Travel Team Contract

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contract in regards to playing time,

so a kid has to be told how much playing time he will get? and sign a contract. I am confused

I do not believe in contracts such as you speak of---the team needs to be a matter of trust between players/parents and coaches---informing them of all facets should be enough---how can you have an agreement on playing time? That can be a death knell for a coach

Not a great idea. Leaves you open to litigation. I suppose if you weren't asking for the entire fee up front you could require the parents to sign promising that they WILL pay in certain installments and that the entire amount WILL be paid by a certain date, but playing time? Sticky. The coach should just be up front like my son's 15U AAU coach was back in the day. He gathered every kid and every parent together so that everyone could hear and said "It's possible that you could pay this $2,100 and your son may not play a single inning. Playing time is up to me and how I evaluate the talent on this team. And the fastest way to make sure he gets no playing time is to complain to me about playing time. If you don't like these terms, see you later."

He might be saying that the parents are agreeing to NOT complain about playing time and if they do they are in breech of contract. Then he could remove their kid without worrying about having to pay any money back.

Johnny's parents have paid $1000 total and they have played in 4 tournaments and Johnny has played about 8 innings total. Mom and dad gripe, complain and phone call coach about paying all this money and he doesn't play. According to the contract coach now has the power to remove Johnny from the team without having to pay any of the $1000 back to the parents.

Not sure if this is what he is saying but if I was going to do a contract on playing time this is how I would do it. Overall I don't think this is a good idea but it does give the coach the power to control the situation.

Coach

Playing time is earned and is at the discretion of the coach---there is no way any coach should guarantee playing time for any player---if he does he is a utter fool!!!!

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Originally posted by coach2709:
saying that the parents are agreeing to NOT complain about playing time and if they do they are in breech of contract

I'm not sure how enforceable that would be. Wouldn't that be sort of a "he said, she said" thing if there were no witnesses? Or subject to too much interpretation, like so?:

Dad: "Hey Coach, great game today, wish my son could've been a part of it."
Coach: "That's it! I warned you! He's off the team, and DON'T expect your money back!

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Originally posted by coach2709:
Overall I don't think this is a good idea but it does give the coach the power to control the situation.

Guys I never said I supported what he put. Just trying to come up with a thought process to help us understand what this guy is saying.

I don't think this would work at all for the reasons you said. To me what I put is about the only way you could actually justify having this contract.

I don't think it's a good idea and I would never do it.

Johnny's parents have paid $1000 total and they have played in 4 tournaments and Johnny has played about 8 innings total. Mom and dad gripe, complain and phone call coach about paying all this money and he doesn't play. According to the contract coach now has the power to remove Johnny from the team without having to pay any of the $1000 back to the parents.

And they wonder why coaches dont want to coach.

I disagree with most here. I see no problem with a written document that spells out the goals of the team and what the team expects from the players and the parents. I actually think it is a good idea. I do however have a problem with the word “contract” or “agreement”. Running a baseball team has many similarities to running a business. Communications are very important in both. Many businesses have employees sign off on “policy and procedures” manual that guarantees those involved understand what is expected of them. Baseball is no different. Players (and parents) need to understand there are rules and breaking those rules will have consequences. Rules need to be clearly defined and if a coach so desires he can spell out the consequences for breaking specific rules. i.e. missing a practice (unexcused) will result in the player not starting the following game ---or--- missing a game (unexcused) will result in the player being benched for at least one game. As far as playing time goes --- I think each coach should state his philosophy on playing time in this document. If there are no guarantees as far as playing time then I think that should be included in the document. I personally think playing time and position assignments should be left entirely up to the coach and should be stated as such in the document. A coach that takes a defined position on the front end will have fewer problems as the season progresses. It can be catastrophic to make up the rules as you go along.

Fungo

Fungo I think you did a much better job of explaining my position than I did. I was sort of speculating of how it would work based on what the opening post was talking about.

Let's face it - coaches are now more scrutinized than ever before. And with that they need to protect themselves a little bit more.

Parent complaints over playing time and position are happening more often now. Those should be left up to the coach but that doesn't stop them. I am a high school coach and I know many guys I compete against who have parents trying to get them fired because Johnny didn't play.

Is this the type of thing your looking for:

Code

I think this would work Catcher 09 and goes along with what Fungo was talking about.

Thanks for all the insights. Its more along the lines of what Fungo was mentioning. Just wanted to let the parents/players who were offered a position know exactly what the coach expects. In regards to playing time it does have to do with the fact that the decision is up to the Coach on what is best for the team as a whole and that their is no guarantee on playing time. It will include such things as practice being mandatory, how many out of town touranments will be played ( so no surprises on expenses ) and so forth. Its not really a contract as was stated by Fungo, but a Team Policies. Thanks agains for everyones input!

I am a high school coach and I know many guys I compete against who have parents trying to get them fired because Johnny didn't play.

Imagine that.

Never in thiry years of coaching have I guaranteed playing time, that is a bomb waiting to go off. As a travel team play is earned and all parents/players knowitprior to accepting a spot on the team
We do however have a hand out that includes the following:
1/Player code of conduct(outlines ALL team rules and expectations of the player)
2/Medical release and copies of health cards
3/Photo id and birth certificates( we are in Canada and travel across the border a lot)
4/Parent Costing contract- Spells out what the Club will provide as to travel/accomodations/equipment/practice time/games/tournaments/etc.
It also all outlines payment schedules/deadlines and any instances where money would or would not be refunded. We are out of country 45-50 days each year and our costs are substantial as we provide hotels and transport to all players, so players fees need to be paid on a timely fashion. As we have all encountered the people who will not pay on time and you have to chase all year,we stick by our deadlines for payment. By having it in writing and signed the parents know the the penalty for late payments and it is amazing how quickly things are done so we can all concentrate on the task at hand, baseball.

Am I that old and out of touch when I remember the best players played.

I think it is amazing how many of you jumped on this about the so called guarantee of playing time. Nothing in the original post led me to believe it was about a guarantee. I immediately read it as pointing out that no one is guaranteed playing time.

I have used a policy statement at the beginning of every season with my parents and players. Each year it varies as levels change. (ie - LL - MPR)

To answer your question No Errors, here is a link to a pdf of a generic policy I use.
Coaching Philosophies
Good Luck No Errors!

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I immediately read it as pointing out that no one is guaranteed playing time.

Used to be a given. Now it has to be explained? Why

Cong, good point. But the original post does mention playing time but doesn't state the position the team staff will take one way or the other.

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We are starting up a new team and are considering having the parents/players sign a contract in regards to playing time

One assumes it would state there are no guarantees in regards to playing time but we shouldn't ASSUME. As the parent of a player I would like to know the coach's position on playing time. I personally don't expect (or want) a guarantee but it is possible the coach has guaranteed another player playing time at my son's position ---- if so I want to know that so we can go elsewhere. I KNOW there are parents out there that want a guarantee and I think a written policy (whatever it states) will help ensures a level playing field for everyone on the team.
Fungo

As I stated in my last post, it is to let the parents and players know there is NO guarantee of playing time. That way they can decide to go elsewhere if they are one of the parents who want and expect equal playing time for little Johnny, and we dont have to deal with disgruntled parents bad mouthing the team in the stands and to others. Have seen and heard the griping and bad mouthing done to other teams, so would like to let everyone know BEFORE they accept a position and they have it in writing. It will also include that the coach will not discuss playing time w/parents.

Didnt want to get a big debate started, and I should have put more info in regards to what I meant by playing time into the original post. Just wondered if any other teams had examples. For those that posted yours, I want to Thank You. It will give us some examples to go by.

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Didnt want to get a big debate started

NO ERRORS, Welcome to the HSBBW. Don't worry about creating a debate --- that's good! Your post was a great post. Actually the HSBBW is based on debate and differing opinions. Every person on the HSBBW has had a different (however slight) experience with youth baseball. By sharing those differing opinions and experiences creates debate. This allows those seeking information a choice and allows them to do what is best for them, their sons or their team. There is no defined formula for a sucessful baseball experience. For instance: If my son was one of the weaker players on a team which I had paid money for him to play, I would want some assurance (not necessarily a guarantee) that he would play. However if my son were a stud player I could care less about those issues. I may be more concerned with overuse than playing time. Best of luck.
Fungo

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by noE: As I stated in my last post, it is to let the parents and players know there is NO guarantee of playing time. That way they can decide to go elsewhere if they are one of the parents who want and expect equal playing time for little Johnny, and we dont have to deal with disgruntled parents

from what I've read so far, if my son is a non-starter on your team we're going elsewhere
you ARE walking a fine line there & you need to be cautious as to how you convey your thoughts - imo ...
this is a SUMMER travel team & not hs, players DO have other options.

many parents understand that their players may not be starters, but if your policy is that some "paying" players will see minimal time on the field - you'll likely find yourself scrambling to pick up "temp players" for weekend tournies because your bench guys joined other teams where they got PT - AND you WILL be overusing your pitchers or forfieting games

No kid is going to sit the whole time. But I have been involved with teams who had to go back and show parents how many innings their child played compared to others. Over 4 tournaments, a couple of the complaining parents kids only sat a couple innings a game, and would play all of a couple of games. We arent talking a kid who gets to only play 2 innings a game. I should have been more clear in my first message, but I'm new at this. I'll try to explain myself a little better in the future. Figured out just because I know what I am talking about doesnt mean I am conveying it that way.

Thanks for all the input!

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Originally posted by NO ERRORS:
We are starting up a new team and are considering having the parents/players sign a contract in regards to playing time, attending practices, fees and such so their are no surprises for anyone and all facts are known up front. Does anyone know of a website that might have some examples, or do any of you have one that we could use as a guideline? If so, could you post a link to the website for me?

Thanks a bunch!

I am curious about what type of team you are looking to start. Is this a team that will be seen by college coaches and scouts? Is this a team of freshman aged players just looking to play during the summer? Or somewhere in between?

No errors,

I have found that teams that have "contracts" don't usually last more than a year or so...and those years are tumultuous.

Have a parent meeting and lay out the plan. Set the proper expectations and you will be fine.