their parents.
An equally important aspect of a Christ-centered environment is modeling the Christian lifestyle. Kids will not always hear what you say, but will more often do what you do. If they see you making faces at the referees or hear you grumbling about a call, they will reflect that behavior. Elev8 seeks to establish an alternative environment in which coaches and players show respect to the referees as the ultimate authority on the court. When a call is made, the coaches need to encourage the referees rather than criticize them. When we win, we need to show humility. And when we lose, we need to show graciousness. The way we conduct ourselves around other coaches, referees and program participants should be an attempt to model a Christ-centered environment.
How do we provide the high-quality basketball portion of our program? We accomplish this through our basic philosophy and by our rules. In Elev8, every player receives equal playing time regardless of his or her skills. Because our teams are limited to 10 players, every player is guaranteed to play at least one half of each game. We also seek, by our rules, to provide as much parity in the league as possible and encourage players of all skills to participate. Finally, coaches should seek to provide 1) a fun environment in which every player can succeed and 2) encouragement and support to the players. We provide training to our referees and coaches so that good basketball skills are taught and upheld during games (always recognizing that no one is perfect and errors will be made). We do keep score at all games (Levels 2, 3, 4 and 5), but do not emphasize records or individual statistics.
We offer our high-school-aged participants (Level 5) a tournament at the end of the season. In this tournament, we encourage the players to compete in a Christ-honoring manner by applying what they’ve leaned throughout the season.
In summary, our focus is two-fold. We want to expose our players and their parents to the gospel message through building relationships and leading devotions. We also aim to provide them with a quality basketball experience in which they are both growing in their skills and having fun.
The first is to provide a Christ-centered environment for our players and parents. This starts with ourselves: making sure we are in God's Word regularly, worshipping Him in a Biblically based church, and seeking to grow in our faith daily.
How do we provide a Christ-centered environment for our players? We do this through teaching Biblical principles and modeling the Christian lifestyle. During each practice, each team will have a 5 to 7 minute devotion from the Scriptures that will center on the truth of the Gospel. These are provided for you on the Devotion pages of this site, divided by league. The devotions are designed to stimulate further discussion, so be open for opportunities to share your faith and life with your players and their parents.
An equally important aspect of a Christ-centered environment is modeling the Christian lifestyle. Kids will not always hear what you say, but will more often do what you do. If they see you making faces at the referees or hear you grumbling about a call, they will reflect that behavior. Elev8 seeks to establish an alternative environment in which coaches and players show respect to the referees as the ultimate authority on the court. When a call is made, the coaches need to encourage the referees rather than criticize them. When we win, we need to show humility. And when we lose, we need to show graciousness. The way we conduct ourselves around other coaches, referees and program participants should be an attempt to model a Christ-centered environment.
How do we provide the high-quality basketball portion of our program? We accomplish this through our basic philosophy and by our rules. In Elev8, every player receives equal playing time regardless of his or her skills. Because our teams are limited to 10 players, every player is guaranteed to play at least one half of each game. We also seek, by our rules, to provide as much parity in the league as possible and encourage players of all skills to participate. Finally, coaches should seek to provide 1) a fun environment in which every player can succeed and 2) encouragement and support to the players. We provide training to our referees and coaches so that good basketball skills are taught and upheld during games (always recognizing that no one is perfect and errors will be made). We do keep score at all games (Levels 2, 3, 4 and 5), but do not emphasize records or individual statistics.
We offer our high-school-aged participants (Level 5) a tournament at the end of the season. In this tournament, we encourage the players to compete in a Christ-honoring manner by applying what they’ve leaned throughout the season.
In summary, our focus is two-fold. We want to expose our players and their parents to the gospel message through building relationships and leading devotions. We also aim to provide them with a quality basketball experience in which they are both growing in their skills and having fun.