Team Eligibility

SPHS Athlete Expectations

  1. Equipment. Wear shorts, a clean T-shirt, and basketball shoes to practice. Bring any medical equipment you need, like an ankle or knee brace. Don’t bring a ball.

  2. Punctuality. Be on time to practices and games. We have little gym time available, so it’s important to take advantage of every minute.

  3. Absences. When you play a team sport, you’re committing to attend every practice and game. When you’re absent, you miss a chance to improve and help the team. If you miss the practice before a game, you can’t play in that game. If you miss practice or a game for an “unexcused reason” (like choosing to play another sport), it will hurt your playing time in the next game.

  4. Effort. Do your best every time you walk on the court. Your teammates and coach are counting on you.

  5. Enthusiasm. Bring a positive attitude to every practice and game, regardless of whether the team is winning or losing games. We expect players and parents to provide unconditional enthusiasm throughout the season.

  6. Respect, dignity, and tolerance. Treat your teammates and coaches like you want them to treat you-with respect, dignity, and tolerance.

  7. Team Player. The team comes ahead of any person on the team. Do your best to help teammates play better.

  8. Sportsmanship. We expect you to display good sportsmanship at all times. We’ll talk about what that means during the season.

  9. Playing Time. Playing time isn’t automatic. You have to earn the right to play in games. If you work hard in practice and have a positive attitude, you’ll play in every game. If you don’t you won’t.

  10. Successful season. Sure, we’ll try to win as many games as possible, but the key goals are to improve, to work as hard as we can, and to have fun. I have no doubt we’ll achieve those goals!

Academic Eligibility - 5+1 Rule

  • In order to gain and/ or maintain eligibility a student-athlete must pass five credit bearing courses (not 5 credits) + physical education, if taken, in the most recent final marking period (January or June). In addition, a student-athlete must pass five credit bearing courses + physical education in the marking periods closest to December 1st and /or April 15th to continue his/her eligibility.
  • Incoming 9th grade student-athletes are eligible to compete in PSAL activities immediately upon entry into high school. The second report card is the first report card used to determine academic eligibility for 9th grade students.
  • A senior programmed for 4 or 5 classes who fails one class, in his/her senior year, will be eligible for PSAL so long as the failed class is not required for graduation.
  • The date report cards are issued within a school is the official date for determining PSAL eligibility.
  • At least three of the five subjects passed must be core subjects – English, Mathematics, Social Studies, and/or Science.

Academic Eligibility - 10 Credit Rule

  • A student-athlete must accumulate a minimum of ten (10) credits, not including physical education, in the two semesters prior to the eligibility period (all credits accumulated in n night s school and summer school are included). This rule takes effect beginning with a student's third semester in high school.
  • 90-minute double periods in core subjects, can count as 2 subjects toward the 5+1 rule and 2 credits toward the 10 credit rule.
  • When a student-athlete has satisfied the requirements for graduation, any credit bearing courses may be used to evaluate eligibility for the 5 + 1 rule requirement.
  • A student-athlete programmed for fewer than 5 classes must pass all his/her classes in order to fulfill the 5+1 rule requirement.
  • A student-athlete must obtain a minimum GPA (grade point average) of 65 on the report card used for evaluating eligibility.
  • Academic eligibility, at the beginning of each term, is determined by the final grades of the previous term. Grades that are earned in summer school, and accepted by the home school, shall be counted as grades for the previous June. A passing summer school grade may be used in calculating the June GPA requirement.
  • A student-athlete who is academically ineligible may become academically eligible by passing five credit bearing subjects and physical education in the most recent marking period, provided the student fulfills the 10 credit rule and the GPA requirement.
  • An ineligible student-athlete may practice with a team provided he/she has an updated medical and parent consent form on file and is listed on the roster. All student-athletes who practice with a team must be listed on the roster as Active or Inactive. Student-athletes listed on the roster as Inactive may not participate in any games (league and non-league).

Attendance Requirements

In order to maintain eligibility within a marking period a student-athlete must maintain a minimum of 90% school attendance in the marking period used for eligibility evaluation. The 90% attendance requirement is not cumulative.

A student-athlete must be present in school and must attend all scheduled classes in order to participate in any tryout, practice, scrimmage, or contest on that day.

If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to our Athletic Director, Scott Ishii  (Click on his name for email) at 718-840-1900 ext.6052