Coach's Corner

Thank you for volunteering! This page is intended to help you prepare for your role as a Manager, Coach or Volunteer.  If you feel we're missing anything that would be helpful, please let us know!

Volunteer Responsibilities:

# Responsibility Manager Coach Helper
1 Team Manager is the head coach and is ultimately responsible for the team X    
2 Primary and direct contact between the league and the team X    
3 Responsible for drafting team (Recreation Only) and included on team formation as needed (i.e. Travel, when applicable) X    
4 May delegate responsibilities to other coaches, MSBL Field Crew (Contact Provided) and volunteers as they see fit, organizes team volunteers (assistant coaches, team parents, scorekeeper, scoreboard, etc.) X    
5 Coaches the team, i.e. reviews rules with umpire at beginning of games, determines batting order and field positions, determines and coordinates substitutes as needed X    
6 Teaching the game of Baseball/Softball to players X X  
7 Plans and runs practices X    
8 Communicates with parents on all information and requirements prior to and during the season (i.e. welcome email, contact information, required uniform and equipment, league rules, team rules, etc.) - Team App, Email, Text - keep communication open and clear X    
9 Coordinates and Collects info from parents on uniforms and submits to MSBL (contact provided) X    
10 Contact for all team scheduling - practices, games, cancellations, rainouts, etc. X    
11 Communicate with other teams managers, umpires and MSBL (Contact Provided) to cancel and make-up games X    
12 Responsible for evaluations at the beginning and end of the season, as per each league requirements X    
13 Responsible for Home Field Preparation for games (this includes coordinating with field crew and/or volunteers to ensure complete X    
14 Garbage removal – empty cans and roll to curb X    
15 Equipment- Responsible for use of equipment and ensuring you have all needed equipment for and during games and practices (i.e. Scorebooks, catchers equipment, balls, medical kit/ice, nets, tees, etc.) X X X
16 Coordinates, promotes, assist with, represents team for any special events  (i.e. Opening Day, Parade, Pictures, Championship/Closing Day, Tournaments (if applicable)) X X X
17 Must be current on background checks, safety certification, and abuse training X X X
18 Helps the Team Manager Coach the Team   X  
19 Performs any other duties assigned by the Team Manager (base coach, dugout manager, snack shack coordinator, scorekeeper, scoreboard, etc.)   X X
20 Coordinates snack schedules/volunteers (role determined by Team Manager) X X X
21 Field preparation duties - ensure fields and dugouts are prepared before and after use. Raked and cleaned up after practices and games, lights are turned on and off as used, tarps taken off and put back, fields are scheduled to be raked, drug, and/or lined or may need to line fields at times when staff is not available X X X
22 Follow rules and directives of MSBL Board of Directors/VP's and travel league Commissioners X X X
23 Requires commitment of time, energy, patience, and knowledge of the game X X X

Field Responsibility Details:

  • Mound and batter's box tarps:  Last team on the field each day must put them back on properly. The weights on perimeter are there to keep water out. If they are not laid completely flat, they will not do their job. Please see pictures below for how to do this properly.
  • Field Lights:  Field Lights are all set to 'auto' and should not be touched.
  • Scoreboards:
    • Baseball:  We should not allow kids to work the scoreboard remotes.  We MUST remember to turn off main switch in snack shack (near circuit breakers) or that will cause a malfunction down the line.  
    • Softball:  For the Senior Field Softball scoreboard, please refer to the video tutorial in the Team Mgmt. tab above.  We MUST remember to turn off main switch (near field light control box - see video) or that will cause a malfunction down the line.  
  • Job Boxes:  We will store small field tools, plugs, bases in job boxes near the dugouts. We should have kids remove bases every night and plug the anchor holes. This will prolong the base life.
  • Field Prep Instruction:  Coaches & parents should attend a 30-minute tutorial on how to prep fields for games - lining, raking, boxes, etc..  Spring season we are typically short on field crew because HS kids have sports and college kids are still in school.

Softball Scoreboard & Audio System:

Coaching and Managing Requirements for MSBL Volunteers

To ensure a safe and supportive environment for our players, MSBL has established several requirements for volunteers involved in coaching and managing teams. The Director of Safety & Equipment oversees compliance with these standards and will provide guidance to volunteers on how to meet each requirement. Below are the details that all volunteers must adhere to:

Background Check and Abuse Prevention Training
MSBL, in alignment with Babe Ruth League, Inc., mandates that all managers, coaches, board members, and any other volunteers who have regular and direct contact with players during league-sanctioned activities complete a National Verified Background Check and Abuse Prevention Training every two years. Babe Ruth League, Inc. requires the use of Sports Engine for all background checks and training. Once volunteers are confirmed through registration, an MSBL Board Member will provide the necessary links for completing the background check and Abuse Prevention Training.

Rutgers SAFETY Clinic Certification
All first-time managers and coaches are required to complete certification through the Rutgers SAFETY Clinic. The clinic, officially known as "Sports Awareness for Educating Today’s Youth™," is a three-hour program that fulfills New Jersey's “Minimum Standards for Volunteer Coaches Safety Orientation and Training Skills Programs” (N.J.A.C. 5:52) and offers partial civil immunity to volunteer coaches under the “Little League Law” (2A:62A-6 et. seq.).

Following registration, the MSBL Director of Safety & Equipment will collaborate with the Mountainside Recreation Department to organize a Rutgers SAFETY Clinic session. Information regarding the session will be communicated to all first-time managers and coaches. Historically, these sessions have been offered free of charge through the Mountainside Recreation Department, but any future fees will be the responsibility of the volunteers. If a volunteer is unable to attend the scheduled Mountainside session, they may attend a clinic in another town, covering any associated costs themselves.

Babe Ruth League Coaching Certification
In addition to the above requirements, Babe Ruth League-affiliated baseball and softball coaches must complete the Babe Ruth League Coaching Certification Program. This certification involves taking the following online courses, delivered by Human Kinetics Coach Education:

  • Coaching Youth Baseball the Babe Ruth League Way
  • Coaching Youth Softball the Babe Ruth League Way

These courses are exclusively endorsed by Babe Ruth League, Inc., and a certification earned is valid for the coach’s entire tenure with the league.

Video Tutorial

Take a look at this short video that walks you through the process of getting a Babe Ruth Membership and meeting your safety requirements.

The links below are referenced in the video:

If you don't see a Rutgers SAFETY Clinic session, reach out to the MSBL Director of Safety & Equipment (listed on our Board of Director's page) for support.

How to:  Background Check & Abuse Prevention Training

TeamSnap

  • The TeamSnap app is main tool you'll use to communicate practice & game schedules with parents, solicit RSVPs so you know who's coming, and assign duties to parents.
  • Here's a link to the TeamSnap Help Center where you can find articles on how to make the most use of the app.  If you have specific questions, email support @msbl.us. 

Scoreboard Operation

  • Softball Scoreboard:

Our league rules for Recreation Baseball & Softball can be found on our Recreation Program page.  Click on Rules in the horizontal menu.

Rules for our Travel Programs are set forth by the governing body of the travel leagues we participate in.  Those rules are found on our Travel Program page.  Click on Rules in the horizontal menu.

Looking for something even more basic?

 

YOUTH COACHES CODE OF ETHICS

Coaches are expected to adhere to this code of ethics to keep the sport safe, fair and fun for the kids.

  1. I hereby pledge to live up to my certification as a coach by following the Code of Ethics.
  2. I will place the emotional and physical well-being of all players ahead of any personal desires to win.
  3. I will remember to treat each player as an individual, remembering the large range of emotional and physical development within a particular age group.
  4. I will do my very best to provide a safe playing situation for my players.
  5. I promise to review and practice the necessary first aid principles needed to treat injuries of any players.
  6. I will do my best to organize practices that are fun and challenging for all my players.
  7. I will lead by example to demonstrate fair play and sportsmanship to all players.
  8. I ensure that I am knowledgeable in the rules of each sport I coach, and will teach these rules to my players.
  9. I will use coaching techniques appropriate for each of the skills that I teach and for the proper age level.
  10. I will remember that I am a youth coach and that the game is for the children and not adults.

 

MSBL Zero Tolerance Policy

The Mission of the MSBL is to offer organized softball and baseball to the youth of Mountainside to help them develop desirable physical skills, mature emotionally, socially, and psychologically. Through participation in youth sports, players will gain knowledge of sportsmanship, teamwork, and fair play while developing life skills. We strive to provide a meaningful experience for all players through quality instruction while emphasizing tools such as teamwork, respect, dedication, discipline and of course FUN!

This mission is achieved through the elimination of the adult drive for glory and conduct which works to undermine the ideals of youth sports. To ensure the appropriate environment for all MSBL activities, the following Zero Tolerance Policy has been implemented. Managers, coaches, players, parents, guardians, and spectators must adhere to the following code of conduct:

  1. Taunting of other players, coaches, managers, umpires, or spectators by means of baiting, ridiculing, threat of physical violence or use of physical violence
  2. No physical altercation will be tolerated
  3. No smoking or consumption of alcohol on any property associated with MSBL
  4. Always show respect for all parents/guardians, opponents, umpires, and coaches
  5. Do not argue with or criticize the umpires, the opposing team, the opposing coaches, or spectators, by word of mouth and/or gesture
  6. Do not use abusive, profane, vulgar, or other offensive language and/or gestures
  7. Do not incite unsportsmanlike conduct
  8. Do not seek to undermine the authority of the MSBL or the umpires
  9. Always set an example by your personal conduct
  10. Winning at all costs is not a message we wish to impart to our youth. Instead, we want them to have fun, play safe competitive baseball and to encourage sportsmanship
  11. Coaches clean up after your team and spectators, remove all trash from the stands and dugout
  12. Always abide by a doctor’s decision in all matters of health, injuries, and ability to play

Should a manager, coach, player, parent, guardian, or spectator violate the above Code of Conduct they will immediately be removed from the game in progress and suspended from the following game. MSBL will reserve the right to extend said suspension as necessary upon review and majority vote of the board.

Below are links to helpful resources you can use to structure practices and be a more effective coach.

 

 


 

 

If you have suggestions on what to put on this page, please email those to support@msbl.us.