Friday, May 1, 2015

Important Message from NCRL Board President

Dear Northside Family,

As we approach the half-way mark in our 2015 Spring Season, I want to take a moment to reflect on our season, and to remind everyone of a few very important themes.

I have had the pleasure of seeing many of Northside’s families on the field, at Board Meetings, and in the community and it’s wonderful to witness so many dedicated, hard-working, and caring people in action.  Northside is a premier baseball league in the Charlottesville area because of the dedication and passion of so many wonderful people.  Thank you especially to coaches, Board members, and to the parents who make sure their precious ones make it to the field for practices and games.   Your efforts are what make Northside special.

Northside’s mission, “Developing a strong community by teaching baseball fundamentals and life skills; helping kids improve as players, work as a team, and grow as individuals,” is what drives us.  I want to focus on our central theme which is “developing a strong community”.   Our league works so well because of so many helping hands – our Board has chosen to focus on developing our community through the goal of increased community participation.  Many of you have already given your two hours of service – thank you!  There are still many opportunities to help improve our league so please help us continue to build this wonderful baseball community by fulfilling your two-hour commitment. 

Also, our mission centers on “helping kids improve as players”.  Remember:  Northside is a developmental baseball league – we are tasked with helping children develop into better baseball players as well as good human beings.  At times, the heat of competition can cloud the real reason we are here, and I’d ask that all of us – from coaches to parents to umpires - remember that we are working with children who are sensitive and imperfect, and we need to be supportive, encouraging, and understanding of the differing skills sets that our players bring to each practice and game.  Our players will make mistakes on the field, and our job as parents, mentors, and coaches is to help our children learn from these mistakes.  A few ill-placed negative comments can have a lasting effect on our young people, so please keep our mission in mind when you are cheering from the sidelines.

Finally, the Board of Directors wants to reinforce to everyone that we are dedicated to providing the highest quality experience for all players, coaches, and families and we’d like to ask for a minute of your time to provide us with a little mid-season feedback.  We have created a very short, 4-question survey asking for comments and suggestions about your experience so far this season.  A more comprehensive survey will be given at the end of the season as well.  Please follow this link to complete our brief survey.

Thank you all for being part of what makes Northside an exceptional sports experience for our children.

Sincerely,

Alice Riccabona
Board President, Northside Cal Ripken League