State of New Hampshire
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Solutions to Common Problems
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This section deals with issues that a new or growing program may encounter. The experiences of other programs and their solutions to common issues may suggest methods that could be adapted to your own local situation.
Topics will be added to this page as they are developed. Essentially, this will be a series of "dry prose", but hopefully will be thought provoking to those searching for ideas or solutions to their own local problems. Each topic references an article on the subject. The article title is a hot link directly to that web-page. At the end of each page, you may either link back to this directory or go directly back to the Home page.
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Building and managing a league for players age 13-16; Overcoming the challenges |
The 13-16 age group can be particularly challenging. Lower enrollments, school team conflicts, and short playing seasons are difficult problems, but there are solutions.
Here is a list of tips and suggestions for creating a healthy program for the older players in your area. 16 & Under |
| Trying to overcome the stigma of a "Recreational Program" resulting in low expectations and obstacles to player development? | A common misconception of recreational programs often limits the nature and experience of girls softball leagues.
Learn how to change the mind set in order to develop a quality program by reading Softball Myths |
| Looking for the right national program for your league? | There are many choices, each one with it's own advantages. Find out why Babe Ruth Leagues, Inc., is the best choice for a youth-centric comunity based softball league.
See if Babe Ruth doesn't meet your needs by reading Babe Ruth - Simply The Best |
| Structure & League Management | How your is league managed? Are you a combination of towns working together? Read Organization - Who's in charge of this thing, anyway? to learn about pitfalls and possible solutions when organizing your program. |
| Recruiting enough players to build a strong league | If you are a small league and annual player registrations always leave you scratching for ways to fill out leagues or create interesting schedules, then Babe Ruth offers several solutions.
For ideas on expansion, check out Build Strong Programs Three Ways |
| Is your league kind of "out there" on its own? Do you have problems getting the resources, attention and commitment that is so freely available for boys programs? In short, is your softball league only dreaming of parity with boys programs? | Sad to say, this is not a unique problem. Find out how one program reversed a 15 year history of inattention and
lack of respect. By establishing goals and restructuring their program, they not only gained parity, but in three years developed
to the point where they sent a team to the Babe Ruth World Series.
Read Let's Get Serious for a virtual road map for improving your own program. |
| Do you wonder how to get more girls in your area interested in playing softball? | See what one league president does in her small community to promote softball and achieve a participation
rate that should be the envy of any program.
Get some tips for your own local missionary work by reading Every Player Deserves The Chance |
| How do you build interest and retain more players? | Girls who start out in a mixed gender program may be disinterested and discouraged by the time they reach 10 years old. Learn how to give them more at an early age by reading the observations and solutions of the Asst State Commissioner of NC. See Jump Start Your Softball Program for ideas you can use in your own league. |
| Filling out the rosters for a 16U league | The conflict with school teams can be managed, especially with the elimination of the NHIAA Non-Compete rule.
Learn how you can use this change to everyone's advantage and also see the text of the pertinent NHIAA Rule change at The NHIAA "Non-Compete" Rule - Rule Change in 2000 |
| Where do you find qualified umpires and how do you retain them? | There are very few leagues which do not have a need for more qualified umpires. It will
take some hard work and attention to resolve, but it can be done.
See Umpires: It doesn't have to be a problem to learn how one program experienced all the problems you can imagine and then finally reached a solution. |
| Do we really need insurance, and is Babe Ruth insurance our best bet? | You will receive multiple mailings from Babe Ruth concerning insurance. That's because it is a critical need for your own protection. But what does it all mean?
Visit All Right Already, I Got the brochure to see what league insurance is all about and what you need to protect yourselves. |
In New Hampshire at least, the single greatest challenge, the primary point of confusion, and the single greatest source of questions, is the 16U Age Division. No other athletic program offers more to this age group then Babe Ruth Softball. Here is an age group that needs a strong recreational outlet and yet I would venture to say that as a whole, we are often times missing the target. Therefore, I will try to clarify common points of confusion as well as offer suggestions on how to optimize the league for your community program.
Separate League:
When you submit your charter in the spring, if you list both 12U and 16U teams, you may have noticed that you receive TWO charter
documents. There is a very good reason for this. Babe Ruth Leagues understands that raw numbers for players in the 13-16 age group are
traditionally far below those in the 12U division. By automatically separating the charters, Babe Ruth is enabling the 16U group to
operate under a different set of geographic boundaries.
Other than just a handful of programs in the state, no one else can sustain a 16U League within just their own townships. Therefore, cooperation with other leagues and communities is essential.
Sense of Purpose
Every Babe Ruth community program strives to offer softball to as many players as are interested. After all, Babe Ruth is
community based and all-inclusive. Once players turn 13 however, everything from jobs to social lives to conflicting
commitments begins to draw players away. Enrollment numbers fall off quickly. In addition, school teams draw off the best players,
and in some small communities, that's almost all the players. As a result, many organizations have decided that their program
essentially ends at age 12. The problem is that there are still players looking for an opportunity to participate and if there is
no program for them, then they lose.
If your primary purpose is to provide a recreational outlet to the community, then abdicating at age 13 is in conflict with that purpose.
A Viable League - Three Strategies
There are three ways to address these challenges.
This is a great opportunity for the league to work with and support the school coaching staff in developing players. By committing to support the school team as the primary, and working to eliminate potential schedule conflicts, you can win over all but the most myopic coaches. You can even find a common purpose by asking the coach to "consult" and point out the skills the he/she believes need the most attention. Now with a nucleus of school players, recruit those who were either cut from the team, or just didn't go out in the first place.
The Season - Two Strategies
New Hampshire, blessed as we are with some of Mother Nature's very best work, we do have one of the shortest spring seasons on
the planet. I am constantly asked how to get in a minimum 10 game season between the end of the school season and the start of
tournament play. For many of you, this period of time can be as short as 4 weeks - not much of a season to say the least.
First of all, remember that the primary motivator to get in a minimum of 10 games is to qualify for post season play. Even then, if the weather prevents this, as it did with several leagues during the 2001 mini-ice age, or the 2002 spring floods, waivers are available.
Tournament Play
In New Hampshire, we offer a post season tournament for both 14U and 16U teams. Most 16U-tournament teams include players that
are 13 and 14. There are very few, in fact I'd say two or less, that are 15-16 only. If your league has some quantity of 15 and
16 year olds, you could produce a 16U team only, a 16U and a 14U, or a 14U only if the 15s and 16s are unavailable. Flexibility
is the key, and Babe Ruth is offering the chance for you to operate in whichever way is in the best interest of your league.
Counter-point
Here are some common misconceptions that actually hamper the development of a strong 16U program.
If I may digress, one of our big fears was having a school pitcher suddenly appear mid-way through the season and blow everyone
else away. Know what really happened? Over time, everybody's hitting skills improved. You cannot learn how to hit when all you see
is marshmallows. Again, everybody wins.
On the flip side, one NH community, which I will not name, is well known for its ASA tournament teams. They draw from many
communities to fill out their two rosters. There is no league play at all for the 13-16 age group. Of the 30 players on their
two traveling squads, less than half are from the home town. Here, a couple of coaches in their fervor to produce a highly competitive
team are actually displacing an entire potential league of 13-16 year old players. This town has a sturdy population and could be
providing a program to a great number of local players, but they do not. What a shame.
Whether forming a brand new community girls softball league from scratch, or attempting to improve and modify an existing league, there are some common misconceptions which can impede a program's development.
It's "Just" Recreational:
This is an oft repeated phrase that is, in its very nature, self limiting. The only significant difference between a "recreational" program and any other kind is that the "Rec" program is typically community based and designed to encourage as many players to participate as want to.
The commonly accepted incorrect assumption is that a "Recreational" program does not and cannot provide quality instruction and competition. However, "Recreational" and "Quality" are not mutually exclusive terms.
There are more than 40 Babe Ruth Softball Leagues in New Hampshire that meet the definition as a "Recreational" league. In fact, Babe Ruth actually requires the very things that define Rec programs. Babe Ruth is community based and all inclusive.
It is just a matter of how you set your goals. If you AIM low, you'll HIT low.
First things First:
It is a common misconception that establishing membership in a national affiliation is last on the list of priorities when constructing a league. When starting from scratch, it would seem logical to manage the local details before considering joining Babe Ruth or any other organization.
The truth is that this is exactly backwards. Joining Babe Ruth requires nothing more than 30 minutes to fill out a Declaration of Charter form. For the short time spent on this, there will be a flood of benefits that will enable faster and more comprehensive league development.
Upon submitting the Charter Declaration, you will be instantly supported in your goals and efforts by a national organization as well as a local infrastructure of volunteers who are dedicated to your success. Rather than spending endless months at meetings and discussions, Babe Ruth membership will give you a huge head start by providing:
In short, joining Babe Ruth first will save you a tremendous amount of work and help you advance your program much faster than "going it alone" in a vacuum.
Expectations, Goals, & Opportunities:
It is sad but true that many local programs have essentially low expectations for what can be accomplished with a girls' softball program. This is rarely the case with boys' baseball.
So, as hard as it may be to admit, setting low expectations is really nothing more than a subconscious gender-bias. That may sound harsh, but if you look at it objectively, that's all it is.
Do aspiring female athletes deserve any less than their brothers would get? Of course not.
Membership in Babe Ruth Softball Leagues, Inc., in its simplest form,
For more information or just an informal discussion, contact your New Hampshire Babe Ruth Softball State Commissioner, Russ Monbleau by calling 673-5508 or sending E-mail to: nhsoft@aol.com
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In softball, there are two types of national programs in the mainstream. There are community based league programs, such as Babe Ruth Softball, and there are programs that focus solely on tournament travel ball. I have personal experience with both and based upon what I have learned, the differences are vast and there is no contest as to which type of program best serves our youth: Babe Ruth Softball.
Consider the following: Babe Ruth Softball and programs that are geared toward tournament competition only are all well organized, international programs. The question must be, then, "Which program will provide the greatest number of benefits to your local league?"
First, on a local level, both Babe Ruth Softball and the travel programs allow for a great deal of flexibility and local control.
Play Structure: Babe Ruth Softball provides a game rule structure that is specifically designed for youth. Furthermore, each Babe Ruth Softball league participates in an annual rules review and has the opportunity to influence the national program. Many travel programs are heavily oriented toward adult play and as such, devote less of their time and resources exclusively to the younger players.
Sense of Community: The entire Babe Ruth philosophy and network is youth- and community-oriented. Program structure is based upon league size: teams and registrants. Babe Ruth Softball requires geographic boundaries and prohibits "poaching" between communities. Its design promotes a level playing field for all. Travel programs are dead silent on this subject.
Tournament Play: Without a doubt, the travel ball organizations have a well developed summer program of tournaments. However, since these travel teams are the result of hand-picked recruitment from a wide geographic area - sometimes an entire state - there may be no sense of community or consistency among the teams. There are no provisions for, or attempts to achieve, parity in team composition. Babe Ruth Softball also has an excellent tournament trail. There are defined and enforced tournament team boundaries which allow Babe Ruth to introduce to the best of its ability a form of parity which gives any team in any year a chance to compete well and advance.
The Babe Ruth Softball experience we have enjoyed has been positive and encouraging and has developed a real enthusiasm on the part of our teams. The results have been completely opposite of my former league's experience in many years of travel ball.
Youth-Centered: The importance of a program that is focused entirely on the kids cannot be stressed enough. Everything Babe Ruth Softball does is directed towards improving the program for the kids. Babe Ruth has no other agenda and no other constituency. Babe Ruth is completely compatible with the objectives of any community's youth oriented program.
Costs: Affiliation costs for both Babe Ruth Softball and tournament travel ball programs are very similar. However, with Babe Ruth Softball there are not entry fees for official Babe Ruth tournaments. With travel ball programs, each tournament entered requires a substantial fee.
Should your team advance to a regional level in Babe Ruth, team housing costs are eliminated through the Babe Ruth host housing program. If your team qualifies for the World Series, its complete travel costs are paid. There is no charge to the league for transportation to the site, ground transportation once arriving, or housing and meals. No travel ball organization will do that for your league!!!
I personally believe that given all the above benefits, no other program can begin to compare with Babe Ruth Softball. In fact, I cannot conceive of one advantage that a tournament travel organization has over Babe Ruth - the best youth softball program available today. BACK TO TABLE OF CONTENTS
While I have only been State Commissioner now for a short time, I have had a number of discussions with people from all over the state concerning essentially the same topic. Furthermore, in every case, there is a consistent element, which is what prompts me to create this sort of "white paper" on the topic.
Before I get started however, let me qualify what I am about to say. The opinions I will express are mine alone and are not in any way endorsed by or part of anything sourced from Babe Ruth Leagues, Inc.
To state the problem as succinctly as I can, I have been contacted by a number of coaches, league directors, and even player parents concerning the quality and direction of their particular girls' softball program. Issues include everything from instruction level to local rules to availability of resources to coordination between multiple towns comprising any given league.
The one consistent thread that has run through all these discussions is that in each case, management of the league, or parts of the league where multiple towns are involved, has been left pretty much to local town Recreation Departments. My observation then is that there is a general misunderstanding of how Rec. Departments have to operate.
Any town Recreation Director's job covers an enormous spectrum of duties and a large constituency. Their programs can begin with day-care for toddlers and run all the way to organized day trips for seniors. They may also have management responsibility for any and all town recreational facilities. To make matters even more difficult, The Rec. Director typically has multiple managers from the town manager to the board of selectmen to every voter in the community. It's a really tough assignment.
It is unfair and unrealistic then to expect anyone in this position to be able to focus on the specific needs of any one given program. Furthermore, youth oriented athletic programs are generally volunteer efforts, requiring adults to coach teams and manage the underlying elements of the program. The more that the local parents do not do, the more is left to the Rec. Director by default.
Let me say it yet another way. Any youth program that is politically based is subject to potential problems.
Horror Tales
For instance, two leagues I have first hand knowledge of, have had serious problems controlling coaching misbehavior. In both instances, the matter reached the Board of Selectmen. In one, an offending coach was "banished for life" and in another, two offending coaches were reinstated and are still wreaking havoc, now by political appointment.
I know of several programs that do not submit All-Star teams because it is not in the town budget.
Another town created a youth sports oversight board including the Rec. Director, a Selectman, the Librarian, and a middle school Vice Principal. They decided everything including "appropriate levels of competition". None of them were coaches or involved in any manner other than executing their own personal philosophies, some of which were really "out there".
There are many instances where the Board of Selectmen must vote on each and every program expense. Can you imagine a worse waste of time or a more disruptive process?
A visiting coach from another town complained about the dismal conditions of their home field. I've been there and he wasn't exaggerating. It absolutely never occurred to him or anyone else, that with 9 softball teams, there must be at least 100 potential parent volunteers. One truckload of material, a couple of lawn edgers, a ball of string, a wheelbarrow, and eight adults wielding hand tools could fix the problem in an afternoon. This field is a rutted quagmire that could be in top condition as soon as everyone stops waiting for "the town to fix it". By the way, they have been waiting for at least 5 years that I know of. My personal opinion is that this general attitude that youth programs are the town's responsibility is nuts.
The Solution:
First of all, everyone must realize that even with a town Recreation Director, any youth athletic league must have a large body of volunteers. With that understood then, it is just a matter of which responsibilities those volunteers will take on.
I cannot imagine any town Rec. Director that wouldn't gladly turn over the duties of registration, equipment manger, scheduling, field prep, coaching selection, communications, and fund raising in a heart beat.
Establishing critical mass to insure a consistent and viable program and schedule involves one or a combination of, three basic strategies.
Increase enrollment from within your boundaries
It seems to be a fairly consistent in New Hampshire from town to town, that girls' enrollment runs about 20% - 30% of boys'. Therefore, it appears that there is a huge untapped pool of potential players.
The key is to first discover what keeps them away. Is it just a lack of interest in competitive sports, or, are many perhaps uncertain of their qualifications? There are several proven techniques to expand participation.
The first and most obvious is better communication. Work through the schools, local papers, and even letters to parents, explaining your program, objectives, and benefits.
Second, make sure your program offers a program for young players. Many girls will play T-ball baseball but by the time they have reached softball age, they are already discouraged, or feel they have reached their limits from a viewpoint of competing with boys. (See Article on starting young.)
Where possible, if numbers allow, divide your 12U group into a Major and Minor league. This allows for teams to be composed of more equal groups of players in terms of playing ability and will actually draw more players into the program.
Expand Your Boundaries
Approximately 50% of the state of New Hampshire is available for expansion of Babe Ruth Softball. If you need to increase your critical mass and a neighboring community is not already involved with Babe Ruth Softball, use the winter months to recruit them into your program. Chances are good that they are experiencing the same problems that you have and by combining, you will both benefit.
Use your State or District Commissioners to help recruit target towns. It is part of their job description, and by participating in an exploratory meeting with prospective communities, can show the strengths and advantages of Babe Ruth Softball.
Expansion by boundary extension will encounter one of two situations.
| 1. Either the target community will have a program in place, or they won't. If they do not, just petition your State Commissioner to include that community within your boundaries, and upon approval, begin player recruitment. | |
2. If the town already has a program, either independent, Little League Softball, or ASA, there will be some infrastructure in place. In this situation, you would be best served by forming an open board with representation from all participating communities. Each community can submit teams and cover their own expenses such as equipment and uniforms. General costs, such as Charter fees, state dues, tournament fees, etc., can be portioned out on a per team pro-rated basis. |
Interlock schedules with neighboring leagues
This strategy does not help you with critical mass, but it will allow you to expand your schedule and make the season more interesting. Remember one thing though. If you are playing with another league that is not chartered with Babe Ruth, those games will not count towards your minimum 10 games for tournament eligibility.
Help is Available
Your State or District Commissioner is available to help you form your expansion strategies. They may already be targeting communities for new charters and this could fit in well with your expansion requirements. They can also be a spokesperson, representing the Babe Ruth state organization to help draw new communities into the family.
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Editor's Note: As we hear of other league's successes and their approach to achieving that success, we are printing their stories to help other leagues develop and grow. The Souhegan Valley League of southern New Hampshire joined the Babe Ruth Softball program in 1998.
Girls' softball in our area had been around for almost fifteen years, but there was something missing. It was clear to even the casual observer that the girls' programs in our area were only getting lip service at best while the boys' programs received the attention, resources, and dedication required to produce a quality program. There was virtually no skills development for softball participants and the entire program was being treated as the lowest of the low in recreational pastimes. We had a set of local rules that had evolved over time to a point where you almost could not recognize the game at all.
Where did this attitude come from, and why did it persist? Why were the girls so poorly equipped? Why was their season only half the length of the boys'? Why was field availability given no priority? Where was the instruction one would normally expect with any youth program? Why weren't the parents recognizing this disparity and trying to solve the problems?
Bothered by these conditions, new leadership stepped up with an agenda. There were three objectives: 1) acquire critical mass (a significant number of players), 2) improve the quality of play, 3) elevate the softball program to a parity level with baseball.
By 1996, registration numbers between the four communities in our league enabled an eight-team 10-12 year-old division and a four-team 13-15 program. The schedule was expanded to play the same number of games as baseball. Most local rules were eliminated to move the league up to fundamental and recognizable softball.
While improvements were being made, a valid benchmark was needed to gauge progress and to help set new objectives. After conferring with other leagues and observing a Babe Ruth District Tournament, several significant factors became apparent. The Souhegan Valley League had a long way to go. We realized that:
The league sponsored a six-week professionally taught pitching clinic.
Yet another community joined our program and several others greatly expanded their enrollment. Critical mass had been achieved.
The league chartered with Babe Ruth Softball and was now part of a quality national program with structure and rules designed specifically for youth.
Each community was required to appoint a dedicated softball director to build a sustaining administrative infrastructure.
An information package was distributed to each parent detailing changes in the league, the rationale, and asking for their support.
A 16-18 league was formed and three of our communities experimented with an 8-9 year old program. Our league could now service players from ages 8 to 18.
Leading by example, one community invested $7,500 into their program for all new softball equipment and uniforms on a par with their baseball program.
Enrollment expanded to 14 teams in the 10-12 age group, and 7 teams in the 13-15 bracket.
The league hosted a Babe Ruth Softball 13-15 District Tournament. The strategy was to showcase a quality tournament in order to create even more local enthusiasm.
In the 1999 season, the 8-9 age league will expand to all towns. Multiple skills clinics were hosted over the winter months. It still may be several years before the softball program fully develops all the skills for very competitive play, but the Souhegan Valley Babe Ruth Softball League has taken the steps needed to reach its long-term objectives.
Becoming part of the Babe Ruth Softball program has been instrumental in providing the appropriate guidance, design and structure. From league formation, to organization and playing rules, to post-season play, Babe Ruth Softball was the right move to make.
Epilog:
In 2001, Souhegan Valley won the New England 12U Regional Tournament and advanced to the World Series in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. It is an experience that the players, coaches, and families will always remember.
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Living in a rural area in Eastern North Carolina, recruiting players is a unique task. Our league is made up of teams from several small communities in Eastern Carteret County. The community that I am involved with has only 150 kids in the school, K-8, boys and girls.
Fielding teams in three age divisions is difficult. It makes me wonder: "How is it that communities much larger than ours actually have fewer girls participating?" We have 44 girls ages 5-12 playing on our teams. From season to seaon 98% of our players return. This retention, and recruiting, is vital to our league' survival.I make it a point to get to know my own children' friends, as well as the other students in their school. I have lunch on Fridays with my kids, and their friends and talk with all of them about softball. I want them to get to know me too.
You have to make playing ball "cool". Every child should be told how important she is to the team, and how important it is to make everyone on that team feel special. Girls that played the year before are a good source for recruiting the younger players. That helps them feel that the teams belong to them. They become role models for the girls just starting out in softball.
Coaches, as well as Player Agents should get involved. If you tell a girl how much you want her to play, she will feel important, and each player is.When a girl is 5 years old, you cannot judge whether or not she can play ball. Of course, you will have those that have natural abilities. That's no-brainer! But, as you all know, softball is the only sport where a player of any size, any shape, any race, or any age can perform well. The only requirement is to be smart - to understand strategy.
A good coach can teach "smart". He or she can teach "strategy". Therefore, any girl can potentially be a great player if she has a good coach who will teach her how to "think" the game. Natural athletes give coaches instant gratification, but to take the girl who has to work at it, and teach her the game and develop her skills until she becomes an excellent player, is where the real reward is for a coach.
It is easier to leave out the girls that are not "natural athletes", especially if you are a league in a larger community where you have more potential players to draw from, but Babe Ruth Softball gives every girl an equal opportunity to play. It is up to the coaches and the League President to make sure it happens.
My coach taught me that years ago. Your regular season should be full of instruction, instilling confidence in all the players and making sure they have fun! That is an investment in the future of your league. During the course of the season, everyone on the team will do something good. Everyone will contribute. You can find something in every girl's performance to praise, and encourage the "natural" players to do the same.
Your All-Star players will have other opportunities to shine throughout the tournament trail. If you've set a good example during the season, she will remember her teammates that helped her get there. When you recruit this season, please remember that at such a young age, or at any age, it is not up to you to decide if that child can play. It is your job to teach her to play. Who knows, you might be overlooking the next "Dot". I know you will be missing the opportunity to touch a life in ways you may only realize when that girl is grown.
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Looking for a jump-start to your Softball program? Have you taken a close look at the very first league your girls, parents, and potential sponsors encounter? Now is the time to think about just what it is you are trying to accomplish in that first league and what your results have been.
Let me tell you what I found when I took a close look at the results. Several clubs, including ours, had found it just easier to mix the girls and boys in the Tee-Ball league. This worked fine for placing players on teams for transportation, scheduling games, and setting up teams per league. But...we realized a big "could have done something better": we broke out the girls into a "league of their own" for Tee-Ball.
And, I discovered some amazing facts.In most of the years I studied, I found that the managers and coaches of the mixed-gender teams were parents of the boys. I also found that the sponsors were ones found by parents of the boys. Now, this is not a bad thing for that particular team, nor for that particular league. But, when the girls later advanced into the Minor division and moved into that "league of their own", they were coming up on the short end by starting all over finding managers, coaches, and sponsors.
Does it make a difference at what playing level you start developing managers and coaches? You bet! The earlier the league (i.e. Tee-Ball level vs. Minor level) you start the process of developing managers and coaches, the less intense, complicated, and competitive the structure and change they must go through. This process may not be totally understood by someone who has not been in an administrative position for the girls' league for several years, but for us that have, it's like seeing that light bulb immediately turn on.
The same thing happens for sponsors. If you have that mixed-gender league, then a disproportionate share of the Tee-Ball sponsors will move into the boys' program once the players reach the age level where the boys' and girls' programs split. It's simple: the longer the girls wait to find sponsors, the harder it is.
Aside from the development of managers and coaches, and the recruitment of sponsors, let's take a look at the effect on the girls themselves. When girls play Tee-Ball on a mixed-gender team, it seems that since most of the volunteer coaches are boys' parents, the attention naturally favors the boys. From day one, many of the girls feel like lesser players. At age five or six, they don't rationalize to themselves why they aren't getting the same level of attention and begin to feel like maybe they, as a player, just aren't that good. No one intends for this to happen, it just does. As a result, very often the beginning player loses interest in the sport and drops out before really having a chance to begin serious development in her sport. In fact, she may never get the chance to play the sport of softball since the mixed-gender Tee-Ball and Rookie teams normally play baseball.
On the other hand, if the Tee-Ball team is made up entirely of girls, they tend to bond better with their teammates and don't experience any difference in the way they are viewed on the basis of gender. They stay with the program longer and are given more opportunities to fine tune their skills in their own sport from day one rather than having to learn to play baseball first and then switching to softball at a later age. Imagine if we started the boys off playing softball until they reached the age of nine and then switched them to baseball.
The league benefits too because it now has players that have been developing in softball since they were five or six and they stay with the program long enough to "feed" the older age divisions making for a larger and stronger league.
This is not a sexist thing, so don't write me letters. It just makes good sense to start any program from day one, not day one plus a year. You start your girls playing together at some age, why not from the very first time they step onto a field? Everyone wins!
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Almost every program in the state has a real challenge when it comes to forming a 16U league. Except for the larger towns, there just aren t enough players to fill out one, two, or three school rosters, and also sustain a separate babe Ruth league.
Until 2000, resolving this problem before the end of the school season was impossible since NHIAA rules barred any school athlete from playing the same sport in a competing program at the same time. For whichever reasons the NHIAA used to justify their position, a growing series of legal threats to their autocratic rule finally caused the rule s ultimate demise.
In most communities, the school players are critical to the local program either just for sufficient numbers, or to introduce enough skill level to make the league viable. More skilled players make the game more interesting, but more importantly, act as leaders and mentors to other less skilled participants.
Even though the rule is gone, there are still issues that need to be considered.
The absence of the NHIAA rule only creates an opportunity for the student/athlete to have a choice, something she had been previously denied. However, the ultimate decision is still in her or her family s hands.
Here are some tips on how to use this opportunity to enhance your own league, while supporting all the other positions that students, parents, and even coaches may have.
More on the NHIAA
While the NHIAA has finally relaxed its non-compete rule, there are still some controls involved, mainly, to insure that the high school player gives his school team priority.
The benefit to Babe Ruth Baseball and Softball is enormous. For those programs where school players are critical to building a viable roster, this new ruling allows thoses players into the program at an earlier date than the conclusion of the high school play-off season. The only criteria would be to work with the school to avoid schedule conflicts.
The exact wording of the new rule follows. Or, you may visit the NHIAA website at: http://www.nhiaa.org/ And go to the Bulletin Board.
Approved by NHIAA Council 5/11/00: Sect. 8 Non-School Competition
A. A member of a school team is a student athlete who is regularly present for, and actively participates in, all team practices and competitions. Bona fide members of a school team are prevented from missing a high school practice or competition to compete with an ?out-of-school team.?
Whenever a conflict arises between the high school team practice/competition and an out-of-school practice/competition on the same day, the high school team practice/competition must be honored by the student athlete. Priority must be given at all times to the high school team, its practices, and its contests.
Penalties: Any student athlete who violates this rule for the first time shall be declared ineligible for the next 4 consecutive interscholastic events or 3 weeks of a season in which the student athlete is a participant, whichever is greater. This penalty is effective from the date of his or her last participation in a high school sport.
Any student athlete who violates this rule a second time or subsequent time shall be declared ineligible for participation in any high school sport for the balance of the school year.
B. International Competition: Students and/or teams desiring this kind of competition must have the approval of the NHIAA. No requests for approval will be considered unless received in writing and signed by the Principal six (6) weeks prior to the date of participation. Requests are to be submitted to the NHIAA Executive Director for action.
C. Member Schools? Students Attending Foreign Country Schools: Member school student athletes attending high schools in a foreign country will be under all the Eligibility By-Laws as stated in the NHIAA Handbook.
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those of you who have the perennial problem of finding and retaining qualified umpires, there is a solution.
I want to share with you the evolution of the umpire situation in Milford. See where you fit in this picture and if there is anything we have learned that might help you.
In 1978, the M.C.A.A. had a total of six 12U baseball teams playing a total of 60 games. We had a grand total of 3 umpires who each took 20 games per season.
In 1979 we began a long period of population growth and program expansion where today we sponsor 15 competitive baseball and 6 softball teams with a total of 282 games per season and a requirement for over 550 umpire slots. Furthermore, we are now being asked to cover games in other towns as well.
In the last 20 years we have run the gamut from never having any umpires at all to today where we have a corps of 28 trained and experienced umpires
Things were pretty bad for a while. We would drag reluctant parents from the stands and put them into forced labor. Sadly, most did a poor job. They didn't know the rules, couldn't manage the game, and worse yet, stopped coming to watch their children play because they didn't want to get "recruited" any more.
The next step was to press the coaches into service. So, instead of managing their team, they'd be officiating the games - another ugly piece of local history.
Finally, we had to bite the bullet and recognize that we needed to pay people to umpire as an incentive to get someone to do it. For half a dozen years, we assigned a high school player the job of chief umpire and hoped he could recruit enough players from the Varsity and JV teams plus a few parents to do the games. It half worked. Ultimately, it broke down, and we were back to where we were a few years earlier.
Oh, we asked for parental volunteers at the start of each season, but that pool dried up each year after a week or so.
Finally, in 1996 we took a new tact. We appointed an ex-league director with more than 20 years of coaching experience as Umpire in Chief. We gave him a flat assigning fee of $250 per season. He "hired" a group of adults and high school players. We started out by paying $15 plate and $10 bases for all games except Babe Ruth where we paid $30/$15.
Mandatory pre-season clinics were held. Inexperienced umpires were teamed up with experienced mentors who gradually moved them into plate positions. They would start with the minor leagues and then advanced as their skills developed.
Every game had two umpires. Coaches stopped complaining. And, people started to actually ask to umpire.
In the fall of 1999, the M.C.A.A. took another step. We encouraged umpires to earn their Babe Ruth National Umpire Association credentials. In return for passing the tests, and in recognition of the expense involved in passing and maintaining their certification plus the purchase of appropriate umpire equipment and attire, we established a two tiered pay scale.
NUA members who are properly attired now earn $25/$25 for all Cal Ripkin and Babe Ruth Softball games, and $35/$35 for Babe Ruth baseball games. We now have more than 8 NUA members in town and we try to add a few more each year.
Yes, our umpire budget had to be expanded to $9,000 this year to cover the expense. It meant another fund raiser or two and a slight increase in fees. But our program is now running like a Swiss watch. Our professionalism is growing and we are very proud of where we have come to. We have started to cover slots in other towns and are taking in a surcharge to help defray the overall expense.
This may not be the only solution to the problem but it may be one worth considering.
Sources of Umpires:
There are two great sources of quality umpires. Varsity and JV players know the rules and are committed to the game. Furthermore with our pay scale, many are earning more per week than if they were flipping burgers.
The other source is "retired" coaches. Umpiring is a great way to stay involved and enjoy working with the kids. It's a lot less hassle than running a team and yet is a great deal of fun. We have seven ex-coaches with their NUA certificate calling a total of over 20 games per week. We expect to gain a few retired coaches within the next couple of years.
If you want to build a local group of trained umpires, contact our State UIC, Jim Charland. Jim runs great field mechanics courses, for beginners and more experienced umpires, and is qualified to administer and grade the NUA tests.
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Over the course of the season, you receive numerous mailings from Babe Ruth headquarters concerning league insurance. For those out there that prefer to ignore this issue, or are under the erroneous impression that this is just "Babe Ruth marketing", please consider the following.
Your Money or Your House
It is sad but true that today anybody can and will file a lawsuit over even the most trivial of matters. Even winning a stupid case can cost thousands of dollars. More important though, is that many suits are in fact justified. They normally center on negligence or some other factor. The nature of lawsuits is that when one is placed, all possible parties are named. In the case of youth sports, this would include the League sponsor, any volunteer organization, and any individual such as a coach, official, or board member.
A few things are certain. A case will hit you unexpectedly, will cost more than you ever dreamed and could possibly destroy your personal security.
How Liability Insurance is Structured
Most cases arise out of player injury. Therefore, liability policies generally require that there is an underlying Accident policy. This is to cover medical expenses that would arise out of an injury and thus avoid nuisance lawsuits involving staggering legal fees.
Accident policies are either Primary or Secondary. All the means is which policy takes effect first. A Secondary policy covers costs not paid by the injured's own personal coverage. A Primary policy pays the first dollar.
The Liability policy comes into play for either medical costs beyond what the accident policy or policies did not cover, as well as all other non injury related suits.
Coverage
Liability policies are usually either continuous or "Claims Made". A "claims made" policy carries a risk in that it stipulates a period of time when a claim must be made in order for the policy to provide protection. The best example of this risk is the number of molestation cases that are coming to light many years after the violation took place. A Claims Made policy would state that the protection period ended after usually a year from the violation if a "claim had not been made". In other words, you'd be on your own.
Liability policies cover a great many possible situations, but typically DON'T cover a number of things as well. These are listed as exclusions, or the policy may stipulate that it covers only those areas specifically listed. It is difficult imagining the things that are not covered, but a lawyer could build you a list in a matter of minutes.
Aggregate
Be very wary of "aggregate" limits of liability. This simply defines the total amount of coverage from all claims filed during the policy period. In other words, a policy with a million dollar aggregate would pay up to a million dollars against a suit, but if a second suit was filed in the same year, the liability pool would be empty and you would be completely exposed.
False Security
Many leagues in New Hampshire claim they are covered by their town Municipal Liability policy. This may be true. The question is, as a volunteer, ARE YOU COVERED, and FOR WHAT, and for HOW MUCH? If you run a tournament and serve a hot dog from a temporary concession stand that gives a spectator food posioning, will YOU be protected?
If you are driving three members of the All Star team to a tournament and get into an accident, are YOU protected? If you conduct an All Star try-out and cut the kid who can't run , catch, or hit, but his old man decides to sue YOU for discrimination, are YOU protected?
Here's the point. If the league is run under the town Rec. Department and town budget dictates that they will cover all town sponsored recreational activities, what exactly does that mean for you and any other full or part time volunteer? If you aren't nervous by now, you had better read this again.
Babe Ruth Insurance
The above are the reasons why Babe Ruth Insists that all tournament teams are covered by Accident and Liability insurance.
The insurance Babe Ruth offers is second to none. It is specifically designed for baseball and softball programs. It has a huge PRIMARY accident policy and a generous Liability back-up. Furthermore, the D&O (Directors & Officers) Rider adds comprehensive liability protection for matters not commonly associated with sports liability programs. Babe Ruth's international purchasing clout delivers a group rate that is an excellent buy.
Conclusion
Do not underestimate the importance of good comprehensive league insurance. Don't forget for a minute that you could be an also named in any lawsuit, even if you were not even present at whatever circumstance caused the problem in the first place. Remember, you cannot do any better than the insurance plan that Babe Ruth offers you. You get a lot more for a lot less, and that's an unbeatable combination.
Note: Russ Monbleau is a New Hampshire licensed insurance broker. He does not sell Babe Ruth insurance. This is just his professional unbiased opinion.
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