Team and Parent rules

[Amy Rogers]

I need some examples of rules to give kids and parents of a 12u softball team!!!!

 

[YOCOACH]

In no particular order, here are a few to start.

1) No parents in or around the dugout....EVER! Exception: Unless it's a case of an injury.
2) If parents have something they want to discuss with the coaches after a game, they must wait 24 hrs and set a time to talk to them the following day.
3) No players are allowed to leave the dugout without the coach's permission during a game.
4) No parent coaching from the stands or outside the fence.....EVER! The parents have entrusted the coaches to teach/ coach their children so let the coaches do exactly that.
5) No Parents or player will argue/show disrespect to the umpires/ other team/ other parents/ teammates/ etc. The word sportsmanship and all it entails will be utilized at all times by everyone.
6) As a coach, you will not discuss another player except with their own parents. If a discussion is needed, the player will be present so that they know and understand what is said.
7) No parent will discuss or criticize another player with the coaches or other parents.
8) No tantrums, swearing or throwing equipment in the dugout will be tolerated.
9) Players will show up x minutes early for practices and x minutes early for games to warm up.

If it's a TB team/ all-stars/ club/ etc. ....A minimum of 2 players, preferably 3 from the team will go to the bathroom/ concession stand/ watch other games/ etc. when leaving the team area during a tournament.


These are pretty much the 'biggies' I try to cover.

Edit to Add: You may want to write a Coach's Code of Conduct also.

 

[newsoftballdad]

Player carries their own bag!

Nothing worse than seeing a dad dragging behind a kid, as she skips ahead.

 

[doublenickel]

In no particular order, here are a few to start.

1) No parents in or around the dugout....EVER! Exception: Unless it's a case of an injury.
2) If parents have something they want to discuss with the coaches after a game, they must wait 24 hrs and set a time to talk to them the following day.
3) No players are aloud to leave the dugout without the coach's permission during a game.
4) No parent coaching from the stands or outside the fence.....EVER! The parents have entrusted the coaches to teach/ coach their children so let the coaches do exactly that.
5) No Parents or player will argue/show disrespect to the umpires/ other team/ other parents/ teammates/ etc. The word sportsmanship and all it entails will be utilized at all times by everyone.
6) As a coach, you will only discuss the player in question with their parents and the player will be present so they understand and know what is said.
7) You will not carry on a discussion about players that are not their children with any other parent nor do you expect them to try.
8) No tantrums, swearing or throwing equipment in the dugout will be tolerated.
9) Players will show up x minutes early for practices and x minutes early for games to warm up.

If it's a TB team/ all-stars/ club/ etc. ....A minimum of 2 players, preferably 3 from the team will go to the bathroom/ concession stand/ watch other games/ etc. when leaving the team area during a tournament.


These are pretty much the 'biggies' I try to cover.

Edit to Add: You may want to write a Coach's Code of Conduct also.

All very good ideas, I also like the idea of a Coach's Code of Conduct. In the last year I have seen a coach arrested for texting with one of his 12U players and trying to meet up with her for things no adult should do with a 12 y/o girl.

 

[CoogansBluff]

7) You will not carry on a discussion about players that are not their children with any other parent nor do you expect them to try.

Yo - Great list, although I don't understand this one. Your pronouns are confusing me. Are you saying that parents shouldn't talk about players that aren't their own? This is a good issue because I've seen parents have a very divisive effect on a team by criticizing players that aren't their children, especially if done publicly.

As for rules in general, for teams that I've coached, I've found it better to limit the number of written rules because if you have a lot of them, they lose their impact. They will be read as blah-blah-blah. Better for me to have only a few so that they will be heard. The most important parent rules, IMO -

- Don't coach players from stands.
- Don't criticize/question umpires.
- Alert coach when you're going to be late or absent and make those events very rare.

There are many other expectations, but those three account for 95 percent of the issues that I've had as a coach. If there was a fourth, it would be the one discussed above, the idea that parents should not criticize coaches or other players publicly. Bring that to the coach.

 

[YOCOACH]

Yo - Great list, although I don't understand this one. Your pronouns are confusing me. Are you saying that parents shouldn't talk about players that aren't their own? This is a good issue because I've seen parents have a very divisive effect on a team by criticizing players that aren't their children, especially if done publicly.

Yes, that's what I mean and I will rephrase it now...Thanks CB!

Edit to Add: Your short list pretty much comprises my list for the kids although I add #8. The parents get the full list.

 

[SandyM]

Another one to consider for your list is reminding parents to pick their daughter up promptly at the end of practice. Coaches should not have to wait for parents.

 

[Mylil32]

You should have "rules" for the parents and "expectations" for the players.

Rules are easy:

No parents in the dugout
Wait 24 hours before discussing issues with coaches
Players other than your own, will not be discussed.
Remember you are representing the team, conduct yourself accordingly.

Expectations for players:

Give 100% effort 100% of the time.
Be on time, every time
You are representing this team/organization, conduct yourselves accordingly.

 

[Amy Rogers]

All very good ideas, I also like the idea of a Coach's Code of Conduct. In the last year I have seen a coach arrested for texting with one of his 12U players and trying to meet up with her for things no adult should do with a 12 y/o girl.

Can you give me an example. My husband is coaching my daughters team this year. Its only rec. Ball. We live in a pretty small community and know every one and dididnt think that all the rules needed to be on paper. Boy were we wrong. These moms are crazy and making us miserable.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

All organizations should require meetings with the parents, prior to practice starting. These points are then discussed and emphasized. I don't believe that I was ever given a copy, but at the HS level, we had mandatory parent meetings.