At Community Park Little League, we believe that baseball is more than just a game – it’s an opportunity to build lasting memories and foster community. Coaches play a vital role in supporting players’ athletic and personal growth. As volunteer coaches, your dedication and involvement strengthens our league and creates a positive environment for our players. Together we can teach our kids the values of teamwork, discipline, and sportsmanship – both on and off the field. Join us in making every season a home run!

GENERAL DOCUMENTS:

The relationship between a coach and Community Park Little League’s athletes is a special one. Coaches play a very critical role in the development of players, both athletically and personally. Coaches must recognize and respect the authority they hold, and must be very careful not to abuse it.

The values and goals of the Little League program are channeled through the coaches; therefore, how an athlete regards his or her time in Little League is dependent on the behaviour of the coach.

Each coach is asked to read and sign this Code, as a commitment to excellence in coaching in the Little League program in Canada.

  1. Being a coach means being reasonable. Players develop at different rates.
  2. Teach your players to play by the rules, just as you play by the rules.
  3. Be constructive in your criticism, followed always by praise for things done right.
  4. Give every player the same chance. Little League is not about the elite player, it’s about getting everyone involved as part of a team.
  5. Treat the umpires the way you expect your players to treat you – with respect.
  6. Striving to win is not a sin. Striving to win every time, at all costs, means your players are not getting enough different opportunities. Everyone should play both infield and outfield.
  7. Give your voice a rest when the game is on – use it only to encourage, and discuss the mistakes quietly after the game.
  8. Have fun. You are a volunteer coach, in a volunteer organization, and if it isn’t fun, it isn’t Little League.
  9. If you win, have ice cream. If you lose, have ice cream. If you treat winning and losing the same, you will teach your team a much more valuable lesson.
  10. The centre of attention should be the players – not the adults. A coach cannot accomplish anything if the players aren’t there.

Little League Canada has developed a Code of Conduct to assist the players to become well-rounded, valuable and productive people – not only in sports, but also in life.  It is as follows:

  1. Play for fun. If it isn’t fun, it isn’t Little League.
  2. Respect your coaches and the umpires. Treat them the same way you want to be treated.
  3. Be a good sport. Be fair. Play by the rules.
  4. Improve your skills. Help your teammates to get better.
  5. Never give up.
  6. Be willing to try every position. You never know which one will be the most fun.
  7. Don’t be selfish. Your teammates deserve the same chances as you.
  8. Be on time.
  9. Remember the Little League Pledge.

The Little League Pledge is a historical document, written in the mid-1950s, by an official of Little League. It is not, and has never been, required to be recited by any person involved with Little League baseball.

The author of the Little League Pledge intended for “I trust in God” to reflect the statement “In God We Trust” on U.S. coinage and currency, as well as the statement including a reference to God in the Pledge of Allegiance (which was added at about the same time the pledge was created).

The Little League Pledge

I trust in God
I love my country
And will respect its laws
I will play fair
And strive to win
But win or lose
I will always do my best

Community Park Little League Anti-Bullying Policy

At Community Park Little League (CPLL), we are committed to fostering an environment where every player, coach, manager, volunteer, and parent can participate free from bullying or harassment of any kind. We have a zero-tolerance policy for any form of bullying, and we take these issues very seriously. This applies to all participants, including players, coaches, parents, volunteers, umpires, and Board members, and covers all activities associated with CPLL, including games, practices, events, and use of the league facilities.

Bullying can lead to emotional distress, anxiety, and lowered self-esteem in those targeted. It also creates an unsafe atmosphere for everyone. Our goal is to ensure that all members of the CPLL community feel supported, safe, and encouraged to thrive, both on and off the field. This is a shared responsibility that involves every member of our league, including players, coaches, parents, volunteers, umpires, and Board members.

Definition of Bullying

Bullying refers to any behavior intended to harm, intimidate, belittle, or create fear in another person. This behavior can take place at games, practices, or events, or away from these events via social media, or other forms of digital communication. Bullying can occur in various forms, such as verbal, physical, or cyberbullying, but it will not be tolerated at any level.

This policy applies to all interactions, including player-to-player, adult-to-player, player-to-adult, and adult-to-adult. We are dedicated to maintaining an environment that is both supportive and safe at all CPLL activities.

Types of Bullying

Bullying can manifest in many forms, and the most common include:

  1. Verbal Bullying: This includes name-calling, taunting, insults, threats, banter, gossiping, and any other form of harmful verbal communication.
  2. Physical Bullying: This involves any form of physical harm or unwanted contact, such as hitting, pushing, shoving, stealing, hair-pulling, or inappropriate touching.
  3. Emotional Bullying: This includes actions meant to isolate, humiliate, or intimidate others, such as exclusion, manipulation, blackmail, and pressure based on personal characteristics like race, gender, disability, or perceived sexual orientation.
  4. Social/Cyber Bullying: This type of bullying occurs online or in social settings and includes spreading rumors, impersonation, excluding others, and the sharing of inappropriate photos or videos.
  5. Harassment: Harassment can include bullying behaviors but extends to unwanted sexual advances, inappropriate language, or any form of discriminatory behavior.
  6. Hazing: Any actions that involve the humiliation or mistreatment of an individual or group as part of an initiation process.

How to Report Bullying

If a participant feels they are being bullied, they should immediately report the incident to their coach, team manager, or the Player Agent. The matter will then be reviewed by the Player Agent and brought to the attention of the CPLL Board of Directors. A thorough review of the situation will be conducted by the Disciplinary Committee, which is composed of the league’s executive officers.

Potential Consequences of Bullying

Depending on the severity of the situation, the following actions may be taken:

  1. Verbal warning
  2. Temporary suspension
  3. Expulsion from Community Park Little League
  4. Involvement of law enforcement, if necessary

CPLL Commitment to Child Protection and Zero Tolerance

Community Park Little League adheres strictly to the Little League International Child Protection Policy, which enforces a zero-tolerance stance on any abuse or harassment of minors. This includes physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, as well as bullying and hazing.

Any individual involved in an incident of abuse or harassment involving a minor will not be permitted to participate in any CPLL activities. This is in line with the Little League International’s strict policies, and local leagues that fail to comply with these standards risk losing their charter.

For more information on Little League’s Child Protection Policy, please visit https://www.littleleague.org/player-safety/child-protection-program/

SAFETY RESOURCES:

All coaches and assistant coaches are required to complete and submit the following mandatory requirements during their application process:

  1. Vulnerable Sector Check
  2. Concussion Code of Conduct Awareness Form/Training
  3. Child Abuse & Prevention Policy including:
    • A signed copy of the policy
    • A volunteer application
    • A signed Coach’s code of conduct
  4. Child Protection Training

Details on completion of these requirements will be emailed directly to coaches following registration.

Coaches/ Trainers Code of Conduct‐ Concussion Awareness

I can help prevent concussions through my:

  • Efforts to ensure that my athletes wear the proper equipment and wear it correctly.
  • Efforts to help my athletes develop their skills and strength so they can participate to the best of their abilities.
  • Respect for the rules of my sport or activity and efforts to ensure that my athletes do, too.
  • Commitment to fair play and respect for all (respecting other coaches, team trainers, officials and all participants and ensuring my athletes respect others and play fair). *

I will care for the health and safety of all participants by taking concussions seriously. I understand that:

  • A concussion is a brain injury that can have both short- and long-term effects.
  • A blow to the head, face, or neck, or a blow to the body may cause the brain to move around inside the skull and result in a concussion.
  • A person doesn’t need to lose consciousness to have had a concussion.
  • An athlete with a suspected concussion should stop participating in training, practice or competition immediately.
  • I have a commitment to concussion recognition and reporting, including self-reporting of possible concussion and reporting to a designated person when an individual suspects that another individual may have sustained a concussion. *
  • Continuing to participate in further training, practice or competition with a suspected concussion increases a person’s risk of more severe, longer lasting symptoms, and increases their risk of other injuries or even death.

I will create an environment where participants feel safe and comfortable speaking up. I will:

  • Encourage athletes not to hide their symptoms, but to tell me, an official, parent or another adult they trust if they experience any symptoms of concussion after an impact.
  • Lead by example. I will tell a fellow coach, official, team trainer and seek medical attention by a physician or nurse practitioner if I am experiencing any concussion symptoms.Coaches/ Trainers Code of Conduct‐ Concussion Awareness
  • Understand and respect that any athlete with a suspected concussion must be removed from sport and not permitted to return until they undergo a medical assessment by a physician or nurse practitioner and have been medically cleared to return to training, practice or competition.
  • For coaches only: Commit to providing opportunities before and after each training, practice and competition to enable athletes to discuss potential issues related to concussions. *

I will support all participants to take the time they need to recover.

  • I understand my commitment to supporting the return-to-sport process. *
  • I understand the athletes will have to be cleared by a physician or nurse practitioner before returning to sport.
  • I will respect my fellow coaches, team trainers, parents, physicians and nurse practitioners and any decisions made with regards to the health and safety of my athletes.

I will help prevent concussions, through my:

  • Commitment to zero-tolerance for prohibited play that is considered high risk for causing concussions. *
  • Acknowledgement of mandatory expulsion from competition for violating zero-tolerance for prohibited play that is considered high risk for causing concussions. *
  • Acknowledgement of the escalating consequences for those who repeatedly violate the Concussion Code of Conduct. *

Click here for a downloadable version of the Concussion Awareness Code of Conduct.

Please use this form to report any injuries and/or incidents that occur during a game or practice.

QR Code for Injury/Incident Tracking Form – Download Here

OR use the following link: https://forms.gle/ynMGumsygUFYUQpr6

RULES RESOURCES:

All coaches, assistant coaches and managers are required to familiarize themselves with the Little League Rulebook and our District 2 House rules. They also must pay special attention to the pitch count rules to ensure their players are not over pitching and putting themselves at risk of injury. 

Please see the resources below:

Little League Rulebook App

The Little League Rulebook app contains the Official Regulations, Playing Rules, and Operating Policies for all divisions of LL Baseball and Challenger in one location. Please download this app and refer to it as needed.

In addition to the rules in this app, our supplemental Little League Edmonton Division 2 Rules Summery for Coaches must also be used.

Find more information about the app HERE, and use the links to the right to download the app.

Little League Edmonton District 2 – Rules Summary for Coaches

Please download and familiarize yourself with the following Little League Edmonton District 2 Rules Summary.

Within these rules are also the Pitch Count Rules which must be adhered to in order to ensure the health and safety of our players.

DOWNLOAD LL Edmonton District 2 RULES SUMMARY for Coaches HERE

GAME RESOURCES:

Please see the following game resources and utilize as needed:

Submitting Scores:

Interleague Score Submission Instructions
(For Minor AA, Major A & AA, Junior and Senior divisions)

Teams must submit scores, score sheets, and pitch counts within 48 hours of the completion of each interleague game. A Google account, Gmail or Google Workspace is required to complete the submission.

  1. Visit https://forms.gle/39Dbgbgj33C4GPBr9 – or download the full instructions with QR code HERE

  2. Select your appropriate division and click “Next”.

  3. Enter the game scores for both teams, please note there is no requirement to designate home and away teams in the submission, “Team 1” and “Team 2” are arbitrary assignments.  Click “Next.”

  4. The final section is for upload of score sheets and pitch count sheets. Upload the score sheet for each team as separate files. One file for Team 1 and one file for Team 2.

  5. Upload the pitch count sheet. This may be uploaded as one or two documents. – Please note, only image files and pdf files are permitted uploads.

Other Game Resources:

Please use the following form for logging pitch counts. You should have received copies in your coaching package, but may download and print from here if needed. Each team is required to have someone logging the pitch counts for each game played, and these sheets must be submitted by a coach or manager following each game.

Pitch Count Log – DOWNLOAD HERE

All teams are required to maintain an up-to-date Pitcher Eligibility Tracking Form and have it on hand at all league and tournament games. Maintaining this form not only helps coaches plan their game day pitchers, but also ensures safety of the players by abiding by the LL pitch count rules.

Pitcher Eligibility Tracking Form – DOWNLOAD HERE

You may download, print and use this document to help plan your game day lineups.

Lineup Planner – DOWNLOAD HERE

This online form is the primary means of providing feedback regarding umpire performance.

Umpire Evaluation QR code – Download Here

OR use the following link: https://forms.gle/CbaKeE2ig4GmbUc68

COACHING RESOURCES:

Please see the following coaching resources and utilize as needed. It is important for all coaches to ensure they are teaching their players appropriate skills for their division and age. Skills development is of the upmost importance in Little League and should be taken seriously.

Coaching Packages:

Teeball Coaches Package – DOWNLOAD HERE

Rookie Coaches Packages – DOWNLOAD HERE

Minor Coaches Package – DOWNLOAD HERE

Coming Soon

Intermediate/Junior/Senior Coaches Package – DOWNLOAD HERE

FIELD MAINTENANCE:

Coaches and players are responsible for helping the league maintain our diamonds and field spaces. CPLL takes pride in our diamonds and we want to ensure they stay in excellent condition for our players.

CPLL has exclusive use rights with the City of Edmonton for our diamond locations at Castledowns Park and Kirkness Park. With this comes the responsibility to maintain these diamonds and keep them in excellent condition at all times.

Diamond Maintenance:

At the beginning of games/practices, coaches/teams are responsible for:

  • First team to arrive – unlocking the gate at Kirknesss, and the equipment lock-ups to retrieve required equipment.
  • Checking the dugouts, diamond, and surrounding areas for any hazardous material or garbage that may have been left by others. (Coaches responsibility)
  • Removing the base plugs, and placing the bases in them properly. Please ensure no shale falls into these plug holders and, if it does, clean it out with the provided spatula tool.
  • Raking the infield, if necessary.

At the conclusion of their games/practices, all teams are responsible for:

  • Ensuring the base plugs are placed back in the holders, and covered with shale so just the string is showing.
  • Raking the shale/infield.
  • Returning all bases, rakes, and other equipment to the lock-up storage.
  • Ensuring the dugouts and surrounding areas are clean and all garbage has been picked up and placed in the trash cans.
  • Ensuring shelters and gates are closed and properly locked (see below).

These tasks are a team responsibility and the players should also help with them, with coaches instruction and guidance while they are learning.

Diamond Security:

All coaches must:

  • Ensure the storage/equipment shelters at Castledowns and Kirkness are closed and properly locked when leaving.
  • Ensure the main gate to the parking lot at Kirkness Park is properly closed and locked if they are the last to leave. 

We are able to keep our fees low due to proper maintenance and care taken by our board, coaches and players. Failure to maintain and secure our spaces properly leads to additional equipment and maintenance costs, which in turn leads to the need to increase registration fees. Please help us keep our diamonds beautiful for everyone.