Reply
– All coaches need to read the weekly coaches email to understand what’s going on this season.
– Head coaches, please respond to Nathan Strong at nstrong@istrouma.org or 225-283-1114.
– Did you read through the bible story at practice? Do you understand this devotion process?
– Coaches who have applied should have received shirts and badges at practice this week. Please reply if your team had an issue with either of these.
Coach Development
– Thank you to the volunteers who attended the Coach Development.
– If you are a head coach or an assistant with no head coach, you will be asked to read a report or watch a video that highlights some of the meeting. We have a few major changes heading into this season.
Pitching & Catching Clinic
– We are looking to reschedule the pitching clinic for 14u boys to a later date. This depends on availability of our instructors.
Thursday Practice
– Teams scheduled to practice at 11:00 or 12:30 on March 8, but were rained out, will have practice this Thursday, except for 5u boys and 7u girls.
– This schedule was emailed on Monday and is on our website.
5u boys will now play a game on Monday, March 31, and 7u girls on Tuesday, April 1. This is shown on the Game Schedule.
– We can schedule another practice later if we feel there is a need and have availability.
Saturday Practice
– If a coach on the team hasn’t contacted parents yet, please do this before Saturday.
– Your team may be on a different field than they have been. Please review the March 15 Practice Schedule in the preseason email or on the website.
– We are aware of the possible weather for this weekend. We will update social media and website (and email if we have computer access) if we decide to cancel.
Scrimmage
– Teams are welcome to scrimmage during the last 20 minutes of next week’s practice to prepare players for their first game. This is up to the coaches.
– 7u and 9u boys have teams in their divisions on the field next to them.
– 11u and 14u boys share fields for 45 minutes.
– If scrimmaging, coaches should use this opportunity to teach players about rotations, pitching and batting rules, game etiquette, etc.
Weekly Practice
– The parking lots next to the Student Building are reserved for the elderly, handicapped, and families with young children.
– 11U & 14U Boys teams will share fields for 45 minutes. Coaches need to cooperate on field and batting cage usage. One team can practice in the infield while the other practices in the outfield and uses the cages.
– After you have finished practice, neatly bag up all your team equipment and place the bag and bases in front of the storage box on your field.
– Spend a couple of minutes each practice giving the devotion. The devotional sheets include the seasonal memory verse, weekly bible verse, short bible story, and connection. The devotions are attached.
Begin challenging your players to learn the memory verses, Galatians 5:22-23.
Uniforms
– We are expecting to receive all uniforms early next week.
– We will distribute uniforms at practice if we have them.
– If players do not get their uniforms at practice, please have them arrive 15 minutes earlier than planned for the first game.
Games
– Encourage parents to apply by next Tuesday if they want to coach for the first game. We need time to review applications, run background checks, create badges, and gather shirts.
– We have many coaches who have multiple children playing on different teams. I ensured that siblings had 4 or less conflicts for game times.
Coming Up
– March 22 – Game 1
– March 31 and April 1 – midweek games, no practices