ssyb-news

About Rain and Rain-Outs

Sat, 27 Mar 2010 13:17:59 +0100

Rain is a fact of life. Rain not draining off the fields in time for practice is a fact of life. Don't hold it against SSYB when it rains. We can't do anything to stop it.

We CAN do some things to mitigate the damage to the fields when it rains, to keep or make them playable. How and when we do that is determined by several factors:

What is the playing situation?

Is this the early season practice time, or is it the final game in a regional tournament that many people have traveled great distances to attend and the winner has to travel even farther in just 5 days for the world series? Wherever we are on that continuum is what decides the urgency of getting the fields ready to play. In March, practice times are hard to come by, because, hey, sometimes it snows 8 inches on the first day of Spring. It kind of evens out in April, and you will get a chance to practice. I guarantee you, no coach thinks his team is prepared well enough for the first game! That rained out practice or two or three is not going to make a difference. How you handle the frustration related to it will. Work with what you have. That's all any of us can do anyway. Don't take it out on anybody, especially your volunteer board members.

How much labor do we have?

If the above situation is on the far end of the spectrum, like the last day of the Regional Tournament last year, and it is critical that we get the game in as soon as possible, it will take a small army to get one field ready for such an important game. Luckily, there was a small army of devoted, but weary, volunteers to get Snodgrass Field ready for the championship game. (We also had quite a bit of air support.) Coaches in each league should be ready to get to the ballpark early in those evenings where the fields could be made playable with a little sand and raking. Even non-coaches are invited. If you have the late game that night, don't let the early game coaches do all the work for you. Come early and help out.

Is it going to rain some more?

Only God knows for sure. But we have radar! A morning shower doesn't necessarily rain out games. In the hot part of the year, storms can build up and die out right before they get to the JBBC. We can't know. But we have to try to keep the season going, no matter what. At game time, whatever is happening then will decide what we do. We will "proceed as the way opens."

How much will it cost?

A load of sand is expensive. Sometimes we use absorbent materials, like oil dry. That's expensive, too. We have to keep a lid on the costs of running the league, to keep it inexpensive enough that everyone can play. It's a balance beam that we are constantly walking.

What to do when it rains:

Check the website! The tradition has been to update at 3:00 p.m. every day. It may still rain us out between 3 p.m. and game time. We won't update the website in that case, because we will be at the ballpark getting it ready. If you're off work or home from school then and don't have anything to do, come on down and give us a hand. We need you.

We try to use mass communication as much as possible. There's a group on Facebook, and there's this website. We will be updating Facebook during the season, especially during rain outs. If you are on the Facebook group, you can post to the wall there, too, and give updates on your league or your team. Try to keep it specific to the topic, please. (You can get to our group page from the front page of ssyb.com.)

You can call your coach, too. He or she may have just checked the website, though. So, you might as well save a phone call and check it yourself. If you don't have the internet handy, make a pact with someone who does to check the website for you and give you a call.

Today is work day! It's supposed to rain this afternoon, so I hope everyone comes out to the ballpark to do their share, and we can get it all done before the rain comes.

See you at the ballpark!

Spring was only joking.

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 22:57:19 +0100

Apparently we are only entitled to a taste of baseball weather, before we get plunged back into the cool temperatures and gray skies. Take heart! The Earth keeps spinning and there is nothing as sure as the change of seasons. How often it happens is another matter! Lucky for us, we did not have a snow-out of try-outs like last year!

So, try-outs and drafts are over, and if you haven't already, you should be hearing from your child's coach, and starting practice this week, perhaps, if the weather is good. Not only practice, but there's a whole mess of things starting up at the James Butts Baseball Complex:

Siloam Springs High School Panthers have begun their season. We hope to have Snodgrass Field playable for them by their next home game, Friday night. Their home opener was moved because of the giant trench across the outfield left by the gas company. We're working on the problem with AWG, the City and the high school, and hope soon it will be as smooth as Jimmy left it last August.
Commissioners, board members and coaches are doing the pre-emerge treatments of the grass on all the fields now that the temperatures are up. It's probably not a good idea to let your kids roll around on the grass in the next few weeks. Also, it's a good idea to prevent your little ones from digging in the dirt of the base paths, etc. That's special dirt, and we have to keep it where it is.
There has been some vandalism at the ball park over the winter. There always is. We usually have a large plumbing bill every spring due to shenanigans with the standpipes, etc. No standpipes were destroyed this year, but we did have a busted pipe in the men's room, and some glass was broken on the press box. We are very fortunate to have the Siloam Springs Police Department watching out for us. They even stopped ME one day, out behind the concession stand. We're so lucky to have such a responsive police force.
Locks have been changed, so if you were entitled to a key last year and are entitled to a key this year, the ones you had may not work anymore. See board president Matt Haught to rectify the situation.

Practices are beginning, but be aware that there are two Work Days scheduled for getting the fields and complex ready for the season. They are:

Saturday, March 27, from 9-1, and
Saturday, April 17, from 9, until we are done.

Because of these work days, there will be no practices during those times--Coaches are required to attend Work Days. Truthfully, there is nothing more galling than to take your Saturday getting the fields ready, and a team shows up to practice on the very field you are meticulously tilling and raking

More than just coaches are welcome and encouraged to attend work days. It's a great opportunity to contribute to an organization that exists only to serve your child. It's also a great way to teach your children to think outside themselves. We have plenty of things that even the littlest kids can do to help, from sweeping the rocks off the concrete to picking up trash to stocking the coolers.

Many Hands Make Light Work!

If for some reason you have NOT registered your child for baseball, it is late but NOT TOO LATE. Stop by High-5 Sports and pick up a form, or print it off the main page of this website, and get it back to us ASAP! You need to send in a copy of your child's birth certificate and the $65 fee doubles when you're late (JUST KIDDING!). Send it in with your check for $65 ($90 for two or more) and your child will be assigned to the team who was next in the draft.

See you at the ball park!

Why it is important to Register Early.

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 17:11:16 +0100

This year we are establishing a new feature of the Registration Season. We have an absolute cut-off date of April 12, after which no players can be added. This stems from the logistical problems we have had in the past with getting the teams drafted and uniforms ordered in time for the opening day, which for this year is April 19.

Registrations always begin on the first Saturday in February. One year a few years ago we had extremely bad weather on that first Saturday, and hardly anyone showed. So, we held a second chance on the next Saturday. This is the whole reason we now have two Saturday registration opportunities--and the reason the second day could go away. This takes extra time away from the board member's schedules, during a time when many of their kids are playing other sports, but we're happy to make it happen so we can gather as many players as possible, as early as possible.

In addition to the two registration dates in February, the sign-up form is available on the website which you can mail in, and you can pick one up at High-5 Sports in Highland Park and drop it off there as well.

We know some of you are lured by the option of that second Saturday, and it's fine to come on that day! Anyone who waits longer than that, though, is missing some opportunities.. First of all, you won't get to meet and greet all the new and veteran board members or your league commissioner if you don't come on Registration Day. You won't get to ask the questions or make the suggestions that have been burning a hole in your brain since last season. You won't get to try the jersey on your rapidly growing child. And you won't get a donut!

From the Board's perspective, registering early helps us by:

Providing accurate numbers for proper planning of teams, equipment, photo schedules, etc.
Gives us a chance to meet prospective coaches more than once (the other time is at the coaches meeting).
It gives us a chance to make modifications to our budget numbers to allow for lower or higher participation.
It makes the uniform order more accurate..

You may think that registering later, especially after try-outs and drafts, really has no impact on how the season goes for your child. This is not true. In order to explain why, I have to explain how we choose teams. This is useful information for all members of SSYB.

First, the guiding philosophy of SSYB is for all the kids to have a great time playing baseball, regardless of their skill level. In order to do that, there cannot be teams full of ringers, or teams who bring in kids from elsewhere so they can dominate the "rec" league. The only fair way to do this is to make the team selection process as fair and unbiased as possible.

Therefore, we draft good coaches first. Any person can put their name in the hat to be a coach in the league. How many coaches get selected in an age group depends on how many players register, which determines the number of teams. The Board considers all the coaches and then ranks them by secret ballot from top to bottom. Naturally, if there are 6 coaches and only enough players for 5 teams, the coach on the bottom of the list does not get a team.

Those coaches (which are selected in late February) then attend try-outs, where they watch the kids and rank them according to whatever system they choose to use. Some coaches develop an elaborate matrix, and some just go by intuition. This criteria is the coaches judgment, the criteria is theirs, and they don't have to share it with anyone.

You might think that most coaches are looking for the stand-out player, and it's true. But one stand-out does not make a team, so there are other non-baseball criteria that most coaches look for, as well. Like, how well does the player pay attention? Is he enthusiastic and teachable? Unfortunately, more than once I have heard a coach say, "I'd really like to have that kid on my team, but I heard his grandmother yell at the umpire last year." Yes, it's true. The way a family member behaves during games can have an effect on a coach's decision to draft a child. Since we can't know a particular coach's criteria, we have no control over that. But it's okay, because draft night evens it all out.

After try-outs, coaches and commissioners meet for a draft. It is run just like any major league sports draft, except the draft order is chosen by lottery, then the draft proceeds. Experienced coaches can tell you that draft night can make or break an entire season. Skilled coaches will know what to look for and how to strategically draft players. They gained that skill on the field, and that's why you will see successful coaches year after year. It's all related.

When drafts are completed, the Commissioner of each league makes a note of which coach drafted the last player. That's for when the inevitable late registration comes in. The team next in line on draft night will get that new player, and so it goes in draft order until all the teams are filled and/or all the late registrations are placed on a team. Occasionally we will get a big group of registrations at once after draft night, and then that 6th coach will get a team.

Once the drafts are made, practices begin. This is a really bad time for your child to be registered late. He missed try-outs, so the coach didn't get a chance to see the player in action. The coach has been denied the opportunity to strategically select your child and include him in part of his overall game plan. Your child might miss the information given out at the first practice. If it's late enough after that, the uniform he receives might be slightly different than his team's.

We know things happen. Those two Saturdays are booked up for you; you just moved here and baseball starts later where you came from; you don't get the paper or you don't have the internet at home. That's why there are so many options for getting the forms: in person, by mail and by internet.

It's doesn't only help the league for you to register early. It helps your child take full advantage of the system designed to provide the best baseball experience for all the kids, no matter what their experience or skill level.

Avoid the rush! Register now!.

And so it begins...

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 00:50:26 +0100

The first registration opportunity begins tomorrow at 9 a.m. at Signature Bank Community Room. It seems like baseball is just now beginning, but in truth the Board of Directors has been meeting, working and planning for a couple of months now, after a short mid-winter break. They've been fielding phone calls, answering emails, reserving conference rooms, and planning how to make another fun and exciting season.

Here are some answers to questions we've fielded just today:

T-Ball Players have to be 4 before April 30 to play.
Four-Year-Olds play in the T-Ball Minor League
Registration is $65 for one, and $90 for two or more in the same household.

Some answers that we didn't have to give today but we'd like you to know anyway:

We don't guarantee a copy of your child's birth certificate is on file. Bring a copy (or the original) to registration tomorrow and we'll happily make a copy of it for you
Sample sizes of the jersey's will be available to try on tomorrow. Please have your child try the jersey. We cannot afford to replace jerseys that are the wrong size.
This new website has a calendar on the front page. We'll try to keep it updated regularly. You can also look at it by going to calendar.google.com and searching for the Siloam Springs Youth Baseball Calendar. You can even add it to your own Google Calendar.

Coaches will be selected for each league after the Coaches meeting on February 16th. Prospective coaches should register on the 6th.

Second chance registration is on the 13th, but try to register on the 6th or by mail before that if you can. It really helps us out to know the numbers far in advance.

There are lots of options for Sponsors this year. Sponsor commitment absolute deadline is April 5, 2010!

See you at registration!

Information For New T-Ball Parents

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 07:04:18 +0100

This is the time of year we get a lot of inquiries from parents whose oldest child is now 4 and they are just beginning to think about organized sports. We're lucky in Siloam to have many options for 4 year olds to get in on team sports. Soccer, softball, baseball--all provide an opportunity for a young child to test the water without making a major commitment. It can be an exciting time in a family's life. Before they are even old enough for Kindergarten, they can get out there on that field in a cute little uniform and play ball!

In some cases, it becomes obvious early on that baseball is a particular child's sport of choice. He begs his daddy to play catch; any stick in the yard becomes a bat for swinging at rocks; there’s always a baseball cap on his head. This is a child who is definitely ready to give baseball a try.

For the most part, though, children don’t develop skills in any one sport at an early age. Their interests flit around like the butterflies on the clover in right field. If you ask a four-year-old to play baseball with you today, he will likely grab the ball and race you outside, especially if it means more time and attention from mom or dad or big brother. Ask him if he would like to play tomorrow, eh...you might have a hard time getting his eyes off the Thomas the Train in his hand. This is how young children are. We adults could learn something from a 4-year-old about how to live in the moment.

Fortunately, Cal Ripken League and SSYB provides a league tailored specifically to their special needs, abilities and limitations. It’s called T-Ball Minor League, and consists of 4- and 5-year-olds who have never played in a league before.

T-Ball Minor is where your child will be introduced to baseball. Because of the roving attention spans of young children, T-Ball Minor is a hands-on effort for coaches and parents alike. Your team will have a head coach, but every coach is encouraged and expected to involve as many parents as possible in the instruction. Your coach will be the leader, but he or she will invite you onto the field to help remind the players where to stand, when to pay attention, where to run.

Not every parent will be able or willing to help out in this manner, and there really doesn’t need to be a coach for every child. However, two or three parents in the outfield to help keep the kids on task and paying attention to the coach is a great way to make sure every child is getting the instruction. When your coach asks you to help, I hope you will.

Some of the questions we answer frequently from parents who are new to t-ball:

How much are the coaches paid to coach T-Ball Minor?
    No coaches are ever paid in Cal Ripken League or SSYB. No one involved in SSYB except professional umpires are paid for their services (and the umps don’t get much). It is an ALL-VOLUNTEER organization. Therefore, SSYB will be asking parents of 4- and 5-year-olds to step up and be head coach for their team. We never have enough coaches for T-Ball Minor at the end of registration and we have to recruit more. You may be overwhelmed at the idea of managing a large group of little kids. That’s why we expect and encourage parental participation in every game and practice. A T-Ball Minor Coach is more like an administrator. You only need to know the bare minimum about baseball. A better skill to have is organization, the willingness to communicate with the parents and the league and attend a few meetings, and a capacity to be enthusiastic and kind.

You should also be willing to take the Cal Ripken League Coaching Certification, a very simple test based on common sense principles. The test and materials are available online and cost only $20. Once you are certified, it is for life, and you can coach your child through all the age groups in Cal Ripken League and Babe Ruth Baseball.

Why don’t you keep score in T-Ball Minor?
    Because it is an instructional league; the children are too young to understand all the implications of winning and losing; some parents get carried away with the idea and end up putting too much pressure on the kids to win, when the kids should be learning the fundamentals of baseball; all players get to bat and play in the field during every inning, which renders the score pretty much irrelevant.

When do we take/pick up our photographs? How can we find out about rain-outs? How do I contact the board of directors?

The answer to all these questions is always, “check the website!” www.ssyb.com.

Photographs will always be scheduled according to the weather! These decisions have yet to be made for 2010.

Rain-outs will always be posted on the main page of the website. Do not expect a call from your coach or anyone else. If you don’t have regular access to the web, pre-arrange with a fellow parent on your team or someone in your family who you can call to get the information.

When there is a possibility of rain, we generally make the decision by 3:00 p.m., and post it on the website as soon as possible. Sometimes it rains after 3:00, but usually the people who make the decision are already at the ballpark by that time and may not be able to update the website. If there is no notice on the website by 3:00, plan to come to the ballpark at your scheduled time.

A special note about the T-Ball Minor field and rain. The location of the field is such that it floods more readily than other parts of the ballpark. In 2009, the playing surface was raised and sodded again, which helps with the drainage. However, there were not enough funds to raise the ground under the bleachers and outside the dugouts. Thus, there may be quite a bit of water standing in the lush green grass around the field even when the field itself is dry. Because of this, T-Ball Minor games may be rained out, even though the other leagues are able to use their fields.

Contact us: If you encounter an issue that you cannot resolve with your coaches' assistance, use the contact form on the menu of the website to contact the president of the board directly, or ask for the board member on duty to be paged at the Concession Stand.

What about that concession stand?

We want the youngest kids to get the whole experience of the ballpark. That’s why we offer free popsicles for all t-ball teams after their games. There’s nothing like standing there between the fences on a hot summer night, listening to the cheers of the spectators, talking to your friends, and kicking your toe in the dirt while enjoying a nice cold popsicle! Instead of buying expensive snacks for after the game, line your team up at the Concession Stand door for their popsicle!

Also, all teams are required to provide workers for one night during the season in the Concession Stand. The Concession Stand helps keep our registration fees lower than that of many of the nearby cities. When your coach asks for volunteers for your scheduled night, please raise your hand. You won’t miss your child’s game. It’s easy to enough to do that a single motivated teenager can almost run it by himself (although he would be very very tired!).

How do I know if my child is ready to play t-ball?
This is a question every parent has to answer for their own child. There are some guidelines, though. If your child cries at the mere thought of going to practice, don’t make him or her go. Re-evaluate whether this is the right situation at this time in his life. While it is important for children to learn to keep their commitments, they don’t have to learn it when they’re just 4! If your child wants to go to practice, but then doesn’t want to participate or cooperate, consider when was the last time he had a meal or a drink, or whether she might need to use the restroom, or if she had a good night’s sleep or a rough day at school. Remedy the situation if you can, then happily encourage him to try again. If your child shows absolutely no interest in playing, don’t sign him up in the first place. He may be interested next year, or he may never be interested. There is nothing worse than being forced to do what you don’t want to do, for a long period of time (an hour is an eternity to a 4-year-old), and expected to be happy about it. Remember The Golden Rule applies to children, too.

Please call your coach and let them know if you decide to stop coming. Keeps them from wondering about you, or expecting you to fulfill your promise to help in the Concession Stand.

What are the rules of T-Ball Minor?
Click on T-Ball in the menu, and the rules should appear! Remember, the rules are designed to facilitate instruction in the fundamentals of baseball. Excellence comes later. Here are three more principles that can follow your child all the way through:

“1. Fun. 2. Fundamentals. 3. Winning, without violating the first two.”

Welcome to Siloam Springs Youth Baseball!

2010 Registration Has Begun

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 07:26:43 +0100

Siloam Springs Youth Baseball 2010 registration will be held at the Signature Bank Community Room, in Signature Plaza, on February 6th and February 13th from 9am to 12pm. Please bring a copy of the player's birth certificate to accompany the registration form. Registration fees are $65 per player or $90 per family.

NO REGISTRATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED AFTER
APRIL 12, 2010