Weather Policy

1. The Website will be updated by 9 AM of weather-related changes to the schedule
2. Emails will be sent using the website email program to all of the participants in the program by 9 AM
3. The head coach will only call the participants that do not have email. Please check your email or the website if there is any confusion.

Weekday games (includes Baseball and Soccer)

1. Tea Park and Rec will make a decision no later than one hour before the start of a game. An update will be placed on the website and an email sent to all participants. Coaches will call only the participants that do not have emails. Check your email and the website for any activity changes due to weather.
2. If possible, the head coach of any visiting team from out of town will be contacted at least one hour before game time if the weather will not permit the game to start. This contact will be made by the home team’s head coach or assigned representative.

Once an activity starts, a TPR board member, Activity Commissioner or Home Team coach will have the responsibility to call a game due to inclement weather. These conditions include the presence of lightning, excessive rain or wind, snow or if the field is such that the participants, coaches or officials are not safe in any way.

Away Games

It is the responsibility of the host coach to notify the Tea team’s head coach or assigned representative of any changes to the game schedule or location due to inclement weather.

Team Selection

TPR will randomly assign team members for individual teams with children ages 6 and under.

TPR will oversee a draft of the teams by the coaches for that activity for teams with children ages 7 and older.

TPR will follow the age cutoff dates set up by the various governing bodies for the various activities.

• The VFW sets the standard for baseball and is currently May 1^st
• The ASA (Amateur Softball Association) sets the standard for softball and is currently December 31^st
• US Youth Soccer sets the standard for boys and girls soccer and is currently July 31^st.

This means the age of the child on that specific date is the age group they will be assigned. TPR will not allow participants to move up age groups because a birthday falls on either side of the age cutoff standards.

TPR strongly urges the participation of teams in the State Tournaments for the age groups that start at 9 years old. From past experience, putting a team together the week before the State tournament is not enough time to create a team that can represent the community of Tea. This traveling team will now be selected a short time after the season begins. The expectations of the team are this:

• This team will attend no fewer than 3 tournaments (including the State Tournament for that sport).
• The team will practice at least 1 time a week as a team.

The expectations of the participants of this team are:

• The participants can miss only 1 tournament. If the boy/girl cannot meet this expectation, they can be an alternate. Their roles on this team will be as fill in only. We want to encourage the parents and kids of these teams to commit to this team. The coaches of these teams are giving up a significant amount of time in their personal schedules and we want them to have a consistent team they can compete with at the State level
• There will be an extra expense for the boys/girls of this team that will be determined at the beginning of the season. This fee will be for tournament fees and may include other items that will be disclosed at the beginning of the Tournament season.
• The coach will determine the tournaments that will be attended before the season starts so that participants will have an idea of the costs and time commitments that will be needed.

Tournament teams will be selected by coaches using tryouts, a certain number of players from each team or by crowning a city champion through a tournament. The coaches will agree to select the traveling team before that team is created. The final traveling team will be approved by a neutral TPR Board Member. The TPR will have final say and the coaches may need to defend their selection means as well as team member selections.

We understand that communication is important with these teams. Once the tournaments, the fees for being a part of this team and the selection process of these teams have been determined, an effort to communicate this information to the parents of these participants will be made by the commissioner of that league. These may include a meeting, a bulk email or a handout at a league game. Once the team has been finalized, questions and complaints about the process will not be fielded.

Recognizing the fact that tournaments can have significant costs, TPR will assist in curbing those costs. TPR will pay for one tournament per team per activity. The participants will be expected to cover a portion of expenses. The schedule for paying is:

• If the tournament costs under $200, each participant will be required to pay $5 to participate in the tournament.
• If the tournament costs over $200, each participant will be required to pay $10 to participate in the tournament.

If the coach or parents would like to attend more than one tournament, the participants would be expected to cover the expenses for that tournament. This scale applies to the tournament team as well.

Coach Selection

• All coaches must pass a background check through a process created by the TPR Board. They will not be allowed to coach unless they have passed a current background check.

In the event, a coach is “red-flagged” through the initial background check, TPR will follow these procedures:

• A certified letter will be sent to the coach informing them of the red-flag on their background check. The letter will spell out their options for disputing the results of the background check
• The coach will have 10 business days to contact a board member to dispute the results. If the coach decides to not dispute the results, they will not be able to coach their team.
• If the coach does dispute the results, the board will need to meet with that coach no more than 10 business days after the perspective coach disputes the results. At this meeting, there will need to be no fewer than 4 representatives from the Board, with one representative needing to be an Officer of the Board (President, Vice President, Secretary or Treasurer) and/or the Risk Manager. At this meeting, the coach will need to explain the situation that created the “red-flag.” The Board will be able to ask questions of that coach. The Board will then decide if this coach will be able to coach the upcoming season.
• All coaches will be approved by the TPR. The TPR Board will make coaching decisions based on qualities that include
  • Knowledge of Sport or Activity
  • Knowledge of the Individual Participants of an Activity
  • Past Performance – Linked to End of Season Activity Surveys and past actions during league and tournament games.
• If an activity has more volunteer coaches than teams to coach, the TPR Board will conduct an interview process to determine the head coaches for that activity. The interview process will revolve around coaching philosophies as well as knowledge of the activity. This decision will be based on how well the candidate’s philosophies line up with the Mission and Vision of TPR.

Coaching Expectations

• Coaches will be expected to be the last person to leave a venue after a practice or game. No kid will be left behind for an event. This includes home or away games and practices.
• Coaches will not be allowed to transport individual players on their teams (other than their sons/daughters) to or from games.
• Coaches will be expected to teach the game to their teams. A winning at all costs attitude will be discouraged and will be addressed if necessary. TPR will step in if, through player and parent feedback, the situation warrants.
• Sportsmanship is important. Coaches will not intentionally run up scores on other Tea teams or local teams. TPR will step in if, through player and parent feedback, the situation warrants.

Equipment

The TPR is committed to providing the best quality equipment, uniforms and training aides available to the coaches and participants of the activities.

Training videos-TPR has training videos available for coaches to check out and view to help them teach the activities to these kids. These videos can be checked out at Tea City Hall. Upon checkout of these materials, it will be expected that these materials will be returned within 72 hours so that they may be reviewed by other coaches. These materials may be rechecked out at a later time in the season.

Uniforms-Uniforms will be provided to participants of the activities. Some uniforms may need to be checked out to a participant during a season. There will be a $20 deposit required for each uniform checked out. The deposit will be returned in full, once the uniform is returned after the end of the season. If the uniform is not returned or if the uniform is damaged outside of normal usage of the activity, TPR may retain the deposit to recoup the cost of replacing the uniform.

Activity Equipment-TPR will provide equipment to coaches for their activity. The coach will be held responsible for this equipment. If the equipment is not returned after the season or is damaged because of usage outside what the equipment should have normally been used for, the coach may be charged for the replacement/repair of that equipment.

Training Equipment-TPR has also invested in numerous training aides to help the coach with his/her team. These items include pitching machines, adjustable basketball hoops and/or hitting tools (the Mauer, hurricane, etc.) To insure that this equipment is available to every coach for an activity, the coach will be expected to return the equipment they check out in a timely matter (determined by the TPR board) to the location where they received the equipment. The coach may be charged for the replacement/repair costs of any equipment that is damaged through usage outside of the intended purpose of the machine.

Feedback

TPR is committed to improving the activities offered to the community of Tea. Please respond to the end of season surveys that are emailed after every season to the participants. If you do not receive a survey or would like to provide feedback before the end of the season, please go to the home page on this site. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the E-Mail button. You can also e-mail us at teaparkandrec@iw.net

We would like to hear about the positive things for the activity and ways that we can improve the activity. Tell us what you think of the officials and/or the coaches. Let us know what activities you would like to see provided to this community.