Registration

Registration is online  
Registration questions:  [email protected]

On time registrations will be accepted during the following registration periods :

• Baseball/Softball registration period - January 15th - March 1st
• Soccer registration period - May 1st - June 1st
• Basketball registration period - September 1st - October 1st

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Eligibility

Children who have reached age 5 by the start of each sport.

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Cost of Participation

Effective: January 1st 2016

Registration Fees: $60 per child for any sport.

Add $10 late fee per registration for any registration received after the end of the Registration period for each sport. 

The NBAA will never turn away a child due to an inability to pay. Please contact the NBAA directly for additional information.  Email us at [email protected]

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Refund Policy

As the general rule, the NBAA does not give refunds.

Exceptions are made only under specific circumstances:

• Resident moves out of the New Berlin Community before the start of the season. Since participation is restricted to 'New Berlin residents only', the child will no longer be eligible to participate.
• An injury is incurred before the season begins that will prevent a child from participating.

If a Refund is issued it will incur a $10 refund fee that will be deducted from the total amount Paid.

Requests for refunds must me sent to [email protected] and will be reviewed by the board of directors. Please include the following information on your written request:

• Participants Name
• Partents/Garduian Name
• Participants Phone Number
• Participants Address
• Reason for requesting a refund
• Any additional information that would help assist with this request

These strict rules on refunds is to eliminate the number of refunds requested by parents or guardians who determine they no longer choose to have their child participate due to game and practice dates and times, undesired locations, or overbooking.

Be aware that each sporting activity will be provided with a game schedule after all team and division selections have been made. Schedules will not be available during the time of registration. There may be practices outside of the scheduled games and usually occur between these scheduled games. There may be multiple field locations where games and practices are played. Refer to the Team Selection content on how teams are selected. Please contact us via email if you need additional information before registering your child.

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Practices/Games

Each sport will have a schedule that is distributed to each participant before the start of each season.

The coach for each team will contact each player of his/her team to provide information on the start of the season, game times and locations, and practice times and locations.

• Baseball/Softball games are generally held on weeknights, however rain makeup's MAY be held on weekends.
• Soccer games are held on Saturdays, however rain makeup's MAY be held on Sundays.
• Basketball games are held on Saturdays, however makeup's MAY be scheduled and held based on gym availability.

The number of practices, time and location of practices are at the coaches discretion. Consider volunteering to be a coach. This will allow YOU to decide when and where practices are held in addition to giving you the opportunity to spend some quality time with your child.

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Sport Coordinator Responsibilities

The Sport Coordinator is a volunteer from the NBAA Board of Directors who is responsible for a specific sports program such as Soccer, Baseball/Softball, or Basketball. This person is responsible for all activities required to make the program successful including (but not limited to) the following:

• Recruiting the required Coordinators/Specialists needed for the sport:
  • League Coordinators
  • Referee/Umpire Coordinators
  • Concession Coordinators
  • Picture Coordinators
  • Game Publicists
  • Field Marshals
  • Other
• Insure that all recruits under their direction have the resources needed to run a successful program
• Put required notices in newspaper and on the website or to the webmaster
• Request the use of the Hickory Grove location for registration and coach meetings
• Check Hot Line voice mail for sport specific messages
• Communicate facility needs to the Park and Recreation Department
• Make sure league Coordinators complete their assigned tasks by the required deadlines
• Facilitate League Coordinators and Referee/Umpire Coordinators consensus on rules, interpretation, and enforcement
• Report program related information to the NBAA Board of Directors
• Attend the NBAA monthly Board meetings

The Sport Coordinator position helps to provide consistency across the different leagues. This position also makes the final decision in all disputes, as they are ultimately responsible for the program.

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League Coordinator Responsibilities

League Coordinators are volunteers that are recruited by the Sports Coordinator. This person is responsible for all activities required to make their league successful including (but not limited to) the following :

• Assign coaches for each team (This may, and typically does, require recruitment)
• Conduct or help conduct the Coach's Orientation Meeting at the beginning of the season
• Assemble uniform and equipment handout to coaches
• Handle uniform and equipment handout to coaches
• Handle complaints from coaches and parents
• Handle uniform return and inventory of equipment
• Inform Sport Coordinator of uniform and equipment needs
• Inform Sport Coordinator of facility needs
• Obtain all game scores and tracking information and forward to the web master for posting on the web site

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Coach Responsibilities

The main responsibility of the coach is to teach the participants the fundamentals of the sport.

Other responsibilities include:

• Contacting each participant to notify them of the game schedule and practice times
• Making the game safe for all players
• Attend all games and practices
• Bringing required equipment to games and practices
• Distribution and collection of uniforms
• Contacting the hotline voice mail and notifying team players of cancelled or rescheduled games
• Understanding the rules of the game
• Leading the team during practices and games
• Contact for the referee during game times
• Keeping track of score and other tracking game items and forwarding them to the League Coordinator after each game
• Let the Kids HAVE FUN

Give every child a reasonable amount of playing time. This is a Recreational League, it should be fun for everyone. Although winning a game is fun, winning should be very low on the list of priorities for participants, parents and coaches. These recreational leagues are setup to help participants learn the fundamentals for the sport, participate as a team member, provide sportsmanship to all team players, and to improve their ability to play the sport.

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Parents Responsibilities

The main responsibility of the parent is to have their child ready to play the sport and have fun.

Other responsibilities include:

• Transportation to/from practices
• Transportation to/from games
• Arriving for practices and games on time
• Support the Coaches (remember the Coaches are volunteers)
• Cheer for all kids on the field (both teams) this is a recreational league, undesired behavior ruins the fun for all participants, parents and coaches
• Keep it Fun for everyone!

This is a Recreational League, it should be fun for everyone. Although winning a game is fun, winning should be very low on the list of priorities for participants, parents and coaches. These recreational leagues are setup to help participants learn the fundamentals for the sport, participate as a team member, provide sportsmanship to all team players, and to improve their ability to play the sport.

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Field Conduct

Please, restrain from vocalizing your opinions at the event officials, even if you think or know they may have made a mistake. The officials do not vocalize their opinions regarding your children who are playing on the field when mistakes are made. The officials that volunteer (yes, it is volunteer work with minimal pay) are mostly children from the New Berlin Communities high schools. They too are learning. It takes several years to become a good official. Fortunately for them and unfortunately for us, they do not plan to make a career out of officiating our sporting events. Remember, the officials of the future may be your children out there assisting the next generation of participants. Would you like other parents vocalizing their opinions to your officiating children?

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Team Selection

Teams are created based on the number of registered participants. The number of children who sign up will determine the number of teams and divisions. After the deadline for registration occurs, the number of teams and the maximum number of players per team is decided and the teams are selected.

Children are grouped by grade and except for Kindergarten, which may be separated by gender.

The grade grouping is NOT the same for each sport.

NBAA does not honor special requests and the assignment of teams is not an exact science. Assignment of teams is loosely based on the boundary lines of the New Berlin's public schools, but this is not the sole criterion. The concentration of children within a given area, maximum team size, the number of teams, coach volunteers, and establishing an equitable split of grades among the teams are also important factors in the selection process.

• Under ideal situations the NBAA attempts to place at lease two participants from the same school on a team, but it is not always possible and not guaranteed.
• Two children living next to each other may be on different teams.
• Special request for team placement cannot be honored.
• Players will not be moved once teams are selected.

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Volunteer/Help Needed

The NBAA is run by volunteers, not a paid staff. The NBAA is always in need of additional volunteers and would appreciate your assistance. Without volunteers we would not be able to keep the cost down for each sporting activity nor would we be able to have the NBAA available for your children.

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer to assist the NBAA, your time and efforts would be greatly appreciated. If you are interested or if you need more information please the NBAA by sending an email.

Volunteers are needed for:

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Youth Baseball/Softball Skills Practice Points

• Neck Rolls
• Windmills
• Trunk Twisters
• Toe Touches
• Hamstring Stretch (pop-up slide)
• Quadriceps Stretch (hook slide)
• Reaching/centering (fielding)
• Jogging/sprinting (base stealing moves)

• How to choose a bat (length/Weight)
• Batter's box (size of/position in)
• Strike Zone (size/shape/definitions)
• Pre-batting rituals/mindset
• The Grip (less than two strikes/two strikes)
• Stance (weight distribution, foot position)
• Plate coverage
• Gripping/choking the bat
• Head/hand/arm/shoulder positioning
• Picking up and concentrating on the ball (pitcher's eyes until seeing the ball)
• The inward turn/weight shift back (40%/60%) when pitcher lifts stride foot
• The stride forward/hands back when pitcher plants stride foot
• Leading with the elbow and knob of the bat/following with the hands
• The hip shift (squashing the bug)
• The swing/wrist turnover/follow through
• Dropping the bat/running to first (avoid interfering with the ball, pitcher and catcher)
• Only swing at strikes (get a good pitch to hit)
• Protecting the plate (two strike swing)
• Taking a pitch (fake bunt/crowd the plate)

• Why? When? How?
• Position in the box (forward)
• Foot Position
  • Square Around (best)
  • Pivot (minimum reaction time)
• Gripping the bat (hand/finger positioning)
• Bat position (in front of plate/parallel to ground/top of the strike zone)
• Controlling the direction (pull bottom hand to pull bunt to near field/push bottom hand out to push bunt to opposite field)
• "Drop" the bat head on the ball by bending the knees
• "Catch" the ball to deaden its contact and shorten its roll
• Drop the bat and run to first base (avoid interference)
• Bunting on third strike (out if foul)
• Only bunt at strikes (unless sacrifice or squeeze play)
• Show a fake bunt early when taking a pitch
• Pull bat back early when taking pitch with fake bunt
• Show bunt late actually bunting (when pitcher's stride foot hits the ground
• Don't pop it up
• Must make contact on squeeze play

• Make a target
• Weight forward on balls of feet
• Knees, waist and elbows slightly bent
• Fingers up above the waist
• Fingers down below the waist
• Trap ball with throwing hand
• Soft hands (pull glove toward body as ball arrives)
• Center the ball and glove
• Get a good grip on the ball before pulling it out of the glove
• Get rid of the ball as soon as possible

• Ready position
• Move forward on the pitch
• Charge all slow rollers ("play" the ball, don't let it "play" you)
• Approach ball on a curve
• Get body centered behind the ball if you have time
• Block the ball/catch it if you can
• Get the glove down in the dirt
• Keep your eyes on the ball (look the ball into the glove)
• Soft hands (pull glove toward body as ball arrives)
• Trap the ball in the glove with the throwing hand (alligator jaws)
• Center the ball and glove in your midsection
• Get a good grip on the ball before pulling it out of the glove
• Don't follow a great play with a lousy throw

• Get the body under the ball
• Practice is the only way to learn to consistently judge the flight of the ball
• Shield sun from eyes by looking over the top or through webbing of glove
• Always make and overhead catch when possible
• Soft hands (pull glove toward body as the ball arrives)
• Trap the ball in the glove with the throwing hand (alligator jaws)
• Center the ball and glove
• Get a good grip on the ball before pulling it out of the glove
• Don't follow a great catch with a lousy throw

• Always know the outs/count
• Always know the inning/score
• Always know what base the lead runner/tying run/winning run is on
• Always know who is forced
• Know where the play will be a single, double, or triple
• Know where to throw the ball if hit to you

• Every player has something to do on every play
• Go to the ball or back up the player going to the ball or go to a base or back up the player going to the base or be the relay man or the cut-off man
• The play isn't over until the ball is dead

• Always run to first base (look to steal second base)
• Don't admire your hit instead of running (look at base first)
• Always check for a dropped third strike
• Watch and listen to the coach
• Always run all the way (the ball could be dropped)
• Run in the running lane
• Run hard through first base on any close play
• Look to your right for a loose ball as you cross first base
• Swing wide and make a turn on any base hit
• Know the outs/count/score
• Staying/running on grounders and fly balls
  • Run right away on grounders if 2 outs, if forced or if it clears the infield
  • Run one third of the way to see if the ball is caught or dropped if less than 2 outs
  • Tag up and run after long fly ball or foul fly ball is caught if less than 2 outs (especially if hit to right field if on 2nd base or left field on 3rd base)
• Forced/not forced to run
• When to round the base/slide/stand up
• Pop up slide/hook slide/hand tag/takeout slide (stay within arm's length)
• Take two or three steps start on every pitch
• Leading off base (primary/secondary leads)
• Getting into a rundown to help a lead runner
• Rundowns (how? why? when? obstruction)
• Base coach signals

• Four types of throws
  • Overhand (straightest)
  • Three-Quarter (natural but tails off)
  • Sidearm (quicker but less accurate)
  • Underhand (quickest for short distances)
• Gripping the ball over the seams with the fingertips
• "Winding the clock" (don't "short arm" the throw)
• Cocking the wrist/arm
• Foot position/movement
• Point at the target with your glove-hand shoulder
• Leading with the elbow
• Snap the wrist down putting backspin on the ball
• Step toward the target
• Follow through across your body
• Crow hop on longer throws
• Keep the ball down at least a 35 degree angle (no "rainbow throws")
• Hit the target

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Why Do Kids Participate in Sports

Chief among the reasons kids play sports are these:

1. To have fun
2. To improve skills and learn new ones
3. To be with friends and make new ones
4. For the excitement of competition
5. To succeed or win
6. To exercise or become fit

Children can benefit greatly by participating in sport - but those benefits aren't guaranteed. They're the result of cooperative effort among league administrators, coaches, officials, and parents. Those benefits come more readily when adults put the interests of the children first and leave their own egos and desires about winning on the bench.

Through playing a sport, youth can:

• Acquire an appreciation of an active lifestyle
• Develop a positive self image by mastering sport skills
• Learn to work as part of a team
• Develop social skills with other children and adults
• Learn about managing success and disappointments
• Practice good sportsmanship
• Learn respect

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Why Do Kids Drop out of Sports

An estimated 20 million youngsters between the ages of 6 and 15 participate in organized sports outside of school.

Unfortunately, about a third of these 20 million children will drop out of sports each year. Lets listen to why kids drop out:

• 1. "I had something else I wanted to do" (conflict of interest)
  1. "I hardly ever played. I just sat on the bench" (lack of playing time)
  1. "I never did very well" (lack of success)
  1. "I never got any better" (little skill improvement)
  1. "Practices were boring. Playing just wasn't as fun as I thought it would be" (lack of fun)
  1. "I sprained a finger the first week. Then I sprained my ankle" (injuries)
  1. "The coach made every game seem like a championship" (overemphasis on winning)
  1. "I always felt too nervous when I played" (competitive stress)
  1. "The coach picked on me too much. She seemed to have it in for me" (too much criticism from coach)

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'Did You Win?'

Jason came home from his basketball game sweaty and happy. He'd scored 19 points and made a spectacular steal at the end of the game. His team lost 49-48.

"Did you win?" his mother asked

"No, but I scored 19 points" Jason said

"You lost to the Pacers? I thought there were in last place"

"And I made a great steal at the end of the game. You should have seen it" Jason continued

"Too bad you lost, Jason. Hope you do better next game

Jason was no longer happy. Yes, the Pacers WERE in last place. How had his team lost to such a bad team?

The next week, Jason returned home again. He was sweaty, as he had been the week before, but this time he was not happy - even though he'd had another 19 point game. In fact, he was quite glum.

His mother and his sister were in the kitchen. "Did you win?" his mother asked again.

"No. We got beat" Jason said

"Too bad" his sister said. "But how'd you do? Did you score lots of points again?"

"Who cares" Jason said "We lost"

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What makes a Good Coach

Many people think that if you've played a sport, you're qualified to coach it. Wrong! (If this were true, all actors would make good directors, and all students would make good teachers)

A good coach...

• Must know the sport - and kids. The coach must know about the physical development of boys and girls, what children are and are not capable of doing.
• Must know about differences in personality - that what is right for one child isn't necessarily right for another.
• Must be able to understand, and deal with, differences in children's physical and emotional maturity.
• Needs to be sensitive to children with physical disabilities and children coming from various social, economic, and racial backgrounds.
• Must be skilled at teaching the fundamentals of the sport.
• Teaches young athletes to enjoy success and to respond to failure with renewed determination.
• Has more than just winning in sight.
• Emphasizes importance, competence, and striving for excellence.
• Helps children develop positive self-images and learn standards of conduct that are acceptable.
• Teaches and models conduct that reflects basic desired values

The successful coach is one who conveys:

• The joy of competition
• The meaning of effort
• The worth of character
• The power of kindness
• The wisdom of honesty
• The influence of example
• The rewards of cooperation
• The virtue of patience

The coach's challenge is to convey these values while striving for victory and not diminishing the fun in the sport. Not an easy task!

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Warning Signs of Poor Coaching

• The coach uses profanity. There's no excuse for this anywhere in sports - especially at the youth level.
• The coach argues with referees or officials.
• The coach criticizes players - not their behaviors.
• The coach won't listen to parents. We're not talking about parents who "coach from the sidelines" but those who raise legitimate questions or concerns. The coach allows cheating. ("Hey, coach, I thought Kate was too old to play on our team this year" - "Well, she's the right age for most of the season - and it doesn't matter").
• The coach makes winning the only goal. Winning is a great goal to have, it just shouldn't overshadow the larger goal of putting player's development first.
• The coach ignores the lesser skilled players. ("Well, I've only got so much time to give - I'd better concentrate on my starters").
• The coach makes the kids feel worthy only when they win. Winning is great, but the outcome of a contest has nothing to do with children's worth.

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Your Coaches Evaluation Checklist

Check yourself on these areas:

Coaching Philosophy

1. Does the coach keep winning and losing in perspective, or is this person a win-at-all-costs coach?

1. Does the coach emphasize skill development and support children as they strive to achieve goals?

Knowledge

1. Does the coach know the rules and skills of the sport?

1. Does the coach know how to teach those skills to young people?

Leadership

1. Does the coach permit players to share in leadership and decision making, or does he or she call at the shots?

1. Is the coach's leadership built on intimidation or mutual respect?

Self-Control

1. Does the coach display the self-control expected of players, or does he/she fly off the handle frequently?

1. When kids make mistakes, does the coach build them up or put them down?

Understanding

1. Is the coach sensitive to the emotions of the players?

1. Does the coach understand the unique make-up of each child, treating children as individuals?

Communication

1. Do the coach's words and actions communicate positive or negative feelings?

1. Does the coach know when to talk and when to listen?

Consistency

1. Does the coach punish one youngster but not another for the same misbehavior?

Enthusiasm

1. Is the coach enthusiastic about coaching?

1. Does the coach know how to build enthusiasm among the players?

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