Updated 3/2/20
a. The name of the league will be the Butler County Jr. Pro Softball League. It will be referred to as the Jr. Pro Softball or ¨the league¨ from this point forward.
a. The league has a number of purposes; the primary purpose is to grow and develop the game of softball in Butler County. As a direct result of that goal, participants will also learn important life lessons in responsibility, good sportsmanship, and develop a good work-ethic.
As the league falls under the umbrella of the Butler County High School Softball team, the Coordinator will apply for the position through the Butler County Board of Education. All applicants will be reviewed and the Coordinator be selected by an interview process by the head coach of the BCHS Softball team. The League Coordinator will be responsible for recruiting players and coaches to the league, organizing the practice schedules, creating the game schedule, scheduling umpires, and overseeing day-to-day operations of the league.
Head Coaches will be selected from parent-volunteers or community-volunteers. Qualified applicants interested in serving as Head Coaches will be interviewed by the League Coordinator and members of the BCHS coaching staff. Head Coaches are responsible for teaching their players the fundamental skills of softball: throwing, fielding, batting, and baserunning. Practices should be designed to reinforce these fundamental skills. In addition to teaching players these fundamentals of softball, coaches are teaching students valuable life lessons in responsibility, respect, sportsmanship, and helping players develop a good work ethic.
Assistant Coaches will be selected by the Head Coach of each team from the parents of players on their team. Assistant Coaches must be approved by the League Coordinator prior to the start of the practice. Each team may have no more than two assistant coaches. Players may not change teams after the draft process so that their parent/guardian can coach on a different team.
At the conclusion of each season, all coaches will be reevaluated. Selection as a Head Coach or Assistant Coach one year does not guarantee that the same coach will be selected the next year.
All adult volunteers working directly with children will be required to complete a background check through the Butler County Board of Education.
The Board of Directors will be made up of the League Coordinator, the head BCHS softball coach, and the head coaches of each softball team. The Board of Directors will be consulted on many topics related to the league during the season. In the event of a tie on a voting decision, the Coordinator’s vote will be the deciding vote.
Jr. Pro Softball only accepts players between 9 and 12 years of age. A player’s eligibility will be determined by her age on January 1 of that year. Players may turn 13 on or after January 1 of that year and still be eligible to participate.
Sign-ups will be open from February until the Evaluation Day. Players that want to register after Evaluation Day will be placed on a waitlist. These players may or may not be placed on a team based on numbers. Any players called up from the waitlist would require a vote from the Board of Directors.
The cost is $65 for the first child and $50 for each child after that. This discounted rate only applies to families with legal guardianship of multiple children.
League fees will be used to purchase jerseys for the players and coaches, equipment, field maintenance supplies, pay for umpires, and any other supplies that the League Coordinator deems necessary.
All monies collected will be deposited into the Butler County Jr. Pro Softball at BCMS account through the Butler County Board of Education. All monies spent will come out of the leagues’ account through the BCBoE/BCMS account.
In the initial year of the league, all players that sign-up will be put through an evaluation process. Prospects will be put through a series of drills to evaluate their skill level at throwing, fielding, batting, pitching/catching, and baserunning. Coaches will observe prospects during this time while members of the BCHS team and coaching staff run the drills. Evaluation Day will be the first Saturday in March.
After the initial year, only new prospects will be put through the evaluations. The evaluation process will only be used to replace players that aged out of the league or did not return to the league.
After the evaluation process, coaches and the league coordinator will complete the draft process. Coaches will draw to determine their position in the draft. The draft will be completed as follows:
Round 1:
1, 2, 3, 4, 4, 3, 2, 1
Round 2:
2, 3, 4, 1, 1, 4, 3, 2
Round 3:
All head coaches draft their child.
If a coach has multiple children, they draft only one in this round.
If a coach has no children, they would draft in their position from the previous round.
Round 4:
3, 4, 1, 2, 2, 1, 4, 3
Round 5:
4, 1, 2, 3, 3, 2, 1, 4
Coaches would draft their second child in their position.
Round 6:
1, 2, 3, 4, 4, 3, 2, 1
Round 7:
2, 3, 4, 1, 1, 4, 3, 2
If a coach has any remaining children, they are drafted in this round.
If more than 50 players are participating in the league, the draft process will be revised.
Siblings will be drafted onto the same team, unless parents do not want their children to be on the same team. Once a coach drafts a player that is a sibling, they will draft the next sibling two rounds later. For instance, if a coach drafts a player in the 2nd round, they would have to draft the sibling of that player in the 4th round.
After the completion of the draft, coaches will contact their players and set-up their practice schedules.
Teams will have between 10 players at a minimum and 12 players at a maximum. If between 40-48 players participate, 4 teams of 12 will be created. If more than 48 players participate, a fifth team will be created. If more than 60 players participate, a sixth team would be created, etc.
Teams will be drafted each season, meaning that players could change teams from one season to the next. Players cannot change teams once they have been drafted; an exception to this would be in the event of a change in legal guardianship.
Teams will be named by selecting the mascot and colors of a college softball program. Coaches will submit their top 3 choices to the League Coordinator and the Coordinator will review all submissions. Every effort will be made to give each coach their top pick, but if two teams select the same mascot then the coordinator may assign one team their second choice.
Fields at the Charles Black City Park will be reserved by the league coordinator from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday. The coordinator will also reserve the field for Saturday practice in two sessions; a morning session and an afternoon session. The league coordinator will reserve the field on Sundays from 1 pm to 5 pm.
There may be some instances where teams may have to practice at the Rochester Ball Park or at another location due to the heavy volume of leagues playing at the City Park. Every effort will be made to ensure that as many practices as possible can be held in Morgantown.
The league understands that the players participating are students first, so some practice limitations have been put in place to ensure that they can get home at a reasonable time.
Teams that do not follow the practice guidelines will face penalties such as, but not limited to, suspension of the head coach for the next game or forfeiture of the next game. The League Coordinator will assess penalties on a case-by-case basis.
The league will follow the same rules as the Kentucky High School Athletic Association governing middle school softball with a few exceptions.
A full game schedule will be available once teams are selected. There are several make-up days built into the schedule. Players, and coaches, have made a commitment to this league. They should make every effort to attend each game.
Players will be required to wear their uniform during all games. The uniform consists of the league-provided jersey, black softball pants, black socks, a black belt, and cleats. Players will be required to wear a helmet with a facemask when on offense. Players playing 1st base, 3rd base, and pitching will be required to wear a facemask while on defense. Other players can wear a facemask if they so choose. Players/parents will be responsible for providing black softball pants, black socks, black belt, helmets, facemasks (if needed) and cleats.
Coaches will be required to wear their team shirt or team colors during games. Coaches should wear athletic gear (appropriate shorts, sweatpants, wind pants, khakis, etc.) and athletic shoes during games and practices, not blue jeans, sandals or Crocs.
a. The League Coordinator reserves the right to remove any player, coach, or official for conduct that is detrimental to the league. The League Coordinator may consult the board of directors prior to removing anyone for such conduct.
b. Participants in the league - including but not limited to players, coaches, officials, parents, and other spectators - will be removed from the game and/or the league for the following actions: