Click here for a copy of the 2012 Coach's Presentation powerpoint from the March 27th meeting

• For field reservation go to field schedules on left menu. Fields are typically allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. If you need to reserve a field, please check these calendars first to make sure your desired field & time slots are open, then email your request to your League Director. Allow up to 1 business week for your reservations to be confirmed via email.
• Spreadsheet used for tracking Skills/Drills/PracticeTemplate/Position Play, click here 
• Line-ups/Position Tracking Spreadsheet, click here
• For more info on Leagues, click here
• Team Welcome letter, click here

Coaching Instruction & Support

• Concussion Awareness Training and Parent/Athlete Concussion Information Sheet
• Quality Coaching Baseball website
• American Sports Medicine Institute (ASMI) presentation on "Pitch Counts, Pitching Mechanics, and Prevention of Injuries".
• A great site for pitching guidance & tips -- The Complete Pitcher.
• Michigan Sports Academy offers player clinics & training (in Saline)

Selection of House Coaches

All coaches are selected from a pool of volunteers each year. Coaches volunteer by indicating such on their child’s registration form and submitNoting a coaching application. SAYB&S conducts a background check on all volunteers and considers the results before appointing coaches.

We recruit coaches who agree with our objectives and approach, and provide tools that help them to:

• Be organized
• Work effectively within the rules and policies of their league
• Communicate with parents effectively
• Teach and mentor the players across the leagues in a manner that is as consistent as possible.

Coaching commitment: Depending on the league, practices/games occur 2-3 times per week. For all leagues, beginning in 2008, we will most likely end the season before the Fourth of July break. Head coaches are expected to coordinate all practices to HAVE FUN teaching baseball fundamentals and good sportsmanship, and to be prepared for games by preparing a lineup ahead of time that rotates players through multiple positions in the spirit of the league in which they are playing. There will be one assistant coach per team. The head coach and assistant can volunteer together, or SAYB&S will pair them together.

SAYB&S supports the coaches in this effort by providing skills/drills checklists, practice templates, a baseball fundamentals DVD produced by Saline High School coach Scott Theisen, and lineup worksheets that easily calculate infield playing time and can be used to track hitting/pitching/fielding statistics if desired.

Coaching Competitiveness: House coaches need to keep in mind that T-ball, Kid Pitch, and Coach Pitch are not competitive leagues — we do not keep score. Beginning in Willie Mays league (age 9) we begin picking teams by conducting a draft, we keep score and we end the year with a week-long tournament and champion. Starting at this age we also try to obtain feedback on coach performance, and whether coaches are maintaining an appropriate balance of competitiveness, to assist with improvements and selection of coaches in subsequent years.

As a volunteer coach you will find the time and effort you put forth in SAYB&S among the most rewarding .

Selection of Travel Baseball Coaches:

The Travel Coaches Selection Committee comprised of the President, the VP of Travel Baseball, the VP of House Baseball and Director of Evaluations of SAYB&S in July review requests of those that express interest to coach a travel team for the following season. The VP of Travel Baseball takes nominations of the committee forward to the SAYB&S Board for formal approval. If you are seriously interested in coaching a travel team, the earlier you should get involved in the league and express your interest to the VP of Travel.

Coaching Travel Baseball:

Coaching travel baseball is a commitment not to be entered into lightly. The travel baseball season generally runs from January — July, but can begin sooner and end later based on the preference of coaches/teams. Teams generally practice inside twice a week during January — March for approximately 1-2 hours per session. Outdoor practices begin as soon as weather allows in late March or early April. Once the outdoor season begins, the number of commitments ranges anywhere from 3-5 practices/games per week. Several teams also choose to participate in a week long World Series tournament out of state to conclude their season

There are many responsibilities associated with coaching a travel baseball team other than just practices and games. These duties include attending league and SAYB&S Travel Coaches meetings, scheduling league games and tournaments, coordinating umpires for home games, obtaining insurance, ordering uniforms and equipment, fundraising, and coordinating registration information. In addition some teams choose to manage their own website and submit articles to local newspapers outlining team successes. To be successful travel coaches should recruit a team of coaches to assist with practices and games. Other team parents are often used to assist with team finances, fundraising, etc.

Watching a group of young men grow and develop their baseball skills over a period of time is a very rewarding experience. The goal of the program is to teach successful skills that will prepare participants for high school baseball. In addition the program strives to teach good sportsmanship towards teammates, other players and coaches, and umpires. Being a part of a team sport is also a very rewarding experience for all that are involved.

For additional information regarding what it is like to coach a travel baseball team feel free to contact Scott Tousa at tousa2@hotmail.com