IX. Sample Opening Letter to Parents Below is a sample opening letter for coaches to borrow from when addressing parents for the first time. It’s critical that a coach outline expectations and set “his” tone prior to the start of the season, so take the time to go through this exercise. Dear Parents, My name is YOUR NAME and I am looking forward to being your son’s travel coach this season. I wanted to take a moment and introduce myself to you and give you an idea of what to expect this summer. First, I grew up in TOWN and played baseball at SCHOOL NAME where I was primarily an infielder. When I finished playing, I realized that I still loved the game and wanted to share what I know with the next wave of young players. So, I searched for an organization that could use my talents and feel lucky to have found ORGANIZATION’S NAME. I am currently enrolled at SCHOOL NAME, studying ___________ with the idea of someday pursuing a job in _______________. My goal this summer is to help your son develop his baseball skills and learn to enjoy the game even more. In order for us to achieve such goals, I believe it’s important to set some easy to follow expectations from the beginning. This way, everyone will have an understanding of how we can all make the season successful, positive and memorable. I have three simple expectations. First, please let me know if your son will not be attending practice or a game. Much planning goes into both and when players don’t attend, the practice plan and line-up can be compromised. By letting me know ahead of time that your son will be missing an event, you do everyone a favor by allowing me to adjust things ahead of time. Thank you in advance for honoring this request. Next, if you have a disagreement with how I am managing the team, please let me know via email so we can set up a time to discuss over the phone. I require a 24-hour “cooling off” period before I will discuss team matters with parents or players, so please abide by that construct ... often, time breeds clarity or at least a less emotional state which can lead to a potentially more fulfilling conversation. Finally, please refrain from coaching your son from the stands. Your son wants to succeed and we will do our best to give him the tools he needs to do so ... having another voice with more instruction is almost always counter-productive. As your son moves on to higher levels, coaches 1 www.IllinoisBaseballAcademy.com (and your son) will be increasingly less tolerant of such behavior—so get in the habit now of being an observer and fan.... Again, I am really excited about what lies ahead and I look forward to doing whatever I can to make this season a special one. Feel free to e-mail me with any questions you might have and I will see you at the opening team meeting ________________. Regards, 2 www.IllinoisBaseballAcademy.com