Coaches Meeting 2018

APB Players • 2002 Bronco World Series Champions • 80% comprised 2012, ‘13, ‘14, ’15, ‘16 Agoura High

School Marmonte League Champions • NCAA Division I Players/Scholarships

– 2007 Robert Stock (USC/SD Padres) – 2012 Brody Fehmel (Trinity) – Div III CHAMPION – 2014 Alex Weiss (CSUN) – 2015 Matt Lautz (UCSB), Joey Czarske (Arizona), Bryce

Fehmel (Oregon St.), Ryan Fineman (Indiana), Brandon Shearer (LMU), Nick Kokiousis (Kansas)

– 2016 Ben Baird (Washington) – 2017 John Deluca (Oregon), Jack Aldrich (Pacific)

APB Mission The mission of our league is simple. Without fail, we will ensure a resounding 'yes' to the following question: Was every action, decision, policy, and by-law implemented to serve the best interests and benefit the children who play baseball in this league? We will do this in many ways. First, we will strive to select a Board of Directors who are willing to give selflessly to the children of our community and oversee the finances with diligence. Second, we will select the best possible managers with a balanced mix of teaching the players baseball fundamentals, how to play competitively, work as a team, exhibit good sportsmanship, and generally conduct themselves with class and respect at all times. Third, we will do our best to get all parents involved in their child's team, helping them understand the long lasting positive impact they can make on their own children as well as others in the league. We will treat every player fairly and equally, regardless of playing ability. By putting this all together, we can say with full confidence we did everything possible to make baseball playing in Agoura PONY Baseball a positive, exciting experience for every player in our league.

What are your child’s goals? • Have fun? • Play with friends? Make new friends? • Be a part of the community? • Play high school baseball?

– 30% • Play college baseball?

– 7.1% from High School play NCAA • 2.1% Div. I, 2.2% Div. II, 2.8% Div. III

– 11.7 baseball scholarships for 27 players • Play professional baseball?

– 10.5% from college get drafted – Less than 1% play MLB

How Do You Want to be Remembered?

• “Hi Coach” • “Who was your coach last year?”

How do we retain players / Make YOUR Lives Easier?

• Better Coaching • Better Coaching • Better Coaching • Better Coaching • Better Coaching • Better Coaching • Better Coaching

• Better Communication • Better Communication • Better Communication • Better Communication • Better Communication • Better Communication • Better Communication

Send Weekly Email on Monday

Complaints

“Selecting coaches with more experience and knowledge of baseball.”

“Better communication.”

“need coaches who know the game and can teach the kids basic fundamentals”

“Educating the coaches better send giving them more opportunities to learn how to coach and to do constructive practices Coach's son is my son's age.”

“He has horrible interpersonal and communication skills”

“This is our 4th season playing baseball with APB, and we have had great experiences with our other coaches in all prior seasons. This is the first time I'm thoroughly disgusted with APB.”

“Coach doesn’t rotate positions”

“Better Coaches”

You can’t please everyone!

“The season is too long”

“games are too long”

“can we add more games?”

“Is there any way to make the season longer?”

“Our player is in 4th grade and having 5:00 weekday games makes homework and bedtime pretty tricky. Games a bit earlier would be super.”

“While I understand the financial benefit of requiring team snacks to be purchased from the snack shack, I much prefer having parents bring snacks.”

“Better parking”

“I would like to see all the scoreboards on at each game.”

“Some poor umpire calls”

“Wear grey pants and not white.”

“Don't allow Father's to coach their own kids.”

“Closer baseball fields. Lupin is pretty far”

“schedule more games in the mornings or evenings so the kids wouldn't have to be out as much mid day in the hot hot temps.”

“More accurate score board use so the family can follow along.”

How to Respond to Complaints

Before you complain, have you volunteered yet? Agoura Pony Baseball

If you’re not helping make it right, then stop complaining about it being wrong

Complaining never makes anything better

If you can’t be positive, then at least be quiet Joel Osteen

When things get difficult it can be easy to complain. How you respond makes all the difference. Tony Dungy

2017-18 Executive Board

President Greg Klausner VP of Baseball Operations Secretary Shannon Hirtensteiner Treasurer Chris Bole Assistant to Treasurer Kathie Leggett VP Facilities Richard Blackledge VP Scheduling/Tournaments Devin Sirkus VP Sales and Marketing VP Auxiliary Operations Lance Cherniet VP Auxiliary Operations Doug Cohen

2017-18 Board of Directors Division Directors Shetland American Aaron Wilhelm Shetland National Jud Mongell Pinto American Paul Lee Pinto National Mark Holder Mustang American Craig White Mustang National Patrick Baldocchi Bronco American Joe Hurley Bronco National Joe Hurley Pony American Chris Yan Pony National Chris Yan Champions Peter Steinzeig Division Director Mentor Sean Packer

2017-18 Board of Directors General Board Equipment David Barish Fields Administrator Umpire in Chief John Asuncion Concessions Director Kathie Leggett Web Master Joe Hurley Picture Day Coordinator Tournament Director Uniform Coordinator Jaymee Anthony All Star Coordinator Eva Larson Trophy Coordinator Eva Larson Fundraising Member-At-Large Warren Kosikov

League Structure

PONY Executive Board

Board of Directors

Umpires

Snack Shack

Facilities

Division Directors

Team Managers

West Zone/ North Region

Elaine Magner

January 18, 2017

2017 Recap

• Spring and Fall registration numbers were up! • Mustang National IL Tournament Champs -

Expos • Pony National IL Tournament Champs - Padres • Mustang 9U All Star Section Champs • Pony 14U All Star HR Cycle on same day (solo,

2R, 3R, Grand Slam) – Conner Bernt • Schedule changes – rain!

APB Thoroughbred

• Play or Coach every year from Shetland through Pony (9 – 10 years)

2008

2017

Cooperstown

• Independent, week long, 12U (Bronco) baseball tournament in Cooperstown, NY

• June – August • APB has a ticket!!! • Teams pay their own way

– $900 per player entrance fee – $1,000 - $3,000 per player

State of the League

• Financially strong • Numbers were up in 2017 after years of

decline due to: – Cost of living in area = fewer young families – Year round sports options – Neighboring youth baseball leagues in the

area/open borders – Travel Ball/Pay-to-Play

• 2018 expect loss of players due to age change

What’s New for 2018

• Rules – New Age Change – August 31 cutoff – New Bat rule - USABat – New Pitch Smart pitching limits

• Shetland – 1st/2nd Year instead of American and National

• Investment in coaches and players

Where does your $$$ go?

• Why fundraising is needed – tournament revenue is drying up – Going to be harder to get donations with the new

tax law

• Facility needs – Installed backstop nets - $5K – ICEE machine - $15K – Field renovation - $5K

Expenses

FULL TIME EMPLOYEE / INSUR 20%

UNIFORMS / TROPHIES 17%

FIELD MAINT & SUPPLIES 14%

UMPIRES 13%

FIELD RENTAL FEES / INSUR 13%

SNACK SHACK EQUIP 8%

OTHER & MARKETING 6%

SNACK SHACK LABOR 5%

EQUIPMENT AND BALLS 4%

APB 2017 League Expenses $331,000

$46K

$40K

$17K

$22K

$36.5K

$36K

$10.5K $14K

$54K

Revenue

• Registrations (Spring & Fall) - $192K • Snack Shack - $90K • LVT - $27K • Team Sponsorships - $34K

HR Banner Sponsor

2018 Spring Registration Costs

• Registration fee of $365 – $290 + $75 Snack Shack deposit – Pinto-Pony – $250 Shetland (no deposit)

• Snack Shack Deposit – Parents can get $75 refund after working 4 hours in

the snack shack. Must be scheduled 2 weeks in advance. Will not get credit if they just show up. Checks mailed AFTER season.

– 1 Manager/2 coaches per team are exempt from shack deposit.

• Refunds will be issued mid-season after coaches are selected and reported. It’s on you to tell us who your assistants are.

PONY vs. Little League PONY Little League

Lead-offs Yes No

Base stealing Yes No

Field sizes Scaled Disproportionate

MLB Rules Yes No

World Series Yes Yes

PONY Divisons

• Shetland (4-6 years old) • Pinto (7-8 years old) • Mustang (9-10 years old) • Bronco (11-12 years old) • Pony (13-14 years old) • Colt (15-16 years old) As of August 31

Champions

• Kids with special needs • Bronco American and Pony teams will shadow

1 game – Mandatory participation required

Champions

American Division is Travel Ball

• Board voted to retain American/National split • Top Tier of Players • Higher caliber of play • Inter-league

– Westlake – Newbury Park – Malibu – Camarillo

Coaching

Paperwork

• Manager Applications – Managers only

• Background Checks – ALL coaches and anyone stepping on the field to

help must be background checked – Contact Shannon Hirtensteiner, Secretary

• Medical Release Forms – Must get every player to complete and keep with

you at all times

Process for Manager Selection - American / National

• See specific APB By-Laws • Selection by committee - President, VP Ops,

Division Director, and other Directors familiar with the Division

• Combination of skills and temperament (including past issues)

• American manager’s child MUST first qualify for A division.

Division Breakdown

Registration Counts - Anticipated Teams by Division *Might be some tweaks due to play up/down

1/9/2018 1/9/2017 No. Teams

Division Registered Pending Total Final 2017 +/- Registered +/- American/

Shetland 2 National/ Shetland 1

Room for

Shetland 91 91 97 -6 67 24 4 5 8

Pinto 99 99 124 -25 72 27 3 7 11

Mustang 99 99 91 8 60 39 2 8 11

Bronco 67 67 94 -27 47 20 2 5 10

Pony 56 56 58 -2 25 31 1 4 4

412 464 -52 271 141

Investment in Coaches

• Clinics run by professional coaches focused on each division’s specific needs

• On-going clinics throughout the year • Mentor program • On-line tools

Coaches Clinic

• Sunday, Jan. 28, MANDATORY • Investing in our coaches from now on. We are

making an investment so we expect you to show up, listen and learn.

• Mandatory attendance. • Classroom and on-field instruction by NCAA

College and professional coaches. • Skills expectations by Division

Tools

• Dugout Captain – www.dugoutcaptain.com – Practice plans, drills

• http://www.qcbaseball.com/ • Attend/observe High School, Pepperdine and

American Division practices

NO RAINBOW Pitches

Don’t have a 6’+ Pitcher throw to a 3’ kid!

No Rainbow Pitches

Hitting Plane

Shetland Pitching Machine

Rules

Important Rules • New Pitch Smart Rules

– Can pitch in 3 consecutive games max. Must rest the 4th game. Period!

• New 2018 Bats rules – USA Baseball – NO old bats allowed, even in practice. Leave them

at home. – Penalty

• Before the first pitch, bat is removed and coach and player will be warned for the season

• After first pitch, an out is recorded and coach and player will be warned for the season

• Second offense = suspension. No exceptions

• BBCOR optional in Pony but required for 15U players

Important Rules con’t

• Metal cleats in Bronco A Interleague, Pony

• Number of Coaches on field – American Inter-league

• up to 4 dugout coaches through Mustang • 3 in Bronco and Pony (only order 3 unis)

– National • up to 4 dugout coaches in Shetland • 3 in Pinto, Mustang, Bronco and Pony (only order 3 unis)

Rules Governance

MLB Rules - apply if no other rule is applicable.

PONY rules - apply were we do not have an overriding rule.

1. APB “local” rules override. 2. Interleague rules (American only) – override APB rules for interleague play

Umpires

• Try their best • Are not trying to purposely screw your team • Set the tone from the beginning; umps are

human too! • Talk to them in a civil manner • Talk to them away from players and parents • Do NOT intimidate youth umpires; help them • Umpires are actually worse in high school

• Umpire shortage

Strike Zone

MLB ZONE PONY ZONE

Don’t be that guy!

TRYOUTS: January 13-14

• Pinto, Mustang Saturday; Shetland, BRONCO and Pony is on Sunday • Make-ups - TBA • Goal is make balanced teams. “Outdrafting” hurts the overall division and we lose players because

of it. • We constantly try to improve the rating/drafting process and have made some tweaks this year. As

always, the final draft rankings are not based solely on the tryout. We take into account each player’s past performance and adjust the tryout score accordingly. Thus, if a stud kid tanks the tryout, we are going to adjust his score to reflect his true skills. Changes:

– Returning All Stars will go first in each group to act as a benchmark. – No automatic American players anymore. Returning American players must tryout and make

American. • Coaches are selected AFTER tryouts. • All coach candidates must attend and rate players. Coaching input is important to the process. • Leaving early is unfair to kids trying out late in the day. • Extremely important to be encouraging and supportive. Kids are nervous. • REVIEW tryout rating sheet

– Ratings based on fielding and hitting only. – TWO Pitchers and catchers per team will be drafted first, then other players. – Actually time the players speed to 1B

• Be mindful of players using old/illegal bats

Uniforms

– Throwback unis • No couture! You get what you

get

– Try to do Custom names and numbers

• Coaches must coordinate this.

– Need sponsorship check before uniforms will be handed out

Sponsorship Fees • $495 per team

• Find a third party sponsor if possible. Companies (Amgen, BofA) do company match.

• Split among families if necessary. • Teams must turn in ONE check per team.

Agoura Pony Baseball 495.00

Field Stuff

Facilities • Bathrooms – by the lunch area; must keep clean • Parking – respect the signs or get towed! • Equipment Sheds - Combination • Field - Equipment Usage • We spent about $5,000 in the offseason redoing the fields. • Use is a PRIVILEGE not a RIGHT. • Return bases to the sheds. Turn off misters. Lock batting

cages. • Respect and maintain fields. They are YOUR fields! • Trash cleanup • Rain - Field Closures posted on website

Fields • Lupin Elementary School (home fields) • Off-site Fields

– Forest Cove Park (Shetland) – Sumac Elementary School (Shetland) – Willow Elementary School (Pinto) – Indian Springs Park ( Mustang) – Old Agoura Park (Bronco)

• Interleague – Westlake (Westlake Elementary, Triunfo Park, OCHS) – Newbury Park (Dos Vientos) – Camarillo (Freedom Field and Kildee) – Malibu (Michael Landon Park) - Pony only

Lupin Baseball Complex

• Fields: – Pinto – Mustang – Bronco – Pony – Snack Shack

Batting Cages

• DO NOT USE (hardballs) BEFORE 9AM. NO EXCEPTIONS!!!!!!!!!

• Combination locks. PUSH UP, then PULL DOWN to unlock. Some locks have an upper line to line up the combo.

• Extremely important to keep locked when not in use. • Division specific priorities unless unoccupied. • Limit to 15-20 minutes when teams are waiting. • Priority for pre-game warm ups - scheduled practices.

Snack Shack

• Significant source of revenue to keep the league alive.

• Goal is to break-even and cover umpires’ fees. • Encourage shack tickets in lieu of snacks. • Suggestions for shack items are always

welcome…but healthy snacks don’t sell! • Teenage workers

– Chaperone out if you have the last game

Equipment

• Baseballs – No distribution of practice balls – We have practice balls available for PURCHASE at:

• Shetland and Pinto N for $30/doz • All others $35/doz. • These balls can NOT be used in games.

– Game Balls • Shetland – Mustang 2 per game • Bronco/Pony – 3 per game • Home team provides game balls. • Retrieve the foul balls damn it!!!!

• Equipment Bags / Deposit Checks / Equipment Return

All Stars

All Stars

• APB Intra-league All Star Game – May 6 – National Divisions only – One game, mid-season – Elected by team coaches

• Sanctioned All Stars – PONY’s version of the Little League World Series – Play other leagues in tournaments – June - August

Sanctioned All Stars

• Formal Selection Process – Players selected by managers – Can’t vote for your own players – Open to American and National Divisions

• Additional All Star Fee – All Star uniform

Calendar - Critical Dates • Jan. 10 – First Umpire training session • January 13-14 – Tryouts • Jan 15 – 17 – Manager selection • Jan 14-21 – Make-up tryouts • Jan 22-23 – American Drafts • Jan 25 or 29-30 – National Drafts • Jan 28 – Mandatory Coaching Clinics • Feb 3 – Practice starts • Feb 22 – Interleague Meeting @ NP • March 3 – Opening Day • March 11 – Picture Day

– Spring Break – April 2-6 – May 6 – National All Star Game – May 30ish - last day for regular season games – May 31-June 13 - Las Virgenes Tournament (Odds June 3-8; Evens June 10-15)

• June 16-21 - Host Sanctioned District Tournament

Annual Calendar Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Spring Season

Tryouts, Drafts

Practice

Sanctioned All Stars

Fall Ball Fall Ball Registration

Spring Registration

National All Star Game Picture Day

New Board Seated

Drafts

Coaching Clinic

Questions - Open Forum

Albee Weiss • APB Thoroughbred • Agoura High School

– Won 3 Championships (‘12, ‘13, ‘14) – All-League, All-County and All-CIF First Teams

three times each. – All-County MVP in 2014 – All-State Third Team selection (2014) – Daily News All-Area player (2013) – Baseball America Top 100 Underclassman

(2012) – Batted .350 average with 10 HRs Senior year

• CSUN – Team Captain – Big West Conference All-Academic Team honors – All-Big West Conference 2nd team