Hopedale Youth Baseball
Association
I. INTRODUCTION: These guidelines have been established to communicate coaching guidelines and the program guidelines of HYBA All Star teams. The HYBA Board of Directors has endorsed these guidelines. All board members, head coaches, assistant coaches, parent volunteers, team parents, HYBA umpires, and others associated with All Stars are expected to conduct themselves in a manner consistent with both the word and spirit of these guidelines.
II. ALL STAR COACHING GUIDELINES:
1. Coaches will facilitate the physical (e.g. proper use of equipment, observance of safety rules etc.) and emotional (e.g. mistakes should be met with encouragement and corrective instruction) safety and well being of all players in practice and game play.
2. Because of injury risk, younger pitchers (9-10) should focus on control and technique and generally be limited to relatively low pitch counts.
3. Coaches will follow all tournament rules, including rules pertaining to playing time for players. Coaches are encouraged to play all players as much as possible consistent with the All Star team philosophy of the HYBA and as the coach believes is appropriate for the circumstances of each game.
4. It is not necessary that all players play exactly equal innings either in a given game or over the course of the season/tournament.
5. There is no requirement for a coach to sit any player in a given game or season/tournament – a coach may play any player as many innings as the coach sees fit.
6. A higher commitment to practice attendance and effort is expected in the All Star team program.
7. A higher level of positional specialization is expected in All Star play. Specialization to a single position should be avoided in All Star play. Specialization in 2-4 positions, including pitching and catching, is encouraged.
8. Position assignments are made at the coach’s discretion based on an assessment of overall team ability and skill. Coaches will consider, in order, 1 – safety, 2 - team needs and 3 – player’s interests in making defensive assignments.
9. There is no requirement for a coach to assign a player to a position based on a player’s interest alone. (e.g. not every player may be a pitcher, catcher etc.)
10. Batting orders are set at the coach’s discretion in a manner that will produce the most offense for the team. There is no requirement for a coach to rotate players in the batting order. When available, use of continuous batting order or EH is encouraged, but not required, as a means of keeping as many players involved in the game as possible.
11. Within this framework, coaches are encouraged to strive to win through being good teachers in practice and effectively coaching (e.g. use of game strategy and positive motivation) games.
ELIGIBILITY: To be eligible to play on a Hopedale All-Star team, players must attend a minimum of two-thirds (2/3) of all in-town games he/she is medically able to attend. Attendance is defined as participating in at least two-thirds (2/3) of a game. Injured players are expected to attend games and support teammates if medically able to do so. This policy is aimed at insuring that Hopedale is represented by players who have demonstrated a commitment to attending scheduled HYBA spring league games and supporting their teammates.
PHILOSOPHY: All Star team play affords more skilled players from the spring league programs the opportunity to continue to develop in and through the game of baseball by participating with similarly skilled players from outside of the Hopedale community. While All Star play is more competitive than spring league play the same philosophical framework applicable to all HYBA programs remains the same. Within a physically and emotionally safe framework, HYBA works with children to develop:
· An enjoyment of baseball and physical sport activity that will be sustained through adulthood.
· Motor and cognitive skills utilized in the game of baseball and an opportunity for socialization with peers.
· Positive self-image
· An understanding of, and commitment to, leadership development and the values of teamwork, sportsmanship and fair play.
WINNING: Winning is an objective of HYBA All Star teams, but not to the detriment of the philosophical guidelines above. HYBA recognizes that the children enrolled in its programs are not “tiny adults” with the adult concept of winning so prevalent in our culture. Children’s interpretation of the adult concept of winning (e.g. focusing on winning or losing a game or the final score) can be potentially damaging to young athletes. Research shows that many young athletes would rather play on a losing team than sit on the bench on a winning team.
HYBA endorses “Athletes First, Winning Second” and “The main thing is to keep the athlete the main thing” as positions on the importance of winning. By adopting these positions on winning, a broader view of success is developed which better meets the philosophical objectives of the program.
Nonetheless, as observed by Vern Seefeldt,
director of the Youth Sports Institute at
IV. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF INFORMATION SOURCES UTILIZED IN DEVELOPING THESE GUIDELINES:
·
· Michigan State University Youth Sports Institute
·
Dr. Deborah Arthur,
· Dr. Richard Stratton, Virginia Tech
·
National
·
The
· Dr. Jack Hutslar and The North American Youth Sport Institute
GC: