Winter: Appointments of Managers, Coaches, and Umpires

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At this critical time of year, some leagues may be faced with appointing managers and coaches with little baseball or softball experience.

This problem is solved with the Little League Coach Resource Center, a free, online tool that gives great instructions for the novice and the experienced coach. The Coach Resource Center has videos, drills, tips and much more. Just go to http://www.LittleLeagueCoach.org for all the information.

The first step in filling the manager, coaches and umpire slots is for committees to seek and screen those willing to serve.

Each prospective candidate must complete a Volunteer Application Form to be considered for a position.
 
The second step is the background check. Managers, coaches and umpires should not be appointed/approved and must not assume any duties until after a background check that meets Little League standards is completed and passed.
 
The next step is for the League President to appoint managers, coaches and umpires at his/her discretion.
Exception: Coaches new to a particular team cannot be named until after the draft. (Operating Manual - Local League Administration; Regulation I b.)

The final step in the appointment process is for the Board of Directors to approve or disapprove each appointment.
 
No person can manage, coach or umpire without the League President appointing and the Board approving that appointment.

No manager, coach or umpire has tenure, regardless of the years of service.
 
Leagues should send managers, coaches and umpires to their Regional Headquarters for seminars and clinics and should also take full advantage of all of the educational opportunities offered by Little League.

The local Little League is required to have all board members, managers, coaches, and other volunteers or hired workers who provide regular service to the league and/or who have repetitive access to or contact with players or teams annually fill out the Little League Volunteer Application and provide a government-issued photo ID. Additionally, the league is required to conduct a background check on each of these individuals that meets Little League standards.

How does a local league decide what constitutes “regular service?”

Extensive information on background checks, as part of Little League’s Child Protection Program, can be found here: http://www.littleleague.org/learn/programs/childprotection.htmThe local Little League is required to sign an agreement on the charter application that it will comply with Regulations I(b) and I(c) 8 & 9. The league also will be required to sign a statement on its tournament enrollment form verifying that the process under the regulations has been completed and implemented. Failure to sign the agreement on the charter application will result in the league not being chartered and failure to fulfill the requirements of the regulations will result in the league’s status being referred to the Charter/Tournament committee for action to revoke the league’s charter and all privileges.

At this time of the year, most or all volunteer applications should have been distributed to most of the league’s volunteers/hired workers who fit the criteria of the regulations. Also, the background check committee appointed by the board of directors should have completed most of the checks. All background checks must be completed before individuals can assume their duties for the current year.

A database of all of these Operations Tips can be found here: http://www.littleleague.org/leagueofficers/Tips_Successful_League

Next article: Double-Checking Eligibility Before Tryouts