Every youth sports team needs rules in writing that make expectations clear for players, parents and coaches.
The Spiders have contracts for all three groups that need to be signed upon joining the team. I’ve also created generic versions that you can use for your teams.
You should have contracts for the following (click links to view these other samples):
While a contract may be used as a basis of discipline for a player or parent, that’s of course a bit trickier for a coach — particularly the head coach. But the primary reason for these contracts isn’t to make discipline easier.
Instead, these contracts are necessary as reminders and clear roadmaps for what is and isn’t expected. If I violate any of my coaching rules, I expect a parent or fellow coach (even a player!) to call me on it.
I’ve crafted my own youth baseball coach contract for the Spiders (to be used for all of our coaches), but I figured that this may be useful to other teams as well. So I’ve created a sample contract that you can use for your teams.
Youth baseball teams need a coaching contract with expectations in writing. Here's a sample... Share on XAll parents and players are required to sign contracts to indicate an understanding of team rules. Coaches are not exempt. There are rules and expectations that apply specifically to these volunteers.
Coaching Contract Summary
The coaching contract is admittedly quite a bit longer than the player contract. This is meant to help assistant coaches understand our responsibility and also show parents and players what we expect of ourselves.
I won’t detail everything that’s in our coaching contract. But here are some of the themes:
- Be a good role model
- Play within the rules
- Provide and abide by clear, written rules and expectations
- Consistently enforce rules
- Discipline based on mental, rather than physical, mistakes
- Provide more positive than negative reinforcement
- Treat all kids fairly (including my own)
- Be prepared and arrive early
- Assign roles in good faith
- Enforce safety and not risk the health of players
- Respect for umpire, players, and opposing team
- Clearly communicate schedules and other info
There’s quite a bit more (we have 27!), and you can feel free to add or remove as you please.
The Sample Contract
View and download a sample coaching contract below…