The entire YAC Baseball program caters to approximately 1,000 kids annually, and is operated with the help of only volunteers. The time and energy that these volunteers give is entirely for the safety and enjoyment of all of the kids who participate in our program. Please be respectful of the coach’s time and make every effort possible to get to practices and games on time, and to be present at the conclusion of each practice and game. In addition, please do not wait in your car in the parking lot and ask for your child to walk by themselves to you. It is unfair to the coach to assume that your child made it to your car safely, so please come to the field to meet your son or daughter. If your son or daughter is unable to attend a practice or game, please notify your coach as soon as possible so that he may plan accordingly for that practice or game.
WE REALLY NEED YOUR HELP:
As I mentioned, the YAC baseball program is an ALL VOLUNTEER organization. In past years, all of the tasks that are required to run the entire program have fallen on a small group of individuals to complete, meaning that we had 100% of the tasks being completed by less than 10% of the parents. It is impossible (and unfair) to expect these same small group volunteers to continue this practice for nearly 1,000 kids annually. We are aware that time is precious to all of our families, and that some people might volunteer their time for other worthy causes. However, if the responsibilities of administering our program are more evenly distributed, it ultimately means a more effective program, as well as a better experience for our children. In past years, we have been unsuccessful in getting an acceptable number of parents to volunteer to help with the program, so starting this year; we have decided to go to a mandatory volunteer policy. The intent is to get 100% of the families to each do 1% of the tasks. The list of descriptions is detailed below. If you should have any questions about your role in helping the Baseball program, please contact a divison coordinator. Please include your name, phone #, e-mail address and child’s grade along with any questions you may have.
HEAD COACHES AND ASSISTANT COACHES:
Head coaches and assistant coaches will organize a 90 minute practice during the week, manage one Saturday game (as well as an occasional weekday game) and attend 1 or 2 organizational meetings during the season with the commissioners and fellow coaches to discuss the progress of the program.
FIELD MAINTENANCE:
A group of volunteers are needed for each field (Brookside, Harrison Apar field, Hunterbrook, and the 202 field) in the event that it has rained and the fields need some work done to make them safe to play. It would be the responsibility of these individuals to get to the shack at Brookside school 90 minutes before the first game and pick up speedy dry, rakes and/or shovels. (These same individuals will also be responsible for returning the equipment to the shack once the work is completed). They would then have to work on the field as needed (raking, removing puddles, adding speedy dry on wet areas, etc.). If each division has a sufficient number of volunteers, the hope is that this task would only be needed to be performed once or twice by each participant during the entire season.
FUNDRAISING:
In 2005, we have decided to reintroduce fund raising. Our goal is to accomplish two important objectives. The first is to re-establish ourselves as a community based program. We feel that sponsorships are a great way to get our business community involved with YAC baseball. Secondly, in an attempt to keep the cost of participating in the Baseball program at manageable amount, we are asking our local businesses to help defray some of the costs of field improvements, umpires, equipment, etc. by sponsoring a team or teams. A Fundraising participant will work with the Commissioner of Baseball to make phone calls and write letters to various organizations as well as to organize raffles and visit various stores and businesses in Yorktown to solicit donations and sponsorships.
GAME DAY HELP:
TRASH PATROL: The YAC Baseball program is the guest at the school and town fields that we play on, and as guests, we need to be respectful of the facilities we use. If we do not keep these fields clean, we run the risk of losing our privileges. While excessive trash around the fields has not been a problem in the past, with the introduction of concessions, we do not want to run the risk of litter around the fields becoming a problem. Each volunteer will be responsible for cleaning up the spectator areas of the field (for coffee cups, doughnut and candy wrappers, etc) as well as the dugout areas of both teams at the conclusion of the game.
EQUIPMENT: At the beginning and end of each season, equipment needs to be evaluated and equipment bags set up for each team. Also, uniforms need to be sorted and made ready for teams. This is usually done on a weekend day. The more people that help, the quicker the task.
I hope that everyone has an enjoyable season. Please continue to check the web page for updates.
Thankyou,
Christopher Maher
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS:
GENERAL: Please remember that your coaches give a lot of their time to your children. Any way that you can lend a helping hand is greatly appreciated. They can always use extra help, especially at practices. Please ask them how you can help.