Code of Conduct

PLAYERS 

• YOU are responsible for your own gear. It is not Mom or Dad’s job to pack, care for, remember to bring, or carry it on or off the field. This holds true for any team you will play on. 

• Arrive to practices at least 15 minutes early and be ready to go at the scheduled start time. Arrive at games 1 hour and 15 minutes before game start time. We warm up together AS A TEAM. Let the coaches know if you are running late.

• Warm up music (played at reasonable volumes) is allowed. Please be aware and courteous of residential neighborhoods near softball fields. NO music with profanity or explicit content is allowed under any circumstances. Keep your playlists appropriate.

• During games, you will remain in the dugout, not wandering or visiting with parents or fans. If you need to use the restroom, please let a coach know.  

• Communicate with your coaches, especially when you are hurt or not feeling well. Know the difference between playing hurt and playing injured! Being hurt at times is part of any athletic activity, however playing injured does not help yourself nor does it help your team's cause. Remain hydrated at all times, drinking plenty of water before, during and after games and practices. 

• On this team, we do not allow junk food, sports drinks, or energy drinks. Water, seeds, fruit and veggies and gum are the only things we want to see in our dugout. Whatever you eat before and after a game is at the discretion of you and your parents. 

• RESPECT your teammates, coaches, umpires, parents and your opponent. No poor unsportsmanlike behavior will be tolerated on this team under any circumstance.

• NO cell phone use is allowed during practice, pre-game warm up, or in the dugout during games.  

• As part of this team you will not taunt, tease or bully opponents, teammates or officiators, on/off the field OR on social media. Your sportsmanlike behavior extends beyond the dugout! 

• Be a GREAT teammate on the field AND on the bench. Lift your teammates up!  

• Physical mistakes happen on the field at any level of play. Learn to ‘flush’ them and move past it. You are not going to help you or your team by lingering on it.  

• Your job is to work hard, utilizing the skills you have practiced and learned, be situationally aware, and listen and react to your coaches (NOT to spectators yelling at you from the sidelines).  

• Work hard to always improve every aspect of your game, not just the parts you excel at, or have trouble with. Coaches are watching and will notice the extra effort and attention. HUSTLE ON and HUSTLE OFF the field. Remember that it does not take talent to hustle!  

PARENTS 

• Communication is very important during tournament season. Between the team app, email and text, coaches need to be made aware of expected and unexpected absences or tardiness to practices and especially games. 

• Playing time and fielding positions are earned, not guaranteed, through ability, awareness, effort and attitude at practices and games. Please respect that we, as coaches, spend a lot of time discussing not only game time circumstances (pitcher/catcher dynamic, infield & outfield run support, opposing team ability) but each and every player’s strengths, weaknesses and ability to perform in certain situations to create the best possible outcome for the entire team. Time on the bench should not be viewed as a punishment, but an opportunity to watch, learn and support teammates.  

• Please, no parents or siblings in or around the dugout unless you are asked by a coach to help out. We want the girls focused on the game, not on you. 

• We are responsible for the overall conduct of our players, and spectator parents. Please refrain from foul language and hand gestures, booing, taunting or any behavior that is considered unsportsmanlike. The game is not about you, nor is it a professional sporting event where our players are earning millions of dollars for your entertainment! Players, Coaches and Umpires will all make mistakes. Be a good role model. 

• We understand that you as a parent spectator might know every rule in the USA Softball book, see something the coaches missed, disagree with coaching decisions or umpire calls etc. but we are going to ask that you refrain from sideline coaching. It is distracting to the girls and creates confusion. We absolutely encourage you to cheer on your daughter and her team mates in a positive manner. If there is something you would like to bring to our attention, we request that you speak with us personally or by email, away from the game, abiding by the ‘24 hour rule’, and include a minimum of two coaches and at least one other parent or player. 

• If any outburst occurs from a parent (or family member) on the sidelines that we as coaches deem inappropriate, unsportsmanlike or unacceptable as a member of the Diamond Gems organization, we will give you a verbal warning. Upon second offense, we will ask you to remove yourself from the area of the field(s) for the remainder of the tournament and a report will be filed with the Diamond Gems board of directors. If the behavior continues upon return, the board will be notified and upon review, you and your daughter would be released from the team immediately with no tuition refunded.  

COACHES 

• We’re committed to providing your daughters a positive experience this fall and summer seasons in a competitive and sportsmanlike environment. While wins and losses will always be part of competition, we take great pride in a PROCESS OVER OUTCOME development of each of our players, in the sport, their education and their overall health and well being. 

• We promise to always treat your daughters with RESPECT. While we will be firm in our expectations, it is in our best interest to help each of our players improve this season. We expect them to have the desire to improve and will hold them to a standard within their own ability. We encourage them to speak openly with us, and we promise to listen and be open minded and objective in our response. 

• We’ll never put a win over the health and well being of your daughter. We want them to feel comfortable speaking with us and ask them to be honest in the way they are feeling. As noted to players, it is important for them to know that there is a difference between playing hurt and playing injured. Being hurt at times is part of any athletic activity, however playing injured does not help herself nor does it help her team's cause.

In summary, we expect that players, parents and coaches RESPECT THE GAME, THEIR TEAM, OPPONENTS, UMPIRES AND THE DIAMOND GEMS ORGANIZATION AT ALL TIMES.