Frequently
Asked Questions
General
Club Information
Club History/Philosophy
Chico Blazin Heat Basketball club was founded by Tony
& Renee Smith in 2003.
We primarily started the club to give our son an opportunity
to play competitive basketball. Truly his father’s
son, he showed an aptitude to basketball at an early
age. It is safe to say he surpassed all of our expectations
and has become a great athlete.
We started with one 4th grade team that we put together
for our son Sterling. We recruited our good friend Kevin
Wilkerson to assist on that team. We continued the next
year traveling to Sacramento and doing well. We were
pleasantly surprised to see a Chico team holding their
own against some stiff competition. By 2005 we expanded
to 2 teams with Kevin taking an active role in developing
the club, getting more players and also coaching the
2nd team of boys. Within a matter of a few short years
we have expanded to 11 teams and 8 coaches. Due to high
demand and a daughter (Jade) with a passion for basketball,
we started the girls program in Spring 2007.
Over the years we feel we have contributed positively
to the expansion of competitive basketball in Chico
and surrounding areas. We have been able to provide
opportunities for kids from some of the rural towns
around the valley such as Red Bluff, Corning, Princeton,
Oroville, Paradise and Willows to play in a competitive
environment.
Chico Blazin Heat is not just about basketball. We are
known for being a Basketball club with integrity. We
have a quality program where our motto is Respect, Discipline
and Teamwork. We lead by example and we hold each and
every one of our student athletes to our high standards
in their everyday life and their studies.
Our goal is to support kids to be good citizens in the
world a well as help them excel at sports and academics.
We do have a grade expectation of 2.0 and we have been
known to provide tutoring for kids who need help. We
also know the importance of acknowledging our high achieving
students and our community service oriented student/athlete
on our student achievers webpage. We encourage all our
athletes to do community service and be good citizens.
It is one of the most important tenets of our club to
be supportive of the kids in our community. It has been
our personal experience that sports can change lives,
motivate kids to rise above difficult life situations
and be inspired to work hard to reach the next level.
We have seen many kids use sports as a way to rise up
and help themselves. Competitive sports can be a tough
place for those kids without resources as it can be
expensive and require such a big commitment from parents.
The Club is committed to make sure any athlete who comes
to a tryout and is offered a space on one of our teams
can participate regardless of financial hardship. It
is our goal to make sure an athlete who is dedicated
to his/her sport and is doing well in school will have
a chance to play basketball competitively. We will do
everything we can to support those athletes to raise
the money to play. We believe when you support the kids
in the community it will become a better place for everyone.
Teams:
There are approx 8- 10 Blazin Heat teams per season.
For Spring 2008 there are plans for girls teams for
6th 7th and 8th grade.
There are also plans to have boys teams for 4th, 6th
,7th 8th 9th grade and junior varsity level.
We are open to more teams but we need more coaches.
Players must tryout for the team appropriate for their
age group and be invited to be on the team. You cannot
just sign up.
Fees:
Once a player has tried out, been invited and accepted
the invitation, he/she must pay the following fees:
*All Players have a mandatory registration fee of $45.00.
This covers administrative and website maintenance costs.
Players get a FREE Blazin Heat T-shirt when they pay
their registration fees.
*We offer a 4 tourney package with our Chico Blazin
Heat home tournament as a bonus FREE 5th tournament.
The price ranges depend on how many players are on each
team. This info is on our registration page. We also
have an add-on 2 tournament package available if the
coach and teams decide they want to go to a few more
tournaments. We also will have periodic scrimmages and
games that we will schedule with local AAU teams per
each coach’s discretion.
*Players will also need to purchase a uniform if they
don’t already have one. In order to avoid duplicate
jersey numbers please coordinate your number with Tony.
Uniforms are available on the store page.
*Each Player will also need to purchase an AAU card.
You can do this from the front page by clicking on the
AAU logo or on the registration page, or you can contact
us and we will try to assist you.
Chico Blazin Heat prides itself in not turning away
any player that has been invited to be on one of our
teams due to lack of finances. Traveling competitive
basketball is expensive and if you and your family have
a difficult time paying for this then we offer a few
options:
OPTION #1- would be to use our non profit donation letter
to get a player sponsored by local businesses or family
and friends. We have many players use this method of
fundraising and we support and encourage you to do so.
All contributors will be listed on our sponsor page.
A couple other options could be a team fundraiser such
as a carwash, a rummage sale or a pizza fundraiser.
Any fundraising by any individual team done in the name
of Chico Blazin Heat Basketball or that requires the
use of our non profit number is required to donate 15%
of the proceeds to the Brevin Wilkerson Scholarship
Fund EXCEPT for private donations obtained to pay individual
fees by a student/athlete by using our donation letter.
We will also make payment arrangements if needed. Chico
Blazin Heat offers one scholarship per team. We are
willing to split the scholarship if needed but scholarship
money can only be used to pay tourney fees.
*ALL Players MUST pay the registration
fee and buy their own uniform-No EXCEPTIONS
Absolutely No Refunds after first tournament attended
or first month of practice.
If any player needs help with the rest of the fees,
please contact us ASAP.
***Any player that does not pay
their fees as arranged will NOT be allowed to compete
in tournaments until the situation has been resolved***
Coaches
All of our coaches are handpicked by Tony, Renee &
Kevin. We interview each one and make sure they subscribe
to club philosophy. We expect them to have previous
coaching experience at the junior high or high school
level or comparable competitive experience. We also
mentor coaches as assistants to our more experienced
coaches. When/if we feel they are ready, we invite them
to take their own team.
Our coaches come highly recommended by prominent community
members and parents.
If you or someone you know is interested in coaching
please contact us for an interview.
We also ask our coaches to provide a livescan: a background
check with fingerprints.
Chico Blazin Heat coaches commit to at least 2 practices
per week . CBH expects coaches to be positive role models
and to teach their players the fundamentals of basketball
while remaining competitive and showing a commitment
to excellence.
Fundraising
To keep costs down and this club running efficiently
and to fund the scholarship fund we do fundraising.
We encourage teams to do their own fundraising to help
lower team costs or sponsor their team in more tournaments
if so desired.
Our coaches and directors raise money by taking our
donation letter around and asking businesses for donations
for equipment, to pay some minimal fees for gym time,
and to support the administrative end of the basketball
club
Chico Blazin Heat Home Tournament
Our biggest fundraiser by far is our HOME TOURNAMENT.
Not only does this tourney give our teams a home court
advantage but it is also an opportunity for friends
and family to come out and support the players in AAU
basketball and see the kids play.
This is the money we use to provide funds to players
that need a helping hand paying their fees. So far our
home tournaments have funded approximately 15 full scholarships.
That adds up to about $6,000! We are very proud of that.
It is our way of giving back and contributing to keeping
kids healthy on the right track. This is why we require
all parents of ALL our players to make a commitment
to participate and work at our home tournament.
If you are unable to participate
and volunteer at least a 4 hour block of time over the
2 days of our tournament. We ask that you pay a $45.00
buyout. That way we can hire some local people to do
the work.
We will have organizational meetings where we will ask
each team to send at least one representative to coordinate
their team parents to help.
Things you can do to help are:
Get donations with the donation letter of money or goods
for our tournament snack bars. The food sales at our
tournament are a great source of the income that helps
to fund our scholarship fund.
Coordinate the snack bar or the parent volunteers for
your teams gym/location.
Coordinate a raffle or silent auction.
Parent Commitment
Chico Blazin Heat asks each team to provide several
parent volunteers:
TEAM PARENT- This parent will compile a phone/e-mail
list. They would also be the communication liaison between
the coach and parents, also between your team and club
administrators. This volunteer would also help coordinate
directions to tourneys and brackets.
STAT PERSON- this volunteer will do the stats for each
game and e-mail to Chico Blazin Heat administrators
and to the Enterprise Record newspaper.
TOURNAMENT LIASON- This volunteer will be the liaison
between tournament directors, coaches and parent volunteers
from each team.
Player Commitment
BE RESPONSIBLE—BE AT PRACTICE ON TIME
Have good communication by calling your coach before
practice if you can’t make it.
Keep your grades up- We expect at least a 2.0. If you
need help ask for it.
Abide by team and club rules
Remember that Chico Blazin Heat Basketball stands for
Respect, Discipline, Teamwork
Show respect for self & others
Be disciplined on and off the court-Stay focused
Teamwork- Each player is a part of a whole teams win
together
For more rules and info please see Team Rules page.
