ROLAND-STORY

SOFTBALL
2015

TEAM GUIDELINES
& POLICIES

Physicals:
Everyathletemusthaveaphysicalbeforethefirstpractice.Ifyouhaveparticipatedina
previoussportthisyear,youhavemetthephysicalrequirement.
Practice/GameGear:
Bringthenecessarygearwithyoueachday.
Glove
MetalCleatsyoushouldneverpracticeintennisshoesastheyprovideabsolutelyno
tractionineithertheoutfieldorinfieldwewanttoavoidinjuries.
Shorts,socks,shirt(longenoughtotuckinwhensliding).NOcutoffs.
Pants/kneepadforsliding.Wemayslideanyandeveryday.Plantowearoneorthe
otheratallpractices.
Sweatshirt/Jacketoncooldays,bringasweatshirttoprotectyourthrowingarmand
preventsorearmsandinjuries(coolis70degreesandbelow).
WaterBottle
SlidingShortsforgames
Sunglasses:
Fashionsunglasseswillbeallowedatpracticeonly.Whenthereisagameplayersare
expectedtowearsportssunglassesoravisor.
Pants:
Allplayerswereissuedapairofshortsatthebeginningoftheseason.
Playersareallowedtowearpantstopracticebutwillbeexpectedtowear
theissuedshortstoallgames.
8thgradershavedecidedtopurchasetheirownblackpantstowearduringgames.
Theywillberesponsiblefortheirownpants.
PersonalHelmets:
Theuseofpersonalhelmetswillbeallowedatgamesiftheyarered,blackor
white.Anyothercolorswillnotbeallowedduringgamesbutplayersmay
usethemduringpractice.Schoolhelmetswillbeprovidedforplayeruse.
PracticeAttendance:
Itisunderstoodthatattimestheremaybeanunavoidableconflict.Playersareexpected
tocontactthecoachifthishappensandarriveatpracticeassoonastheycan.
ASASoftball:
InformationhasbeensharedthatmanyplayersarealsoplayingASAsoftball.Whileitis
greattogetasmuchexperienceaspossible,schoolballneedstotakepriorityifthereisa
conflictwithpracticesandgames.Eventhoughitisimportanttolearnfromother

coaches,thecoachesatRolandStorywillbestrivingtocoachwithconsistencyasitis
taughtthroughthevarsitylevel.

Playingtime:
TherewillbeNOAandBteam.Coachescanguaranteeplayingtimebuttheycannot
guaranteeequalplayingtime.Attitudeandworkethicinpracticeandatgameswill
determineplayingtime!
Schoolpolicystatesthat7thgraderswillplay7thgradeand8thgraderswillplay8thgrade
unlessthereisaneedforplayersatthehighschoollevel.
PracticeandGameBusses:
For practice a bus will pick up the girls (around 5:30) and transport
them from the middle school in Roland to the high school in Story City.
Girls living in Roland will need to find their own transportation.
For home games there is no bus that transports the girls from Story
City to Roland car pooling has worked VERY well in the past.
For away games a bus will pick up the girls in Roland at the softball
diamonds (Erickson Park) and in Story City at the high school. The bus
will drop off the girls at the same locations (diamond and high school)
after the games the girls will be told bus times the day before.
AwayGames:
Atawaygamestherewillbeacheckoutsheetforparentstosign.Youmustridethebus
homeunlessyourparent/guardianpersonallynotifiesACOACHtheyaretakingyou
homeandSIGNSTHECHECKOUTSHEET.Youmaynotridehomewithother
relatives,sisters,brothers,friends,etc.Intheeventthatyouhaveaspecialsituation,your
parent/guardianshouldnotifyacoachinadvanceandalsoprovideawrittennote
assumingresponsibility.
PracticeandGameExpectations:
Arriveandbereadyforpracticeandgamesatthescheduledtime
Helpsetupandteardowntheequipment
o Thisincludescarryingequipmentonandoffthebusforawaygames
Nutrition:healthysnacksareapriority!Nojunkfoodbeforegamesorpractice
Respectallcoaches,teammates,andumpires
Haveapositiveattitude
MOSTIMPORTANTLYHAVEFUN!

DisciplinaryAction:
Eachplayerisexpectedtofollowteamguidelines,demonstrateaPOSITIVEattitude,
demonstrategoodsportsmanship,andbehaverespectfullytowardcoaches,teammates,
umpires,andfans.Theyshouldcontributetotheoverallpositivemoraloftheteam.
Disciplinaryactionwillbeasfollows:
1stoffense:10sprintsfromhometofirstandameetingwithCoachesand
Parent(s)
2ndOffense:unabletoplayinhalfofagame
3rdOffense:unabletoplayin1fullgame
PLAYERMEETINGS:
Sometimesplayerswillhavequestions/concernsastheseasoncontinues.Wealways
encouragecommunicationoveruncertainty.Wenotonlywantyoutoimproveassoftball
players,butaspeople,too.Wewouldlikeallplayerstolearnhowtoadvocatefor
themselvesandbecauseofthisallmeetingswillbeconductedbetweentheplayerandthe
coach(es).Parentsmayattendthemeetingbutpleaserespectthatwearewantingyour
playertogrowasapersonandadvocateforherself.Pleasefollowtheseguidelinestohelp
uscommunicatethebestwecan.

24HourRule.Itistheplayersresponsibilitytoscheduleatimetomeetwith
thecoach.Wewillnotmeetdirectlyafteragamewhenemotionsrunhigh.We
willdoourbesttomeetwithyouthenextday.Letsmakethefocusofour
conversationsonbeingproductive.
HowtoImprove.Althoughwewillnotdiscussplayingtimedirectly,weare
alwaysexcitedtocomeupwithdrills,extrapracticetime,orideasthatwillhelp
youimprove.
YouOnly.Wewillalwayslimitourdiscussionstoyourimprovementonly.

Thank you, and if you have any further questions, please feel free to give
one of your coaches a call or email us at the following:
RachelHagedorn
7thGradeCoach
5154603329CellPhone(feelfreetotextand/orcall)
hagedorr@uni.edu
Susan Johnson
8th Grade Coach
641-485-1116 Cell Phone (feel free to text and/or call)
sjohnson@rolandstory.k12.ia.us
KatieSandquist
7/8VolunteerCoach
5152316376CellPhone(feelfreetotextand/orcall)
ksandquist@roland-story.k12.ia.us

GONORSE!!!

Pleasereadoverthehandbookandsignbelow.Bysigning,youhavereadand
understoodalltheguidelinesandpoliciesasstatedabove.Ifyouhaveany
questionsoverthehandbookoranyotherconcerns,pleasedonothesitateto
contactthecoach/coaches.Thankyou!
PleasehaveyourplayerreturnthissignedsheetbyFriday,May22nd!

PlayerSignature:_______________________________________________

ParentSignature:______________________________________________