CLUB MISSION AND POLICIES
NSBC Mission Statement
The mission of the North Stars Baseball Club is to provide our players with the finest possible baseball program, every year.
NSBC Goals and Objectives
• Provide
our kids the safest possible baseball program in which to play and
develop their skills.
• Make
our program so much fun that every player will look forward to playing
in the next season, year after year.
•
In a smoothly progressing manner, teach our players
baseball skills that maximize their ability to compete effectively.
•
Help all our players learn the valuable lesson of what
well-coordinated teamwork can accomplish.
• Build our league to at least 200 players, the minimum needed for a really first-rate playing and training experience.
NSBC Policy Statements
NSBC is committed to providing a
quality baseball program for Hazen’s youth. In pursuit of that
end we set in place these
operational policies. Policies are intended to provide a basis for
consistency in decision-making. Every policy, however, is subject to change when new conditions develop,
and as approved by majority vote of the NSBC Board of Directors.
NUMBER-ONE POLICY:
In making its organizational and
operational decisions, NSBC will
always place first the broader interests of the
greatest number of player-kids, and
after that will consider the special interests of specific parents,
coaches,
sponsors
and others: WHATEVER WORKS BEST FOR THE MOST KIDS.
POLICIES REGARDING FINANCIAL
TRANSPARENCY OF NSBC:
A-1 NSBC policy is to be completely transparent to the community in regard
to its finances. We will post all the following on our
website, and keep these postings as current as possible: Every deposit and every
withdrawal to/from our checking account, an
income statement, and a balance sheet. Members of the community who wish to
learn more about NSBC finances are to have free
access to our books upon request at any time, with reasonable notice to the NSBC
treasurer.
A-2 There will be only one NSBC bank account, and that account will be a demand withdrawal account. Every check written against that account will be signed by both the Club president and the Club treasurer. No other withdrawals will be made.
POLICIES REGARDING PLAYER REGISTRATION:
B-1 For those players who register after the published deadline, any incentive offered for on-time registration must be forfeited.
B-2 For players who register after the published deadline, no request for assignment to a specific team (or any other special request) will be entertained, and there is no guarantee that the most appropriate uniform (e.g., T-shirt) will be delivered to the player at the same time other players get their uniforms.
POLICIES REGARDING COACHING:
C-1 Each NSBC team normally has both a Manager and a Coach.
The Manager is the Head Coach, the Coach is the Assistant
Manager.
The chain of command is Coach→ Manager→
Division Coordinator→ League
Commissioner→ President→ Board of Directors.
C-2 When designating managers and coaches for North Stars teams each year, North Stars directors (members of our Board of Directors), shall take priority (other factors being more-or-less equal) over those who do not serve on the Board of Directors. This is in recognition of the time and energy invested by those Directors in assuring the smooth operation of our program each year, and the effort they expend to make it possible for our kids to enjoy the best season possible.
C-3 Each regular-season NorthStars team will have a maximum of two official coaches. Each of the official coaches may identify their properly-registered and age-eligible direct descendants (i.e., children and/or grandchildren) as automatically-selected players on their team, in accordance with current and customary NorthStars team-draft procedures.
POLICIES REGARDING SAFETY TRAINING
C-4 The Manager or Head Coach
of each NSBC team shall be responsible for safety-training of all his/her
players. This training shall be the first item of business, beginning at
each team's very first training or practice sessions. Particular attention
shall be paid to the subjects of bat (and batting) safety, and base-running
safety. The concepts of interference and obstruction shall be understood
by all players. These subjects shall be emphasized at the annual Coach's
Meeting each season. The annual Cal Ripken rule book, and the NSBC Safety
and Coaching manuals should be consulted for further safety information.
POLICIES REGARDING DIVISION OF PLAYERS INTO TEAMS:
D-1 When dividing our players into teams, playing-strength balance in each age group will take top priority. Special requests for an individual player's assignment to a specific team must be fully justified and submitted in writing before the division into teams takes place. The Board of Directors will vote on these special requests. Such requests may not be granted if they detract from the best team balance.
POLICIES REGARDING MAJORS TEAMS USING PICK-UP PLAYERS
FROM ROOKIES DIVISION:
E-1 In the event that a North Stars Majors team is about to play an
official game, and they have less than nine players available,
that team may pick up (for that specific game) North Stars Rookie players to
fill out their roster up to nine players. This freedom is
granted with the following restrictions:
The availability of each Rookie pick-up player must be initiated by that
player's parents, by completing and signing the
current application form and liability waiver for such pick-up players.
After that action is completed by the parents, the
Board may choose not to accept any specific player if it is felt there would
be excessive risk to the safety of that player or
others on the field with him.
After the application/waiver form is completed and signed, and barring
non-acceptance by the North Stars directors,
that player becomes immediately available as a pick-up player. The Directors
will post a list of available pick-up players
on the North Stars website; pick-up players must be drawn from that list
only (although newly-eligible players may also be
picked up when there has not yet been time to post their names on the website).
Each pick-up player must be rostered and actively participating on a North
Stars Rookies team for the season in which the
game is to be played.
Absolutely no under-age children other than those who meet the above
requirements are to be allowed on the field for
Majors games.
No Rookies player may be picked up for a Majors game if that would interfere
with his ability to play an official game for
his regular Rookies team. The primary loyalty of every Rookies player must
be to his Rookies team.
Team
Managers are expected to do their best to even out their pick-up selections,
so that all eligible Rookies get Majors playing
time in as equal a proportion as possible. Even the most capable Rookies
players should get no more Majors playing time
than any other player on the approved list.
POLICIES REGARDING THE NSBC AGE-GROUP STRUCTURE:
F-1 Policy regarding T-Ball-age players playing up into Rookies
division: North Stars players will not normally play in the Rookies
division if they are officially of T-ball age. Very experienced players of
T-Ball age, however, may be permitted to play in the Rookies Division if there
appear to be no safety issues involved, and all the following requirements are
satisfied:
A. The player's parents must
notify the Board of Directors at least one week before the Rookies Group
Practice date, and make written application on the official NSBC form,
indicating their desire for their child to play in the Rookies division.
B. The player must be no more
than one official year "too young" for Rookies.
C. The player must have already
played at least two full seasons of organized T-Ball, either in NorthStars
baseball
or in some other organized league.
D. The player must attend the
Rookies Group Practice for the current season, and must achieve an aggregate
score
higher than 40% of all the other players in that session.
F-2 Policy regarding Rookies-age players playing up into Majors
division: North Stars players will not normally play in the Majors division if
they are officially of Rookies age. Exceptionally skilled players of Rookies
age, however, may be permitted to play in the Majors Division if there appear to
be no safety issues involved, and all the following requirements are satisfied:
A. The player's parents must
notify the Board of Directors at least one week before the Majors Group Practice
date, and make written application on the official NSBC form, indicating their
desire for their child to play in the Majors division.
B. The player must be no more
than one official year "too young" for Majors.
C. The player must have been
selected in one of the top three rounds of the prior year's Rookie's draft, as
an
official 8-year-old.
D. The player must attend the
Majors Group Practice for the current season, and must achieve an aggregate
score higher than 50% of all the other players in that session.
EXCEPTION: A player who does
not satisfy Requirement C above, because he did not play Rookies in the
prior season, may still qualify for Majors in the current season if he achieves
an aggregate score higher
than 60% of all other players at the Majors Group Practice session.
F-3 Policy regarding Majors-age players playing up into Babe Ruth division: Under-age players will not play in the Babe Ruth division if they are officially of Majors age, unless approved both by the North Stars Board of Directors, and the head of the Babe Ruth division. This is a national-level rule. Parents are free to make such a (written) request, but it is discouraged because it would upset our age-group structure. Exceptions are very unlikely to be granted by the North Stars Baseball Club.
F-4 Policy regarding Rookies-age players playing in the T-Ball division: NSBC will not force a Rookies-age player into T-Ball unless it is judged his safety could be jeopardized in Rookies. An over-age player may be voluntarily assigned to T-Ball only if requested and well justified (in writing) by his parents, and approved by the Board. Valid justifications are most likely to be related to some sort of disability or lack of experience in competitive baseball. The Board will evaluate these considerations on a case-by-case basis, and approve them only if they are not likely to produce negative effect on other players or the established age-group structure.
F-5 Policy regarding Majors-age players whose parents wish them to play
down into Rookies: Absent specific parental request and/or
approval, NSBC will not force a player into Rookies if he is of Majors age,
unless it is judged his safety could be jeopardized in Majors.
An over-age player may be voluntarily assigned to Rookies if requested and well
justified (in writing) by his parents, and approved by the
Board. Valid justifications are most likely to be related to some sort of
disability or lack of experience in competitive baseball. The Board
will evaluate these considerations on a case-by-case basis, and approve them
only if they are not likely to produce negative effect on other
players or the established age-group structure. Parents should note that
over-age Rookies may not be eligible to play in Rookies tournaments.
F-6 Policy regarding play on teams outside
our Cal Ripken structure: (For example, one of our 12 year-olds
playing in a Babe Ruth division
game.) All Babe Ruth and Cal Ripken rules regarding such
play must be adhered to. No Cal Ripken player can play in any Babe-Ruth
division game if it might compromise his
eligibility to play in a Cal Ripken tournament that any of
his potential Cal Ripken
teammates may want him available for.
The player must support his North Stars Cal Ripken club and team as top
priority. This includes
on-time attendance at all NS official
games and practice sessions. Individual managers and coaches are not
empowered to grant permission for deviation
from this policy - only the
North Stars Board of Directors. (Parents are advised that the Cal Ripken medical and liability insurance we buy
each year may not apply to
any particular game played outside our Cal Ripken structure.
Parents should inquire about insurance for each
specific game before
allowing their child to play outside the North Stars organization.)
POLICIES REGARDING NORTHSTARS PLAY IN ORGANIZED TOURNAMENTS:
G-1 During the entire North Stars regular season, every
registered player is guaranteed a minimum amount of playing time as
specified in
the North Stars Operating Rules for each
season. This applies to every player, no matter what their degree
of experience or skill level
might be. Parents are expected to help
enforce this rule by informing the President if they believe their own
player is not being treated
fairly in regard to the playing-time
rules. To demonstrate their loyalty to their teams, stronger
players must sometimes sit in order to
allow less experienced or skilled players to
get a reasonable amount of defensive playing time. (By NSBC rule, all
players are always in the
batting order during the regular
season.) Regular-season NSBC teams may play in tournaments, both
competitive and non-competitive. Competitive tournaments are defined as
those where "hardware" (e.g., a ribbon, trophy, plaque, medal, or
certificate) is awarded for teams winning the most games. Tournaments
where only participation awards are given, and there is no official recognition
regarding number of games won, are considered non-competitive. During competitive tournaments, there are no NorthStars playing-time rules. Less experienced players must
sometimes demonstrate their own
loyalty to their team by sitting when the team
manager judges there is a stronger player
available. In non-competitive tournaments, the regular-season participation
rules apply in full. For every tournament in which regular-season North Stars teams
participate, The NorthStars Board of Directors will
specify whether that tournament is
considered competitive or non-competitive. Team managers are
strongly encouraged to substitute as
freely as possible when the win/loss
outcome of ANY tournament game is no longer in doubt.
G-2 The NSBC Board of Directors shall lend the Club's imprimatur to the travel teams it forms each season. Such travel teams shall represent themselves as NorthStars teams at every event in which they participate, and shall discourage identification of the team as "Hazen", "Beulah", or any other specific city or town in the NorthStars territory .
The NorthStars 12-and-under Cal Ripken program shall endeavor to field at least one 10U and one 12U travel team each season. These teams shall participate in inter-city baseball tournaments around the state during the baseball season, and specifically at the non-advancing state tournaments each year.
NorthStars travel teams may be composed of players from any and all towns which are part of the official territory of the NorthStars Baseball Club. This territory primarily encompasses the area along the “I-94 corridor” between west Mandan and east Dickinson, including but not restricted to the following towns: Hazen, Beulah, Stanton, Pick City, Riverdale, Dodge, Turtle Lake, Underwood, Washburn, Center, Hannover, New Salem, Garrison, Glen Ullin, Hebron, Hensler, Killdeer, Golden Valley, Zap, Halliday, and Dunn Center.
To avoid confusion about travel-team player eligibility for official Cal Ripken tournaments such as the annual state tournaments, all regular season teams in the NorthStars territory shall be chartered with the Babe Ruth League national organization, through a process which is closely coordinated through the President of the NorthStars organization.
Every travel-team player must play his regular season on a properly-chartered Cal Ripken regular-season team. Each travel-team player must play in at least half of the regular-season games which his Cal Ripken chartered team plays. All existing NorthStars policies must be adhered to, including Policy F-6. No travel-team player can play on a Babe-Ruth division team during the Babe Ruth season-ending tournaments.
The coaching staff for each travel team shall be composed of a Manager (head coach), and two Coaches. The Manager shall be appointed each year by the NorthStars Board of Directors. The Manager and Coaches may reside anywhere within the NorthStars territory.
No individual shall take any step toward forming a NorthStars travel-team until he has been appointed Manager for the current season by the NorthStars Board of Directors.
Once the Manager is appointed by the NorthStars Directors, that Manager shall have exclusive authority over his travel team, and shall be responsible for all administration of his team, including scheduling all games, training players, outfitting the team with uniforms and equipment, coordinating with player parents, etc. The Manager shall select his own coaches, but a majority of the NorthStars Directors shall have the authority to approve or disapprove his selections. After the Manager and Coaches are approved by the Directors, the Manager shall not be “micro-managed” by any Director or Officer of NorthStars Baseball. After the Manager is officially designated, the only remaining travel-team power the Board of Directors shall retain is removal of the Manager or a Coach for misconduct, if deemed appropriate. The definition of “misconduct” shall be wholly determined by the Board of Directors, and may change from time to time, as deemed necessary by a majority of the Directors.
NorthStars travel teams, including Manager and Coaches, shall wear official NorthStars travel-team uniforms, as made available by the Board of Directors. To provide for periodic replacement of the these official uniforms due to normal wear and tear, each travel-team player shall pay a rental fee to the NorthStars organization for his shirt, pants and belt. The amount of the rental fee shall be determined each year by the Board of Directors. Cap, socks and other uniform parts shall be purchased by each player, and shall remain his property after the season. The rented shirt, pants and belt shall be promptly returned, in clean condition, to the NorthStars organization at the conclusion of the travel-team season.
All travel team expenses shall be borne by the parents on the team. The NorthStars treasury shall not be called on to finance travel-team expenses of any kind. At its discretion, however, the NorthStars Board of Directors may loan appropriate uniforms or equipment to the travel teams, or may rent such items to the travel teams. Rental fees shall be determined each year by the Board of Directors.
A copy of this NorthStars policy statement shall be distributed to each travel-team parent at the time their child becomes part of a NorthStars travel team. It is assumed each parent will abide by this policy statement unless an objection is promptly filed with the NorthStars President before their player takes the field at his first travel-team game. Any parent objection to this travel-team policy will be promptly considered by the NorthStars Directors. If no mutually-satisfactory exception agreement, or policy modification, can be reached, the player will be removed from the travel-team roster.
POLICIES REGARDING ELECTION OF
DIRECTORS:
H-1 Directors are elected at the scheduled player-registration sessions at
the beginning of each season. To be elected a Director, a candidate adult must receive a
majority vote of all those members voting, including proxies. All
player-parents are automatically members.
H-2 Members of the community who wish to join our Board of Directors are always welcome if they express a willingness to put in time and effort improving our program, our facilities and equipment, or our finances. Potential new members must state they are joining the Board to help grow, develop and improve North Stars baseball, and they fully subscribe to our Number 1 policy: Whatever Works Best for the Most Kids. All new (mid-year) members must be approved by resolution of the existing Board, by majority vote.
POLICIES ON PARENT-FURNISHED EQUIPMENT:
I-1 All parent-furnished player equipment that is safety-related must be
approved by the Board of Directors before it is used for either practices or
games in lieu of NSBC-furnished equipment. This specifically includes
batting helmets and catcher's equipment. All bats and balls must be in
conformance with both the Cal Ripken rulebook, and current NSBC rules.
I-2 Parents alone are responsible for assuring their players wear a cup (or equivalent protective equipment) when taking position as a catcher at practices and/or games.
POLICIES ON YELLING AND CHEERING:
J-1 Players, parents and spectators are encouraged to call positive
encouragement to their own team. HOWEVER, no one is to yell negative
remarks at the other team, or make any sound or sign that would distract the
other team from playing their best game possible. Most adults understand that negative, disparaging or derogatory comments shouted or spoken
to or about the other team accomplish nothing but upsetting the people
associated with that other team. Use of profane speech is clearly out of
order and cannot be tolerated at NorthStars games.
Every adult should limit his/her voice at NorthStars games to shouts of encouragement and support for their own team. In principle, they are well-advised to disregard the other team almost all the time, saying nothing either to or about the players on that other team.
Coaches must not speak to members of the other team, unless there is an immediate safety issue occurring. Coaches must never speak in a hyper-critical manner. If something really needs to be said, it should be reported to the game's Head Umpire.
Head Umpires (only) at NSBC games are authorized to eject any adult or child from the game site, in the following situations:
1) PROFANE shouts or speech directed at or about the other team or its members: IMMEDIATE EJECTION, no warnings.
2) Negative, disparaging or pejorative comments about, or directed at, the other team or its members: One warning before ejection.
When an ejection takes place, the game will immediately stop. It will not resume until the offender is clearly gone, and out of sight. If he/she returns. the game will immediately stop again, until he/she again exits the game site.