Hicktown Parent Expectations
PARENTS are expected to:
Be Committed. We need your help in getting your son(s) committed to baseball and this team. Travel ball is not a show up when you want or pick up or recreational activity; there are high expectations for everyone from the players, to the parents, to the coaches, to the heads of our league. We need your sons to arrive at practices and games in a timely fashion, try to be a few minutes early but never leave players unsupervised if you beat a coach to practice or a game. We need the players at ALL team functions. Things can come up, we understand that, but missing a game for a birthday party isn’t the type of commitment that we are looking for and we are expecting more in order to be successful.
Display good sportsmanship. It is not the sole responsibility of the coaching staff to help reinforce this characteristic in our players. Also, your child is not the only one out there, be supportive of the other boys on the team in times of celebration and in times of difficulty. We want the kids to have fun.
Participate when asked. Please participate in as many team activities as possible. Travel baseball is a commitment not only by the player, but by the parents as well. This commitment is all inclusive when it comes to out of town tournaments, fundraisers, games, practices and anything else that you may be asked. As a team, there will be activities outside of baseball to build comradery between the boys; it also helps the parents get to know each other.
Communicate with coaches if there is something that does not seem right. Please do this in a respectful, thought-out fashion. We encourage conversations about the right topics, but at an appropriate time (not right after or before a game, etc.) If you are really hot about something, please institute the 24 hour rule to allow for cooler heads to prevail.
Let the coaches, coach. This is a difficult task for many spectators. Our teams consist of well-qualified and well-trained coaches that bring different qualities to the coaching staff. If as a parent you have a concern, you are welcome to discuss it with the coach after practice with or without your child present. Coaches want to know if there is a problem right away. With this age group, very small things can cause a child to be upset. These problems can be fixed very easily if we know about them.
If at any point during the season you need to reach out with concerns, please see the coaches.