Click here for Frequently Asked Questions about SYAC Girls Softball
|
|
|
|
A Special Welcome to our 2009 Coaching Staff! |
Congratulations on being selected as a SYAC Girls Softball coach for the 2009 season! We welcome your help in making this year a great success. Over the past decade, we’ve seen SYAC Softball to grow from 125 girls in two divisions to this year’s enrollment of 400 girlscomprising 31 teams in four leagues, plus our growing Travel program. We’ve also grown in adult participation. For more than a decade, we’ve had more moms and dads volunteer to coach and to sponsor than the number of available positions on our teams. Accordingly, we are selective in choosing the best possible coaches for our girls. The SYAC Board of Directors reserves the right to select coaches and sponsors who best support and exemplify the following objectives: • To teach our children the game of softball Each year we face a daunting but vital task: to select teams that are balanced in abilities. If we succeed in this process, teams should experience a fair share of wins and lossesand all children should have a meaningful and fun experience. As a coach, you have special responsibilities, that are discussed in our Coaches Meeting, held the night of the Player Draft, and outlined in the Coaches Agreement each of you have signed, which is shown below. Also, be sure to return the ”In-Season Player Evaluations” when you receive them. There is one form per team, and all coaches must sign it. It ia an essential tool in future team selection that improves the success of SYAC Softball year after year. Finally, we ask that you write game reports for our Website and local mediaso that SYAC Softball participants can savor the memory of all the fun they had playing as teammates. Thanks for devoting your time and energies to being a SYAC Softball coach. Your league commissioners and all board members are available to field your questions and hear your concerns and suggestions. Working together, we will have a great season! The Board of Directors of SYAC Girls Softball |
|
|
|
|
|
√ List |
Review the Rules with Opposing Coach and Umpire...Avoid Disputes later! |
|
|
|
|
|
Season SetUp |
Click here to read about Registration, Evaluation, Coaching, Sponsorship & Team Selection |
|
|
|
|
|
General Rules |
Home Team |
|
|
In the season schedules, the home team is the second team listed. The home team sets up bases, takes the field first and bats last. |
||
|
|
||
| Practices and Reserving Fields | ||
|
1) Practice is vital to learning the game. Coaches must work out a full and flexible practice schedule with their team. 2) Fields must be reserved for practice to avoid overlap of teams on a practice field. Commissioners will assign fields and times. Teams must practice at fields where their games are played. SYAC teams must yield school fields to Syosset school team practices and games. 3) Coaches must never leave a practice or game without all girls accounted for. Remain at the field until all girls are picked up. |
||
|
|
||
| Conduct | ||
|
1) As outlined in the Coaches Agreement, which all coaches were required to sign on Draft Night, coaches are expected to set an example of civility and good sportsmanship at all times. Should a spectator become overly enthusiastic or unsportsmanlike or irritating to the players, the coaches are expected to ask this person to stop. If coaches cannot control the situation, the umpire will be asked to step in and decide if a forfeit should be imposed. 2) Players, coaches and spectators should not make disparaging or insulting remarks to or about opposing players, officials or fellow spectators. Unsportsmanlike behavior can result in the umpire removing that person from the game. 3) No adults, especially the coach, may drink alcoholic beverages at a game. Smoking at games, especially cigars, is discouraged for spectators and forbidden for coaches. 4) Any such incident must be reported by a coach to the league commissioner immediately following the game, even if it was successfully resolved on the field. |
||
|
|
||
| Setting Up the Field | ||
Pitching Distance
Base Distance
Fielders Position in Basepaths Coaching Positions in the Game 2) Offensive coaching may take place in the area of the coaching box, as defined by the umpire. 3) When coaching at 1st or 3rd base, offensive coaches may not make deliberate physical contact with the base runner. If this happens, the runner is automatically out. 4) In the Pony League, two defensive coaches may be on the field, in the outfield only. 5) Defensive coaches may not stand in the offensive coach’s line of sight to the batter. 6) In the Pony League, the coach who is pitching may coach the batter only, not baserunners. |
||
|
|
||
| Game Time & Duration | ||
|
Games are scheduled to start between 6:15 and 6:30pm (start times may differ for weekend games) and go for a maximum of six (6) innings in all leagues. |
||
|
|
||
| Before the Game | ||
| When the following items have been done, the game may begin:
(1) Seven players on each team are present and the home team gives the umpire a new Game Ball. (2) Coaches exchange lineups, which must include all player names and numbers. Players arriving after this exchange are added at the bottom of their team's lineup. Each time this happens, the opposing coach must be informed. (3) Both coaches run through the elements on the SYAC Pre-Game Checklist. That checklist appears above, and a laminated copy of the Checklist is in each team's ball bucket. |
||
|
|
||
| Keeping Score | ||
|
Each team must keep track of the game in their scorebook. In the event of a disputed play, if one team cannot produce documentation of the play, the call must be made in favor of the team with documentation. If both teams have documentation and disagree, the umpire's decision is final. |
||
|
|
||
| Tie/Inning Rules | ||
| (1) During the regular season, games may end in a tie.
(2) During the regular season, no inning may begin later than 8:00pm. Because of this, if an official game is tied at the conclusion of an inning that either ends at 8:00pm or shortly after, it ends in a tie. (3) In the Playoffs, games are played to their conclusion and ties are not possible. |
||
|
|
||
| An "Official" Game | ||
| Except for Playoff games, a game is considered official after four complete innings in Junior and Senior Leagues. In the Instructional and Pony Leagues, the game is official when both teams have batted the same number of times. The umpire may call any game at any time and for any reason (e.g., cold, darkness, rain, lightning), even after part of an inning has been played. In that event, the score reverts to what it was at the end of the last complete inning. Coaches must accept this decision without dispute. | ||
|
|
||
| Resuming an Unofficial Game | ||
| (1) If an unofficial game is interrupted and must be resumed at a later date, it continues from the last complete inning.
(2) If that continuation is scheduled prior to the start of a regularly scheduled game, it need only run to four full innings to be considered complete. (3) If it is rescheduled for a date and time when no other game is scheduled for either team, then the teams must complete all six innings. |
||
|
|
||
| Forfeit Rules and Procedures | ||
|
(1) If, by 6:40pm, a team cannot field seven players, that team officially forfeits the gamebut an unofficial game is played.* (2) If the game has been rescheduled to a weekend date and doesn't start at 6:15pm, the forfeit occurs 25 minutes after game time. (3) The team that fails to show up with enough players is credited with a loss. (4) If both teams fail to appear at a field for a game, or with less than seven players, and no prior communication has taken place (this is a very rare situation), the commissioner may, at his discretion, dispose of the game and credit both teams with a loss. *Notes: Some umpires adopt this position because they are instructed not to ump "practice games" in adult leagues, due to insurance concerns, but this does not apply to SYAC, Ed adds. The umps are being paid for the SYAC game and should stay. |
||
|
|
||
| Score of Forfeited Game | ||
| The score of a forfeit, which can impact a tie-breaking situation, is 1-0. | ||
|
|
||
| End of Game Actions | ||
| (1) At the conclusion of the game, both teams line up and shake hands. Especially then, coaches should stress good sportsmanship.
(2) It is the home team's responsibility to report the score of the game to the League Commissioner in a timely fashion. (3) It is the winning team's responsibility to see that the game is "written up." See Publicity below for more information. |
||
|
|
||
Umpire Rulings |
||
|
A coach, player or spectator should never dispute a judgment made by an umpire. Under NO CONDITION is any player to question an umpire's call, nor will any team member show disrespect to an umpire. If you feel that an umpire has misinterpreted a rule, see Protests & Problems (below). If No Umpire is Present 2) If both coaches agree on a substitute umpire or umpires, no change may be made after the start of the game unless an official umpire arrives. 3) The home team coach must report game results to the commissioner. Report umpires who fail to show. |
||
|
|
||
Player Apparel and Equipment |
||
|
1) Team shirts or colors should be worn as the outermost garment. All players should wear long pants. No jewelry is allowed. Team hats should always be worn. 2) In all leagues, all batters, base runners and catchers must wear helmets at all times. Catchers must wear helmets while warming up. Teams must share helmets if the need arises. |
||
|
|
||
Player and Spectator Position |
||
|
1) When your team is at bat, only the batter and base runners may be on the field. On-deck hitters and other players must remain behind the backstop or field fences. 2) All spectators must remain off the playing field at all times, behind the backstop and/or field fences. No spectator may give instructions to a player on the field. |
||
|
|
||
Playing Time |
||
|
1) In Instructional and Pony Leagues, all teammates play at all times. In Junior and Senior Leagues, every child must play a minimum of three innings per game in the field, and all girls bat in rotation. All three of these innings must be played before the end of the fifth inning. 2) Players arriving after the game begins must be used in half of the remaining innings. A player who arrives after the game has begun is placed at the end of the batting order. |
||
|
|
|
|
Game Playing Rules |
Number and Placement of Players in the Field |
|
|
Instructional League Pony League |
||
![]() |
||
|
Junior League Senior League All Leagues Regardless of the number of girls playing the field, all girls who are present bat when their turn comes in the batting order. |
||
|
|
||
Pitching |
||
|
1) Legal Delivery: The pitcher takes a position with both feet firmly on the ground and with both feet in contact with the pitcher's rubber. Prior to pitching, the pitcher must come to a complete stop, facing the batter, with shoulders in line with first and third bases, and with the ball held in one or both hands in front of the body. This position must be maintained at least one second before starting the delivery. 2) Palm Up Rule: Regardless of the style of pitching, the ball must be delivered to the batter with the palm up. 3) Foot on the Rubber: The pivot foot must remain in contact with the pitcher's plate from the beginning of delivery until the ball leaves the pitcher's hand. 4) Style of pitching: In Pony League, parents and coaches must throw an underhand delivery, also known as a flat pitch. This is NOT a so-called "arc" pitch, which is NOT allowed in any of our leagues. In the Junior League, this same flat pitch is thrown by players. In the Senior League, both flat and windmill pitching are allowed. 5) Hit by pitch: In Junior and Senior Leagues, a pitcher who hits two batters in one inning or a total of three batters in one game is removed from the mound for the remainder of the game. She may play in the field. Hitters must make an attempt to get out of the way of a pitch in order to be awarded first base. 6) Intentional walks are not allowed in any league. 7) Instructional League: In the Instructional League, the season begins with batters hitting off a tee. As the season progresses, coaches pitch to batters at their discretion. 8) Pony League: Pitching is done by a coach or parent of the hitting team. If the pitcher gets in the way of a defensive play, the play is dead, and the batter continues her turn at bat. An adult pitcher may instruct only the hitter and not baserunners. 9) New for 2009 Senior League: Windmill pitching is allowed in up to three innings per game per team at a distance of 40 feet (5 feet longer than for underhand pitching). If that limit is reached, all pitching then must be underhand style. Windmill innings may be in any order, but no split innings are allowed; one windmill pitch designates that inning a windmill inning for that team. |
||
|
|
||
Balls & Strikes |
||
|
1) Instructional League: There are no balls and strikes, no outs, and no score is kept. Every batter bats until she hits the ball. The inning is over when the team bats around. 2) Pony League: There are no balls and strikes. The batter gets three swings. If the third swing is a clean miss, the batter is out. If the third swing produces a foul ball, the batter continues batting until she either gets a hit or misses the ball completely. 3) Junior and Senior Leagues: Balls and strikes are called. Players walk on four balls; players strike out on three strikes. There are unlimited foul balls after the second strikeexcept when bunting (Senior League only). |
||
|
|
||
Batting Around |
||
|
1) Instructional League: Every batter bats until she hits the ball, and the inning is over when the team bats around. 2) Pony League: An inning ends when 3 putouts are made or when a team has sent 10 batters to the plate,whichever comes first, regardless of how many players are present at that game (e.g., a team with 14 players may bat a maximum of 10 players in the inning, then resume the following inning with the next scheduled batter and, conversely, a team with 8 players may have 2 batters bat twice if 3 outs are not reached ). |