Coaches’ Corner | August 19, 2026
Coaches (and Board Members):
Greetings! Opening Day for our 2026 Fall Ball Season is upon us! The pre-season practices have been productive and instructional and all our coaches (YOU!) have done an excellent job preparing and developing your ballplayers! We are blessed to have you as coaches. Thank you for all you do for the players and fans on your team!
Looking ahead, we hope you are as excited about Opening Day as we are. With the glorious weather (finally!) coming our way on Sunday, it is shaping up to be a memorable day for all! Here are 13 helpful tips and reminders of what to expect leading up to and on Game Day this weekend!
1. UNIFORMS TO BE DISTRIBUTED ON FRIDAY NIGHT ONLY
At this time, we have received confirmation we are on schedule to receive all uniforms for all teams on Friday. We are truly appreciative of our uniform partner and the amazing work and effort they put forth to fulfill customized orders for 74 teams involving nearly 900 jerseys in less than four weeks.
So, let’s make plans now to distribute the uniforms!
We will hand out your team’s uniforms to you (or a designated representative from your team) on Friday, August 21 from 6:30-8:00 p.m. at the three-garage barn. Please make plans to pick up the uniforms or have an assistant coach, team parent or reliable member of your team come during that time!
MUST READ…Along with the uniforms, you will receive a size summary for each player based on registrations so please distribute uniforms according to the sizes the family requested. All the names shaded in yellow will indicate players registered after the uniform order was submitted on July 29. As a result, we are unable to guarantee uniform jersey size. Please work with the extra jerseys and distribute as best as you can proportionately. We will not be able to print replacement jerseys for players due to the short span of our season.
2. GAME BALLS FOR TEE BALL TEAMS TO BE DISTRIBUTED ON FRIDAY, TOO
Tee Ball coaches also will receive a box of a dozen Tee Balls for use on game days. Each Sunday, every Tee Ball coach should bring 1-2 new game balls and their tee to the game. At the end of the season, the game balls can be added to the bucket when you return it on Sunday, October 4. (For all other divisions, the umpire brings the game balls to the field for your game.)
3. SCOREBOOKS ALSO TO BE DISTRIBUTED ON FRIDAY
All coaches in divisions where there are competitive games (Junior Rookie on up) also will receive a scorebook with their uniform box on Friday evening. In other words, Tee Ball teams do not receive scorebooks.
4. HARD STOP RULE ON GAME DAYS
As a quick reminder, OYO follows a hard stop rule for all our regular season games during the Fall Ball season. The clock starts immediately after the national anthem and announcements end. Then, 1 hour and 45 minutes later, games are called via an announcement over the PA system by one of the OYO Advisors on Duty (AOD). Please note, Tee Ball games should not last 1 hour 45 minutes and rarely will Junior Rookie, 08U Softball or Rookie require the entire time limit too. If games are completed sooner than when the hard stop is announced that is perfectly acceptable.
For those wondering, during the tournament on October 4, when the time limit is reached the inning will be played out to completion. OYO is a developmental league focused on player development and providing players opportunities to experience different aspects of the game each and every time they take the field. As a result, we do not keep standings — and our rec league tournament brackets are formed through a blind computerized draw in September. Nonetheless, if wins and losses are being tracked by your team, then any game stopped mid-inning as a result of the time limit should revert back to the previous inning for a “final score”.
5. WEEKNIGHT PRACTICES CONTINUE ALL SEASON
Your team will retain its weeknight practice time all season. Keep in mind though, as the season progresses, daylight hours will diminish. During the week, all fields are assigned so we are not able to reschedule rainout practices.
6. TREAT TICKETS ARE A HIT! SUPPORT OYO CONCESSIONS STANDS
This is a player favorite, of course! For $1 per treat ticket, a player can visit the concession stand following the game and select an item of choice from the Treat Ticket menu. Sometimes, teams buy them as they go and other times, they buy a year’s worth of treat tickets all at once (number of regular season games + one tournament game). Ask a parent — or your Team Parent — to collect funds from the team and purchase/distribute these tickets after each game during the season!
7. EVERYONE HAS A ROLE WITH THE FIELDS ON GAME DAYS AND PRACTICE NIGHTS
Even after all the rain we’ve experienced at Veterans Memorial Park, the fields are looking amazing. That’s a testament to all the head coaches working with their teams — and in tandem with our remarkable grounds crew — to take care of the fields after each practice and game. Here are a couple quick reminders:
- Before the game, the HOME team chalks the field. But never chalk the grass, only the dirt areas.
- After the game, the VISITORS rake the field around the bases and high-traffic areas. Rakes and brooms can be found hanging outside the dugouts around your fields or in storage sheds
Again, the coaches are not expected to do this alone. Ask for help from your parents before and after each practice and game!
8. UMPIRE FEEDBACK MATTERS!
We want to hear from all our coaches on how our umpires are doing great work and where there may be opportunities for improvement! We hope you will continue to share your feedback via email directly to oyoumpiring@gmail.com.
Coaches should not attempt to instruct umpires during the game. Please leave those moments to the Umpire Committee. Instead, we ask for your feedback so we can best help our umpires improve, clarify rules interpretations, share recommendations with the umpires that will ultimately improve your overall game day experience and provide consistent instruction to the umpires, too!
9. COACH-PITCH DIVISION RULES REMINDERS
Here are a few rules that are important for JRO, RB and 08U regular season games:
- Coach Pitching | A coach-pitcher must complete the pitch with both feet fully inside or touching the chalk line and the coach-pitcher may not step past the chalk line (circle in RB/08U, line in JRO)
- Coach Pitching | Base coaches are the only offensive coaches on the field allowed to coach (verbally and non-verbally) offensive batters and runners. The coach-pitcher is not allowed to coach runners or the batter once he/she has pitched the ball to the batter until the end of the play and the coach-pitcher has the ball in his/her hand.
- Leaving Base Early | There shall be one (1) warning per team per game, including Tournament.
- Thrown Bat – Warning, Then Out| If a batter throws their bat and hits any person on the field (defensive/offensive player, coach or umpire), the ball is dead and the batter will be called out. This penalty will be enforced only after a team has been given a warning. There shall be only one (1) warning per team per game, including the tournament.
10. KID-PITCH DIVISION RULES REMINDERS
Here are a few rules that are important for MB, SM, JBB, 10U. 12U and 14U/16U regular season games:
- MB & 10U Leaving Base Early | There shall be one (1) warning per team per game.
- 12U & 14U/16U Leaving Base Early | There shall be no warnings issued. Runner is immediately called out.
- Thrown Bat – No Warning, Only Outs | If a batter throws their bat and hits any person on the field (defensive/offensive player, coach or umpire), the ball is dead, and the batter will be called out. There are no warnings issued.
- MB + 10U, 12U, 14U/16U Look Back Rule | There shall be one (1) warning per team per game.
- Head First Slides | These are permitted both advancing to the next base and returning back to the prior base occupied at every level.
- JBB & 14U/16U Metal Cleats | Metal cleats are permitted in these two divisions only. However, in JBB, metal cleats shall not be used on the portable pitching mounds at any time.
11.ACCESS TO OYO-SPECIFIC GAME RULES
12. PHOTO DAY SCHEDULE IS SET!
The schedule for Photo Day is now available. Photo Day is Sunday, August 30. All team photos will be taken before each team’s first game in a centralized location near Field 4. We will be releasing this on Thursday to all families, but as coaches, you get an advanced copy of the Photo Day schedule (see the link below), which includes your team’s photo time as well as the time/field of your first game so you can plan accordingly to ensure you’re ready for the start of the game. All the info related to Photo Day is also online now. Lastly, on Photo Day, please remember all games will follow a 90-minute hard stop game length to better accommodate the team photos.
13. THANK YOU!
As always, we truly appreciate all you do for OYO’s ballplayers and families! Without your incredible volunteerism and commitment, we would not be able to provide a memorable and quality experience for all our ballplayers and families. Thank you for making a difference, and thank you for choosing OYO as your place for baseball and softball!
With much appreciation and gratitude!
Aaron Campbell, OYO Vice President, Baseball
Mario Covarrubias, OYO Vice President, Softball
Anthony DeSanto, OYO Vice President, Game Day Operations
Michael DeSanto, OYO President