Sandlot League Initial Meeting
March 1st, 2011
5:45 pm
Glenn View Baptist Church
1. Prayer
2. Introduction of all in attendance
3. Thanks to all
4. Purpose of Sandlot –
The purpose of Sandlot is to enrich the growth of our children through a Christian Athletic Atmosphere and to strengthen family values and relationships through all activities. All children are welcome and loved no matter race, religion or ability and will be expected to treat others likewise.
Director, Assistant Director, coaches, officials, parents and family members must set the examples of leadership, support and love through their words and actions at all times.
5. Explanation of Teams – Tee ball , Coach Pitch , Machine pitch / Kid Pitch
a. Teams will be determined around ability rather than age
b. Kids can also move up if coaches and parents agree during the season
6. Coaches – All coaches are voluntary and will have General Guidelines for their teams. Each child is different – Coaches need to find ways to reach them as a team and also as individuals. The Director will be involved in every team to reach the goal of our purpose .
7. Practices – Every team will have a Team Practice one day a week . Depending on number of teams and practice schedule will determine length of practice .
There will be OPTIONAL batting practice, fielding practice and individual practices during the week. Schedule of practices will be handed out after official sign ups on March 12th . Additions of athletes and rotation of athletes will be addressed as the need arises .
All requests for practice dates will be taken at day of sign up, requests will be handled to the best of the ability of Director, Assistant Director and coaches .
Optional Practices – The Director will be Present at all Optional Practices but coaches and parents are encouraged to attend and be involved .
Equipment – Sandlot will provide Field, Bases, training stations, balls and machine . Athletes are required to have glove . ( if they do not have bat they can use one of other athletes ), Cleates are not required but MUST NOT BE METAL . ALL METAL SHOES WILL NOT BE ALLOWED ON FIELDS.
Fields – Main field will be Official Little league dimensions .
Other field goal – To have a tee ball field that best suits teams learning abilities and build self confidence in athlete. ( Athlete should be able to throw from third to first . Outfielders can make accurate throw to desired base and / or cut off , Infield throws to catcher can also be made. Outfield lines need to be able to have homeruns hit.
8. Uniforms – Each athlete will be provided a baseball jersey ( style still being decided – will not be plain tshirt ) and a ball cap . Teams will be divided into colors rather than Major league teams. Each team is encouraged to come up with a name / mascot. Coaches – please encourage your players to develop their name rather than you coming up with a name. This will assist in development of teamwork and pride along with compromising skills .In an event of two names being tied the COACH has final say so . If Coach does not feel comfortable the Assistant Director will decide ( this way the Director is completely blame free ) .
Baseball pants are recommended ( matching colors would be nice but not required ) Athletes will be sliding and rolling around and any added protection on knees and legs is appreciated . Athletic supporters are not required at any level ( yet ) .
Places to start for Pants / socks - Play it again Sports , Walmart .Omega Sports – Greensboro .
9. Waivers : Every Athlete will be required to have a Waiver signed by parent or guardian and will be available at the official sign ups. A lease is being signed by the Director and the land owner for use of his property and the legal documents for this league are currently being worked on. ALL individuals will be using the facilities at their own risk. Work days will be scheduled and safety and proper maintenance is our primary goal. Please let the Director , Assistant Director, or coaches know immediately if there are any areas that need attention and they will be attended to immediately . Also , any suggestions are greatly appreciated .
10. Code of Conduct – Every person involved with this organization will be asked to sign a code of conduct form outlining rules and expectations for the season. Athletes and parents / guardians are asked to review sheet and sign as a family. This is being used as another tool to strengthen family bonds and allows athletes to see there parents / guardians committed to the same set of rules and regs as they are . These rules will be determined by the Director , Assistant Director and pre selected coaches and will be subject to change at the end of a season if needed . ( this is our rookie season and things will change ).
11.Commitment to league – Athletes / parents ( guardians ) - The reason for this section is to allow families to work together and learn about committing to something and sticking to it . Another great family strengthening tool . Athletes will be expected to give their best at all times ( even if their best is on a bad day and that’s all they can give. There is a required team practice day and two non required practices per week for athletes - as a family unit – please sit down and discuss what the commitments should be as parents and also athletes before the first practice . A Form will be in your sign up package so that as a family it can be filled out and placed somewhere in the house for everyone to see and refer back to during the season . NO ATHLETE will be sat out of any game for missing practice or a game as long as a parent / guardian has notified his or her coach . We are not a Major league team and all involved understand vacations , last minute emergencies, sickness . In saying this please work closely with your athlete in making sure they are committed to the best of their ability for the season .
Director , Assistant Director , Coaches , Officials – ALL WILL BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE for commitment . Athletes perform better when they see their leaders dedicated to the task at hand and will remember those leaders for many years to come . Please show up 5 to 10 minutes early for practice , 30 minutes for games . Have equipment ready to go to start practice on time and have practice plan in place. Please have fill ins ready in case you must miss any scheduled activity. IT IS NOT the responsibility of the Director or Assistant Director to find replacements for your duties but will be on hand in case of any emergency needs . ( golf tee times are not emergencies ) .
Games : 1st game will be April 2nd . Games will start at 8:30 and be either one hour long or four innings ( this is for Tee ball and Coach pitch ) . If hour is reached in fourth inning then remaining inning will be played and game over . Time schedule WILL be relaxed as far as starting times so as that athletes are NOT rushed on and off the field and that they can enjoy the entire experience of their day .
Machine / kid pitch will be 9 innings. Schedule also relaxed so that athletes can get full enjoyment of game day.
NOTE : There is a possibility of afternoon games with other teams and the Director and Assistant Director are working to schedule this before the first game . The reason is to allow Sandlot League Athletes the opportunity to share their field and experiences with others in the community . This is one of many ways we plan to reach out to our community through this organization .
Outreach : The Sandlot League is going to be part of a larger organization “ The One Project “ and community outreach is going to be high on our priority list for the Triad . Some of the things we would like to accomplish are :
Invite your buddy to Practice day – All athletes will be allowed to invite a friend and his or her parents / guardian who is not currently involved to a day of team practice where we will have special activities incorporated with practice . This friend could be someone from school who might not have ever played or have the opportunity to play if it wasn’t for this invite .
GAME DAY for the Elderly or Handicapped – This chosen Saturday would be to go out into the community and invite elderly and or handicapped / mentally challenged to come out and enjoy a day at the ball field while our athletes play . To have everyone interact and share the joy of Spring baseball.
DASH NIGHT – invite someone to a Winston Salem Dash ball game and bring them with your family . We can all share in a night of professional baseball and allow someone less fortunate to share in that same evening .
Adopt a player : To have each of our athletes adopt a high school player of their choice baseball or softball during the season to send emails or letters of support, watch games, share each players experiences with that high school player to give back to his or her community .
There are several more ideas but that will come later .
COSTS : $80.00 per player . These cost will cover uniforms, equipment and maintenance of fields and area . Scholarships are being worked on and will be distributed as donations come in . All scholarships will be distributed anonymously as to respect those receiving them . NO CHILD WILL BE TURNED AWAY DUE TO FINANCIAL CONCERNS . EVER .
This fee is subject to change at the end of this initial season once financial report have been reviewed by Director , Assistant Director and Accountant . ANY and all questions about financials are welcomed and will be answered as soon as possible .
