13 replies to this topic

[RSMBob]

Can a high school age kid (15-17) be an official rostered coach on a Little League team as long as there is an adult manager?
Would the coach be eligible to be a post-season (All Star) coach as well)?

[amutz]

A high school age kid (16 and up) can be an official rostered under the direction of an adult manager, and can also be an All Star coach.

[Mike_Hirschman]

The only place this can get tricky is SOME (not all) local bylaws and constitutions have stipulations on membership age and certain division coaches having to remain "members in good standing".
Some even used to say "adult" in membership definition but didn't specify an age (those constitutions that mimic the sample put out by LL in recent years do not have this issue.)

All of that said, I got my start at age 16 and next year will be my 30th as a volunteer.

[Plesh]

Yes, check your local by-laws, but 16 is the LL minimum for an official coach.

I also got certified right after my 16th birthday.
10th year as a volunteer this year, 20th year total.

[rsnyder6]

Is there a place in the rules where it spells this out?

[Lou Barbieri]

Rule 2.00
Definition of Terms
...
A COACH is an adult appointed to perform such duties as the manager may designate.
NOTE: If two (2) coaches are appointed, the second coach may be age 16 or older.

[rsnyder6]

Thanks.
I forget that the Definition section has a great deal of rules embedded in it.

I was searching the electronic version of the Rulebook, but as you can imagine "coach" appears a great deal.

I do appreciate this resource.

[Jeremy]

Years ago I tried to take my 16 year old daughter on as a Coach for All Stars but she didn’t have a valid picture ID yet.

[richives]

Years ago I tried to take my 16 year old daughter on as a Coach for All Stars but she didn’t have a valid picture ID yet.

Then how did she get to be a Regular Season coach?

[Jeremy]

At the time my wife was a four time board member and my daughter just got done playing 10 years in the league...
I don’t know if she was officially rostered but she helped at games and practices.
I’m just pointing out the problem I ran into.

[richives]

At the time my wife was a four time board member and my daughter just got done playing 10 years in the league...
I don’t know if she was officially rostered but she helped at games and practices.
I’m just pointing out the problem I ran into.

I asked because you can't be an all-star coach unless you were a regular season coach and she'd need an ID to be a regular season coach.

Anyone helping regularly needs to submit the Volunteer Form.

[Lou Barbieri]

OK, so each team has a manager and up to two rostered coaches, the second of which can be as young as 16.
They are the only three people allowed in the dugout with the players during games.

You can have as many practice coaches as are appointed/approved (after passing the required background check). You cannot allow non-appointed/non-approved individuals to help at practices.

You need to inform Williamsport (data center?) of the names of your practice coaches so that if they are injured they will be covered by LL Insurance.
If a non-approved individual is injured while helping at practice: Houston, we have a problem!

[Jeremy]

It was only about two or three years ago that we started doing Background Checks and Volunteer Forms on the coaches under 18.
I would bet that before that they weren’t officially rostered.

[rsnyder6]

All high schools in our area have photo IDs.

LL requires background checks of everyone required to submit a Volunteer Form. Which includes:

"managers; coaches; Board of Directors members; and any other persons, volunteers, or hired workers, who provide regular service to the league and/or have repetitive access to, or contact with, players or teams.”

Meaning to us, umpires.
And we do background checks on umpires.
But not 12-13 year old umpires who likely do not have a government-issued photo ID.