Plymouth New Hope Little League

WOW, what a fun game on Monday.  That was a fun game to watch and be a part of.  We showed everyone how to play Rockie baseball; hustle, play as a team and have fun.  The kids and fans never gave up against a really good White Sox team.  While the final score does not allow us to continue our great playoff run, the kids need to be proud of their effort.

Good luck to the remaining 3 teams!!

THANKS FOR A FUN REGULAR SEASON !!!!!!       

This week's word of the week:  FUN. 

This is the game of baseball and you should be playing it for fun and have fun playing it.  When you try hard and hustle you will become a better player and when you become a better player, you will have fun.  When you give it your best effort and play as a team, you will have fun.  So try hard in practice and in games and have fun doing it. 

Past words of the week

HONOR (as in honoring the game)

The kids, coaches and parents need to learn to honor the game.  This means we don't bend the rules to try to win.  We need to view our oppnents as a gift that allows us to play at our highest potential.  We treat umpires with respect even if we disagree with a call.  We work with our teammates to become better as a team and we never do anything that would embarrass our teammates. 

TEAMWORK

 Teamwork is an important part of life.  We become part of team when we become part of a family.  We then become part of a team when we join our classmates at school.  Later, we are teammates with our co-workers.  Playing baseball is a great way to work on our teamwork skills.  We are trying to get them to work on their teamwork skills.  Here are a few sports quotes: 

"The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don't play together, the club won't be worth a dime.”  Hall of Fame baseball player Babe Ruth

"When you pull on that jersey, you represent yourself and your teammates. And the name on the front is a lot more important than the one on the back! Get that through your head!"  Hockey coach Herb Brooks

"I'm not looking for the best players, coach Craig. I'm looking for the right ones (that play as a team)."  Hockey coach Herb Brooks

Criticize 

Parents should seldom or never criticize their little leaguer.  Let the coaches criticize the players as needed, parents should get in the habit of praising the kids.  The coaches will only criticize the players’ effort, not the player himself.  Remember that every time a parent criticizes their son or daughter, that wipes out 5 praises that they have received from the parent and 10 praises from the coach.  When discussing your player’s game, please concentrate on the effort and not on the results.  Mistakes will happen, the coaches will address the mistakes so the kid will learn from them and become a better player.  If parents need to criticize someone, direct it toward the coach, we can take it.  We are here to help develop the kids and help them learn the game of baseball.  We see the team as a whole and instruct the kids as a team, with individual attention as needed.  We have two sets of eyes looking at the big picture.  Parents tend to concentrate on their kid and see things that the coaches may miss.  Feedback is always welcome.     

EFFORT

Effort is the only thing you can control in baseball. 

You may get a bad bounce or a bad call by the umpire, these things you can not control.  You can control your effort.  If you give your best effort, nothing else matters and wins and loses will take care of themselves.  If you win and don't give your best effort, that is worse than trying your hardest and getting beat.  

Parents,

Before each practice and game, I remind the kids that as Rockies we do 3 things everytime we are on the field:  Hustle, play as a team, and have fun.  That's what the kids strive to do.

As parents I'd like to ask you to do these 3 things:  Let umpires umpire, let the coaches coach, and show good sportsmanship

If our team is pitching, do not stand behind home plate (or anywhere) and yell "strike" or "nice pitch" as the ball is in the air, this is not fair to the kid batting or the umpire.  If there is a close play at a base, let them umpire make the call and do not comment, even if you think the ump missed the call.  It's a long season and the "missed" calls will even out through out the season.  Keep your comments positive, the kids hear more than you think.  If there is a misunderstanding about a rule, I will discuss it with the ump and the other coach at the right moment.  Please try to not yell instructions to your kid or his teammates while they are batting or in the field.  "Too many cooks..."  This only confuses the kids.  And most important, show good sportsmanship.  Your actions affect how all of the Rockies are perceived; kids and coaches.  If an opposing player makes a great play when your son is batting, applaud the catch and later tell your son, "you made nice contact, but the other kid made a great play."  Also, please show your appreciation when a pitcher (for either team) is taken out during an inning.  He or she is trying their best and if they get taken out (often for pitch count reasons) applaud them for a great effort.  Pitching is high profile and high stress and any boost of confidence goes a long way

We have had great support and sportsmanship so far this year, let's   keep it up.  I have been at the fields and watched other games and that is not always the case, so let's show the league what Rockies baseball is about.

Please feel free to contact me with any comments or questions.

Thank you for your support and cooperation

Coach Dave  

PLEASE have your player at the field at least 30 minutes before all games and 15 minutes before practices.  THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT for game days especially because we need to make up the line ups and determine if we have enough players to field a team.  If you are not going to be at a game (or practice) or if you will be there but not within the 30 minute window, please call coach Dave at 763-229-8434

For practices:  if in doubt, please show up to the field. We have limited practice opportunities and practices will be held whenever possible.

For games:  the league or the umpires will determine if a game is to be postponed.  We will do everything possible to give you early warning if a game is to be postponed.  If you do not hear anything, assume the game is going to be played.