Code of Conduct

Know Your Role – A must read for all JSL coaches, parents, and players!

Player’s Code of Conduct

• I hereby pledge to be positive about my youth baseball experience and accept responsibility for my participation by following this Code of Conduct.
• I will encourage good sportsmanship from fellow players, coaches and parents at every game and practice by demonstrating good sportsmanship.
• I will attend every practice and game that I can and will notify my coach if I cannot.
• I will do my best to listen and learn from my coaches.
• I will expect to receive a fair amount of playing time.
• I will treat my coaches, other players, officials and fans with respect regardless of race, sex, creed, or abilities, and I will expect to be treated accordingly.
• I deserve to have fun during my baseball experience and will alert my parents and coaches if it stops being fun!
• I deserve to play in an environment that is free of drugs, tobacco, alcohol, and profanity and expect adults to refrain from their use at all youth sports events.
• I will encourage my parents to be involved with my team in some capacity because it is important to me.
• I will do my very best in school.
• I will remember that youth baseball is an opportunity to learn and have fun.

Parent’s Code of Conduct

Preamble: The essential elements of character building and ethics in sports are embodied in the concept of sportsmanship and six core principles: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and good citizenship. The highest potential of sports is achieved when competition reflects these six pillars of character. I therefore agree:

• I will not force my child to participate in sports.
• I will remember that children participate to have fun and that the game is for youth, not adults.
• I will inform the coach of any physical disability or ailment that may affect the safety of my child or the safety of others.
• I will learn the rules of the game and the policies of the league.
• I (and my guests) will be a positive role model for my child and encourage sportsmanship by showing respect and courtesy and by demonstrating positive support for all players, coaches, officials and spectators at every game, practice or sporting event.
• I (and my guests) will not engage in any kind of unsportsmanlike conduct with any official, coach, player, or parent such as booing and taunting, refusing to shake hands, or using profane language or gestures.
• I will not encourage any behaviors or practices that would endanger the health and well-being of the athletes.
• I will teach my child to play by the rules and to resolve conflicts without resorting to hostility or violence.
• I will demand that my child treat other players, coaches, officials and spectators with respect regardless of race, creed, color, sex or ability.
• I will teach my child that doing one’s best is more important than winning, so that my child will never feel defeated by the outcome of a game or his/her performance.
• I will praise my child for competing fairly and trying hard and make my child feel like a winner every time.
• I will never ridicule or yell at my child or other participants for making a mistake or losing a competition.
• I will emphasize skill development and practices and how they benefit my child over winning. I will also de-emphasize games and competition in the lower age groups.
• I will promote the emotional and physical well-being of the athletes ahead of any personal desire I may have for my child to win.
• I will respect the officials and their authority during games and will never question, discuss, or confront coaches at the game field, and will take time to speak with coaches at an agreed upon time and place.
• I will demand a sports environment for my child that is free from drugs, tobacco, alcohol and profanity, and I will refrain from their use at all sports events.
• I will refrain from coaching my child or other players during games and practices, unless I am one of the official coaches of the team.

Coach’s Code of Conduct (Head Coach and all Assistant Coaches)

• I hereby pledge to provide positive support, care and encouragement for all children participating in the Junior Saltdogs League by following this Code of Conduct.
• I will place the emotional and physical well being of my players ahead of any personal desire to win.
• I will treat each player as an individual, remembering the large range of emotional and physical development for the same age group.
• I will do my best to provide a safe playing situation for my players.
• I will promise to review and practice the basic first aid principles needed to treat injuries of my players.
• I will do my best to provide practices that are fun and challenging for all of my players.
• I will lead by example in demonstrating fair play and sportsmanship to all my players.
• I will be knowledgeable in the rules of the Junior Saltdogs League Baseball, and I will teach these rules to my players.
• I will do my very best to use those coaching techniques appropriate for each of the skills that I teach.
• I will remember that I am a youth baseball coach and that the game is for children and not for adults.
• I understand that coaching is a positive of trust. Therefore, I will be a positive role model for all my players and maintain my personal integrity and dignity at all times.
• I will respect the umpires and league officials and their authority. I will never excessively challenge, dispute, or argue any decisions made by them at the field before, during, or after a game. Whenever necessary, I will take the time to calmly and rationally discuss any situation or call made during a game with an umpire.
• I acknowledge this Code of Conduct and agree that if I fail to abide by its guidelines, I will be subject to disciplinary action by the Junior Saltdogs League that could include warning, probation, game suspension, season suspension, or removal from the Junior Saltdogs League.
• I will not use, possess, or be under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs during Junior Saltdogs League events. I acknowledge that such activities are strictly prohibited.
• I acknowledge that profanity, inappropriate joke/gestures, intimate displays of affection towards others, sharing intimate details of one’s personal life, and any kind of harassment in the presence of children, parent, staff, and other volunteers is prohibited.
• I, my assistant coaches, and any parent I allow to help in the dugout will refrain from any action that could be considered child abuse, including but not limited to:
  • Physical Abuse: spanking, slapping, striking, intimidating;
  • Verbal Abuse: humiliating, degrading, threatening;
  • Sexual Abuse: inappropriate gesturing, touching, language;
  • Mental Abuse: neglecting, shaming, cruelty, put downs.