I understand that my responsibilities as a youth coach are of great importance and that my actions have the potential to significantly influence the youth athletes I coach. Therefore I promise to uphold the following rights of young athletes to the best of my ability:
- Coach positively. Catch players doing things right, provide appropriate technical guidance and praise efforts to improve. Do not criticize players after a loss; instead, ask them what they think they did well and what they would like to improve.
- Demonstrate good sportsmanship. Applaud good plays by the other team. Never argue an umpire's call. Laugh off mistakes.
- Safety and Athlete Protection - Two Deep Rule. Willow Creek Softball follows all Little League and THPRD safety policies. In addition, we employ a "two-deep rule"; for adult interaction with athletes: There must ALWAYS be at least two adults with the team at practices and games. When a coach needs to have a one-on-one conversation with a player, it should take place in a publicly visible area where other adult volunteers are present, such as the edge of the playing field.
- A coach may provide transportation to a play who is not his or her child, provided that the coach's child also is in the vehicle. If a second adult is not available to assist or observe a practice, then the practice must be canceled.
Regular Season Play:
- Manage line-ups to equalize innings played at infield positions and at-bats. That means every player must have innings in the outfield and in the infield, and that batting orders must be rotated each game in order to equalize at-bats over time.
- Develop as many pitchers as possible, and at least two catchers on each team. Every player who desires to play these positions should be given ample practice, support and game opportunities to do so.
- Never intentionally crush the opposition. When it's obvious that your team is likely to win the game by a comfortable margin, remember good sportsmanship and the importance we plan upon girls' desire to keep playing the game. When an opposing pitcher is struggling, remember that our hope is that she will improve her skills and continue to play the game. In these situations, there's no need to steal home or to crush an opposing player's (or team's) spirit by piling on.
- Play to win, but notice that winning is not among our measures of success in regular season play.
Post Season (All Star) Play:
These policies apply to all levels of play. Our most senior players are only 14 years old,and we hope they will have several more years of enjoyable, competitive softball ahead of them.