NABA 3rd/4th Grade Game Rules
General Principles for Coaches:
1. Remember that the NABA in-house League is about having fun while learning and playing the game of basketball. Fairness to all players and good sportsmanship among the players and coaches are equally important. Winning is not the most important objective.
2. Coaches are responsible for the conduct of his or her players while on the basketball court. Coaches should endeavor to keep his or her team players’ parents and friends from becoming belligerent toward opposing teams and the referees. Coaches should also endeavor to keep the parents of his or her team players from becoming too vocal or from being overly critical of the parents’ son or daughter, the coach and the referees. A coach may request the referees to remove any person, including a parent, from a gym during a game.
General Rules Applicable to All Leagues:
3. The North Allegheny Student Code of Conduct applies to all players while they are inside any North Allegheny School District building.
4. A. Any player verbally assaulting, intimidating, threatening, harassing or insulting another player, coach, referee or spectator, or using any language that would violate the North Allegheny Student Code of Conduct (including the provisions under Student’s Rights and Responsibilities, Freedom of Expression) must be removed from the remainder of that game by his or her coach. The coach must report each player removal to the League Commissioner.
B. Any player deliberately, physically assaulting, harming or attempting to harm or otherwise manifesting an intention to harm (including, by way of example, committing “hard” fouls in the discretion of the referees) another player, coach, referee or spectator will be ejected from that game. Both coaches must report all ejections or removals from a game to the League and the applicable NABA Boys or Girls Coordinator.
C. The Executive Board may suspend any player or coach ejected from a game or for conduct occurring before, during or after a game if, in the discretion of the Executive Board, the player’s or coach’s actions or conduct is considered serious or necessary to protect the health, safety and welfare of players, coaches, referees or spectators.
D. Any player removed from a game by his or her coach under this Rule or ejected from a game by referees for any reason, including conduct covered by this Rule, on two occasions in any year will be (1) suspended from the remainder of his or her team’s games (including all League and playoff games) and (2) at the discretion of the NABA Board, reported to officials of the North Allegheny School District for appropriate investigation and action if the conduct involved a violation of the North Allegheny Student Code of Conduct. However, if a player is suspended under this Paragraph, and the suspended player is not then a senior (in grade level), a single removal or ejection from a game under this Rule in the subsequent year may, in the discretion of the NABA Executive Board, result in that player’s suspension for the remainder of his or her team’s games.
E. A player or coach will be deemed to have been ejected from a game if (i) the referees stop or end a game because of the player’s or coach’s conduct but do not eject the player or coach or (ii) the player’s or coach’s actions or conduct after the end of a game would have resulted in the player’s or coach’s ejection if such actions or conduct had occurred while the game was being played.
F. Any coach (i) ejected from a game on two occasions in any year for any reason or (ii) acting in a manner that is inconsistent with NABA Rules or detrimental to NABA will be suspended from the remainder of his or her team’s games (including all League and playoff games) that year and, at the discretion of the NABA Executive Board, may not be permitted to participate in NABA (e.g., as a coach or League Commissioner) for such period as the NABA Executive Board may determine in its discretion.
G. Any player or coach ejected from a game must immediately leave the school or building in which the game is being played and surrounding grounds. Any player or coach refusing to leave the school or building and surrounding grounds will be suspended from the remainder of his or her team games (both League and playoff games). At the discretion of the referees, if an ejected player or coach refuses to immediately leave the gymnasium, the referees may declare a forfeit of the game by the ejected player’s team. In the case of an ejected player in the younger leagues who must wait for a parent to return to the school or building, or for safety reasons, the ejected player may wait in the gymnasium for his or her parent before leaving the school or building, but the ejected player may not have any contact with any players or referees in the gymnasium or building while waiting for his or her parent to arrive. Upon the arrival of the ejected player’s parent, the ejected player must then leave the school or building.
H. Any parent or spectator ejected from a game must immediately leave the school or building in which the game is being played and surrounding grounds. Any parent or spectator refusing to leave the school or building and surrounding grounds or ejected from more than one game will not be permitted to attend another NABA sponsored game for the remainder of the season (including League and playoff games). At the discretion of the referees, if an ejected parent or spectator refuses to immediately leave the gymnasium, the referees may declare a forfeit of the game if the referees are able to identify the association of the ejected parent or spectator to one of the teams then playing. If an ejected parent or spectator refuses to immediately leave the school or building and surrounding grounds, NABA may call the local police and file a criminal trespass complaint against the parent or spectator.
I. Any spectator (i) verbally assaulting, intimidating, threatening, harassing or insulting a player or coach; or (ii) physically assaulting a player or coach or (iii) physically intimidating or threatening to assault a player or coach must be reported to the Executive Board by any coach witnessing such actions or behavior. The NABA Executive Board, upon receipt of a credible report from a coach or spectator, may bar the spectator from attending any further NABA games for such period as the NABA Executive Board may determine in its discretion.
J. Each League Commissioner may take whatever action he or she deems necessary or appropriate in order to enforce NABA’s Rules or to protect the health, safety and welfare of players, coaches, referees or spectators. If feasible and provided any delay is not potentially harmful to the health, safety and welfare of other players, coaches, referees or spectators, the League Commissioner should discuss the situation and possible courses of action with members of the NABA Executive Board prior to taking any action. The League Commissioner, after consultation and warning to a coach, may remove or take other disciplinary action against that coach if he or she continually fails for any reason to enforce NABA’s Rules with regard to his or her team’s players.
K. Any player or coach who is removed or suspended from the remainder of his or her team’s games may appeal to the NABA Executive Board for reconsideration or reinstatement. Any such appeal must be heard and adjudicated at the next NABA Board meeting, unless the NABA Executive Board elects in its discretion to hear the appeal sooner. A player’s or coach’s appeal for reconsideration or reinstatement may be made to any officer of NABA. The decision of the NABA Executive Board is final and binding on all parties.
L. For purposes of these Rules, (i) the term, “year” means an NABA season occurring within a school year and (ii) the term, “spectator” means any person attending an NABA game who is not a player on or one of the coaches of the teams then playing). The NABA Executive Board may delegate any of its authority under this Rule, including without limitation the authority to hear and adjudicate appeals, to an appeal panel comprised of not less than three members of the NABA Executive Board.
5. The only persons permitted to sit on a team bench during a game are the coach, one assistant coach, the team scorekeeper and the team players. All other persons must sit in the stands or the designated spectator area.
6. The home team’s scorekeeper will be the official scorekeeper for the game.
7. Scorekeepers will record all individual and team fouls. Players must leave game after committing a fifth individual foul. In the event of a dispute as to the number of fouls called on any particular player, the official scorekeeper’s book will control.
8. The decisions of the referees are final! Players may not argue with the referees. Coaches may question referees, but should refrain from arguing with or “working” the referees.
9. A player or coach will be ejected after receiving a second technical foul in a game. Subject to Rule 4, any player or coach ejected twice from games will be suspended from participating in the team’s next two games. Both coaches must report all ejections from a game to the applicable League Commissioner.
10. All players appearing in an NABA game must wear their NABA-issued basketball jersey; however a player will not be precluded from playing in a game because of his or her inadvertent failure to bring his or her jersey to the game.
11. Players may not wear jewelry, including watches, chains and necklaces, during NABA games.
12. Each team will have two 45-second timeouts during each game.
13. All games are played with a running clock that stops only for time outs, foul shots until the first foul shot is attempted and on a referee’s whistle during the final minute of each game. If a team is leading the other team by 25 points or more at any time during a game, the clock will stop only for timeouts.
14. Halftime of each game will last only three minutes.
15. [This General Rule is not applicable to third and fourth grade leagues and has been deleted.]
16. [This General Rule is not applicable to third and fourth grade leagues and has been deleted.]
17. Except for Rules adopted by NABA, PIAA basketball rules will apply to all League games (regular season and playoffs).
Rules Applicable to 3rd/4th Grade Leagues:
18. The purpose of the 3rd/4th Grade Leagues is to promote the development of the skills of each player and the knowledge of the game of basketball. Accordingly, and notwithstanding any other Rules set forth above, the official scorekeeper will not keep track of the score of any regular season game.
19. A. Third grade teams will be comprised of a maximum of 8 players per team. Fourth grade teams will be comprised of a maximum of 10 players per team.
B. Third grade teams will play 4 x 4 cross-court. Fourth grade teams will play 5 x 5, full court. Players on all third and fourth grade teams should be substituted en mass (e.g., 4 on, 4 off). If teams do not have sufficient numbers of players in attendance to equally substitute en mass, coaches must develop an equitable system of substituting players so that all players play an equal amount of time per Rule 21.
C. During the inhouse season, no team will forfeit a game because it is unable to field the correct, minimum number of players (4 in third grade and 5 in fourth grade) if the two scheduled teams for a game have a total of 8 (in third grade) or 10 players (in fourth grade) in attendance. If a team has two more than the minimum number of player, it must provide at least one player to the other team to enable both teams to have the same number of players. (Note: Coaches may rotate the player or players “loaned” to the other team.) If there are an insufficient number of players to play 4 x 4 in third grade or 5 x 5 in fourth grade, both teams will play with less than the correct minimum number of players, but with an equal number of players; e.g., 3 x 3 (in third grade) or 4 x 4 (in fourth grade). In this situation, the coaches may shorten the 10-minute quarters to provide additional rest time for the players, if needed. During playoff (post-inhouse) games in the fourth grade league, PIAA rules apply and each team must field five players from its team roster at the start of a game. If a team cannot field five players within 10 minutes after the scheduled start time of a playoff game, that team must forfeit the game (although the forfeited playoff game should still be played as a practice game of two, 10-minute halves using less than five, but an equal number of, players for each team).
20. Each game will consist of four 10-minute quarters.
21. Each player must play approximately the same amount of time as every other player. Each player must sit out at least five minutes of each half unless the team does not have a sufficient number of players to abide by this rule.
22. Players should be rotated or substituted en mass in five-minute blocks of time. A coach may substitute for a player playing more than five consecutive minutes if the player tires, but the timing of the substitution should not be a strategic coaching technique. At each substitution, players from both teams should quickly line up opposite each other in order to learn defensive assignments prior to resuming play.
23. After an appropriate warning, the referees will loosely enforce the three-second rule if a player is flagrantly standing inside of “the paint;” i.e., inside of the area framed by the foul lines.
24. Teams may play either man-to-man or zone defense. Defensive players must remain within the area framed by the three-point line until a player with the ball penetrates the three-point line; after that, defensive players may follow the offensive player with the ball. Defensive players leaving the permissible defensive area early will be warned by the referees to stay within the permissible defensive area. At the discretion of the referees, repeated violations of leaving the permissible defensive area early may result in a team foul against the defensive team. Two exceptions to the foregoing rule apply: (1) Within the last minute of a game, the defensive team may play defense (i.e., pick up the offensive team players) at the mid-court line. (2) A defensive player may play defense and attempt to impede an offensive player’s progress if the offensive player is attempting to “fast break.” The referees will have the discretion to determine whether the offensive team player is attempting to “fast break.”
25. Full-court press is not permitted at any time during a game, regardless of the score.
26. The defensive team may double-team any offensive player only inside of “the paint.”
27. Foul shooters may be standing on or behind the foul line when attempting a foul shot. A shooter will not commit a lane violation so long as he or she is touching the foul line while attempting a foul shot.
28. At the discretion of the League Commissioner, fourth grade teams may play post-inhouse season tournament. Scoring (in accordance with 5th Grade Rules) will be kept for tournament games.
29. If the score is tied at the end of any playoff game, the teams will play a first overtime period of two minutes in duration. All overtime periods will have a running clock that stops only for time outs, foul shots until the first foul shot is attempted and on a referee’s whistle. Each team will have one 45-second timeout during the first overtime period. If the score remains tied after the first overtime period, the teams will play a sudden-death final period; i.e., the winning team is the first team to score.
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