Parents Manual Chapter 4

During a youth baseball game, the coach called one of his 11-year-old players aside and asked: "Do you understand what cooperation is?"

The boy nodded in the affirmative.

"Do you understand that what matters is whether we win or lose together as a team?"

The boy said, "Yes."

The coach went on, "And when I take you out of the game so another boy gets a chance to play, it's not good sportsmanship to call your coach an idiot, is it?"

"No sir", the boy said.

"Good", the coach said. "Now please go up into the stands and explain all that to your mother."

Player parents play a big role in NSBC, an essential role. There are many jobs available for parents on every successful team: team mother, coaching assistant, assistant umpire, scorekeeper, refreshment coordinator, party organizer, team photographer, etc. None of these jobs is particularly time- or energy-consuming, but they are all important to every team’s success. Each of these jobs is described below.

If at all possible, parents should try to stay at the practice sessions, especially in the T-Ball and Rookie divisions. There are many situations which can arise that need the attention of a parent; for example, injury, player frustration, weather problems, conflict with another player, etc. Often parents can organize and pool their efforts, so there is always at least a couple of parents present at every practice.

Parents who stay and watch practice are in a better position to help their kids develop, too. By watching the coach (and talking with him, too), you can see what he is teaching, and how he’s doing it. That makes it a lot easier for you to reinforce that teaching in your own backyard. Players who get that added help from their parents develop a lot faster than kids who don’t.

Parents can help with equipment, too. At a minimum, parents have to equip their players with a decent glove. After that, there are the possibilities of bats, batting gloves and other optionals. Appendix H at the end of this manual provides more information about equipment. And once again, don’t forget that it is a PARENT RESPONSIBILITY to assure that male players wear an athletic supporter, and catchers wear a protective cup.

You should expect your team’s manager to ask for several volunteers early in the season. Following is the “job description” for each volunteer he is likely to need.

Every NSBC team normally team has at least two responsible adults - a manager who is also head coach, and a coach who is also assistant manager. These two people have a big job to do, not just in coaching and teaching baseball skills, but in handling the red-tape procedures that cannot be avoided if NSBC is to operate efficiently and produce the best result for our kids. They may also want some additional help on the practice field, and this an opportunity for other parents to get involved. It’s also a good chance for a potentially-interested parent to try some coaching, with an eye toward getting into it officially the following year. Give it some thought; you’ll probably enjoy it more than you might expect, and it’s not hard to get started (even if you don’t think you know much about baseball).

The manager’s challenge is to keep the kids as busy as possible during each practice session. One way he does that is to divide the kids into groups. Some days he will want more groups than he has coaches for, so he can use another assistant. That’s when you can be very helpful, and maybe learn a coaching skill or two as well.

Every team needs a Team Mother. She will be responsible for keeping communication tight between all the parents. When there are handouts to be made, the Team Mother will take care of distributing them. And if she gets advance information about a schedule change, a rainout for example, she will organize a telephone tree to get the word out as quickly as possible.

The Club provides the Head Umpire for every official game. That umpire works behind the plate, and has final responsibility for every ruling made on the field. Each team should also provide a base umpire who will work under the direction of the Head Umpire. Usually, one base ump covers first base, and the other works at second- and third-base. Game etiquette requires that the base umpires coordinate their activities, and also trade positions about half-way through each game.

This is a job that a lot of moms like to do, but dads also enjoy it. Each team should have a scorekeeper at every game. The Club supplies the scorebooks. That scorebook is a resource for the coach, and an official record for the Club. The scorekeepers of the two teams should always sit together at each game, and the books should be compared at the end of each half-inning to assure the scorebooks are kept in agreement with each other.

A Scorekeeper’s Clinic will be held every season before the official games start, to instruct new scorekeepers on how the job is done.

Kids being kids, they all like a treat after a hot time on the old ball diamond. Your team’s Refreshments Organizer can arrange to have a different parent bring a post-game refreshment for the players after each game. Juice boxes, cookies, popsicles, etc., are the usual thing. After an exceptionally stirring win, you might think about taking the whole gang down to Frosty's or Sizzlin Sundaes for an ice-cream cone, if it’s a warm day and the parents like the idea.

If you like to take photographs, this can be a great team job, especially if you have a digital camera. You can take candid and action photos of all the players. Then, at any time, have a party or get-together where everyone can go over the pictures, sharing impressions, laughs and plans for next year. This can be a real spirit builder, and even help build The Team. At the very least, these pictures can be a great addition to your team’s post-season party - The Team’s last event together.

The kids usually like to have a post-season party to cap off their times together on the ball field. That party needs an organizer, and the process will be different for each team.

If your team’s parents and players have enjoyed each other’s company, a picnic or barbecue can be a great event, too. A parent-player game might even be part of the fun. You can have the event on an off-day, or maybe right after one of your games. Also, if you have a team barbecue, picnic or party, be sure to invite your sponsor.

The kids love to see their names in print, so here’s a chance for someone on each team to make that happen. What you do is write up a couple of paragraphs about each game, coordinate with the corresponding person on the other team, and then get your combined notes to the Hazen Star and Beulah Light. Keep it short, because there are other teams who want space in the paper, too.

A good publicist writes a very short summary of each game, and mentions specific players’ accomplishments. He/she makes sure that every kid gets some complimentary mention over the course of the season.

The home team (as designated by the official Game Schedule) is responsible for setting up the field for each game. It’s a big burden off the team manager’s back if some parent will take over this job. It usually takes about ten minutes before each game. You might also be called on once or twice each season to do some more extensive work on one field or another to keep it in good shape for baseball.

It is possible, from time to time, that we may have one or more girls on an NSBC team, especially T-Ball teams. When that happens, a special rule comes into play. NSBC requires that an adult female then be present at every official practice and game. It is the team manager’s responsibility to see that this rule is followed. The most obvious adult to ask to perform this duty is the mother of that female player.