FWIW,
Parents or coaches,
Before this goes much further I think we need to establish some ground rules. After talking to some parents and coaches I think its important to state out goals and what we expect.
1. These are friendly pickup games, and its important for our girls to have fun while having an opportunity to pitch, play their desired position whether its catching, first base or center field.
2. Before the start of every game, I will create a lineup of fielding positions and batting orders so that our girls get a chance to play their position and an alternate position. If your daughter wants to pitch, she will get an equal opportunity to pitch, and we will distribute the pitching equally. If a girl doesn't get to play her position because it got dark or because of time constraints, she will go to the top of the order the following week. We're not going to show favoritism.
3. If you are coaching an 11U travel team, you are not allowed onto the field. I know this may be hard to swallow, but this is the way it has to be. We want girls from all over central Ohio to participate, and we won't be able to accomplish this if we allow certain coaches to be on the field while other coaches are not. Remember, this is not your team's practice.
4. No open recruiting, this is not the place. There will be a zero tolerance for openly recruiting. I can't ask coaches from other organizations to send their ballplayers to us, and be accused of having coaches recruiting players away from their current teams.
5. Respect, make sure your dd's shows respect to all players at all times. Unsportsmanlike behavior is unacceptable.
6. Most of these girls are 11 years old and I want to make sure that if we do have a 10 year old show up, that they can play and compete with the girls on the field. This is not for rec ball players. Every girl that shows up is required to be part of a travel team organization.
7. Because of space, its important to let us know if you are going to be bringing a guest. These games are open to all 11 year old players in Central Ohio. We need a head count ahead of time, to work out the logistics.
8. Roster batting, we will bat entire roster, every inning. We do not keep score, but will keep count of balls, strikes and outs. After 3 outs, we will reset the outs back to zero. Every pitch is a live pitch and must be treated as such. We ask parents to fill in for holes in the outfield. Remember, you are not an all-star, so don't rob a girl of a hit by pretending to be Matt Kemp of the LA dodgers...
9. We will try to accommodate pitcher/catcher combos as much as possible, but this isn't always possible.
10 Have fun, but no horseplaying.
