Do you want to Manage a FHS All Star Team?
You must take the Online ACE Certification
Click Here for ACE Certification
Who are our Managers and Coaches? How do I reach them?
Download the FHS 2010 Manager and Coaches Roster
Click to Download 2010 Phone List
All Managers/Coaches must submit an ASA Background Check Form to be eligible to Manage or Coach in the 2010 FHS Season.
Download Background Check Release Form - Click Here to Download
Coaches who did not Manage or Coach for FHS in 2009 will need to supply a copy of their Drivers License with this form.
For Interleague Information see the Interleague Tab
Look over the following attributes of a good sport. Consider each, and decide how you'll address the issue of sportsmanship with your young athlete.
A good sport:
Is a team player. It's important for your daughter to understand that her behavior on the field and on the sidelines reflects on the entire team. It's tough to grasp the idea that your responsibility to the team is to play your best -- and that if you goof up, it's not okay to purge your emotions. Also point out to your daughter that when a player scores the most points for a win, the victory goes to the entire team and is not for individual glory.
Abides by the rules of the game and plays fair. Consistently communicate to your child that it's important for everyone to play by the rules. No one wants a hollow victory, which comes as a result of cheating, playing dirty, or permitting an ineligible player on the field or team. Point out that when foul play occurs, everyone knows it and it doesn't feel right to coaches, parents, spectators, and the kids playing the game. Your daughter can play an important part if she gracefully holds his teams to this standard.
Avoids arguing with coaches, referees, and teammates. Explain to your daughter that it's okay to question some referees' calls, a coach's advice, or a player's contribution. The sports scene allows for some disagreement between those involved. But go on to explain that sometimes it becomes unsportsmanlike to go overboard with that doubt -- and with any sort of belligerence. Talk with your daughter about what players should overlook, condone, or reprimand.
Offers encouragement to teammates. Teach your daughter to be the team cheerleader (so to speak), supporting the efforts of even the weakest player, and that includes herself. Explain to your child that in order for each player to develop her abilities, each needs the chance to get out on the field and play. Essentially, teach your daughter to not be so hard on herself.
Respects the other team's effort. Tell your daughter that no matter how the other team plays, it's never acceptable to belittle or minimize the opponent's effort. Your daughter can acquire the maturity to understand that if an opponent outperforms them, they accept it, learn from it, offer no excuses, and move on. Additionally, it's important for you to convey the idea that if his team out-performs their opponent, it's okay to enjoy the victory, but it's not okay to gloat.
When you're a kid growing up, there's always one dad who's the envy of every kid in the neighborhood.
Our friend Brett is that kind of guy.
Brett is not only a dad to his two daughters - he's also their softball coach. Haley, 6, is in T-Ball; Brooke, 12, plays in Recreational League, a softball program for kids ages 11 to 12.
Each league presents its own challenges - for a dad and a coach. As Brett describes it, "The older kids show up at the ballpark with their shirts hanging out. They're too cool for school." The little girls are more excitable. Brett says his twixt-innings T-Ball pep talks are sometimes as simple as "C'mon, girls... deep breaths."
Not that Brett can always contain his own emotions. At a recent 12U game, he caught himself reviewing the rule book with the umpire. The ump was a kid himself, just a few years older than the players on the field. Brett: "The kid turned beet-red. He knew he'd blown the call. And then I felt really bad." It is, after all, just a game. And the umpires are there to have fun, too.
Although confusion at a 12U game is forgivable, even for an umpire. "There's a lot of Keystone Kops stuff," Brett admits.
Being both a dad and a coach is a challenge in itself. "The other kids look to the coach as the know-all softball guru. To your own kids, you're just dad." Which calls for a more "hands-off" approach when it comes to coaching your own. "You have to let the game come to them," Brett says. Haley, for example, had some flaws in her swing. It took three strikeouts in a row before she was willing to heed some advice from her dad on the bench. "After that, she had five hits in his next seven times at bat." It's a report given with just a touch of parental pride.
Of course, the folks in the stands bring their own share of parental pride to the ballpark. And sometimes more than their share.
Brett: "Parents will replay the game in their heads for hours. But as soon as we pass out the juice boxes, the kids forget all about it. When the game is over, kids just want to be kids."