NPHS Baseball Policies and Expectations GENERAL EXPECTATIONS Your first responsibility is academics; Your second responsibility is baseball. Attend classes regularly and be on time. You should never be tardy for class, or even consider skipping school. Disrespect towards coaches, teammates, umpires, fans, faculty, or opponents will not be tolerated. This is a first class baseball program that produces first class young men. Therefore, players will show respect by being “Yes Sir/No Sir and Yes Mam/No Mam” athletes all the time to adults. No member of this program will use drugs or alcohol. If you are caught (including Pitt County Schools Athletic drug testing), expect an immediate removal from this program. TOBACCO use or possession is NOT PERMITTED in this program. Do not do anything detrimental to the team. Your behavior in school, the community, as well as any comments or information on social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, etc. need only to shed a positive light on our program. Anything negative will not be tolerated, and could lead to a dismissal from the team. Remember: YOU are our baseball program. Represent our program well at all times! PRACTICE EXPECTATIONS Practice will start by 3:45 sharp. Any practice will get over around 7:00 early in the year, and then around 6:30 as the year progresses. We will conclude practice when we cover everything for that day. WE WILL PRACTICE AND PLAY ON SATURDAYS AND TEACHER WORKDAYS. All players, JV and Varsity, are required to attend ALL practices. If for some reason you will be absent from a practice, you must personally talk to one of the coaches or you must leave a message on Coach Meadows voicemail (252-825-0054) (252-531-1961) prior to 12:00 noon. No exceptions. Players are to be picked up in student parking lot. All players that drive should park in the student parking lot. No dressing in the parking lot. Dress appropriately. We have a dress code in this program for practice and games. Hats (worn properly), cleats, tennis shoes, and long sleeves are required everyday. You must change for practice in the appropriate areas. Varsity will dress in the locker room, JV TBA. No spikes will ever be worn in the locker room. No horse play! The locker room must remain CLEAN! The locker room is a privilege. It can be taken away. You will be given field duties. Take pride in it. DAILY PRACTICE GOALS Make the coaching staff’s job easier – listen, learn, apply Accept constructive criticism. Leave practice a better player every day. Do something to improve our team every day. Practice at a pace that makes the games easier. GAME DAY RESPONSIBILITIES Be on time well in advance. On time is late! Your uniform must be clean. Be mentally prepared. This is baseball time! Be respectful to umpires; Coach Meadows will deal with umpires, period!! You will never throw a bat or a helmet...PERIOD!! If so, you will be disciplined! Never leave the dugout area if an altercation occurs on the field. This act could possibly banish our team from post season play, as well as end your career! Hustle on and off the field. You WILL SPRINT on and off the field. Outfielders and Infielders must keep their gloves together, in two separate piles. Pick each other up! Play hard and compete with class. NO CELL PHONES IN THE DUGOUT! NOT EVEN ON VIBRATE! Players will make no outside contact with any person during games and practices. Get your “Gatorades” before IF/OF. Post game: shake hands, make eye contact, be classy, keep uniform completely on (jersey tucked in), debrief, pack (team stuff before your stuff), complete field duties, dismiss Away Games: Remember, a bus trip is a business trip. We ride in full uniform unless Coach Meadows says otherwise. No loud music! Earphones that you can hear only! Quiet talking only. At 10 minutes before arrival, NO TALKING! It’s time to focus on the task at hand! Cleats on when you get off bus. Away post game: Clean-up dugout (we will leave it neater than we found it), and meet in the outfield area. Players are encouraged to ride home with the team. Players can only ride home with his legal guardians. Players should behave on all bus trips. APPEARANCE NPHS hats will be worn correctly at all times. Players will run if they are not, even away from school! Shirt tails will always be tucked in. This means at practice and games. The player’s presentation will be neat and well groomed at all times during the season. Your uniform must be clean and neat. You are required to wash uniforms prior to the next game. Cold water only and NO BLEACH!! Let the uniform hang dry if possible. Do not let soiled or washed laundry sit over night. You will pay for any uniform that you ruin. Absolutely no earrings allowed on the field during practice and games. No jewelry at all during games. At games, North Pitt Baseball Jackets and sweatshirts are the only ones that players are allowed to wear. OTHER No Parents or anyone outside of our program are allowed inside the gates of the playing field at any time. This includes before, during, and after all games and practices. This excludes media. PLAYING TIME WILL NOT BE DISCUSSED WITH PARENTS! If there is a question about playing time, or a player’s role in our program, our protocol is for the player to meet with the coach to discuss the problem. Coach Meadows will be happy to discuss academics, player development, college opportunities, recruiting, etc. Practices are subject to being closed to anyone outside of the team if deemed necessary. North Pitt High School Baseball is not a recreation baseball league. This is competitive high school baseball. Playing time is not guaranteed to any player. The coaching staff will play the players that they feel give NPHS the best chance to win the game. Playing time is earned in practice. Summer Baseball---Every underclassman in this baseball program is expected to play SUMMER BASEBALL with your teammates. You must use the summer in order to further develop your baseball skills. Fall Baseball---Every member of this baseball program that does not play a fall sport is expected to participate in our fall baseball workouts, and play in our weekend league. Fall Baseball is a great way to get further instruction and have a great time playing baseball with your NPHS teammates. If you’re not there, you will miss out on valuable training time. Coach Meadows reserves the right to remove any player from the program throughout the entire season for any reason Player & Parent Pledge: I have read and fully understand the Policies and Procedures of North Pitt baseball, and agree to comply with these expectations. Player Name: ______________________________ Date: ___________ Parent Name: _____________________________ Date: ___________