LABRAE ATHLETIC CLUB

BASEBALL AND SOFTBALL TEAM FORMATION RULES

GENERAL RULES

I.   In all matters relating to managerial selection, team formation, or player-to team assignment, the LAC SPORTS COMMITTEE will have final judgment. This sports committee will consist of the LAC'S Executive Board and that year's Sports Director.

Managers, coaches, and parents or any interested Club members are encouraged to voice their concerns or opinions on these matters to the group.

II.  These  General Rules and the following Drafting Procedures are meant to be firm guidelines that will be followed in this and all subsequent years.  Our intention is to formalize and explain these procedures­-to make sure they are known by all, understood, and equally applicable to everyone involved.

We believe these rules constitute the fairest available method for the development of LAC sports within the regulations mandated by county and state leagues. These rules will be discussed during the LAC'S February and March meetings each year. They may be changed at that time by a vote of the general club membership.

III.   Note that if at any time an appeal or complaint is made to the

Sports Committee about these policies or any decision of that group, and a Committee member is personally involved in the dispute; he or she shall have no vote nor any special privilege in the decision process.  Thus, should a question arise about player drafting in an age group that some Committee member manages or assists; he or she shall be temporarily disqualified from the Committee's deliberations and vote.

All suggestions and new ideas about these rules are welcomed.  They should be addressed to the Sports Committee so that our procedures could be as fair and reasonable as possible.

IV.   Baseball and Softball should be available to all boys and girls from the community within the ages of five and eighteen. The existence of particular teams in particular years will be dependent on the presence of enough registered, eligible youngsters, and the availability of adequate, qualified adult supervision.   Serious attempts will be made to limit any team's roster to a maximum of 16 and a minimum of 14 players. The Sports Committee may vote exceptions to this rule. No players will be cut from any rosters except for disciplinary reasons.

V.  All players must have registered with the LAC on the dates provided each spring. The only late registers allowed will be from families moving into the community after registration deadlines, and the recruiting by an LAC manager to make enough players to field a team in that division with the approval of the Sports Committee. The Sports Committee will assign all such late entrees.

1. All players registering must pay a fee according to age group and fixed by the membership prior to signups. This money is used to help defray the LAC expenses in sponsoring these teams.  Anyone, who has not paid the fee, will not receive a uniform and will not play in any league games until they do so.
2. The registration fee is required of the first 2 family members for any family; all larger groups for a family over 2 may register at the family rate of $100.00 total.
3. This registration fee will be gladly waived due to circumstances of financial hardship. The LAC does not wish to ban anyone from playing because the fee causes real financial problems.
4. Managers and players should also be aware that no uniforms will be issued to individual ball players who have not returned a uniform from last year. Uniforms or a $25.00 penalty fee must be returned.
5. There will be a $10.00 late sign up fee charged if addition to the entry fee for any players signing up after registration is closed except in the case of families moving into the area and the recruiting by the Committee's approval.

VI. All individuals wishing to manage are to sign up to do so at the LAC'S baseball signups. Teams may not be reserved at an earlier date, though a person may express his interest at any time.   Selection of managers will not be on a first-come, first-serve basis. Managers, Assistants and Coaches must be members of the LAC. Memberships in the LAC cost $1.00.  Managers, Assistants, and Coaches must teach sportsmanship and teamwork, abide all club conduct rules, account for all uniforms, and return equipment on time and in reasonable condition.

Equipment must be turned in by Oct. 1 following the season or that manager may not be eligible to manage the next year.   The Sports Committee has final approval of picking managers, assistants and coaches.  The following criteria will be used by the Sports Committee to choose who will manage:(they are listed in the order of importance or priority):

1. Persons having worked 10 or more fundraisers (i.e. Vegas nite, concession stands).
2. Persons having worked some fundraisers, but not 10 or more.
3. New club members.
4. Old club members with no fundraisers worked.

Again, we do not wish to ban anyone, only to make you clearly aware that  the LAC needs help. We must all share the work. You may work in the winter, or summer, or both, but you will be expected to contribute.

DRAFTING PROCEDURES

I. Remember that County Hot Stove Organization rules insist that all teams from a community in age bracket have equal members of seniors and juniors. Thus, if the LAC were to enter two teams in Class A (9-10 year old girls), both teams should have the same number(within one of seniors or ten year olds, and also equivalent number or nine year olds(within two, the younger group is a league being called juniors). Likewise for Peewee and the oldest teams, multiple teams must be balanced in all three age groups.

II. FOR AGE GROUPS WITH TWO TEAMS

Keep in mind that the overall goal is to give all teams the option of keeping some of last year's players, and to balance within senior and junior classifications as necessary.

As to begin with, the Sports Committee will total the number of seniors or older eligible youngsters who have registered. Each team will then have the option of freezing or choosing to keep 3 of their players from the returning ballplayers on their last year's roster.

As long as the other team can match within one for the same amount of seniors and within two for the same amount of juniors. These players can be juniors if a manager is moving up to the next division and some of his players move up with him or they can be seniors if the manager is staying within the same division as last year and has some players returning.

So, for example 19 seniors are registered. You manage team A; you may then freeze up to three seniors who played for your team as juniors last year. You do not have to claim all of the returning ballplayers, but you have the option of freezing some number of them. It may also be the case, that because not enough new seniors have registered, you may not be able to freeze all three of your returning players. In order to achieve the balance the county demands, you may lose someone.  You will at least have the choice as to who to freeze (claim).

The manager of team B will be doing the same.  Hypothetically, let us say that he/she has fewer seniors returning.  After you have chosen, who to freeze, this Team B manager (the team with fewer frozen seniors) will then select from the unfrozen senior's pool enough ballplayers to equal your frozen total. From that point on, Team A will select a senior, then Team B and so on until the senior pool is exhausted.  All registering ballplayers will be selected unless special permission is received from the Sports Committee. The outcome of this senior portion of the draft should be two teams of equal numbers of older players (at least equal within one).

B. JUNIORS OR THE YOUNGER AGE GROUP WITHIN A BRACKET.

Keep in mind for example sake; we have Teams A and B. Team A has the most returning senior  ballplayers (both frozen and unfrozen combined).   The team with the least returning seniors on its roster will select first, then the second team will have the next two selections, the first team will choose, the second, and so on until the pool is exhausted. Again every player will be chosen unless the managers obtain permission from the Sports Committee

Involved. If neither team has more returning seniors, the first choice will be by flip of a coin. The winner will get first choice and the loser will get the next two picks. If neither coach has any returning players and both have picked equal number of seniors (within one), another coin toss will be held to start the drafting of the junior players. As with the seniors, the winner picks one and the loser gets two and then they alternate until the draft is complete.

In our example, Team A would select first. Team B would have the next two picks. Then Team A again, then Team B and so on.

The situation is somewhat complicated by the following restriction of what was just stated:

1. A manager's son or daughter should be clearly identified as such before the draft begins. This child (or children) will be reserved for that team for three rounds of the draft. If he or she is not selected by the parent within three rounds, the ballplayer may be drafted and have to play for either team. A manager may not pass over his child without previous approval by the Sports Committee.  Any parent or manager feeling this imposes undue hardship on a team, may ask for a special ruling from the Sports Committee. It would require rather extreme circumstances for any changes to be made in this rule.
2. The sons or daughters of assistant managers or coaches may not be reserved at all. Assistants and coaches do not exist before the draft is complete.
3. If more than one brother or sister play within the same age group, and one of the pair is drafted by a team, the other sibling must be selected on or before the third round of the draft by that same team. If a sense, the second of a pair of siblings is reserved until the third round. The LAC will try to accommodate families and always assign family members to the same team­-unless asked not to do so by the family.  A manager or managers may ask the Sports Committee to review this rule or very questionable ballplayers being involved. Each such appeal must be made before the drafting begins, and will be decided on its own merits.
4. If a team has an older sibling as a senior or a younger sibling as a junior member of a team, the coach that has the most seniority with either of the siblings would get first pick of the siblings and the other sibling would follow on that team. This is to be with the approval of the parents of those siblings involved and the Executive Committee.

C. If at the end of the drafting, the two managers wish to trade ballplayers, the deal must receive the approval of the Sports Committee.  Inequities of uneven trades without adequate explanation will not be considered acceptable. Team rosters are finalized on the day of the draft except under extreme circumstances.

III. FOR AGE GROUPS WITH THREE TEAMS

A. Basically the policy will be the same as for two teams except that it must be applied to a third team. To begin with, all registered seniors will be identified. This number will be divided into thirds. Each manager will have the opportunity to freeze a maximum of three senior age ballplayers as he or she has returning.  The county says we must divide our seniors equally (as possible, within the three teams) So, the first step is to allow you to claim returning 3 players. It may be that you cannot protect your 3 returning players-some may have to be put back into a draft pool.   In all cases, you have the option of selecting (freezing) with a maximum of 3, as we can allow you to carry. The team with fewest returning seniors on its roster (both the frozen or unfrozen) will then select first from the senior pool.  It will select as many as needed to become equal with the next smallest team in terms of number of returning seniors. These two teams will then alternate picks, until they are equal in size to the team possessing the largest number of returning seniors. The three teams will then alternate in a regular round-robin draft.

The county says each team must have 8 seniors (or within one of each other).   So Team A may elect to freeze 3 of his old players.  B decides to freeze all 3 of his, and C the 1. Team C would have first pick from the pool. Then Team C would pick 2 times. Then all three teams would draw a card or pill to determine the first pick after freezing and then follow in order in a regular round-robin draft until all seniors are picked. Remember all three teams had the option of freezing or not freezing their old players.  It is expected, though not ordered, that a manager would freeze his or her old players having worked and trained these ballplayers from previous years.

B.  For juniors, the exception and reserved rules about managers' offspring and siblings on a team are the same here. Please refer to those classes which were explained previously (Rules Sec.II, 1-4).

The order of selections among the three teams will be determined as follows:

PICK#1  ­-the team with the fewest returning + frozen seniors.  So first   pick is to the team originally freezing the fewest seniors. Call this team X.

PICK#2 ­- The team with next fewest frozen seniors originally.  Call this Team Y.

PICK#3  ­-The team with most originally frozen seniors. Call this Team Z.

PICK#4-­ Team Y

PICK#5-­ Team Z

PICK#6-­ Team X

PICK#7-­ Team Z

PICK#8-­ Team X

PICK#9-­ Team Y

Then begin order from pick#1 again until the junior pool is exhausted.   Remember the rules about when a manager's offspring is picked and the rules governing siblings still apply.  The Sports Committee will decide all disputes. And all post-draft trades must be approved by that group.

 

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