Coaches Corner

BLACK MEN COALITIONYOUTH BASEBALL NEEDS A TEAM OF VOLUNTEERS TOO!

BMC-YB head & assistant coaches must be leaders who recognize that they hold a position of trust and responsibility in a program that deals with a sensitive and formative period of a child’s development. Although knowledge of the game is important, these men and women must be something more than just skill teachers. It is required that these individuals have the understanding, patience and capacity to work with children and the ability to inspire respect from their players, players’ families, umpires and spectators. Above all else, head & assistant coaches must realize that they are helping to shape the physical, mental and emotional development of young people. The heart of youth baseball is what happens between the adult coach and the player. Children this age are strongly influenced by individuals whose ideals and aspirations are similar to their own. These adults and players share a common interest in the game, a desire to excel and a determination to win. Because of this unique bond, coaches must be sensitive to the mental and physical limitations of each player and recognize that the game is a vehicle for training and enjoyment, not an end in itself.

Some Specific duties of these individuals are:

Teach players specific game skills and strategies
Assure that players look like a team – wear the uniform properly and display appropriate team spirit and sportsmanship
Work to provide a safe playing and warm-up environment
Discuss in a professional and civilized manner disagreements with the umpires and not tolerate any abuse or intimidation of these umpires by the players and their parents or other spectators. Remember, our umpires are our own BMC-YB children and volunteers!
Work with the team representative to maintain communication with the team’s parents and BMC Youth Baseball Play the game in accordance with national and local rules
Distribute and collect equipment and uniforms

Any individual who wishes to be a head or assistant coach should contact the specific league coordinator responsible to indicate your desires and submit an application letter which outlines qualifications.

How are coaches chosen? All BMC-YB coaches are volunteers. Before each season, BMC-YB seeks out and selects a head coach for each team based on experience & other qualifications. Once chosen, each head coach may select one assistant coach, subject to Board approval. After the teams are drafted, the head coach may select an assistant coach & a Team Parent representative from among the parents of the team's players.