LCYO Baseball All-Star Process Changes – EffectiveSpring 2018
Parent and Coach All-Star Agreements – Agreements for both Parents and Coaches will need to be signed. The agreements will outline expectations, player availability requirements, appropriate behavior, how to interact with PONY officials, how to deal with conflicts, etc.
All-Star Manager Selection – An expanded manager selection committee consisting of all Baseball Directors, VP Baseball, and President will vote to select the managers. Prospective managers will submit a simple questionnaire which outlines their experience and coaching philosophy. Assistant coaches may apply to manage an All-Star team. Division Directors should ask for applications during the middle of the season. The selection committee will review the applications and vote on manager candidates. A top 3 list by division will be given to Division Directors prior to the player vote. No managers will be chosen until after the player vote.
Key manager selection criteria include:
1) Coaching philosophy
2) Past LCYO coaching success
3) Past baseball experience
4) Previous season evaluations
5) Feedback from coaches, parents, umpires, former players, etc.
When there are two equally qualified managers, priority is given to the manager who did not coach the same age group the last season. Our goal is to avoid having the same All-Star manager year after year for the same age group since this leads to a perception that select individuals always get to manage the All-Star teams.
Improved, Independent Player Evaluations – We will continue to run evaluations prior to the player selection, and will expand the time to evaluate the players. Division Directors need to inform coaches that we need to limit the number of players nominated only to those they feel are qualified. Typically, three or four players per team are nominated. Division Directors will be responsible for organizing the appropriate evaluation format for their respective divisions. This may include a live scrimmage game.
Player Selection Criteria – Players will be selected primarily based on their performance during the regular season and playoffs, along with their assessment/ranking during All-Star evaluation day. Coaches will provide an overview of each player, focusing on their playing ability and attitude. Coaches are expected to track basic metrics during the season, and they will include those for each player nominated. Each Division Director will communicate the statistics that need to be tracked at the beginning of the season. Example: Offense (Runs Scored, On Base Percentage, Strikeouts), Pitching (Number of Strikeouts, Number of Walks), etc. These must be simple metrics that most scorekeepers will accurately record. We will not over-emphasize these statistics or make decisions primarily on these, but they will provide a level of quantitative analysis that did not previously exist.
All-Star Player Vote and Teams – Managers will vote the top ten players for the Gold/A team. Assuming the selection committee’s top ranked manager’s child is voted onto the team, that manager is then assigned as team manager. If not, we move to the second highest ranked manager, and to the third if required. Once selected, he/she will select twoadditional players. Next the full Silver/B team will be voted on from the remaining list, and the manager assigned depending upon the player vote. If we elect to have a third team for the respective division, the “Bronze/C team” will be voted on next.
A neutral board member who does not have a child in the division being voted on will monitor this process.
Minimum Play Rule – All players on the roster that are available to play must play at least two inningsdefensively and bat if their turn comes up while they are in the lineup, prior to the beginning of the sixth inning. Coaches not following this rule will not be considered for future LCYO All-Star coaching assignments and may be removed as the LCYO All-Star manager prior to the next game. Exceptions may be made under mercy rule situations. We continue to attempt to get PONY to adopt this rule and/or work with our regional PONY leagues to adopt this rule, but LCYO continues to take the lead on this. It’s the right thing to do for the players and we do not believe it makes our teams any less competitive..
Mandatory Parents All-Star Meeting – Parents of players who are selected for All-Stars must attend a one hour meeting. We will include training on how our process works, playing time expectations, and what we expect from them if as that Parent of an All-Star player. Parents will get all their All-Star related questions answered during this meeting.