JUNIOR GIANTS

ANTIOCH LEAGUE AMBASSADOR SIERRA GRUSS

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LEAGUE

ENROLLMENT NUMBERSPlayers: 630 registered

Teams: 42

Coaches: 63 registered 98% completed sports sign up background check 52% new coaches48% returning coaches

Team Parents: 34 registered94% completed sports sign up background check

2013 Enrollment:Enrollment was increased from 600 to 630 this season due to increased funding from Antioch Police Activity League

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DEMOGRAPHICSGender:34% Female66% Male

Ethnicity:35% Latino32% Caucasian27% African American25% Other4% Pacific Islander2% Native American

Ages:28% 5-6 year olds41% 7-9 year olds31% 10-13 year olds

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LEAGUE LEADERSHIPCommissioner & Assistant Commissioner:Lee (commissioner) & Sean (assis-tant) are responsible for overseeing the league & its logistics. They plan registration, reserve the field space, schedule the games, manage the fields, receive the shipments of sup-plies, & play as pitcher and catcher throughout the games. Lee & Sean are both responsible for most of the behind the scenes work & the base-ball operations of the program.

Other Volunteers:Janet volunteers at each game and runs the Reading Round the Bases table. She goes to garage sales & col-lects donations throughout the year to collect books for our Junior Giants to read. She sets up a table, letting players pick a book to read, and gives them their reading prizes. She encourages the players & interacts with the parents and players throughout the sea-son.

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RECRUITMENTThe Antioch League doesn’t require much recruitment in order to fill the registration spots. Every year the league fills up within the first day and there is always a waiting list. The registration date is posted throughout the community on the City of Antioch website, City recreation guide, at the schools, and through flyers and newspapers. The sign up link is posted online on the An-tioch Recreation website. Parents wait for the link to be posted like they are waiting for concert tickets, and sign up immedi-ately per the link posting. Coaches and team parents are also required to sign up at this time. Fortunately, we have dedicated parents, and have never had a lack of volunteers sign up. Each team has both a coach and an team parent.

PRESEASON 5 !

FIRST PITCH MEETING :This was the first year that Antioch has ever held a first pitch meeting. Due to this meeting being an event that the league has never held and not something they planned on holding, the event planning came down to me. I was responsible for both planning and coordinating the meeting. Thankfully, Paul & Bai-ley were both exceptional help in making this event possible.

Location: We were able to secure El Campanil Theatre in An-tioch for the meeting location. This was a great place to hold the event, for the staff was accommodating, there was both a sound system and video projection system, and plenty of seat-ing for the participants. Due to the fact that we had to rent out the space, and the Community Fund paid for the location, differ-ent accommodations may need to be made in the future.

Preparation: With the different circumstances, the first pitch meeting was organized in a very short of period of time. We planned to hold the meeting on Sunday, June 22nd and in-formed the parents the Wednesday before. Bailey & I created an antiochjrg@gmail.com email to use to inform the parents of the mandatory meeting as well as to collect RSVP’s. There were four different sessions scheduled for the meeting divided up based on different age groups. Each parent recieved an email informing them of the event and asking them to reply with their RSVP. It was from there that I collected each response and was able to create an excel spreadsheet to determine the size of each session.

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Day of Event:Since my commissioner was unable to attend the meeting, I en-listed in the help of four other local ambassadors to help in the presentation of the material. We checked each participant in as they arrived and then took turns reviewing the power point slides. At the end, a lot of the parents had questions and con-cerns due to this being the beginning of the season and a lot of new information was being given to them. However, we were able to get most of the issues covered, and the day went smoothly and successfully.

Overall: For the meeting being last minute, and the leagues first ever first pitch meeting, we had almost half of the players accounted for. The power point and the speaking went smooth-ly and the parents were all really receptive. It would have been helpful to have my commissioner present, and more league sup-port, but with the circumstances the meeting was really success-ful. It was really helpful for the parents to have the information and it provided a lot of clarification. Now that Antioch has had a first pitch meeting, I think it’s really important that we continue to improve the event and get the rest of the league on board.

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COACHES MEETING Lee held the coaches meeting prior to the beginning of the season. Unfortunately, I was still in school when this meet-ing took in place, and I was unable to attend. At the meeting, Lee handed out the team uniforms, the coach handbooks, and gave a brief overview of the programs and the league expecta-tions.

COACHES CLINIC I am unsure of exactlyhow many coaches attend a coaches clin-ic, but it was very few. With our league starting late in the sea-son, most of the closer clinics had passed, & there was not much in-formation provided by our league to the coaches. In the future, we need to advertise and promote these clinics more to the coaches, & encourage them to Attend. We have a lot of committed coaches, most were just unaware.

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DURING THE SEASON SCHEDULING

Start Date: July 5th

End Date: August 16th

Games: Games are held every Satur-day from 9:00am-5:30pm. We have 21 games a day, 7 games on 3 different fields. 9:00-10:00am10:015-11:15am11:30-12:30pm12:45-1:45pm2:00-3:00pm3:15-4:15pm4:30-5:30pm

Practices: We currently don’t have practices for the teams. This is an on-going issue we are currently working on. Lee says there is no field space available throughout the week to hold practices. Next year, we want to encourage coaches to hold their own practices throughout the week at local parks and fields for their players.

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DISTRIBUTIONEquipment: There are six baseball bags of equipment full of bats, balls, and gloves available for use. We keep one bag in each of the six dug-outs for teams to use during their game, and then to return and leave for the following game.

Uniforms: Tshirts and hats were given to each coach at the coaches meet-ing. It then became their respon-sibility to distribute these items to each of their players.

WOW Packs: Since we don’t have weekly prac-tices, distribution is done on game days. A box of WOW packs is kept on each field and distribut-ed to each coach prior to the be-ginning of the game.

Reading Prizes: Players bring their reading logs to Janet at the reading table where in return they are given their prizes and are able to pick a book to read.

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Strike Out Bullying Wristbands: Wristbands are included in the box kept at the field, and are given to the coaches prior to the game along with their week 7 WOW pack.

Drawstring Backpack:Players would bring their Strike Out Bullying contest entries to me, usually at the reading table, where I would in return give them their backpack.

Buster Posey Bobblehead: On the last game day, Lee gave each coach a box of bobble heads at the beginning of their game. The coaches were then respon-sible to distribute to players and return any extras.

Tickets: I had all of the tickets and a list of parents who received them. Par-ents would come check in with me, usually at the reading table, where I would provide them with their tickets.

Certificates of Participation: Certificates were emailed to each coach. Coaches then had the opportunity to print out the certificates and award them to their players.

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COMMUNICATIONCoaches Corner/Lineup Messages: I would send out the coaches corner and lineup messages through sports signup weekly on Wednesdays. With only meeting once a week, I didn’t want to send the information to close to the prior week, and not to far in advance that the information wasn’t retained for Saturday.

Commissioner Check-In: I would check in Lee throughout the week through email. I would copy him on all emails that I sent out to parents and coaches and email him with any questions or concerns I had. On Saturday’s we would talk in person, and talk about the current week, as well as about what we planned and expected for the upcoming week.

Coordinator Check-In:I talked to Bailey multiple times throughout the week. She would send out weekly check-ins and reminders, and I would email her with any questions or concerns that had come up, as well as would copy her certain emails sent out.

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Coaches/Team Parents:On the field, I would walk around and be available to talk to coaches and team parents and answer any questions they had. I would talk to most of the coaches each game day, whether it be just to say hi or answer a question.Outside of games, email was my main form of communica-tion with coaches/team parents. I would send them their coaches corner, as well as reminders throughout the week, if something arose that needed their attention.

Players/Families:On the field, I would walk around and be available to talk to parents and answer any questions they had. Since, the reading table was such a central loca-tion, most parents would approach me there, where I would answer their ques-tions or just talk to them. Outside of games, email was again my main form of communication. I

would send them their lineup message, as well as remind-ers throughout the week. Parents also all had my email and would send me any questions or concerns that came up throughout the week. With meeting only once a week, email was important, for it was the main way families could get in contact with me and receive extra information.

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Coaches/Team Parents Questions & Complaints:The most common comments I heard from coaches, was con-fusion on Sports Signup. They were unsure of how to log on, how to track players, and overall confused on the site. There were also a lot of questions on the reading program. A lot were confused on the date they were to turn it in, and again how to put this information on sports signup. With the dead-line being so close to the start of our league, a lot of coaches didn’t realize they missed the time and were ineligible to attend.

Players/Families Questions & Complaints:The parents had a lot of questions regarding the surveys and the tickets. They wanted to know whether they were getting tickets, if they could have extra tickets, etc. Another big complaint regarding the tickets was the time of the games. Since the schools out here are mod-ified year round, a lot of parents find it difficult to bring their players to San Francisco on a school night. The players seemed to have no complaints. They all really en-joyed themselves and loved the program.

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Incidents:We had one incident in the first week, where one player wasn’t registered for the program, but he showed up to play anyway. While the coach tried to handle the situation, the dad started screaming and cussing everyone out on the field. Sean re-moved him from the field, as to not further disrupt the game or the players. He was resistant to go, but ended up finally following Sean, taking his son with him, and continued to yell at Sean before finally leaving. While Sean dealt with the situ-ation, the coaches did a great job at continuing the game and getting the players heads back into the game.

Cool Stories:During week 7, we had one team that didn’t show up. Instead of the other team leaving and going home, the coach split their team in two, and even added in the parents to play on the teams as well. Even though it wasn’t an ideal situation, the coaches handled it great and made it a lot of fun for both the players and the parents.

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AT THE FIELDFIELDS

Sites: Antioch has one game site. Antioch Community Park - 801 James Donlon Blvd.

Fields: There are three fields. One for each age division.

Quality:All three fields and the park it-self are in great condition. The fields all have dirt infields, grassy outfields, and green areas throughout the park.

Snack Bar: There is a snack bar ran by the city with food and beverages available for purchase.

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Storage Space:There is a shed/garage located at the park where all boxes, WOW packs, prizes, equipment, and supplies are kept.

Bleachers: There are two sets of bleachers located on each field. One for the home team, and on the away side.

Dugouts: Each field has two dugouts available for team use.

Check In/Incentive Table: Players pick up their reading prizes at the reading table, lo-cated in the center of the park. This is a central location, and a good place for parents to find and check in and ask any ques-tions.

Bathrooms: There are two bathrooms at the field, a women and a mens. They are not great quality, but are suitable for a park bathroom.

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Maintenance:The fields are maintained by City of Antioch staff. Since it is a city park, they are responsible for all upkeep.

Banners: Lee hangs the banners up each Saturday morning on the fence at the entry of the park.

Game Time:All games start on time. Games are spaced 15 minutes apart, which gives all of our staff and participants enough time to prepare between games.

Arrival: Parents usually always know where to go upon arrival. All parents are given a league schedule which specifies where and when they will be playing each week. There is also a mas-ter schedule posted to help direct parents if they are unsure of where to go. Each coach is also great at reminding parents each week.

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Parents: Parent attendance in the stands is something we continue to struggle with. There is always a consistent group that is pres-ent, but overall increasing attendance is something that con-tinues to be a point for improvement. There are always healthy snacks for the players. Some coaches assign different parents to bring snacks each week, while others bring snacks for their team themselves.The parents continue to be supportive and encouraging and cheer all of the players on. Ipad Use: The Ipad was a great resource to have available on the field. I used it soley for sports signup, and was able to edit rosters, check and demonstrate tracking, and pull up any thing that parents had questions about. On the fields, I accessed Inter-net through 3G.

Commissioner Presence:Lee was present at every game. He was on the field available if I needed his assistance, but he played pitcher throughout the day.

Tshirts: All players, coaches, and team parents wore their Junior Gi-ants t-shirts to every game. The only coaches that did not were the ones where we did not have a shirt in their size and instead they wore a shirt the color of their team.

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TYPICAL GAME DAYGame days begin at 8:30am at the Antioch Fields. At this time, we hang up the word of the week banners, set out the WOW packs, and prepare the fields for game day. At 9am the first game begins, and from there it is non stop baseball games for the next seven hours. During this time, players visit the read-ing table collecting their prizes and new books to read, parents approach me with different questions and topics they want to talk about, and I walk around the fields, assisting with games, observing word of the week discussions, visiting with parents, and being of assistance wherever needed. The last games end at 5:30 and from there we clean up the fields, answer any final questions, and prepare for the following week.

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PLAYERSWord of the Week: The players did learn the words on a weekly basis. When walking around the field, I can hear them involved and con-tributing to discussions and providing feedback about times they use these values in their daily lives. They also wear their base bands and continue to wear bracelets from prior weeks. It appears that the players are taking a lot from the program, and are retaining what they learn from week to week.

Baseball fundamentals: The players baseball skills contin-ue to improve on a weekly basis. Watching the improvement from just week to week is exciting. There are players who didn’t even know how to hold a bat on the first week now hitting the ball every time. Not only is it great to see that they are learning, but the excitement on their faces when they make a catch or hit the ball is rewarding.

Age/Size:All players were on teams appropriate to their age and size. We had no issues with this.

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Retention: Retention is a big issue we struggle with. As the season pro-gresses, and as soccer season begins, attendance continues to decrease. Implementing the three strike rule this year was very beneficial, especially in the 7-9 division. It allowed us to eliminate the players that knew they couldn’t be committed right in the beginning. With such a large wait list, we were able to hold the players who wanted to play accountable, and if they couldn’t commit we were able to fill their spot. The 5-6 division was where we had the biggest issues. We had the exact amount of players, and if players decided not to commit there wasn’t much action we could take. We needed as many players to come out as possible, and if we strictly en-forced the 3 strike rule for this age group we would have even fewer players on the field. There were many times with this age group where the games were only four or five players per team.

Handbook: The players did use their player/parent handbooks. They knew the importance of the items in the front pocket, and the coaches encouraged all players and par-ents to read through them.

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COACHESAmount: All teams had at least one coach, & about half of the teams had two coaches.

Promptness: All coaches were on time for games.

Baseball fundamentals & Word of the Week: The coaches were great at working with the players on the field and improving their skills, as well as in the dugouts and promoting the Word of the Week. While most of the team parents led the discussions, the coaches were all involved and supportive.

Noncompetitive Atmosphere:The coaches emphasized non-competitive behavior through-out the season. They encour-aged players to cheer for both their teammates and the oppos-ing team. They keep it a positive environment by supporting each player and emphasizing a fun environment.

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Retention: Retention was not an issue with the coaches. We had all of our coaches stay for the entire season.

Game Plan: The coaches did use their game plans. They were great points of resources in addition to the WOW packs, and add-ed extra clarification on the program.

Smart Phone & App: A large majority of the coaches had smart phones on the field. I feel that they would be very likely to use a Junior Gi-ants App. I feel that it would make tracking easier as well as the weekly discussions.

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TEAM PARENTSAmount: Most all of our teams had team parents. There was only a select few that did not.

Word of the Week: The team parents were the mostly the ones who led the weekly discussions. They engaged the players, asking questions and re-quiring feedback. They helped pass out the WOW packs, and em-phasize the Word Weeks each and every week.

Baseball fundamentals: The team parents were great to have in the dugouts helping the coaches get the players ready and in the batting order. They helped keep the games run smoothly and provided an extra hand.

Parent Support:Some teams had more parent support than others. While the coaches and team parents did an excellent job at managing their teams, it would have helpful to have more support and help from other parents.

Retention: We were able to retain all of our team parents throughout the season.

Game Plan: They did use their game plans. They were great points of resourc-es in addition to the WOW packs, and added extra clarification on the programs

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PROGRAMSEDUCATION:

Round the Bases Reading Program: We are really lucky to have an excellent Round the Bases Read-ing Program. Janet, a volunteer who got involved three years ago with AAA, runs a reading table out at the fields. She goes to garage sales and collects donations throughout the year to collect books for our Junior Giants to read. She sets up a table each game day, and sits at the table for the full day letting play-ers pick a book to read, and gives them their reading prizes. She encourages the players to read each week, and makes sure they have the opportunity to reach the home run level, by having a book to read. She talks to each player when they come up, and talks to them about Junior Giants, reading, and the festival.This year we had two teams attend the festival. While we have such a great program, and almost all of our teams reach home run level by the end of the season, with the festival deadline be-ing in only our second week of the season, we have difficulty with the teams reaching the festival deadline.

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Harmon & Sue Burns Scholarship I announced the Harmon & Sue Burns Scholarship at the First Pitch Meeting to let the parents and players first know about the opportunity I then emailed all incoming eighth graders with the application to apply.

HEALTH:

Hunter’s Healthy Habits Poster: The poster was enforced mostly by the coaches. We had the poster hanging up on the league cork board and talked to the players about it, but it was the coach and team parents re-sponsibility to encourage the players to complete the poster,

as well as to collect and track the poster progress.

Fit Band:The fit band was distributed to each player in week two. We en-couraged the players to use their fit bands, but a large portion of the responsibility was put on the coach and team parents to en-courage the players, as well as to track each players progress.

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BULLYING PREVENTION

Strike Out Bullying Pledge: Players were to turn in their pledges to their coach or team parents in week seven, who in return gave them their sweat-band.

Strike Out Bullying Contest:Players were to turn their posters in to me, and I would return give them their drawstring backpack. Both the coach and I encouraged players to complete their drawings for the con-test.

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT:

Base Bands: The base bands were distribut-ed to each player in their teams WOW pack. Coaches handed out the bracelet and reminded players of the character devel-opment base the band related to. Both the coach and I en-couraged players to continue wearing their bands each week.

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Junior Giants Baseball Cards:The baseball cards were distributed to each player in their teams WOW pack. Coaches handed out the cards and re-minded players of the topic the band related to. Both the coach and I encouraged players to continue thinking about what they earned, and to strive to earn all their cards.

Word of the Week Discussion:I would walk around through the day and listen to the teams different discussions. I never heard a team that was leading a below par discussion, or skipping the discussion all together, but if I did I would approach the coach and handle the issue. Walking around, all I heard was amazing discussions from all teams.

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30 !Strongest Program: Our strongest program is our reading program. Janet does an amazing job at encouraging players to read. By having the books available at the fields, the players are more likely to read. By the end of the season, we have almost all of our players reach the home run level.

Willie Mac Award: Player: Justin Hernandez, Team Green-age 11, second year. Justin has earned all of his baseball cards, completed the home run reading level, supports his teammates and other Ju-nior Giants players, and continues to be a role model both on and off the field. His coach Iris Archuleta calls him “the stand-out on the team this year when it comes to embodying the four bases of character development.”

Coach: Gary Ahumada, Team Ash ages 5-6, eighth year.Gary is a leader in his church and for Boy Scouts. He has been named coach of the year in Little League. He leads with a positive attitude at all times, is always instilling confidence in his players, and encourages team work on the field.

SPORTS SIGNUPRegistration: All registration was done on line by families at their own homes.

Percentage:All of our players, coaches, and team parents were registered through Sports Signup.

ID Badges: The badges were not print-ed at the beginning of the season, but once I was able to locate the supplies, I was able to take the badges home and print them on my own. 80% of the volunteers wore their badges throughout the season.

Tracking:75% of our teams used Sports Signup to track their teams pro-gram process. The other 25% of teams tracked progress, but did not transfer it to Sports Signup.What I found to be most helpful with tracking, was to email the volunteers reminding them to track, and including the instruc-tions and the link to sports signup in the email.

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Team Usage:Teams used Sports Signup to email their teams throughout the week with game schedules and weekly program informa-tion. They also utilized their team walls and tracking system.

League Usage: I used Sports Signup to send emails to the participants. I would email them reminders throughout the week, as well as any important information that came up. I also used it to look up registrations, teams, and contact informations, as well as to monitor tracking progress.

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ENDING THE SEASONData Collection:Data collection went fairly well. The parents are all really re-sponsive when it comes to email. I sent out the parent survey through email & had over 250 responses. I tried to collect sur-veys during game days, but there aren’t many parents present & the ones who are there had already taken the survey on line.

The player survey was a bit more difficult. My last two game days were spent pass-ing out tickets, which took away from my time to interact and interview players. I still got a good amount of inter-views, but not as many as I had hoped.

Closing Party: The end of the year party will be at the Antioch Water Park. I will be not be able to attend, but all of the players are invited to come, swim, and celebrate the season.

Promotion: Promotion is not a huge worry, since the program is already so well known and fills up so quickly. Currently the program is advertised through the Antioch schools as well as through the Antioch Recreation department, both of which are extremely effective. Our best promotion tool is through word of mouth.

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BIG PICTURELeague Goals: 1. First Pitch MeetingWe were able to hold a first pitch meeting this year, which was a main goal for the league. By being able to make this event happen, we hopefully were able to set a precedent for the future. I hope to see the league to continue to host first pitch meetings and to increase their success.

2. Hold practicesUnfortunately, we were not able to hold practices for the players this year. I believe that practices would greatly ben-efit the league, and in the future we need to require that coaches hold their own practices for their teams.

3. Increase player retentionBy implementing the three strike rule this year, I saw player atten-dance increase drastically. Fam-ilies took the league as more of a commitment, and really made an effort to attend the league events. Next year, I would strive to continue increasing retention, and continuing to accept players from the wait list throughout the season.

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Community Fund Goals: 1. Team ParentsEach team had one team parent that helped implemented the different programs.

2. Word of the Week PacksWOW packs were distributed on a weekly basis and were utilized by team parents and coaches as discussion tools for their teams.

3. TrackingA large percentage of our teams were using sports signup to track their teams progress. For the few teams that did not use sports signup, they still were tracking, just by hand.

Overall, we were able to accomplish the goals the Communi-ty Fund set for the program.

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League Strengths: The reading program continues to be a strength in the league. With the help of Janet and the reading table with books for the players, the players all get really invested and excited for the program.Our coaches are also a great strength. They continue to be encouraging, motivating, and create a positive environment each week. They lead interactive discussions, and do a great job of implementing the different programs.

League Improvements:Parent involvement is one of our larger challenges. The coaches and players are all really invested into the program, but it is hard when very few parents show up to the field.Practices are something that need to be implemented and im-proved for the future. While the players all the love the program, and the coaches do a fantastic

job, the programs would be more beneficial if the players met more than once a week.

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Future Ambassador: To the new ambassador coming into the Antioch league:Don’t be afraid to take charge and do your job. Lee can be stubborn and stuck in his ways, and he doesn’t like to accept help from anyone. At first, it can be hard to get him to let you do anything, but you are there to help and to make the league run efficiently. It took two years for Lee to let me have control, but if you take on responsibilities and let him know you can handle it, you will be fine.

Janet is absolutely amazing and an even better resource! Take in all that she offers. She’s on your side and will help you throughout the season.

Get to know and interact with the parents, coaches, and play-ers. They are your insight into the league and will share with you all the most important information. With that, be careful of giving your phone number to the whole league. These par-ents like to talk, and will call you no matter the time of day. Lastly, the days are hot and game days are long. Bring lots of sunscreen and even more water! I cannot count the days that I have come home sunburnt and dehydrated.

Antioch is a great league. Enjoy your time and have fun!

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Wish I Knew: Going into my time as an ambassador, I wish I knew what exactly what to expect with my days with the league, and how to better prepare myself. I wish I knew that game days would consist of observing the games, assisting Janet at the reading table, interacting with participants, and distributing prizes. I wish I knew that Lee would eventually let me have more say, and I should have tried sooner. I wish I knew that the parents and coaches are terrible with deadlines, and you need to remind them over and over again. I wish I knew what a frenzy the ticket distribution was going to be, and how to handle upset, complaining parents. Lastly, I wish I knew what a great opportunity and experience I was about to embark on, and truly realize what an amazing program I was apart of.

Community Difference:I see Junior Giants making an extraordinary difference in the Antioch community. The Junior Giants is reaching out to the right group of kids, and making a positive impact in their lives. On the last day, so many players asked me when next season started. They truly enjoyed their time this summer, which is one of the most important aspects. The players had a place to go, and while they were there, they were not only having a blast, but also learning positive life values. Overall, the league is a great program and greatly benefits Antioch.

)JUNIOR GIANTS 2014 (

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