Thousands of children have enjoyed the fun of spring LPAA baseball.  Each season, hundreds of kids join teams for a friendly game at the local diamonds, while parents cheer them on while catching up with neighbours.  The vibe is very consciously and deliberately relaxed.

Many volunteers combine their efforts behind the scenes to achieve this result.  The environment is always friendly and neighbourly.

Volunteers are an important part of making this possible for our amazing young athletes. No job is too small. Please think about volunteering for any of the following.

Coaches, umpiring (making calls), scorekeeepers, team communication (snacks), convenors (organizing teams), help with equipment, communications, building schedules, ordering uniforms and more.

FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO CONTACT the baseball czar:

TEAM COACH AND ASSISTANT COACH

• With many teams across broad age groups, LPAA supports dozens of baseball coaches every year.
• The team coaches are almost always parents of kids on that team.  Usually with one or two co-coaches, to allow for absences, coaches are the primary motivator of the kids.  There is a great mix of new and returning coaches each year.
• No experience is necessary, although enthusiasm and some baseball familiarity helps!  LPAA provides training and resources.  Depending on the age group, coaches spend a bit of practice time on skills before starting their team's game.
• Kids admire their parents who coach.  And parent coaches consistently say that they are surprised how easy and how rewarding it is.
• Time commitment: 1 hour each week. No sunflower seeds necessary.

• Coaches and Assistant Coaches support the teams in several areas: 

  • coordinating team batting orders, field positions and game scoring 
  • providing light instruction/drills to younger players during practices 
  • communicating with the team regarding weekly schedule and changes 

Convenors

• Division and age-group convenors help at the overall boy/girl division and league level by: 
  • forming balanced teams once registration closes in mid-April 
  • liaising with coaches regarding players list, schedule and rules 
  • confirming handling of uniforms and equipment at start of season 

SUPPORT ROLES

• Procurement: Uniforms and Equipment, Umpires, Photographer.  These people work with suppliers to acquire uniforms and other needed equipment.  They also coordinate with LPAA's umpire supply including any schedule changes and playoffs, and with the photographer for the photo day.
• Diamond Permits:  This person works with the City to book School diamonds for the season.
• Marketing and Social Media:  This person helps market LPAA baseball, including updating the Baseball portion of the website and LPAA's social media fields.

CZAR

• The leader of each LPAA sports program is called the Czar.  We're not sure why or how the name came about, but it stuck!  The Czar may sometimes be age group Convenor.
• The Czar is the ultimate arbiter of any issues or concerns regarding the baseball program.
• The Czar coordinates and supports the activities of the Coaches and those in Support Roles.  The Czar also manages the general baseball email inbox.
• The Czar works with the online registration provider to prepare the system to collect the necessary information from parents.  The Czar determine what information parents must provide when registering, and monitors the registration results as they arrive.
• The Czar meets with the LPAA Executive a few times per year, including at an annual sports report night where he or she will present a report on the previous soccer season.