Softball Coach Guide
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______________________________________________________ Western Howard County Youth Baseball/Softball League 2017 Softball Coach Guide ©Western Howard County Youth Baseball/Softball League, Inc. P.O. Box 44 Clarksville, Maryland 21029-0819 www.whcsports.com Revision 2017 Welcome! …and Thank You! Welcome to the Western Howard County Youth Baseball‐Softball League (WHCYBSL). Thank you for offering your time and talents to be a coach. Great volunteers like you make our League a safe and enjoyable for a growing number of children learning to play softball. Providing the players with a fun and successful season depends greatly on you, the coach. Many times a coach is the first person outside of the family that a child looks up to be a role model. A good coach can start a player off to a long and happy experience playing sports. Coaching is highly rewarding, but it also requires a fair amount of your time, attention and sometimes patience. The League greatly appreciates all your efforts. Please keep in mind as the season progresses that the League’s mission is to provide children with the opportunity to have a positive baseball or softball experience incorporating core values of self‐esteem, learning, fairness, fun and sportsmanship. Please do not hesitate to contact the Softball Coordinator, or the Director of Softball for any guidance you may need. I encourage you to read the League’s Policy Guide (available on our web site) and the material provided in this packet. There is important information that you should know and, in some cases, pass on to your team and their parents as well. This information provides an overview of your responsibilities as a coach. While this list is not exhaustive, it’s a good place to start ‐ especially if you are new to the coaching experience. Please remember you are coaching in a Recreation League and we want to promote foremost good sportsmanship and fun so we keep the kids coming back to “America’s Favorite Pastime”! Our League requires all coaches to undergo a background check, which is performed by Howard County Recreation and Parks. This process requires coaches to attend training sessions on concussions and the American Sports Education Program (ASEP). These training sessions can be completed online and are also offered at no cost to you. You will receive a badge upon completion of this process that you should wear to all WHCYBSL related games and practices. Again, thank you for contributing to the development of the youth in our county. Please do not hesitate to contact me, or any member of the Board of Directors, with suggestions to improve our support of you, the coach; you can find all of our contact information on our website. I hope that your season is as rewarding for you as it will be for our children! Robyn Colosimo WHCYBSL Softball Director WESTERN HOWARD COUNTY SOFTBALL COMMITTEE 2017 DIRECTOR REC COORDINATOR TRAVEL COORDINATOR Robyn Colosimo Robyn Colosimo Robyn Colosimo [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] UMPIRE: TIM KRAUSE [email protected] WEATHER HOT LINES: ALL PUBLIC SCHOOL FIELDS: 410-313-6827 ALPHA RIDGE & WESTERN REGIONAL PARK FIELDS: 410-313-4372 DAYTON OAKS ES: 410-313-4458 ROCKBURN PARK: 410-313-4455 SAVAGE & GUILFORD PARK: 410-313-4456 2017 WHC LEAGUE LEADERSHIP President Bob Henley Vice President Tracy Houghton Secretary Tom Lease Treasurer Bill Holtzman Director of Baseball Darrin Stolba Director of Softball Robyn Colosimo Softball Coordinator Robyn Colosimo Travel Baseball Coordinator Tim Finkelston Travel Softball Coordinator Robyn Colosimo Tee‐ball AGC Susanne Anacker Fields & Equipment Coordinator Clint Reifsnider Umpire Coordinator Tim Krause Howard County Recreation and Parks Brian Wyman Howard County Recreation and Parks Derek Ludlow WESTERN HOWARD COUNTY RECREATIONAL SOFTBALL MISSION STATEMENT The Western Howard County Softball League is a community run program providing girls aged 7 to 18 the opportunity to play softball. Our program offers two divisions so that girls at all skill levels can find the appropriate level of competition. Recreational softball is our in‐house league that focuses on skill development, self‐esteem, sportsmanship, and teaches the girls how to play the game. Our travel softball program offers girls who have mastered the basic skills the opportunity to learn a more advanced set of softball skills, while playing a more competitive, longer season. Western Howard County Softball aspires to instill in each player a life long passion for the game of softball and to help each player reach their own individual talent potential. To try and achieve these goals, we will: Provide safe playing fields, proper equipment and impartial umpires. Select coaches that can teach our players: the skills and the rules of the game, good sportsmanship through winning and losing graciously, team work through working together to improve their individual skills and to have fun playing the game by emphasizing the enjoyment of physical activity over the importance of winning. Try and create teams based on the school the players attend and parental requests for carpooling or friendship purposes. Provide instructional clinics for coaches and players when time and space are available. Western Howard County Softball offers the opportunity to anyone who enjoys the game of softball to share that enthusiasm as a player, coach, umpire or fan with others in our organization. 0 OVERVIEW OF COACHES RESPONSIBILITIES Complete the Employee/Volunteer Disclosure Statement and the Coaches Code of Ethics and return to the Recreational Softball Coordinator. Become familiar with the rules. The current version of this guide is available via the league web site (http://www.whcsports.com/). Prepare handouts to your players which should include: o Players Code of Ethics – to be completed and kept on file. o Parents Code of Ethics – to be completed and kept on file. o Team roster – including weather hot line phone numbers o Direct parents and players to the league’s website for the following information: o Copy of your age group and League rules o Directions to field locations/maps o Inclement weather hotline phone numbers o WHCYBSL Board Member List Report all code of conduct violations via the Incident Form to your Age Group Coordinators. Distribute Picture Day forms before Opening Day. Distribute uniforms to players. Remind players to bring water bottles and all necessary equipment to each practice or game. Bring your equipment bag, balls, and league rules to each game. Check equipment before each game for damage. Prepare the field for play before each game. A job box located at each field should have what you need to set the fields up for play, i.e. chalk, bases, hammers, rake, etc. Copies of the field permit are also included in the job box. Report missing, broken or depleted items to your AGC immediately! Provide batting order, including uniform number, to opposing coach. Remove all trash from the fields at the end of the game. Trash bags can be found in the job box. Report any serious injuries to the Rec Softball Coordinator and complete the Accident Report. At season end, return all original equipment issued to you and the job box key when the turn‐in date is set. Please clean all trash out of the equipment bag. Let your Rec Softball Coordinator know of any missing or damaged equipment. Post‐season awards will be withheld until your equipment, key and evaluations are turned in 1 WESTERN HOWARD COUNTY YOUTH SOFTBALL LEAGUE SOFTBALL RULES AND REGULATIONS ASA Rules apply except where superseded by WHC League rules provided below and on each age group’s rules attached. Rule changes cannot be made without the approval of the Age Group Coordinator and the Softball Director. 1). Both teams shall prepare the field before and after the game. The home team will provide a new game ball. The visiting team will provide a useable ball. Home team uses the 3rd base side, visitors use the 1st base side. 2). If a pitching rubber is not available, a chalk line shall be created and maintained throughout the game. 3). The umpire and coaches prior to each game will cover the ground rules as written. Bring your age group rules to every game. 4). Teams must have a minimum of eight (8) players to begin a game (except 6/8’s). Teams may continue playing a game with seven (7) players if one player leaves – but in this situation the 8th batter takes an automatic out. Teams may play a maximum of ten (10) players on the field. 5). Forfeits should be avoided if possible (none in 6/8). A grace period of 15 minutes is allowed. If forfeiture should occur – it is recommended that a scrimmage game be played instead. 6). No new inning may be started after 7:45pm through April 30. Effective May 1, no new inning may begin after 8:00. It is the Umpire’s discretion to change the “no new inning” start earlier based upon field, weather or lighting conditions. 7). For playoff games, no new inning may begin after 8:15pm (umpire’s discretion). 8). A minimum of 4 innings (3 ½ if home team is ahead) constitutes a complete game. The game will be rescheduled and resumed at the point play was stopped. 9). Any pitching style (High School Federation, ASA, NSA or Pony) is legal for League play. Both feet need to start on the rubber. Once the hands come together you may not step back off the rubber. The pivot foot may remain in contact with or may push off and drag away from the rubber prior to the front foot touching the ground, as long as the pivot foot remains in contact with the ground.