Team Selection Procedures

Mountain Brook Baseball
Guidelines for Metro Team Selection
Revised 2003

1. These rules shall not be modified, eliminated, or changed without the prior approval of the Baseball Commissioner.
   
   
2. Shortly before the end of the regular season, a meeting shall be scheduled by each Grade Commissioner with the intent of selecting the players and Head Coaches for the Metro Tournament teams for their league.
   
   
3. Prior to the meeting, the Coaches shall have distributed to each player a "Commitment Letter" from the Grade Commissioner that should outline the expected Metro Tournament team involvement for that year. Prior to the Selection Meeting, the parents shall sign and return the letter to their Coach or the Grade Commissioner indicating their commitment to participate and their wish to be considered by the Coaches. Only the players/parents who have returned a "Commitment Form" shall be eligible for consideration by the Coaches at the selection meeting.
   
   
4. Each Metro team in grades 1-4 shall have 12 players, by rule. Team size for grades 5-8 shall be determined by the Coach and the Commissioner. The recommended size shall be between 11 and 15 players per team, depending on the number of teams in the grade.
   
   
5. The list of nominees shall be discussed at the Coach's meeting before any vote is taken. The discussion on each player should focus on the baseball accomplishments of the player for that year and NOT the fact that he may have done well in previous years. If accurate statistics have been kept during the season, that information should be available to all the coaches and should weigh heavily in the consideration of each nominee, together with the needs of the team.
   
   
6. Availability for practice and games (not just the weeks of the Metro Tournament) will factor into the selection process. The allowable "absence" time shall be determined by the Coach and the Commissioner, however being unavailable for more than 4 days during the practice time, without special circumstances, would place significant hardships on the team and may be eliminate a player for consideration, especially for a "National" team.
   
   
7. First, the top 10 players will be selected by a vote of the coaches (the Rec League Head Coaches, the League Commissioner and the Baseball Commissioner get a vote), then the Head Coach is selected by the coaches (the Rec League Head Coaches, the League Commissioner, and the Baseball Commissioner get a vote) and last, the Tournament Team Head Coach then selects the remaining members of the team with input from Asst Coaches, the Commissioners and the Rec League Head Coaches. Careful consideration should be give to the last few selections for the National team. For example a third catcher or a fifth pitcher probably shouldn't be added to a National team leaving the American team with a weakness in that position. Also, in voting for the first 10 for a team, it may be best to have two votes, with the first vote identifying the players being a unanimous selection and the remaining players being selected in a second vote.
   
   
8. A coach (and the Commissioners) may not vote for the players on his team, but he may vote for himself in the Coach selection process.
   
   
9. The National Team will be selected first and then the American Team.
   
   
10. A coach or a Commissioner shall only have one vote, regardless of how many positions he occupies.

Mountain Brook Athletics
Baseball/Softball
Team Selection Process

1. Coach Selection is the responsibility of the League Commissioner with the approval of the Baseball Commissioner. Priority is given to coaches who have previously volunteered as a coach for that age group, however continuing with an age group to the next league is not guaranteed. Coaches are expected to teach fundamentals, to be fair, to exhibit and to teach good sportsmanship and to help all the players improve their skills and further their love for the game. No special consideration is given to "win/loss records", but instead to furthering the ideals of MB Athletics regarding baseball.
   
   
2. These team selection rules shall not be modified or changed without the prior approval of the Baseball Commissioner. The intent of the selection process is to create the most evenly balanced teams who all end up with even won/loss records. The worst draft is one that leads to one team dominating the league or another being too weak and not competitive. We do not want any undefeated teams nor any teams without any wins.
   
   
3. The Grade Commissioner shall determine, with input from the coaches, the Director of MB Athletics and the overall Baseball Commissioner, the number of teams for each grade's league. In general, teams of 12 are best in the 1st - 4th grades and teams of 11 are best for 5th grade and older leagues.
   
   
4. In preparation for the draft, the League Commissioner should create index cards or some identification method for each player containing the player's name, positions played, previous year's rating and any parental coaching information.
   
   
5. The coaches and the Commissioner should then evenly "snake" the top four rows of players, making sure that each team has the pitcher, infielder and catcher positions filled in the top four rows. It is very important that all the coaches agree that the teams are evenly spread with talent because at this point the coaches do not know which team they will be coaching. No team should contain more than one Head Coach's child. Consideration and adjustments should be made for player size (not too many small or large players concentrated on one team), experience, speed, hitting ability, social skills, coachability, and right/left handed pitching before the final agreement that the top 4 rows are balanced and closed out.
   
   
6. Next, the coaches should conduct a blind draw (numbers from a hat or similar process) for drafting positions and each coach will then draft for a randomly assigned team by drafting for the rest of the players in a "Snake" draft process (for example, the order for a 6 team draft will be: 1,2,3,4,5,6,6,5,4,3,2,1,1,2,3,4,5,6,6,5,4,3,2,1, etc.). The coaches are not drafting their own team and they can discuss each draft selection or team need because, again, the intent is to create the most evenly balanced teams. The coaches, at this point, STILL do not know which of the drafted teams they will end up with, so they should help each other strengthen team weaknesses as the draft progresses.
   
   
7. If, due to the numbers, there will be some teams with more players than others, players should be chosen in the middle rounds to fill the "extra slots" so that the players at the end of the draft are not the players selected for the teams with extra players. Team numbers will be drawn to see which team will receive the extra players and extra middle round players should be assigned during the middle rounds, not the end rounds.
   
   
8. No consideration will be given to "Assistant Coach Requests", carpool requests or other such convenience requests, except in very unusual circumstances. Exceptions would include situations like serious family illness and then only with the approval of the Overall Baseball Commissioner and with the approval of all that league's coaches.
   
   
9. Placement of siblings on the same team will be granted if requested and when the first sibling is drafted, the other sibling(s) is automatically drafted to that same team in the appropriate round based on his rating.
   
   
10. Once all the teams are drafted, the coaches again review the teams to make sure the teams are as equal and balanced as possible. Again, consideration should be given to size, pitching, speed, hitting, social skills, disabilities, behavioral difficulties, and coachability. Adjustments should be made prior to the Coaches drawing for their team. Speak then or forever hold your peace!
    
    
11. After a consensus is reached that the teams are as even and fair as possible, the coaches will again blindly draw numbers, this time to assign them a team. The only trades allowed at that point is for the Coach to trade for his son/daughter and that trade must be for a player in the same round and of like capabilities. More than one player may have to be moved to keep the balance of pitchers, catchers, etc. as a result of the trade for the Coach's child.