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MANAGER FAQ
Each team has one manager hired by the board of directors. In addition, each team has one or two coaches, approved by the board in agreement with the manager. After the teams are selected, other parents can volunteer as 'assistant coaches'. Assistant coaches are helpers who step forward after their kids have been assigned to a particular team. There are no league or board requirements addressing assistant coaches and typically managers are grateful for the additional and informal support that assistants provide. 2) How do I become a manager or coach? To become a team manager or coach, you must contact the board and participate in the manager interview process with the board. The interview lasts about a half-hour, and is designed to help the board learn about your experience with, your thoughts about, and your approach to managing a youth baseball team. There will also be discussion of the ECYB mission to make all teams competitively matched within each division. Interviews begin in December. If you are interested for this season, please Contact Ann Gaebler (gaeblers@sbcglobal.net) for an interview time. The board will not be able to assign you to a team if the board doesn't know you're interested and if you don't interview! 3) Whats the difference between a manager and a coach? Each team has a manager, hired by the board of directors to run and oversee the functions of the team. A team may have one or more coaches who report to the manager to help with practices (skill development, drills, batting practice, fill-in when the manager is not available, etc.) and game day needs (base coach, bench coach, etc.). Most managers are happy when parents step forward as assistant coaches. 4) How do managers and coaches get paired up? The first step: the manager is selected by the board. Then, manager/coach combinations may evolve in any number of ways. Some managers and coaches have worked together successfully for years, and stay together. A new manager may recruit a parent he knows from another team from past years, to be his coach. The board may suggest that a parent looking for a coaching position might fit with a manager who has lost his regular coaching partner. There's no set way that managers and coaches can hook up but if you are interested in coaching and don't know whom you might manage with, the board will help you find a slot. There are 2 important things to remember about assuming or pursuing a coach position: If you are interested in coaching but dont have a connection with a manager, please make the board aware of your interest right away, so that we can get you on a team that needs a coach. A coach who is assigned by the board to a particular team before the draft must fulfill his/her assigned role as a coach. That means you must be present at all games and you must attend and participate in practices. If a coach signs on with a team before the draft and does not fulfill his/her role during the season -- barring unforeseen circumstances -- his/her child may be reassigned to another team the following year (to maintain team parity). In addition, and at the board's discretion, the coach or manager will not be given a coach or manager position the following year. 5) How does the board decide which candidates are chosen as managers and coaches, and which teams they are assigned to? In choosing managers and coaches, and assigning them to teams, the board: assesses information from the manager interviews; considers requests from managers and/or coaches to return to a given team; reviews evaluations (from previous years managing/coaching within the league) and looks at skills, abilities and experience of managers and coaches who desire to continue or return to managing and/or coaching; considers the balance between new and returning managers for each league; and tries to link teams with managers and coaches in a way that will best benefits players and teams. Often, managers/coaches who want to spend the second year with a team they worked with last year will be allowed to do so. Similarly, managers/coaches who want to move up to the next league say, Mustang to Bronco are often given consideration. The boards responsibility here is to find and select the best managers and coaches for all teams. For the Pinto league entry level this may involve recruiting relatively inexperienced parents, in order to fill positions. For the higher-division leagues, it may involve choosing from a number of qualified applicants, and trying to match the right managers/coaches with the right teams. The board reserves the right to make decisions about managers, coaches and team assignments that are in the best interests of the league, the players and the teams. 6) What does becoming a manager or coach mean in terms of my child? Does my child automatically go to the team that I coach or manage? Yes. Your child is automatically assigned to the team you coach or manage. 7) What's involved in being a manager? What is the time commitment like? The manager is responsible for all aspects of the teams operations, including among other things: drafting players, organizing practices, setting and managing team lineups (including planning for and keeping track of mandated player participation), maintaining discipline and sportsmanship among players. Managers must also talk to parents and keep them informed. Some managers like to have a lot of practices -- from 2 to 4 a week in the preseason, and 2 to 3 a week during the season, but field space must be shared so your practicing time may be limited by field availability and the ability/willingness of players to take on more practice times. A field schedule is built right after the draft (decided on by the managers) and all managers must stick to it. Pinto teams normally play 1 game a week. Divisions above Pinto typically play 2 games per weekend March through May. The season -- for divisions above Pinto -- may include a few weekday games, especially if rained out games need to be rescheduled The league holds 3 mandatory manager meetings, one preseason, one midseason, and one post season. managers are also strongly encouraged to find a player-parent willing to be a team business manager immediately upon formation of the team. The business manager is assigned administrative functions for the team such as phone trees, snack schedules, team job assignments, etc, so these duties will not fall on the back of the manager. The team business manager posiion fulfills the full volunteer commitment for that players family Bottom line? managing is a signifcant commitment but the more organized you are, the less time it takes. 8) How does the manager's role change from division to division? At all levels, ECYB managers and coaches are expected to cultivate players baseball skills, knowledge of the rules of the game, sportsmanship, discipline and team play. In the younger leagues, effective managers will need the ability to teach young children the most basic fundamentals of throwing, catching, hitting, fielding, running, and focusing on the game. In older leagues, pitching, game tactics, and strategies come increasingly into play. 9) What resources does ECYB provide me as a manager/coach with? ECYB provides each team with: Basic team equipment catchers gear, batting helmets, game and practice balls, some bats, first aid kit, field space, scheduled practice times, subject to weather and field availability Access to coaching and player-development resources (under development; some may be private) Jerseys for all players, and baseball hats for all team members, managers, and coaches. The league does not provide socks, cleats, gloves, belts, or pants. bases and field dragging equipment are stored in a locked cabinet at each field. Managers are given keys to these cabinets. |
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The El Cerrito Youth Baseball Website |
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