CODE OF CONDUCT
1.
Every player and coach will be in a good mood on the field.
2.
Every player agrees to maintain perfect attendance at practice & games, or to notify
the coach by telephone/text before 12:00 on the day he is expecting to be excused.
This applies only to emergencies or major illness.
3.
If a player needs to miss for any other reason he must request permission in writing
and get approval in writing/text in advance from the head coach.
4.
The team will win all nine to fives.
5.
Every player agrees to remain eligible under the scholastic rules and any other policy
of the high school for the entire baseball season including summer classes.
6.
No player will act disrespectfully to any other member of the team, including
coaches, players and equipment personnel anytime during baseball season.
7.
No player will act disrespectfully to any opponent or official during baseball season.
8.
No player will act disrespectfully to any equipment, or team, or school property
during baseball season.
9.
Every player agrees to give his best speed on the field at all times.
10.
Every player agrees to cheerfully accomplish all tasks assigned by the coaching staff.
11.
Every player agrees to leave his personal problems off the field or to notify the
coaching staff when he can’t, so the coaches will make the decision about whether he
should play on that day.
Athlete’s signature ________________________________________
Parents’ signature ____________________________________________
Date ______________________________________________________
Head Coach ________________________________________________
The History of this code
This set of guidelines was created by me (Tom Alston) and a Varsity high school team during
a preseason meeting in 1996. I remember a young player raising his hand while we were constructing
this list and asking how is this going to help win baseball games? I answered him by asking him the
following question.
“What would your life be like if every moment of every day you were in a good mood, you
energetically completed every task at your best speed, never missed a day because you were sick,
never broke a rule, and got along with everybody and everything?”
His face brightened up when he said, “It would be great!”
I asked, “If you did all these things, and consequently your life was great, how would you
deal with any problem no matter how big?
He smiled, “Nothing would bother me.”
I said, “That’s how you win at baseball. Plus, look how easy it is to do this stuff one-hundred
percent of the time.”
It is an absolute truth that the foundation of any program has to be about taking responsibility
for the things that each individual has complete control over. There is nothing on our list that can be
affected by our opponents, the officials, the weather, or any factor other than each individual
agreeing to keep his covenant with the team. We will challenge every player to take responsibility
for creating a well-respected baseball program at our school. It is up to them to create the
environment they would like to play in. Our older players have a responsibility to display to the
younger players the way they should act and react. Good baseball programs are like good marriages.
Both the husband and wife need to recreate their love for each other every day. Tradition does not
hold them together. Only a constant renewal of their commitment to each other will work.
COST
The cost of our summer program will be $200.00 per player. All checks will be made out to
me personally as I have already begun to pay the expenses of this team which includes the cost of the
League entry fees, the umpires, baseballs etc. Thee fees are due prior to our May 15th.
TRYOUTS
No player is guaranteed a place on this roster. There will be tryouts in May. If a player does
not make our roster all fees will be refunded before we play our first game. The refund provision
only applies to players who do not make the original roster.
GAMES
There will be approximately 25 league games, one or two during the week and a double
header on the weekend. Usually Saturday unless we can reschedule some to Sunday to meet our
varsity tournament schedule. There will be a season ending tournament (District level) made up of
our league to determine who goes to the next level of play. The District tournament will be played at
Del Campo. The Area tournament will be played the next week at Del Campo. The State finals are
at Yountville. The postseason will possibly take us into August.
ROSTER
Some players will play for both the Varsity roster and our Junior Legion team. At season’s
end the best 18 will be placed on the post season roster depending upon each player’s role makes up
the best possible team.