2007 Diamond Sports

The following information is intended to guide baseball, softball and teeball coaches through the season. Coaches should have a printed copy of this handbook, as well as contact information from our About Us page, available to them for quick reference as needed. Coaches should make every effort to read and understand this information, and contact the appropriate person for assistance.

Behavior of Coaches

Coaches are responsible for their own conduct, as well as their players', parents' and fans' conduct. All coaches are expected to exemplify the highest level of sportsmanship. They should treat players, parents, umpires and the opposition with respect at all times. Cursing, verbal abuse of players, and being a poor example of sportsmanship will not be tolerated. Every coach gets excited during the heat of competition, but Springfield's coaches are expected to maintain control of their emotions. The appropriate commissioner will evaluate all reported incidents of unsportsmanlike conduct and take appropriate action. S.Y.A.A.'s Board of Directors will be involved as necessary.

Mustang, Bronco, and Pony baseball coaches beware. The Tri-County PONY League has a "two strikes and you’re out" policy. Any coach ejected from a game will be put on probation for the remainder of the season. A second ejection in the same season will result in a lifetime ban from coaching in the league. Opposing coaches are supposed to report any ejection to their town's baseball commissioner or president, who'll forward the information on to the Tri-County president. All other opposing coaches will be notified and instructed not to play scheduled games if the coach in question remains in place.

Absolutely no tobacco consumption is permitted during practices and games.

Coaches are responsible for the conduct of their players. Players are expected to respect their coaches, teammates, property and the opposition. Players should understand that taunting the opposition, laughing at injured or underprivileged players, yelling at umpires and similar disrespectful actions will not be tolerated. Players should remain in the bench area at all times when not on the field. Enforcement is left up to the coaches.

Coaches are responsible for the equipment issued to their teams. Care should be taken to prevent damage and theft. The equipment should be returned to the Equipment Coordinator promptly following the end of the season. Missing or damaged equipment should be reported at that time.

All issues regarding equipment should be addressed with the Equipment Coordinator.

Coaches are responsible for any uniforms and patches issued to their teams. They should stress taking proper care of uniforms and wearing them only for games. The uniforms should be collected and returned to the Uniforms Coordinator promptly following the end of the season. Instructions for care and return will be included with uniform issues. Missing or damaged uniforms should be reported.

Ball caps, visors and T-shirt jerseys issued to players and coaches may be kept.

All issues regarding uniforms should be addressed with the Uniform Coordinator.

Field Conditions

Fields will be dragged and lined each for each scheduled game. Bases will be placed according to the level of play scheduled for the field. If you arrive for a game, and the field wasn't properly prepared, please notify the Field Maintenance Coordinator as soon as possible following your game.

The field crews in Westmont and Springfield are responsible for determining rainouts and updating the message on the rainout phone number. Coaches can check field status in rainout situations by calling the number assigned by our message service provider. The message will be updated only when conditions warrant. The rain out phone number is intended for coaches only and should not be shared with parents or players.

Coaches should notify out-of-town opponents of rainouts promptly to prevent unnecessary travel to Springfield.

Coaches are required to unlock the restrooms at City Park and Buffalo Park prior to games played at City Park, Buffalo Park and Springfield Elementary. The restrooms must be locked before leaving the field after every game. The key is stored in the equipment locker at these fields.

The restrooms for Springfield Elementary are located in the lower level of the press box/concession stand at the Buffalo Park field, directly south of the school's field.

Every head coach will be issued a key for the equipment lockers located at each field. One key fits all the locks. Umpire equipment is stored in the locker. Coaches are required to pick up the bases and pitching rubber following home games and return them to the locker. Spikes should be removed from the pitching rubber for proper storage. Umpire gear should be returned to the locker as well. The locker must be locked before leaving the field. If you don’t have a key, or you loose your key, please contact the Field Maintenance Coordinator.

Metro Umpires will supply umpires for Mustang, Bronco and Pony baseball games. Mustang and Bronco games will be assigned one umpire, Pony games will be assigned two umpires. The head coach or assistant coach must pay the umpires following each game.

Local umpires will be provided for softball games.

Field Priorities

Fields are available to teams following these general priorities for practices and games:

• Buffalo Park: Pony only (must coordinate with Legion baseball)

• Springfield City Park: Pony, Bronco, 12U, Mustang, 10U

• Springfield Elementary: Mustang, 12U, 10U, Coach Pitch, 8U

• Platteview Jr. High: Bronco, 12U, Mustang, 10U (not available for games)

• Westmont Elementary: Coach Pitch, 8U, Tee Ball

• Westmont Kyle Field: available for practice only

Fields may be scheduled for practices in March and April. Teams are limited to two scheduled practices per week on weekdays to allow all teams equal opportunity to schedule fields. Practice time will be limited to 90 minutes to accommodate other teams, however, practices may run longer if no other team needs the field. Practice time must be scheduled through the Field/Cage Scheduling Coordinator to avoid conflicts.

Games begin in late April and may pre-empt some practices. Coaches will be notified if a practice must be bumped. Fields may be reserved for practices during the season once all game schedules are finalized, but games will always take precedence over practices if any re-scheduling must be done.

Teams may schedule any field they want for practice once each team has scheduled according to the priorities above. Please vacate your field promptly if another team is waiting to get on the field. Teams using a field without a reservation must vacate the field immediately when a team with a reservation arrives for practice. Teams may not practice on infields that have been prepared for a game.

Commissioners will coordinate scheduling of games with coaches. Generally, coaches are responsible for compiling their game schedules, unless other arrangements are made. They may request the assistance of the Field/Cage Scheduling Coordinator, or request his/her presence at league scheduling meetings.

After April 12, 2002 coaches of teams utilizing Metro Umpires for baseball (Mustang, Bronco, Pony) must notify the Baseball Umpire Coordinator, the Field Maintenance Coordinator, and the Field/Cage Scheduling Coordinator promptly if you must cancel or re-schedule a game for any reason other than weather. Failure to do so will result in S.Y.A.A. incurring unnecessary charges for umpire and field preparation services, so please make the necessary phone calls. Follow the procedures below to re-schedule games.

These steps must be followed to properly re-schedule a game, or add a game to your schedule:

1. Arrange the date and time of the game with the opposing coach.

2. Contact the Field/Cage Scheduling Coordinator to check field availability and schedule the appropriate field.

3. Contact the Field Maintenance Coordinator to arrange for preparing the field for play.

4. Contact the baseball or softball Umpire Coordinator to request an umpire(s) for the game.

All issues regarding field scheduling should be addressed with the Field/Cage Scheduling Coordinator.

Coaches may schedule time with their baseball and softball teams in the batting cage by contacting the Field/Cage Scheduling Coordinator. Thirty- or sixty-minute time slots will be available once per day per team in order to allow every team an opportunity to use the cage. S.Y.A.A. teams using unscheduled cage time must vacate the cage immediately upon the arrival of a team with a scheduled time.

The cage contains two tunnels. The East (left) tunnel adjacent to the ball field belongs to the Legion. The West (right) tunnel is S.Y.A.A.'s. A team scheduled to use our tunnel may use the Legion tunnel and pitching machine when it's not in use by a Legion team. Our teams must immediately exit the Legion's tunnel upon the arrival of a Legion team wishing to take batting practice. Likewise, the Legion may use our tunnel when not occupied by one of our teams, and they will immediately vacate our tunnel when one of our teams arrives for batting practice.

Our tunnel has an equipment box inside containing a batting tee, baseball and softball whiffle balls, and baseball pitching machine balls. The last team in our tunnel must return this equipment to the box and the box must be locked. The last Legion or S.Y.A.A. team in the cage must lock the gate.

Please don’t drive vehicles up to the cage. You should park in the elementary school lot or the Buffalo Park lot. Softballs are not to be used in the Legion’s pitching machine. Softball coaches can use the yellow dimpled baseballs kept in the storage box. Some of the expensive bats used by baseball and softball players today could be permanently damaged by the dimpled balls. Make sure your players know if this is the case for their bats before they hit dimpled balls.

Please supervise your players closely while in the cage. Do not let them hang on or climb the netting or fence. For safety reasons, allow only one pitcher and one batter in a tunnel at a time.

All issues regarding batting cage scheduling should be addressed with the Field/Cage Scheduling Coordinator. If you need a key to the cage, contact the Field Maintenance Coordinator.

At some point during the season, the Team Photos Coordinator will contact head coaches to schedule a team photo session. Please be as accommodating as possible and honor the photographer's wishes during your session.

Any issues related to team photos should be addressed with the Team Photos Coordinator.

Prior to the ordering of shirts and caps for the season, registration fees can be refunded at 100 percent when requested by a parent(s) through the Registration Coordinator. After shirts and caps are ordered, fees can be refunded at 50 percent upon request. Once games begin for the team in question, no refunds will be given. Late fees are never refundable.

Any issues related to refunds should be addressed with the Registration Coordinator.