Resources
Please read the expectations and guidelines in its entirety. This information will be handed out and covered in a Fall Parent Meeting. If you have any questions or need more clarification in regards to the information below, please contact coach Kaylyn Kingman kkingman@greeleyschools.org.
Program Expectations and Guidelines
- Philosophies
- General Program Expectations
- Communication
- Weekly Eligibility
- Concussion Protocol
- Game Sites
- Off Season
- Skills Camps
- Fundraising & Donations
- Sponsorships
Philosophies
Varsity
- We will field the most competitive team in the coaches' eyes to win each game.
- Playing time is not a requirement.
- Lettering will be determined by Coach Kingman with collaboration of others in the coaching staff.
- Things Considered:
- Playing time on Varsity
- Impact on team (helpful and positive while on bench/field)
- Things Considered:
Junior Varsity
- Will emphasize winning; however, there is a bigger emphasis on player development.
- Playing time will not be equal.
C Team
- Greatest emphasis on player development and learning the game of softball.
- Playing time will be rotated as best as possible.
Our mission as a Greeley West Softball program is to play the best softball possible, build strong young ladies, and to honor our family, school and community.
We, as a coaching staff, will always keep your daughters in our best interest. We will do our best to give them all a great experience at Greeley West. We also know we will never be able to keep each parent happy, but will do our best to communicate to your daughters on why we do what we do, and that being said, hope to also build relationships with all the parents as well. The future as we see it for you daughter in the program, might at times, not be what you expected. The coaches will place your daughters on the level we think will help her grow as a player, and will also play her at the positions we feel will help us at a specific level for that season, or at times for the future of the program.
We choose our Varsity and JV teams based on, no beating around the bush, primarily softball skill. We also take into account coachability, effort, and the upside of each young lady. And, we definitely want good people in our program.
The following have no bearing on making the program, but they definitely are chances to improve a player’s skill set.
- Off-season Workouts (Voluntary)
- Off-Season Strength and Conditioning (register for Advanced Weights and/or see Markanich)
- Attending our annual GWHS Preseason Skills Camp
- Playing in the program the previous year
- Playing Competitive/Travel Summer ball or rec ball
General Program Expectations
- All players need to report to buses, practices, and games on time
- All players should expect to ride the bus to and from games
- Exceptions will be considered if worked out between the parents and coach
- Players, coaches, and team personnel only in the dugout before and during games
- Profanity and use of inappropriate language will not be tolerated
- Unexcused absences to practices or games will not be accepted
- On game day, the student/athlete must attend at least ½ day of school to be eligible to play that day. If the student/athlete missed ½ day due to illness, the likelihood of playing that day is slim.
- Respect the equipment and uniform
- Toxic behavior of players, parents or coaching staff will not be tolerated
- There will be a conversation to adjust the behavior
- Continued toxic behavior will result in removal from the program
- Our parents, players, and coaches will represent our families, school, opponents, and city with the utmost respect and class.
Communication
Chain of Command should be used in all personnel or parent problems concerning their team.
- Head Coach of the team they are playing on: Varsity, JV, or C.
- Program Head Coach
- Athletic Director
- Principal
- School Board
All of our Coaches have an "Open Door" Policy.
- The Subjects listed below will not be discussed with Parents, exclusively with players.
- Players playing time, position, or team she is on.
- Other players in the program.
- Statistics of any kind.
- Our strategies.
- What will be discussed with Parents:
- Grades and school participation.
- Players growth/progress
- College softball
- Discipline actions.
We also incorporate the “24 Hour” rule. Please do not approach us or call us right before or after a game or practice. After a game please wait until 24 hours have passed. You can then contact us by email and set up an appointment to talk. If it’s to give us quick information of some sort… that’s different.
Most of the information you will be looking for is on our softball website: directions, schedules, rosters, team news, camps, etc.
You can access the school athletics website and sign up to get email alerts for cancellations, game location changes, reschedules, etc.
Weekly Eligibility
- Your daughters are Student-Athletes. We emphasize "Student."
- We are using the District's weekly eligibility policy.
- We will receive grade reports weekly, and they will be checked each Friday.
- Any player enrolled in 5 or more classes can NOT have 2 or more F's when eligibility reports are pulled.
- Players need to have at least 5 passing credits at the end of Quarter 4 to be eligible for the start of the season.
- Any ineligible player due to failing grades:
- Will not be allowed to play in a game until she regains eligibility.
- Will not be allowed to suit up.
- Will not be released early fro school for home or away games. If she wants to attend a road game after school is over, she will have to be driven there by her parents.
Concussion Protocol
- Coaches and/or Officials will pull an athlete from play if there are any signs whatsoever of a concussion. She will be observed and tested for a concussion.
- If she is diagnosed with a concussion, the student/athlete must then get clearance from their health care provider to start, or continue the “return to play” process. This includes “return to learn” and “return to play”.
- There is a 5 step process before an athlete can “return to play”
- Our school trainer will start, or continue this process once a health care provider gives her clearance. Clearance from a health care provider does not mean they are ready to play again.
Game Sites
- Varsity home games will be at West
- Junior Varsity home games will primarily take place at West. A lot of the JV games will take place immediately after the Varsity game. Our player numbers are on the low side which will lead to swing players (players who suit up for JV and Varsity games).
- C Games will likely be played at West when Varsity/JV are on the road
- Players will either need to drive themselves or ride with their own parents when games are held on the road and we have no transportation. I will have a list of those that have been approved to drive themselves. Players cannot ride with parents other than their own, nor can they carpool together. Those that want to drive other students besides their own daughter can do so but will have to go through a process. I will email that information out early in the season if you are interested in driving multiple girls to game. There will be no district transportation to tournaments, home games or local league games.
Off Season
Mental toughness and growth mindset is essential for our sport, and in order to build and maintain such a mindset, I expect players at all levels to prioritize strength and conditioning in the off-season.
- Players are encouraged to sign-up for PLT4M workouts that can be done at home or a local workout facility
- Players also have an opportunity to register for Advanced Weights to be added to their class schedule
- During our preseason skills camp I will expect players to be able to
- run a mile in 10 minutes or less, pitchers and catchers will be expected to run 2 miles in 25 minutes or less
- run 7 base-to-base suicides (to one base and back=1) in 1 minute and 30 seconds or less
- run from home-to-first in 3.5 seconds or less
- run home-to-home in 15 seconds or less
Voluntary Workouts
- Dates, times, and locations TBD
- Pitchers and catchers are encouraged to work together twice a week
- Winter months we'll run defensive/offensive drills once a week/every other week
- Spring months we'll run defensive/offensive drills 1-2 times a week
- Summer months we'll run defensive/offensive drills 2 times a week
- Summer scrimmages TBD
Skills Camps
Fundraising & Donations
Between uniforms, equipment, fencing, game balls, field upkeep, etc. our expenses heavily outweigh the money we receive from the school district to run our program effectively. Ninety percent of our yearly school funded budget goes directly towards game balls. Those that have been involved in other high school athletic programs understand this is not abnormal this day and age, and it is not cheap to run a program. Those that play competitive travel softball understand the price tag that is attached as well. Going forward the GWHS Softball Program will be expecting each “family” to meet a fundraising/donation goal. Our promise, as a program, is to use donated and raised funds to responsibly help supplement GWHS Softball with what it needs to move forward in a positive direction.
Sponsorships
One of our main forms of fundraising is sponsorships. We have 3 different options, or tiers. If you have a business or know of a business that would like to help support our program, please go on our website and either sponsor through the online process or print out a form. There is also a form at the end of this document.
If your daughter/family gets a sponsorship, that player will receive a credit towards spirit gear and other items to purchase. We cannot give you this credit in cash. If you obtain a sponsorship after all the spirit gear has been ordered or handed out, we will get with you and give you other spirit gear or equipment options.
- White: $200 - $499 (1-year contract)
- Name and logo on team website
- $20 credit
- Gold: $550 - $999 (1-year contract)
- Name and logo on team website
- Large 4' x 8' banner at the GWHS softball field
- $40 credit
- Blue: $1,000+ (3-year contract)
- Name and logo on team website
- Large 4' x 8' banner at the GWHS softball field
- Custom sponsorship announcement
- $80 credit