Tips for Preparing for the New Softball Season!

If the rain ever stops, we will be in the midst of a new softball season. We know that teams everywhere have already been preparing and practicing and getting ready for the new spring season for a couple months now, because as you know there isn’t much of an off season for softball.

Today, we’d like to give you a few tips for making sure you are prepared for the upcoming softball season!

• Firstly, make sure that you have ALL of your paperwork in order. Birth certificates, insurance (which expires at the first of the year no matter when you initially purchased it), contact information, parent/player contracts (that go over expectations of both parents and players) and finances should already be researched and available for parents to review. Player commitment letters are also a good thing to have on hand.
• Get your schedule together. Most tournament organizations already have their schedules out so you should be able to provide a tentative schedule to parents. If you are attending a World Series, give parents dates (and make sure you know exactly what you need to do to qualify and play in it) so that travel arrangements can be made early.
• Collect commitment fees ASAP. The sad reality is that tons of players and parents like to play Team Bingo, and will hold off on committing until the last minute and then desert you if they get a better offer. It’s irritating and rude. If someone hymns and haws about paying a commitment fee, then they likely aren’t planning on sticking around and this is the easiest way to know where your players stand…. (This fee goes toward TEAM and player necessities such as uniforms, balls, etc.)
• Be prepared to have transparency when it comes to team finances. Make sure that there is a http://scorestix.com/scorestix-products/check and balance system in order, so you are never accused of stealing
• Secure practice facilities and do it fast! Fields are like precious coveted gold once the weather turns warm, and you’ll be competing with every softball and baseball team in your area, so you need to contact whomever, wherever you plan/hope to practice and secure your field times with down payments or whatever is necessary to do so.
• Uniforms! Don’t wait until the last minute to get uniforms together. (And don’t ask everyone on the team for their opinion because we assure you that it will just cause drama) We will always recommend Two-Five Apparel, because we love their truly custom products and use them personally, and have had nothing but the very best experiences. Side NOTE – Make sure to order at least bare minimum of 4-5 sets of extra jerseys for roster changes, or pick up players.
• Take a moment, and sit your team down (players only) and clearly explain your expectations of them. No matter what age they are, be HONEST, and up front about how playing time will work and what you are looking for in the team dynamic. Go over the RULES, what behavior WILL and WON’t be tolerated. THEN….meet with each player individually and help them come up with goals that will equate to their individual meaning of success. Let them each know what how YOU see what their roll on the team will be. We suggest writing these things down. Each player is at a different level and has specific things to work on. Where one kid may need help being more consistent in the field, another may need to work on attitude, while yet another may need to work on plate confidence.
• Work on team bonding! Schedule all inclusive get togethers with the entire team now so the kids get to know one another better early on. Team dynamic is HUGE in this sport. Go bowling. Go to a movie. Have a sleepover.
• Get your super cute, super amazing scoreboard from ScoreStix! Your score keeper will thank you, and they are AMAZING.
• Be Prepared with Your New BRICK DUST DIARY so you can keep track of all the amazing things that happen this season with your daughter. It’s an amazing way to create seasonal keepsakes!