JAGS Family,
I would like to introduce myself to the organization. I too
am a parent, volunteer, and member of the Albemarle County/City of
Charlottesville community. I am excited to begin the process of moving forward
with the improvement of our League!
I would like to thank Jason Payne for his hard work and dedication to the JAGS. He worked tirelessly throughout the years to serve the JAGS and give our girls access to softball in Albemarle County and the City of Charlottesville. I would also like to thank Jessica Hurd, our current Secretary, for her service to our organization. She spent countless hours this year assisting Jason in all aspects of league management while coaching a team. We can never repay you both for all you’ve done. Thank you!
I am currently serving as President in lieu of elections in September 2017, just prior to the new fiscal year, and intend on implementing changes to address concerns. We also have a new appointee to Treasurer, Alisa Cooper, and Player Agent, Trevor Shifflett, as well as an acting Vice President, Dawn Sprouse. As mentioned, we maintain our current Secretary, Jessica Hurd, as well as our Umpire in Chief, Rick Peters, and Safety Officer, Tom Cain. We are gravely in need of a Coaching Coordinator, an additional Vice President, and a Majors/Juniors Player Agent to complete minimum operational requirements for Board matters. Fundraising, sponsorship, and other volunteer help, such as team parents, concessions, fundraising, sponsorships, school parents, clinic support, and training coordination, is also needed. We have plenty of room for positive changes and volunteers!
First, I would like to thank anyone who has provided
feedback regarding the Spring season. I do appreciate any respectful line of
communication, especially when the communication includes solutions.
Second, I would like to share some items that were discussed
at the July 2017 meeting:
Sign-up Process. The sign-up process needs to be completely revamped to align with current member needs. Much of
the registration, form submittal, payment, and all other administrative
requirements need to be online in this digital age. Beginning in the Spring, I
would like 75% of the administration achieved via a completely automated
system. I will be working with our website host, Blue Sombrero, to attempt to
realize the process. We will still hold manual sign-ups for those who do not
have Internet or computer access.
League Organization. The current state of the organization
is unsatisfactory and our girls deserve the best. No one is to blame. It was
what it was and now it's time to change. The two board members who stuck with
the League and the coaching staff did the best they could with the resources
they had available. Again, I would like to thank them for their hard work
during the year. Rather than look back, I intend to move forward and recruit
individuals and services to better manage our league and organize our
operations. I have a draft calendar that I intend to implement to outline each
fiscal year and keep our members knowledgeable. I intend on extending registration
as well as administrative, training, and playing periods throughout the year to
better enable our operations. A timeline will keep everyone informed and help
to mitigate ambiguousness going forward.
Communication. Using a better communication system, social
media, and the website for planning and scheduling purposes is a must as well.
We agreed to adopt an app, such as Team Snap, for all season communications
rather than relying on multiple, unreliable methods of communication. I will
continue to update our website and social media pages with important
information, field closures, opportunities, and information. Our e-mail
accounts will remain intact as will the ability to contact the league by phone.
All contact information is posted to our webpage.
Player Development. I am in the process of recruiting a
knowledgeable Coaching Coordinator, an additional Player Agent, and additional coaching
staff to go over development benchmarks for the girls via Little League
protocol. A plan of action is necessary going forward. Additionally, Softball
101, pitching clinics, batting clinics, catching clinics, fielding clinics, and
basic overview instruction at the intermediate and advanced level is a must.
However, it is based on volunteer availability. If anyone would like to coach a
team or coach a clinic, please let me know! I will find a field, recruit
volunteers, and set up programs for the girls when a good plan is presented and
it shows to be beneficial for the girls. Additionally, if anyone has coaching
plan ideas, please write them down for discussion. I will start compiling recommendations
immediately. I need assistance in this area.
Team Practice and Game Play. We may extend the Spring season
to allow for more practice time, since more practice was heavily voiced as
necessary. I believe that practice is more important at the younger ages. The
JAGS will likely move to one game per week for T-Ball with practices held at
the coach’s discretion, within reason, and within an age appropriate frequency.
Even for the Minors, coaches asked for more practice time and less games, so we
will adopt a policy in accordance with player needs. As we move into All-Star
eligible ages, the girls need to play a minimum of twelve games per Spring
season, so additional games are necessary. But, it is age appropriate for those
girls to have more games. The system is relative to experience and maturity.
Draft and Tryouts. While we can keep teams in tact from
Spring to Fall seasons, Little League International regulations and policy
require a draft at the beginning of each Spring season. The JAGS will implement
a draft in the Spring with tryouts and Player Agent involvement to keep the
disbursement of girls (and their skill level) equal across the board, or as
equal as we can manage given the rate of participation. Additionally, girls
will be required to try out for the All Star team moving forward.
All Star Practice Team. We will establish an All Star
Practice Team moving forward for all interested players. We will hold tryouts
for this team and hold participants to a higher standard than in regular league
play. All Star Practice Team participants and their parents will need to commit
to consistent attendance, discipline, commitment, and professionalism. These
ladies will receive additional training, which will better prepare them for All
Star selection. Inclusion in the All Star Practice Team does not guarantee
participation in the All Star Tournament. Concurrently, a player does not have
to partake in All Star Practice Team activities for inclusion in the All Star
Tournament.
Uniforms. The JAGS organization is adopting a new look. Our
colors will be red, white, and blue and our spirit wear and uniforms will
reflect this change. We intend on creating a more professional league for our
girls. In return, we need our players to wear the issued team uniform for play.
Appropriate uniforms will be issued and will be expected to be worn for the
entire season on game day.
Finally, I do hope everyone will see a vast improvement in league
communications that come directly from the Board of Directors. We will do our
best to have clarity and conciseness across the board. Ambiguousness is not our
intent, so please feel free to ask questions. Personally, my door is always
open for constructive criticism in any area. If I don't know what is wrong, I
am unable to fix it.
I hope to do well for the girls moving forward and I hope to
have all of our JAGS family remain with us.
Thank you,
Chris