The team manager and coach must be leaders. All must recognize that they hold a position of trust and responsibility in a program that deals with a sensitive and formative period of a child’s development.
It is required that the manager and coach have understanding, patience and the capacity to work with children. The manager and coach should be able to inspire respect. Above all else, managers and coaches must realize that they are helping to shape the physical, mental and emotional development of young people.
The team manager must be something more than just a teacher. Knowledge of the game is essential but it is not the only badge of a team coach or manager.
While an adult with training and background in the game is a desirable candidate for manager or coach, the Board of Directors should look for other important qualities. Screening of managers, coaches and others who have contact with children is also important in attempting to discover those with a history of child abuse.
The heart of baseball at this level is what happens between the adult manager/coach and player. It is the manager more than any other individual who controls the situation in which the players may be benefited. Improving the level of leadership in this vital area must be a continuing effort.
Children of this age are strongly influenced by adults whose ideals and aspirations are similar to their own. The manager/coach and player share a common interest in the game, a desire to excel, and determination to win. Children often idolize their managers and coaches, not because the adult is the most successful coach or mentor, but because the manager and coach are sources of inspiration.
Managers and coaches must be adults who are sensitive to the mental and physical limitations of children of this age and who recognize that the game is a vehicle of training and enjoyment, not an end in itself. It has been stated many times that any program can only be as good as the quality of leadership in the managing and coaching personnel. Every organization should make a determined effort to enlist the best adults in the community to serve as managers and coaches.
Anyone interested in being a manager or coach should contact the SPBA, either by email ro by attending a Membership meeting, and be willing to undergo a screening process that may include a background check, as well as interviews of those with personal knowledge of your qualifications.
In the past, the SPBA has teamed up with the South Park High School Baseball team to offer coaching clinics in the High School Auxiliary Gym during the off-season. This is both a great way to train managers and coaches by showing them drills and techniques, but also to let the High School coaches express the expectations of the players when they get to the next level. A wide variety of materials are available for players and adults, as well as clinics and seminars led by experienced experts.
Who is responsible for the conduct of the manager and coach? First and foremost, it is the manager or coach themselves. Each of us in the SPBA must take responsibility for our own actions.
However, as the chief administrator, the president selects and appoints the managers and coaches. As such, no person becomes a manager or coach without the approval of the president. All appointments are subject to final approval by the Board of Directors.
Only the Board of Directors has the authority to remove or suspend a manager or coach. If a parent or anyone else is dissatisfied with a manager or coach, they must present the issue to the President and Board of Directors.