starting new

Here's a start...
3 L Screens @$200 each
1 Flagpole, based in concrete $400
1 American Flag $50

Video camera. For review sessions. Kids minds tell them they are doing one thing. Then they see them selves doing another. Powerful tool.

With an inexpensive camera and a donated tv in the locker room and some Dry Erase markers you can film, review, then go back to work on that skill in matter of minutes.

Rich
www.PlayInSchool.com
www.twitter.com/PlayInSchool

Having been in that situation, here is what we did.

Team equipment - Helmets, team bag, catchers gear, a few team bats, bat rack, helmet rack. Reason: free education laws required team equipment.

Field equipment - golf cart and drags to include spike drag. Field marker and some seed / weed and feed. Mound cover. Some pieces of "turf" for on deck circles and to use during BP. Reason: Field goes downhill in a hurry without it.

Practice equipment - L Screens, infield screens, portable BP mound, portable BP cage for home plate, a few tee's, sock nets.

Facilities - Looks like you are covered from the start.

Extras - Sound(PA) system, Shed for storage, score books, lineup cards, clip boards, cones, paint, chalk, the list goes on and on. All the little things add up in a hurry.

I would love to have 150K to work with.

I think if I had 150k to spend, I would run out of ideas before I ran out of money.

I suspect most coaches get less than 15k to work with.

With that kind of money, I think the first thing I would shop for is the very best available ASSISTANT COACHES.

Great responses so far. Yeah, we get $900/yr as our starting budget and have to beg for any added $$$. I'm jealous to say the least.

Some other things to keep in mind...

-Make sure the infield dirt is the right mix and you have clay for the field mound, home plate and BP mounds.
-Proper field drainage
-Proper grass seed
-snack shack and seating for fans
-Uni's and spirit packs for all levels
-safety kit

well, you didn't mention lights......

A good riding lawnmower, coaches, iron mike hitting screens, tees, the kist goes on, most colleges don't have 150k to spend if you take out travel and saleries

quote:

Originally posted by 5redsfan:
well, you didn't mention lights......

Not sure 150K would be enough for lights, and if so wouldnt be a whole lot left. Would certainly want to get field maintenance equipment cart, mower drags etc. Anything that would be an investment such as shack for concessions etc.
They key going forward would be how you will be raising money over the coming years. Fundraisers Booster Club, Sponsorships. Those would be key to building on the $150k base.

A small thing I would have plenty of is decent tees. 8-10 tees are key for us as we go through hitting progressions and such. Pujols made a comment this year that his first couple hundred swings each day are off of the tee

Without getting into specifics, as that can go in a lot of different directions...I would focus the 150k on that would be viable for the very long term. Smaller amounts of money can be raised from time to time to fund repair items and/or modest improvements. Its much more difficult to raise 150k at one time.

Therefore, I would attempt to raise additional money, services, or supplies to compliment the 150k, and build an indoor facility. Whatever I would have remaining, (roughly 25-50k depending), would purchase initial uniforms, field maintenance equipment (reel mower, drag, etc), and baseball specific equipment (l-screens, turtle, etc).

I feel like each subsequent year, smaller sums can be raised to improve various aspects of the facility and program.

Just bringing it up as a conversation to see what people would buy. Our budget is no where near it and was no where near it when we started the school i am currently at.

I love the midlo comment of best assistant coaches money can buy...LOL...There are no lights and intersting comment on helmet/bat racks.

But if i had it to do again with that money.
L-screens/nets-5, 4 outside for 3 cages and 1 on field, then 1 for inside
1 extra cage- 3 total
1 indoor cage if facility allows it.
8-tanner tees
4 sock net frames with net for soft toss and various tee drills.
1- onfield cage (we call it the turtle shell)
3 more buckets of practice balls for fielding drills and cage.
helmets for J.V and Varsity
3-Video camera that way can film any drills, bullpens, offensive sessions, or team defense.
1- motion pro swing anaylsis software
1- cart/4 wheeler/tractor for dragging field
1- nail drag
1- drag
2- on deck circles
1- pitcher mat/platform
6- black rubber mats for BP in cages so no wholes
1- full batters box for on field BP
1- Atec pitching machine for indoor cage
set of team uniforms home/ away
Quality PA system.
8- softhand mitts
2 sets of catchers gear
2- thundersticks
3 dz jugs/dimple balls for bad weather.
3 team bats.
4 team bags for helmets and catchers gear and team bats.

I was fortunate to be at my school when it first opened and i was very happy with what i got but realized some of the things i overlooked, or realized later it would have been nice to have. Is the reason i bring it up especially with new schools opening what seems like every year. Thanks for the ideas.

I would:
1. Buy the items required by law or for safety
2. Recruit the best assistant coaches
3. Set up a booster club from team parents. The booster club, IF RUN WELL, can raise in excess of 10k per year which can go a long way in adding to the team budget.

If you have the field, coaches, players and parent support (a big if), you can do a lot through fund rasing and donations to help acquire the equipment as listed by Zeus.

"The booster club, IF RUN WELL, can raise in excess of 10k per year which can go a long way in adding to the team budget."

When it comes to fund raising, sometimes what you end up getting is determined by how high you set your sights at the outset.

If you start out thinking that 10k is a tremendous accomplishment, you're likely to get to 10k. Then you can pat yourself on the back and come back next year.

But there are teams out there raising 50k annually for operations, and six figures when large capital projects are involved. What these teams have figured out is that if you raise your sights, your population base and area businesses will often come through for you.

There are things that obviously help -- a high income demographic in your area, a strong business base, a tradition of winning, etc. But some teams get it done without any of these things.

I would suggest you set a goal you think well out of reach, then sit down and brainstorm whom you would approach to lead a committee effort to find that money. One "white knight" or two can make all the difference.

Here is a big thing to understand: Most of us think that people don't like to be asked for money. Well, that is often true, but not always. There are people out there who LOVE to help, and who seriously consider requests even for substantial sums. If you start out assuming that your solicitations are only pestering people, you'll raise very little. But if you come to understand that there are in reality some folks out there who have both the means to help and the desire to help, and they are just waiting for you to come ask them, you'll often be surprised at just what is possible.