Hello Parents and Teammates!
Welcome to the 2013 Fallball season. I am excited to be the coach this year of this team
and look forward to lots of fun and baseball! I will begin this letter by addressing the
players and then follow up with as much information as I have for the parents.
Players:
This year, as in years past, fallball baseball teams are made up of players of all skill
levels. In order for us to have fun, we will ensure that we work as a team and help each
other out as much as possible. For this season, I will focus on teaching fundamentals to
all of you. I know that some of you with more experience are great players, but we all
have the capacity to improve our skills. When we meet for our first practice, we will
spend a little time getting to know each other and do a couple of quick drills, so I can
figure out who has the most experience and what you do the best! I will also let you
know that practices will be very busy, and I will expect all of you to listen well and to
hustle at all times!
This is my philosophy when it comes to winning…The only time we consider the concept
of winning is when we have completed the final out and we had more runs than our
opponent. Everything we do prior to that is focused on having fun and playing
fundamental baseball. We focus on each pitch. We do not look at the previous pitch or
the following pitch. The only thing that matters is how we handle ourselves for the pitch
that is being thrown at that moment! If we do what we have learned and execute the play
(whether it is swinging, not-swinging, catching, throwing, etc.), then the results of our
play will contribute to the end result of the game. If we do our best, then we are all
winners!
Parents:
This handout is indicative of my desire to establish communications that will keep you
informed. While the season is only two months long, the experience may be improved
with better than adequate communications. In this letter, I will provide you with the
methods I will use to keep you informed. The following is included in this letter:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Sign-up sheet for your contact information.
Schedule, if available.
Team Roster, if available.
Sign-up sheet for providing after game snacks.
Description of communications methods I will employ.
Child’s Bio Form.
I’m excited to coach this team and all the players. The following discussion will identify
what I believe is necessary to provide the best experience for the players.
1. Assistant coaches! Ideally, I would love at least 4-5 assistant coaches. Yes, 4-5! Last
fall I was one of five dads who helped out and it provided us the opportunity to teach the
players so much more. Also with more coaches, it is more fun for the kids! Please let me
know if you are able to help out. I don’t need you to commit to full time effort. If you
can only provide occasional assistance, that is fine. I will only ask you to give me as
much heads up as to when you will be available (for planning purposes).
2. Engagement! Baseball sometimes can be boring. If we are doing batting practice, and
we have all the kids shagging balls, it may become more interesting for them to look for
bugs, play in the dirt and count grass blades. I intend for the kids to be active throughout
the practices. I will expect them to hustle. I will ‘HIGHLY’ encourage them to hustle. It
is my experience that kids respond well when they are treated in practice the same as if
they were teenagers. Of course, we will always remember they are 7 and 8 years old.
Again, #1 above will help us with keeping the kids engaged.
3. Communications. I will do my part to keep everyone as informed as possible. I do
expect the same from the parents. If a player will not make it to practice or a game, I
need to know as far in advance as possible. The Communications handout and the
website will provide you with the methods available to contact me.
4. Snacks. Sometimes it seems the kids are more excited with the snacks at the end of
the game than of the game itself! As such, I hope that you will all eagerly sign up for a
time to provide those snacks. I’m know it is PC (politically correct) to request only
healthy choices; however, my thoughts on that are as follows: Athletes and children need
to eat healthily and to learn the benefits of proper nutrition. I agree with that concept.
However, I believe we need to also have a healthy mind and spirit. A snack that may not
be so nutritiously healthy may very well be very healthy to the mind and spirit! Bottom
line, bring whatever you want that will make the kids happy!
5. Parental involvement. Parental involvement in a child’s activities is essential. As
such, I welcome your inputs, suggestions, critiques, etc. For any problem you bring to
my attention, I will appreciate a suggested solution to the problem. Your involvement
with your child’s participation in fallball should include encouragement, cheering,
practicing at home, reinforcement of the teams rules and coaches efforts and, for some,
volunteering as an assistant coach. However, I ask that all parents refrain from coaching
from behind the fence. We all know that we do not go to our child’s school to attempt to
interfere with the teacher’s effort to teach our child. The same is true in sports. A
coach’s job is to teach and to lead the players and the team. A parent who attempts to
coach from behind the fence is not only putting their child in a difficult position of
choosing between listening to their coach or their parent, it also interferes with the team
as a whole. I will not hesitate to address any issues with parents, and I will go so far as to
pause a game to speak to a parent. Thank you all in advance for your support on this
issue.
6. Fundamentals. Fallball is meant to accomplish three things: 1. Provide the children
an opportunity to engage in the organized team sport of baseball, 2. Have fun!!!, and 3.
to learn the fundamentals of baseball! Throughout this season, I will make it my
commitment to improve your child’s fundamental skills. The focus will be on learning
baseball, not winning games.
7. Veteran’s Day weekend. The last game is scheduled to take place on 10 November
2012. I will be looking into the possibility of moving this game to an earlier date. Last
year, many athletes were not available for this game (It was Veteran’s Day weekend and
the last game). I want to make sure we have as many of our athletes available for this last
game. While I will look into this, I believe the option may not be available to us. Fleet
Park had lights which gave us the opportunity to have a weekday game. This year, I don’t
believe Azalea Gardens has lights. I’ll keep you all informed.
8. Scorekeeping. I am looking for a parent, sibling, etc. who would like to be the official
scorekeeper for the team. I will be happy to provide the training you will need to keep
score. It will not be a difficult endeavor as we will keep it simple. More than one
volunteer would be appreciated! I will then compile the stats and post them to the stats
page on the team’s website! The kids will enjoy this feature!
9. End of the season celebration. Near the end of the season, we will organize an event
(pizza party, maybe) to recognize the hard work accomplished and the great fun we had
during the season. We will not have ‘trophies’ as this is a developmental season rather
than a competitive season. However, we may provide mementos to the players to
celebrate their participation and give them a keepsakes to share with their greatgrandchildren someday…’There I was on my way to becoming the greatest player on
earth…thanks to my coach…’
Finally, I will end this letter by saying that I am very excited to coach the team this year
and work with all of the parents to provide our children an exceptional experience! See
you all at the ballpark!
Todd Moore