Parent Meeting Notes

First and foremost, if you do nothing else all season, please let me know in advance that you will be unable to attend a game. This is explained a little more below, but I plan games and player positions in advance. It helps me to know who will be there and who will not. I'm not too worried about practices, and of course I fully understand that kids sometimes don't give you notice that they will get sick just before a game.

Rule changes. Many of the players on this team have played in the USC league before, however, there are some minor rule changes/points of emphasis going into this year, as follows:

- We'll be using hard baseballs all year long. We used to start with soft balls and transition over during the season, but with the addition of the younger starting league, we'll be using the real baseballs the entire time.

- They want to be a little more strict with the 7 pitches to a batter rule. That is, each batter has 7 pitches before they "strike out." There are no balls and strikes -- they can swing at all 7 if they want. In the past, this rule was a little loose and some managers were pitching double that. It's discouraged now.

- There's more of an emphasis on catching. In the past, we might not have a catcher ready to go at the start of our defensive inning because they were still getting dressed in their gear or there would be a Dad catching the inning. Now, we're to focus on identifying our catcher and getting him dressed and ready to go right after his at-bat the inning before. In the next league up, where stealing bases is allowed, the catcher becomes much more important.

- There are no lead-offs or stealing bases in this league. Not a new rule, just one to point out.

- The other rules for our league are posted for review at your leisure. It's also important to point out that the purpose of the league is developmental. No game score or win-loss records are kept. There are no playoffs for a championship.


Game cancellations. We're asked to hold off on cancelling games as much as possible. As a result, it very well might be that you come to a game to find out it is cancelled. Please be understanding in this situation, and realize you might make an unnecessary drive or two to a field only to be turned back home. Sometimes it will rain during the day, but stop at 5:00. Sometimes we can still dry the field and make it playable. Sometimes we can't. The league's focus is that we play as many games as possible, and we'll work toward that end. If a game is cancelled, I'll get a post up on the website, so you can try to check there before leaving for the field. In cases where it's a Saturday game and I can be at a field an hour or so early, I can often call everyone for cancellations. Since it takes a good half hour to make these calls, it just doesn't work on weeknight games or other games where we don't have that much time.

So, please don't assume a game is cancelled just because it has been raining unless it's confirmed otherwise. Also, if the field is playable, we'll play in light rain or finish as much of a game as we can if it starts raining in the middle provided there is no lightning.


Coaches. The coaching staff this year brings a good bit of experience. Mark C. and Bob W. have been on our teams in earlier years, and Mike M. has several years coaching experience in both the USC and St. Louise leagues, including managing travel teams. I've managed USC teams the previous two years, and have managed at St. Louise as well. Mike O. will also be a valuable part of the coaching staff.

That doesn't mean you have to feel left out, though! It takes a lot of effort to run a game, and even experienced players at this age need lots of attention. For example, when we're batting, we need at least an adult pitcher, 1st and 3rd base coaches, a bench coach, an preferably another adult to warm up our on-deck batters. If you've ever dreamed of pitching a youth league (a high ERA is a good thing here) or find yourself particularly adept at organizing a bench full of wired 8-year-olds, please don't feel bashful about jumping into the fray.

It would also be great to have an official bookkeeper. No experience necessary. I can teach you the important things to score for the team, and how to do it. It helps a lot to know how well each of the kids are hitting and how we're doing compared to the other teams so we can make adjustments as appropriate.


Coaching Philosophy. I hope to primarily accomplish three things: (1) have fun; (2) improve each and every player's skill level; and (3) instill a team spirit and respect for teammates, coaches, and the other team.

It's very important to me that players are rotated not only just between the infield and the outfield (a league rule), but also among all the positions. Every player will play every position on the field at least a few times during the season.

To make sure this happens, I keep a detailed record of every position that every kid played in every inning of every game. I spend what my wife will tell you is probably way too long planning out positions for upcoming games, and work hard to keep a balance between infield and outfield time played and moving between positions there. That's why it's important to let me know if you can't make a game.


Snacks. Jennifer M. has graciously volunteered for the position of Snack Coordinator for the team this year. She'll be coordinating a schedule in the upcoming weeks for each parent to bring snacks after each game. Please find her and volunteer for a game.


If you have any additional questions, please feel free to send me a note or talk to me at any of the practices.

I'm looking forward to a fun season.