General Information
Ten Tips to Being a Good WSBR Baseball Parent and Other Thoughts
Coaches and Managers
Injuries and Kids
More About VOLUNTEERS
SPEAK UP
Ten Tips to Being a Good WSBR Baseball Parent and Other Thoughts
Perhaps you have heard some horror stories about the overbearing "Youth Baseball League" parents and coaches. A good baseball experience for your child begins with us: the parents of each player. It is up to each of us to make being a youth more enjoyable, and to make baseball season a greater learning experience for the kids. After all, no matter how much we enjoy it too, Baseball is for the kids.
The Board of Directors would like to share 10 thoughts on how to make this a better learning experience for you, too. We believe that these ideas will help to make the next few months more fun for your children, more enjoyable for you and a heck of a lot easier on those people who volunteer their time and skills.
We hope these ideas can help!!
For the Kids
TIP 1 - Work with your child. There really is little more satisfying than going out at least a few evenings a week and playing ball with your kids. This gives them quality time, and helps your child improve his/her skills (and, trust me, the better your child can play, the more she/he will enjoy the Baseball experience!). Some day, your child will look back fondly on the spring evenings spent playing catch with mom and/or dad.
TIP 2 - Don’t argue in front of the kids and criticize in the background if you think your child is being treated unfairly. As parents, it is natural to be very protective, but most coaches aren’t discriminating. If you think there is a problem, discuss it with the coach AWAY from the ball field; chances are that you will see his point of view. The important thing is not to make an issue in front of the players; along with baseball, they are learning to work as a team and to respect authority and experience...work not to ruin this teaching.
TIP 3 - Show up for the games AND the practices. In today’s busy world it is sometimes hard to juggle schedules, but this is your child! We’ve seen many who never tried to excel at baseball, and invariably these kids were dropped off at practices and picked up afterwards, without the parent(s) ever watching a single practice. It’s only a couple of times a week, a couple of months out of the year! The most irritating parents are those who don’t ever watch practice (and, therefore, never understand the coaches philosophy), but will question (sometimes loudly) a coaches decision during the game. Most people wouldn’t dare to not show up for work and still tell the boss what’s wrong with the company, but they will turn around and do just that with their child’s’ coach.
TIP 4 - Don't create pressure. Just about every father dreams of his son becoming a major league star, but they are only children and deserve to enjoy the game as children. Don’t expect more than they can deliver. Give positive encouragement, and be there when they need you. Besides, often a child in early years will lack certain skills, and blossom later on.
TIP 5 - Losing is a normal result of competition—help your child learn to accept it. No one likes to lose, but the nature of a team sport is that one team always loses. Teach your child that he/she didn’t lose, the team lost. And they lost to a team that just happened to play better that day. There is always next time, and the important thing is to learn from the defeats. One of life’s most interesting truisms is that we learn more in failure than in success. It’s okay to analyze why your team lost, and how they can do better next time. It’s never okay to place blame!
TIP 6 - Respect the rules. This is one of the most important things the kids should be learning. If you don’t agree with an umpires call, keep it to yourself. You did not buy a ticket and with it a right to complain. If there is a team rule that bothers you, well, it’s their team...not yours. If you think there is a serious problem, take it up with the coach or a League official on your own time, not your child’s’. Rule of thumb: During practice or games be a cheer master for the kids, it will make the game more fun.
For the Coaches
TIP 7 - Different coaches have different philosophies. Some believe in having players play all the positions. Some want players to become good at one. Some coaches place more emphasis on winning. It is IMPORTANT to remember that your child’s coach is not being paid; he is working for the love of the game and the kids. Let him be the coach!
For the League
TIP 8 - Get involved with WSBR. The program is run on a volunteer basis, and we can use all the help we can get. Anything you can do will help all the kids, from helping out at registration or tryouts, to scorekeeping or field preparation, to umpiring. If your child sees that Baseball is that important to you, he/she will learn that it is important to the kids, too. Some of the things that are needed for the league are scheduling, scorekeeping, umpiring, equipment and uniform management, fundraising, website content assistance, photographer, league historian, division commissioners, just to name a few. If you have a talent or desire to help your child’s league, please contact the League Resident.
TIP 9 - If you love the game of baseball, but can’t be available often enough to coach, umpiring is a great way to volunteer. In addition to making baseball a more satisfying experience for you (all of a sudden there are no more bad calls!); you will be able to teach your child some of the things that others (umpires!) look for in a game. WSBR provides all of the training anyone needs. Some people worry that they are not qualified. Nobody is until they get trained. If you make a mistake remind them that you didn’t get the job because you are uniquely qualified for it — you got it because you volunteered. Besides, even coaches and players make mistakes...the point is to learn and to have fun, and to teach kids that you care! WSBR provides paid umpires to ensure that there is at least one umpire for all games. Trained volunteer umpires are needed to help on the bases. One set of eyes on the playing field can not see everything. IF you would like to umpire, please contact the Umpire In Chief for the Leagur.
For Everyone
TIP 10 - Have Fun! Baseball should be a positive experience for everyone: kids, coaches, support staff, and parents. Winning is nice, but losing is inevitable. Being a star is fun, but being a bench player is just as important.
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Coaches and Managers
As a coach don’t get focused on winning as being the only way to have fun. If you can’t enjoy the game without winning you are missing out on some of the best things about coaching. One of the most rewarding experiences possible is to take a player with little baseball skill, no confidence in himself, and help him develop over the course of the season to the point he looks forward to his turns at bat because he knows he can succeed. That player, who came to practice with his head hanging, now stands tall with pride and a big smile on his face. Take the opportunity to enjoy your child’s’ childhood, and to teach some important life lessons!
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Injuries and Kids
Don’t panic if your child is injured. Although baseball is considered a ‘non-contact’ sport, there are occasions when players collide, or non-contact injuries occur. We are all concerned about our children’s safety, but if your child suffers an injury, remember: kids are able to sustain a lot more than adults; and, coaches are probably familiar with the usual baseball injuries. Let the coach handle the situation...he doesn’t need a panicked parent to deal with. Do make sure your coach has your current health insurance information.
WSBR works closely with the City of Winter Springs Parks and Recreation Department to make our youth baseball program as safe as possible. Some of these safety devices can be easily seen at every game such as:
Break Away Safety Bases – These bases are designed to move as a player makes a slide into the base, reduced the chances o foot and ankle injuries.
Orange Safety Base at First Base. – These bases give the first baseman and the batter-runner some extra room at first base. They are there to reduce the number of collisions that occur at first base. Some baseball traditionalists have said that having the “Orange Base” is not real baseball. Please remember that real baseball is played by professionals with multimillion dollar salaries. We play youth baseball for fun and our first and foremost concern is the safety of the kids!
The Purple Pads – Sure they look good, but the padding behind the catcher covers concrete. This padding is there to protect the catcher going back for pop ups and wild pitches.
WSBR History and the Orange Base
A few years ago a collision between the first baseman and the batter-runner almost cost the life of one of our players. As a result of the collision, the player required major emergency surgery. The WSBR Board will always first and foremost put the safety of our kids first when making decisions that affect the game of baseball.
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More About VOLUNTEERS
The program only gets better if you volunteer. We can’t stress this enough: VOLUNTEER...we need you. One of the biggest irritants we see is those who will not give their time, but are quick to criticize. If you can’t be part of the solution, don’t be part of the problem. If you think that something needs to be changed, get involved so that you can change it.
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Speak Up
Speak up if you think your child’s manager is not being fair. One of the most frustrating things for a board member is to have a parent come up to us after the season and say, "Great program, but my son’s manager kept doing something that really bothered me." A manager/coach cannot address problems if they don’t know the problems exist. Don't assume they know you are unhappy because they may have no idea. League Commissioners and the WSBR board can’t resolve problems it never hears about.
Most managers/coaches will welcome your input. These people are putting in lots of effort and very much want every boy to have a good experience. If you don’t make progress with the manager or coach in resolving your concern, then check with your league commissioner or any board member and chances are we have resolved similar problems in the past.
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