PREFACE
The following material is intended to acquaint you with Little Dribblers Basketball, Inc. and to assist you in the organization and operation of a league in your community.

Little Dribblers provides a pattern for the operation of your program that has been developed, tested and proven through the experience of thousands of volunteers such as yourself.

You can't buy a program from Little Dribblers Basketball, Inc.--or from anyone else--that will suddenly guarantee that your youth will become the type of adult you want them to be, but we invite you to join us in the continuing effort to make this program one that will not only be fun, interesting and a wholesome experience for the community, but an ever more effective medium for helping today's boys and girls develop into better citizens tomorrow.

Little Dribblers Basketball, Inc. is the administrative organization for the following leagues:
Junior Boys League & Junior Girls League: ages 10 and under
Major Boys League & Major Girls League: ages 12 and under
Senior Boys League & Senior Girls League: ages 14 and under

These are basketball programs designed for community action to help boys and girls develop into better adults through participation in organized, supervised recreation.

Sportsmanship, teamwork, self-reliance and self-discipline are among the attributes needed by citizens of the future that can be learned through participation in an organized basketball program.

In essence, Little Dribblers believes that if you teach you to play by the rules, they'll learn to live by the rules.

INCENTIVE TYPE PROGRAM
Little Dribblers is not a program designed for a few highly skilled athletes. It is designed to serve as many youth in the community as possible, who are sincerely interested in the game of basketball.

All team members are playing members. Each player on a team must play one (1) full 6 minute quarter of each game.

Little Dribblers Basketball, Inc. is an effective tool to teach boys and girls who have a sincere desire to play the game.

ORGANIZED ON LEAGUE BASIS
Little Dribblers is designed as a community or neighborhood project; an activity which provides a common interest for residents of a specific area.

Local league play is based upon one local team competing against a second local team. It is intended that spectators should be familiar with all of the contestants, not just those on "their" team.

Hence, it becomes obvious that the league must be composed of a sufficient number of teams to provide interesting competition within its own membership. Four is the minimum number of teams with which a league may be formed. The maximum number depends on whether your league is in the Continental, American or National Division.

When communities field more than their maximum it is necessary to divide the teams into two leagues and apply for separate charters. However, such leagues may be operated within common boundaries by a single set of officers, if desired, and may play an interlocking schedule. It is necessary to select separate tournament teams from each league.

Administration of Little Dribblers Basketball, Inc. is by a board of directors through the Headquarters Office.

Little Dribblers has no national sponsor. The program is financed primarily by the member leagues through the payment of annual charter fees.

Flexibility is a distinct characteristic of Little Dribblers administration. Because of the widely varying conditions of organization, administration and sponsorship from community to community, the adoption of an arbitrary code is impractical. Little Dribblers leaders within the community know best the needs and desires within their community and it is intended the program be adapted to fit the community rather than attempting to adapt the community to fit the program.

In a sense, Little Dribblers is a "cooperative" program. Little Dribblers does not operate a program for the local community. Rather, it serves as the focal point for the exchange of ideas and information among the leagues; as a center for the analysis and accumulation of the experience of league officials throughout the country; as a professional group to develop from the knowledge and experience of thousands of volunteers a more successful pattern of operation for the local leagues; and as a full-time work force to handle publications and other administrative details.

The rules which govern the playing of Little Dribblers are basically those of high school basketball. Special Little Dribblers Playing Rules have been adopted to accommodate our various leagues and age groups.

All leagues are required to provide accident insurance coverage for players, coaches and managers. In addition, leagues are urged to obtain liability insurance for volunteer workers.

Policies are offered through the Little Dribblers Basketball, Inc. Headquarters to insure that this type of coverage is available to all leagues.

CONTACT HEADQUARTERS
The first step in the organization of a league in your community should be a letter to Little Dribblers Basketball, Inc., 911 Houston, Levelland, TX 79336 to advise Headquarters of your intentions. This will insure that your name is placed on a mailing list for periodic publications and that literature concerning the program is made available to you.

FORM A COMMITTEE
Contact other parents and friends who you feel would also be interested in a youth basketball program for your community. You'll need their help in setting up plans for you first meeting and in publicizing that meeting.

PLAN YOUR MEETING
With the help of your committee, select and arrange for a site for your first meeting. As the operation of a basketball program is a community enterprise, make up a list of community organizations who should have representation at the meeting as well as business people who may be interested in lending financial support to your league and any other interested individual.

PUBLICIZE YOUR MEETING
Use every available public communication facility at your disposal to let the people of your community know of your plans. Be sure sports writers and announcers and others you ask to publicize this material have some basic understanding of Little Dribblers and the purpose it may serve in your community.

INTRODUCTORY MEETING
The purpose of this meeting is to let people know what you intend to do and why. Be sure that you or whoever is to conduct the meeting has a basic understanding of Little Dribblers and its purpose and its place in your community. Often, it may be possible to secure a speaker from a nearby league to aid in explaining the program at this important first meeting. Many of the hundreds of volunteer adult leaders who conduct Little Dribblers Leagues in their own communities are willing to travel short distances to help another community with its early organization problems.

It may be necessary to hold several such introductory meetings, depending on the size of the community.

If possible, the date of your second meeting--the organization meeting--should be announced at the introductory meeting in order that those interested can be informed. The second meeting should be held soon--no longer than ten days--after the first meeting so that interest and enthusiasm does not lag.

ORGANIZATION MEETING
Again, use every means of publicity at your disposal to let interested persons know when and where your meeting is to be held. If possible, personally contact those who attended the first meeting to insure their attendance.

At the organization meeting, community interest in the project having been determined, it is time to appoint temporary committees. After briefly reviewing the purpose and plan of Little Dribblers Basketball, nominations may be accepted and a vote taken for temporary officers of your league: President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer.

Following the election of officers, the new officers should select volunteers or appoint chairmen of committees. The following committees are needed:
A. Coaches
B. Publicity
C. Finance
D. Facilities
E. Sponsors
F. Equipment
G. Referees
H. Constitution

COMMITTEE DUTIES
These will vary from community to community. In one instance, playing facilities may already be available but their acquisition may be a major consideration in another community. The size of the committee may very well depend upon the anticipated effort needed to accomplish its task in your community. Thus, one committee will vary in size from another as dictated by the size of the job to be done, and the prevailing conditions in your community. One person may be able to secure playing facilities in one community, but it may take a group of people working together to secure playing facilities in another community.

SELECTION OF COACHES
The selection of coaches for teams is perhaps the most important function of the league. The coach is in direct contact with the youth and directly responsible for whatever benefit the youngster derives from the program. Inasmuch as the program is designed to aid the proper development of youth, the entire program must be considered a failure if this does not happen.

A good working knowledge of basketball and the fundamental physical actions involved in the game is a pre-requisite for a good coach, in that he or she must know basketball in order to gain the respect of the players. But the minds and emotions of youth, as well as their bodies, are involved in basketball, and in these things they will reflect the leadership they experience--be it good or bad.

Leadership, understanding and the ability to set a good example are as important characteristics of a good coach as is his or her knowledge of the skills and techniques of basketball.

The best athlete or former athlete is not necessarily the best coach. The ability to teach youngsters to understand their capability and potential and to tell them how to do it is more important for the coach than the ability to be able to do things himself. It is a far more difficult art to be able to teach a boy or girl to play basketball than to be able to play yourself and it requires far more knowledge of the fundamentals of the game.

CHARTER APPLICATION
Leagues become members of Little Dribblers basketball, Inc. by filing a "Charter Application" form and upon payment of the charter fee stated on the form. Charter Application forms must be filed by the league each year. The forms are mailed to all renewal leagues automatically, and are provided for proposed leagues upon request.

When the forms are received at the Headquarters they are processed and receipt of the forms is acknowledged by letter or printed form. Copies of the application are then passed on to the Executive Director who, after checking the forms for possible boundary conflicts and similar problems, will issue the charter to the league.

In the event the filing date for Charter Applications (which is stated on the form) approaches before all the information needed to complete the forms available, send the partially completed form to Headquarters with a note explaining that the missing information will be supplied by letter as soon as possible.

Under no condition will a charter be issued to a league until the "Charter Application" forms have been received and processed at the Headquarters and by the field directors.

BOUNDARIES
Leagues establish their own boundaries, but the boundaries must be approved by Headquarters.

Leagues will be expected to give every individual youth residing within the boundaries they submit an opportunity to play on a team in the league.

New leagues and renewal leagues desiring to change their boundaries, must submit a clearly marked map of their desired boundaries along with their charter application forms.

The Headquarters Office, based upon the recommendations of the field directors, reserves the right to adjust boundaries in the event of the overlapping of territorial requests or because of inequitable conditions.

It is the policy of Little Dribblers to permit leagues to retain their boundaries as requested unless it appears the league is not, or cannot, serve the youngsters living within the boundaries as well as they might be served if a second league were established in the vicinity.

League officials will be consulted before any change in the boundaries is made.

OFFICERS
The elected officers are that of President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and Player Agent. Their duties are as follows:

PRESIDENT - presides at meetings and heads board of directors or executive committee, supervises functions of various committees and in general sees that the rules, policies and principles of Little Dribblers Basketball are carried out.

VICE PRESIDENT - presides in the absence of the president, is ex-officio member of all committees and carries out other duties and assignments as may be delegated to him by the president.

SECRETARY - records the minutes of meetings and handles league correspondence.

TREASURER - charged with the collection and disbursement of league funds, keeps financial records and compiles reports on those records, prepares league budget.

PLAYER AGENT - responsible for maintaining a balance of strength among the teams of the league.

The Player Agent should be chosen with much care, after thorough consideration of his ability to do the job and for his impartiality and his reputation for fairness for he must act without favor in his dealings both with adult leaders and players.

With the cooperation of other league officers, or assistants, it is the duty of the Player Agent to conduct the registration of player candidates and arrange for and supervise the tryout sessions. He shall supervise the distribution of players among teams, under whatever system the league uses.

LEAGUE SPIRIT
Little Dribblers Basketball has been developed on the "league" basis because it is intended to be a community project. The league itself, and not any particular team or individual, should be of primary interest. Administrative decisions should be made accordingly.

CONDUCT
The reputation of Little Dribblers Basketball in your community can be drastically injured by the actions of one, or of a small group of persons, on or off the playing field. Players, parents, coaches, referees and league officials all bear the responsibility of upholding the good name of the program. Public quarreling and bickering, whether over playing court situations or league administrative problems, only serve to weaken the entire organization in the community. This is a youth program, designed to benefit the youth. Much of the benefit they derive from it stems from the example set by the adult leaders. Be sure it is a good example.

USE OF NAME
Little Dribblers Basketball emblems, including the name "Little Dribblers" are copyrighted. The use of this mark without written permission by other organization, commercial enterprises, or leagues not duly franchised by Little Dribblers Basketball, Inc. is an infringement of the copyright.

TOURNAMENT PLAY
There are many advantages to tournament play, not the least of which is the travel experience youngsters gain and the extension of their knowledge through close contact with the youth from other areas and environments. Boys and girls also learn a great deal about discipline, self-respect, and community pride through the medium of tournament travel if their adult leaders make an honest attempt to impart these lessons to them.

SELECTION OF TEAMS
Most tournament teams are composed of players selected from an entire league because of their individual playing ability. Though some persons voice disapproval of the specially select tournament team system there is much to be said for it.

The possibility of being selected on a tournament team because of individual achievement is often the spur that keeps a good player on a mediocre team constantly striving to improve himself. By the same token, the knowledge that only their individual ability will be considered, keeps players on winning teams striving to improve themselves because they know they will not be selected automatically simply by being a member of the winning local league team.

Leagues are permitted to select tournament teams in any manner desired, limited only by eligibility of the players selected.

Perhaps the most widely used system is that of having each manager list his selections for the tournament team.

At a meeting of managers presided over by the Player Agent, the lists are compared and each player named on all lists becomes a member of the tournament team.

Discussion is then held o other players with a high number of votes and players are added to the team as unanimous agreement is reached.

The remaining positions on the team are filled by simple majority vote with the Player Agent voting only in the case of a tie.

Some leagues prefer to permit the person named as manager of the tournament team to select part of the team, usually the last two or three players.

MANAGER AND COACH
Leagues may name the manager and coach of the tournament team in any manner they choose. Often the manager of the team leading the league, or of the team that won the league title the previous year, is automatically manager of the tournament team. Some leagues prefer to let the manager select his own coach, and others make the manager of the runner-up team the coach of the tournament.

In the event the team wins, tournament play involves travel and time away from home and work. These factors should be considered in the selection of the manager and coach. It is permissible, however, to change the manager or coach of a team during the course of tournament play.

TOURNAMENT TRAVEL
Local league officials will be responsible for making all travel, food and lodging arrangements for their tournament team.

CONDUCT
A tournament team competing away from home represents the community while enroute to and from, and while at the site of tournament games. It is only fair to the merchants and civic organizations that make the program possible that tournament teams leave the best possible impression of their community with those with whom they come in contact. Players should be informed well in advance as to what is expected of them in the way of proper dress, attitude and conduct at any time they are representing their community as a member of a tournament team.

HOSTING A TOURNAMENT
Tournament sites are selected after consideration of many factors. Should your league or community be interested in serving as a tournament host at any level of play, contact Headquarters by letter.

Tournament sponsors must meet certain fixed expenses, but proceeds about these amounts remain with the local league. If your league has proper facilities and ambitious personnel, you may be able to raise funds for your local league operation through tournament sponsorship.

INDIVIDUAL AWARDS
It is strongly recommended that individual awards be presented only on the basis of statistical facts. Awards such as the best free throw shooter, figured on a statistical basis, are acceptable, but those which are a matter of opinion, such as "most valuable player", are best avoided. As a general rule, awards based on opinion make one youth happy, but result in disappointment for several other youngsters.