Agenda

• Coaching Staff
• Overview of the 2023-2024 School Season
• Player Expectations
• Parent Expectations
• Game Schedules
• Fundraisers
• Volunteer Opportunities
• Goals for Equipment & Uniforms

1. Introduction of Coaching Staff
   1. HS Returning Coaches
      1. Coach Skow
      2. Coach Stevens
      3. Coach Brown
      4. Coach Lopez
      5. Coach Migl (Ley Coach)
      6. Coach Moss
      7. Coach Williams
   2. MS Returning Coaches
      1. Coach Nance
      2. Coach Garrett
   3. 2 new MS Coaches

2. Overview of the 2023 – 2024 School Season
   1. All teams are 6A this year
   2. We will be ready for this, our teams’ successes in 5A have prepared us.
   3. First 2 years of 6A we will be in the Tulsa Area District
      1. 4 teams in this area have been placed here
      2. Piedmont, Norman North, Moore, & Northwest Classen 
      3. 10th – 12th, maybe Freshmen will be taking trips to Tulsa; some teams we play for example: Bigsby, Enid, Tulsa Union, Broken Arrow, Bishop Kelly, Ponca City
      4. Late nights on Mondays and Tuesdays
      5. We will make sure we keep the kids as rested as possible and keep them fed. 
   4. Practice Right Now: done by 3:00 pm every day
      1. The only exception is if we have to clean up the football stadium, this might take a bit longer
      2. Work for the district that is paying $3000 for new uniforms 
      3. Dec. 1st: Unlimited practice time
         1. Will go to 4/4:30 pm
         2. Dogpile Challenge (last week before winter break)
      4. After Winter Break will go to 5/5:30 pm.
         1. Team practice & position practice
   5. The season will start on March 1st.

3. Player Expectations
   1. Mission Statement for our Program: Every kid needs to be the best person, student, and athlete they can be. (In that order)
      1. Participate in Community Service with the team and on your own.
      2. Be a good student, get good grades.  If you want to play baseball in college that’s great, but you still need to focus on academics. 
      3. Be the best player you can be ABSOLUTELY, but make sure you are doing the other two first so you can continue to play!
   2. Core Values
      1. Self-control – is difficult for all of us, we talk about the mental game.
      2. Excellence – strive for excellence, being perfect isn’t possible, everyone makes errors, strikes out, walks someone, it’s alright.
      3. Be accountable – don’t be a finger pointer, take responsibility for your actions, and don’t blame others for things; actions have consequences.
      4. Selflessness  – be the best teammate you can be, be there and help out, be happier for others than you are yourself.
   3. Dress Requirements
      1. Piedmont hat
      2. Practice Shirts
         1. M/W – Blue shirt
         2. T/R – Gray shirt
         3. F – your choice of shirt
         4. Black shorts
         5. White practice pants, old pants
      3. Game Day attire
         1. Varsity gets team socks
         2. All teams get jerseys (school provided)
         3. Blue belt, blue socks
         4. White and gray pants
         5. Hats purchased from the team (ordered recently)
         6. Team Colored Cleats
         7. All undershirts need to be blue
         8. The rule changed recently, so players may wear 1 necklace
         9. Eye black – STRAIGHT ACROSS ONLY
   4. Bus Riding
      1. Ride the bus to games; ride the bus home
      2. Exceptions if both teams ride the same bus
         1. 1st game players may ride home with their parents
         2. Ride to Stillwater on a Saturday, If you guys want to stay and visit family, and parents please talk to coaches to get approval.
   5. Behavior Issue (ISI & Detentions)
      1. A spreadsheet is available to coaches and they will know; that punishment will be given during practice as well
      2. ISI: 3-5 days typically
         1. You will miss the practice and games during your ISI duration
         2. When you return you will run in practice the number of days you received ISI, as well as miss the number of game days you received in ISI. So for a 3-day ISI, you could ultimately miss up to 6 days of games.
      3. Ineligibility: (failing grades on a weekly basis)
         1. The list comes out on Fridays, and then students are ineligible Monday – Sunday of the following week.  *New this year*
         2. Fall Semester: coaches track this and contact players to get those grades up
      4. Inappropriate language earns 25 push-ups during practice and games.  
      5. Tobacco is prohibited.
      6. Alcohol and drugs are prohibited
      7. Bullying and hazing are prohibited
      8. Don’t do anything that will embarrass yourself or your team.

4. Parent Expectations
   1. The goal of the program is to provide the best experience to each child on the team for 4-6 years.
   2. Please make sure that you are supportive of the above player expectations, if they break the rules there will be consequences. 
   3. Be mindful of academics and support your students in their academic journey; getting an academic all-state is just as important to us. 
   4. Please volunteer your time with the sporting events and fundraising.
      1. Would like to turn over running the booster club meetings to the booster club and Coach Skow would like to step aside from leading these events. 
      2. Financials do run through the district vs. through the booster club.  We can work together to make things happen for our program. 
      3. We are so blessed to have the facilities, the money, and the parent volunteers that we have. We have the resources to be at the top, so let’s work together to make it happen.
   5. Show respect for our umpires, coaches, and visiting teams.
      1. Umpires are in short supply; we need them to want to come to Piedmont and work our games.  We want it to be a pleasant experience when they come to us.
      2. Cheer on your kids, cheer on other kids, and support the coaching staff.  We have a successful program and we want to continue the hard work our kids and coaches put into the program. Support is an important component of all successful programs.
   6. Please refrain from talking or coaching your child from the stands.
      1. We know that many of you have worked with the players throughout their playtime.  But for the program to work as a cohesive unit, we need the players to listen to the coaches and follow their plans. 
   7. Snacks and Drinks
      1. Before or after the game
      2. Do not bring snacks to the dugout during the game
   8. Playing Time & Performance
      1. Try to focus not on the individual playing time of a single player, but focus on the overall team effort.  We will keep an average of 22 players on each team; starting positions are 10. There will be kids that don’t start and don’t play the whole game.  
      2. The choice for playing is not always batting average or individual performance, we are a team and we will determine the best way to play.
      3. We worry about all 110 players in the program, while the focus for parents may be on individual kids, know that we are looking out for the program as a whole. 
   9. Direct Concerns about the program (Chain of Communication)
      1. Please set an appointment time that you can talk to Coach Skow in person.  Before, after, or during a game is not an appropriate time.
      2. During this meeting,
         1. We can discuss: the treatment of your child,  ways to help your child improve, and your child’s behavior.
         2. We cannot discuss: team strategy, play calling, playtime, or other players.
      3. Problem with a specific coach:
         1. Start with Coach
         2. Then Skow
         3. Then Athletic Director
         4. Then Exec. Director or Asst. Superintendent
         5. Then Superintendent
         6. Then the School Board
      4. Please follow this chain of communication, and allow us the opportunity to fix the issue before escalating. 
   10. We hope these expectations will allow for a great experience with the Piedmont Baseball program.
5. Game Schedules
   1. HS is done; Dallas Trip to play a 4-game tournament to start our season.
   2. MS, we are still working on finishing up the schedule. 
   3. We will share the live spreadsheet, so you can just keep an eye on that, it will be updated
   4. The schedule is also on Rankone.com
6. Fundraisers
   1. Blue & Gold – call in order Nov. 6th, money will be due  Nov. 3rd.  Will confirm dates
   2. Email fundraiser – best money maker we have
   3. May (up to booster club) be able to do a Golf Tournament (has been approved). *Possibility
   4. Stadium Clean-up
7. Volunteer Opportunities
   1. Help in the pressbox
      1. Announcer
      2. Scoreboard
      3. Gamechanger
   2. Website & Social Media (contact: Ryan Aller)
      1. Needs help for individual teams
   3. Hospitality Room Organization
      1. NO varsity tournament this year
      2. JV, Freshman, and MS tournament
   4. More people money trained
      1. Concessions
      2. Fundraising Help
      3. District fundraising, but we get that money as well, $2,000 in baseballs, etc. 
8. Goals for Equipment & Uniforms
   1. Buy 2 new tops and then filter them down through the teams
   2. Buy new tops for MS as well
   3. Continue to try and buy jerseys every year, so we can rotate newer uniforms
   4. Equipment purchased
      1. Four love seats for the locker room
      2. Two designated hitting dummies
      3. More baseballs
      4. One-hand training bats