CGAA Softball
Coach’s Handbook
Revised October 4, 2005
The Following are operation procedures for the CGAA Softball Program.
1. All batters and base runners must wear batting helmets with chinstraps. If a player neglects to do so, time shall be called and said player must put one on. Refusal to do this will mean immediate removal from the game. In addition, any batter, batter/runner, or runner in the Softball Program who intentionally loses a helmet shall be declared out. The ball will become dead and all runners must go back to the last legally held base.
2. Any player who is relieved as a pitcher may return to pitch in the same game, however not in the same inning.
3. A pitcher throwing one pitch in an inning will be considered as having pitched one complete inning.
4. Four innings played will constitute a game. Three and one half innings played, with the home team ahead, will constitute a full four innings.
5. The home team in all leagues will furnish one new ball and one other in good condition for every game.
6. The plate umpire shall rule completely over all games, including conduct of all coaches, players and misuse of CGAA equipment. Coaches must cooperate with the umpire in controlling the conduct of their player and the misuse of CGAA equipment.
7. Any player misconduct or misuse of CGAA Inc. Softball Division issued equipment, in the opinion of the umpire, by a player will be dealt with in the following manner:
a. First time-the umpire will warn the player of the misconduct or misuse of equipment. Effect: Misuse means flagrant throwing of bats, batters helmets, etc. (any CGAA issued equipment).
b. Second time-automatic ejection from the game at the point of infraction and automatic suspension from the next game, whether it is regular season or post season. Effect: to receive automatic suspension. The 2nd misconduct or misuse does not have to be the same as the first misconduct or misuse. Example: 1st time swearing: 2nd time throwing equipment.
8. Any harassing of the opposing team in any way by players, coaches or fans, will not be tolerated. Upon warning by the official, the individual will be ejected form the game, and must leave the field. Cheer your own team.
9. All players on the team on offense shall stay in the marked area designated as a dugout, except the player at bat, base coaches, and the player next at bat may be in the warm-up circle.
10. Each coach, upon request, must submit to the umpire and to the opposing coach, the number of innings the pitcher or pitchers have pitched that week. This must be done prior to each game.
11. All coaches shall turn in results of their games by Friday of each week to the Cottage Grove Commissioner. The coaches must also turn in to the commissioner the names of all pitchers or jersey number on both teams and the number of innings that each pitched, in those leagues that are designated to do so.
12. This priority of rules interpretation will prevail for in-house league in the event of a conflict (see Rule 22 of the Cottage Grove Athletic Association, Inc. General Rules, All Sports):
a. The CGAA Inc. General Rules, all Sports.
b. The individual CGAA Divisional League Sports.
c. The league rulebook being used for that league.
d. ASA softball rulebook.
13. Two adult base coaches will be allowed to coach bases unless otherwise specified in the individual division rules. If a player coaches a base they must wear a protective helmet.
14. Each coach must keep and maintain his/her own records of all games and shall submit said records to the commissioner upon request.
15. It will be the responsibility of the home team to insure that an umpire has been assigned to their game; or obtain one. In either case, the home team coach should verify and remind said umpire, if no umpire shows up at the game, every effort should be made by the two coaches to obtain one or agree on someone present to umpire their game. The visiting team will be allowed to supply the base umpire.
16. Coaches have three days in which to schedule any make-up game and notify the commissioner. If the coaches have not scheduled the make-up game within this period of time, the commissioner will reschedule the game, awarding forfeits if necessary. All games must be completed prior to the last week of scheduled season.
17. T-ball, Pitchball, Peewee and Girls Minor teams will be selected by age and neighborhood, while the Girls Majors shall be selected by draft
Age Brackets
T-Ball 5-6
Pitchball 7-8
Peewee 9-10
Minors 11-12
Juniors 13-14
Majors 15-18
Women’s 18+ (or graduated from high school)
Playing age is determined by how old you are on September 1st of the playing year. In order to participate, a girl must turn five (5) by September 1st of the playing year.
* A player whose 19th birthday is prior to September 1st is eligible to play, provided the player is a full-time student in her final year of high school.
18. All Leagues will have 1st, 2nd and 3rd place trophies except for T-ball. All T-ball players will be awarded a trophy at the end of their season.
19. For All leagues, if umpire or both coaches (2) see a flash of lightning in the sky, the game will be halted immediately and watched for a recurrence and action taken accordingly. If it is a complete game it counts; if not, the game will be rescheduled. Failure to comply will result in forfeiture of game by both teams.
20. The use of metal spikes is not allowed.
21. When issued CGAA uniform; you will be required to wear the complete uniform. Hats are not required to be worn as part of complete uniform unless specified in league rules.
22. No exposed jewelry allowed. Note: Any exposed metal may be considered legal, if covered by soft material and taped.
23. All games will start at 6:30 p.m.; 6:45 will be forfeit time. A later starting time will be allowed by mutual agreement of the coaches.
24. All players for in-house leagues must play a minimum of three innings (except T-ball and Pitchball, where the minimum is two innings) on defense and have one time at bat. This minimum playing requirement must be completed before the start of the last scheduled inning.
25. Teams outside of Cottage Grove area (St. Paul Park, Newport, etc.) playing in the Softball Division Leagues, will forfeit regular season league games until a team roster has been submitted to their Cottage Grove League Commissioner. Those teams will be subject to all prevailing CGAA in-house league rules.
26. Teams may start their games when they have 8 players at forfeit time and continue a regulation game. If a player is injured or a player is forced to leave the game after the game has started, they can continue the game with 7 players. There will be no borrowing of player’s in house leagues.
27. Sliding is allowed in all leagues, except where individual league rules and regulations prohibit.
28. A dropped 3rd strike in a non-stealing league is an out and the batter cannot steal 1st base.
29. In the event a league has team(s) from an area outside of Cottage Grove, this team(s) must abide by CGAA, Inc. general rules.
30. Any changes to these rules must be submitted in writing or verbally at the regular Softball Board and General Membership meeting and Rules Meeting each year in September. Any rule change proposals will be given to the Rules Committee.
31. Any change to these rules requires a majority vote of Rules Committee.
32. Coaches issued CGAA returnable uniforms and equipment will be required to collect and return all uniforms and equipment to the Softball Equipment Manager no later than (In-House) July31st, (Traveling) August 15th of the year issued. The Equipment Manager will submit a list of those coaches not returning CGAA returnable uniforms and equipment to the Softball Board at the regular September meeting.
33. Because of the high cost of replacement uniforms, the Softball Equipment Manager must have in his\her possession a copy of the team roster from every coach in every league where returnable uniforms are issued.
The list must contain:
a. The players first and last name
b. The player’s telephone number
c. The number on the back of the jersey issued to that player
34. A form for player’s names, telephone numbers and jersey number will be issued to all coaches who have returnable uniforms.
35. The completed list must be returned to the commissioner of each league before game balls are issued.
36. All CGAA issued returnable uniforms are to be worn only at CGAA sponsored events.
37. In leagues where there are paid umpires, the umpires will be responsible for game balls. Coaches will only be given two game balls.
Duties of Commissioners:
37. Commissioners must supply the equipment manager with a list of names and phone numbers of all players and all teams before their coaches meetings and before coaches may be issued equipment and uniforms.
38. Commissioners will distribute pictures to the individual teams in their league.
39. Commissioners will keep standings for their league.
40. Commissioners will hand out trophies to teams at the end of the regular season. In the event of a tie in standings at the end of the season, who ever won the game when the two teams played each other shall be declared the winner.
41. Commissioners shall inform coaches of the proceedings of all special events. (In-House Tournament, Picture Day, Appreciation Dinner etc.)
42. Commissioners will award medals to the winning teams at the In-House Tournament.
43. Commissioners will rule on all protests within their divisions.
Rainouts and rain weather
44. The In-House Director will call all games if we have had an all day rain and your Commissioner will notify you. Scattered rain or threatening rain, these games will be called by the two coaches involved based on weather conditions and the condition of the field at game time and both coaches will notify the commissioner of the cancelled game and the date of the rescheduled game (refer to rule 16).
45. GAMES CALLED WHICH ARE LESS THAN REGULATION. If a game is called before 4 full innings the game will resume at the point at which it was called. The game will be rescheduled and played to completion 6 innings or 7 innings (Majors). Tie at 8:30 will use the international tiebreaker, same if a tie at completion of the game.
THE FOLLOWING ARE PROTEST RULES FOR CGAA SOFTBALL DIVISION IN-HOUSE LEAGUES:
There are three types of protests:
A. Misinterpretation of a playing rule----Must be made before the next pitch or, if on the last play of the game, before the umpires leave the playing field.
B. Illegal substitute or re-entry—must be made while they are in the game and before the umpires leave the playing field.
C. Ineligible player---can be made any time during or after the game. Eligibility is the decision of the protest committee.
NO PROTEST MAY BE MADE ON ANY UMPIRE’S JUDGMENT CALL
1. A protest must be made at the time of the infraction before the next pitch.
2. The protesting coach must notify the umpire of the infraction they are protesting. The Umpire must then notify the opposing coach of the protest and the infraction.
3. The umpire must then mark in both coaches’ scorebooks where in their lineups the protest was made. If the protest is upheld, a record must be made so the game can continue from that point.
4. The protesting coach must notify the league commissioner, in writing, within 48 hours of the protest. If the league commissioner is not available, the coach must notify the In-House Director or any elected Softball Board Member. The 48 hours from the time of the protest applies here as well.
5. If these protest rules are not adhered to, NO PROTEST WILL BE UPHELD.
6. The Commissioner of each league will rule on all protests within that league and his /her decision is final. If it is felt by the parties involved that the commissioner had a conflict of interest, directly or indirectly, they may appeal his/her decision to the director of their sport. The director may either rule on the protest or send it to the Protest Committee.
7. The elected Softball Board at the regular meeting in April will select a Protest Committee.
Note: Some leagues have rules that allow for protests beyond the 48-hour rule.
Guide lines for and All Player Day
If it is decided All Players Day will be run here are some selection guidelines
A. A. No more than 20 players on each side.
1) Leagues with 4-9 teams will use the following guide for how many players will be selected from each team:
4 teams - 8 players from each team
5 teams -7 players from each team
6 teams -6 players from each team
7 teams -5 players from each team
8 teams -4 players from each team
9 team -3 players from each team
2) Leagues with 10-20 teams will use the following guide for how many players will be selected from each team:
10 teams - 4 players from each team
11 teams - 3 players from each team
12 teams - 3 players from each team
13 teams - 3 players from each team
14 teams -2 players from each team
15 teams -2 players from each team
16 teams -2 players from each team
17 teams -2 players from each team
18 teams -2 players from each team
19 teams -2 players from each team
20 teams -2 players from each team
Traveling Rules
46. All coaches will be approved by the CGAA Softball Division Board. All head coaches will be interviewed by the CGAA Softball Division Board. Potential coaches will not evaluate the tryouts for the age level they have applied for. They may take notes, but cannot be near the evaluators.
47. Traveling teams will abide by all CGAA Softball
Division bylaws, general
rules and policies.
Due to the philosophy of traveling softball, playing time and position will not be equal for each girl. All players are not at the same level. Therefore, the best players will probably see the most playing time. Each girl will be given the opportunity to improve. With improvement will come additional playing time. Coaches will strive to play everyone in all games. However, due to the rules of the game, the length of playing time may not be equal for each player. It is highly recommended and expected, by the CGAA Softball Board, that all players will participate at an infield and an outfield position throughout the season (unless a player chooses not to play a particular position). This will include time given to players at these positions during practice and league play.
48. Traveling teams will abide by all rules and policies of the Tri-County League, Minnesota Sports Federation (MSF) and all parent organization associations.
49. All traveling teams are strongly encouraged to advance as far as they are able, including Nationals; however, the ultimate decision is up to the individual teams’ (coaches, player, parent) discretion. When teams advance beyond the state Tournament, per parent organization association rules, teams may pick up players. Any parent organization association qualified players can be picked up. In order to pick up any non-rostered player, a coach must have prior approval of the majority vote from parents of said team, CGAA Softball Division Traveling Director. Any non-CGAA player will be required to pay the CGAA registration fee.
50. All fundraisers must be submitted and approved by the CGAA Softball Board. If the fundraiser involves a raffle the CGAA Gambling Manager must approve it.
51. Traveling head coaches will insure that all teams expenses will be accounted through the CGAA Softball Division Treasurer.
52. Traveling head coaches will be responsible for the conduct of their team, assistant coaches, their players and their players’ parents.
53. Traveling head coaches will turn in to the CGAA Softball Division Treasurer their final financial report no later than 15 days following the last game of their season (and/or) before the State Softball Tournament, whichever comes first. (Level of play will determine final date of State Tournament.)
54. Traveling head coaches will be responsible for all of the CGAA Softball Division equipment and uniforms. The equipment and uniforms will be turned in to the CGAA Softball Equipment Manager no later than 15 days following their last game of their season. Equipment will be signed out & in.
55. Traveling head coaches will submit to the CGAA Softball Division Traveling Director, all participants’ “Traveling Teams, Parent/Daughter commitment form.” Player, parents and the coach must sign this form.
56. Traveling head coaches are invited to attend all Tri-County League meetings.
57. All traveling team tryouts will be held in the fall proceeding the upcoming season. Tryouts for remaining openings will be held in the spring prior to the start of the season.
58. Tryouts will consist of at least two sessions and no more than three sessions. The CGAA Softball Board can change the length or number of sessions, when recommended by the Traveling Director and with at least a ¾ majority board approval. In the absence of the Traveling Director the President can make said recommendation. Team selections will be made within 2 days after the final tryout date. “A” team selections will be made first. “B” team selections will be made second, after the “A” team players are confirmed. “C” team selections and/or girls not making a team will be made last, after “B” team players are confirmed.
59. Players must attend all tryout sessions to be eligible to participate on a traveling team.
60. Tryout dates and times will be published in the “Bulletin Newspaper”.
61. When a participant makes a traveling team and does not want to play for that team, for whatever reason, she will only be eligible to play in the In-House Program. If a tryout participant fails to make a traveling team, the participant will be considered an “open player” and can play for another community without a waiver per ASA rules. If a player does not attend tryouts, she is not considered an “open player.”
Coaches can be selected prior to tryouts or after the first tryout session.
Coaches may select one assistant coach and their daughter will be given consideration on team placement, depending on their final ranking. This will require a board decision.
Traveling fees are due no later than January 31 of the playing year.
Any player who quits after they have been rostered will be ineligible for an “A” team the next year.
Any player who quits a team after January 31 will be responsible for all team expenses that they have incurred.
62. Both parents, and the parent the daughter lives with and the daughter must sign and date the “Traveling Teams Parent/Daughter Commitment Form.” Failure to abide by the rules will be grounds for removal of the player from all traveling teams. This signature rule will also apply to individual traveling team rule sheets.
63. Tryouts will be done by a point system of 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest. The points of the evaluators will be totaled and then averaged. The participants will then be placed on a list from highest to lowest average. The CGAA Softball Division Board and the coaches will then pick the traveling teams. The order in which the participant falls on the list will be the number one priority on which team the participant will be placed. Other factors that will be considered are: Commitment, attitude and team needs. The top 6 girls on the final list will be on the “A” team. Numbers 7 through 16 will be on the “bubble.” Only these 10 girls on the bubble will be eligible to compete on the “A” team. (Exception: Pitchers or Catchers, with of approval of the CGAA Softball Division Traveling Director.)
If a coach already has two catchers and requests a third catcher, this player must come from within the “bubble” players. If the third requested catcher is not within the bubble, approval from the Softball Board will be required. Players must tryout at one of these positions during tryouts.
64. The same process for “B” teams.
65. The same process for “C” teams
66. The CGAA Softball Division President must approve any tryout waiver. This includes the total tryout period or to be excused from completing the tryout period for a medical reason. A letter from a licensed physician providing the basis for requesting the waiver. (Note: Teams are not required to pick up tryout waiver players.) Tryout waiver players can be picked up by a team desiring to pick up players by: completing a tryout, or with the CGAA Softball Board approval
67. Any player desiring to play up (e.g. 14U to 16U) will be handled on an individual basis and must have the majority approval of the CGAA Softball Division Board. Said player will only be eligible for one (1) team but must tryout in their appropriate age group as well as the age group they wish to play up to. To be eligible for the older team, the player’s scores must be in the top three scores of the tryout of the older team. (Exception: Pitchers and Catchers with the majority approval of the CGAA Softball Board.) The player will be eligible to fall back to the appropriate age level in the order in which they ranked, provided that the player has not been selected for the older team. Requests will be handled on an individual basis and requires majority CGAA Softball Board approval for “B” and “C” play up.
Any player that had played Junior Varsity or Varsity at Park Senior High the prior year would be eligible to play on a 16U or 18U team without having to try out in their own age group nor will they have to make the top three in the 16U or 18U tryouts.
Eight years old (following Amateur Softball Association age/date rule) is the minimum age to tryout for the 10U team. If there is more than one 10U team, they will be selected by the coaches on a rotation basis. A coin flip will decide which coach chooses first. The first eight players are chosen on a random rotation basis. The coach that chose second will choose first on a random rotation basis through the next eight players. The coach that chose first then has the first selection on a random rotation basis for the next eight players. This sequence repeats until the teams are filled.
68. The minimum and maximum ages for traveling leagues are as follows:
8, 9 or 10 years old as of December 31 of the year prior to the traveling season for the 10U league
11 or 12 years old as of December 31 of the year prior to the traveling season for the 12U league
13 or 14 years old as of December 31 of the year prior to the traveling season for the 14U league
15 or 16 years old as of December 31 of the year prior to the traveling season for the 16U league
17 or 18 years old as of December 31 of the year prior to the traveling season for the 18U league
As amended October 4, 2005
© 2005 Cottage Grove Athletic Association. All Rights Reserved.
