Glencoe Baseball Association Philosophy
The fundamental objective of the GBA’s baseball programs is “Athletes First, Winning Second.” This is the motto of the American Sports Education Program (ASEP), and it means this: every decision made and every behavior displayed should be based first on what is judged best for the athletes, and second on what may improve the athlete’s or team’s chances of winning. In the final analysis, what’s important is not how many games are won, but how many young people are helped to become winners in life.
Having “Athletes First, Winning Second” as our objective does not mean that winning is unimportant. The immediate short-term objective of any game is to win. Striving to win within the rules of the game should be the objective of every athlete and coach. Striving to win is essential to enjoyable competition. We believe that it is the pursuit of the victory, the dream of achieving the goal more than the goal itself that yields the joy of sports.
Our philosophy is consistent, but applied a little bit differently for House Leagues, than for Travel Leagues.
House Leagues: We strive to provide each child with an enjoyable opportunity to learn and play the game, and to gain a sense of how to be a productive member of a team. For Mustang (3rd and 4th grade) and Bronco (5th and 6th grade) Leagues we have established rules that everyone bats and plays at least two innings in the infield. Also, anyone who wishes to pitch, and can demonstrate that they can get the ball to the plate, will be given an opportunity to pitch during the season. We also require that no player sit out from the field more than one inning greater than any other player. Pony League (7th and 8th grades) is more like a travel league (there are tryouts, we travel to play teams in Wilmette and Kenilworth / Winnetka). In Pony there are no formal rules regarding minimum infield play, however, we strive to give each player appropriate opportunities to play various positions of their interest. All other House League rules, mentioned above, apply to the Pony League.
Travel Leagues: We strive to balance the desire to be competitive with the desire to be fair and to engage every player. We still play everyone roughly equal innings in the field, while positioning players where they can best help the team succeed (there are no requirements for a minimum number of innings in the infield). Also, every player bats: we do not use a “nine man” batting order even when the rules allow this to occur.
