Dear Northside Community,
With the spring 2016 season right around the corner, I wanted to take
the opportunity to talk to you about changes to Northside’s spring draft
process.
Previously, Northside has allowed coaches to select all of their
returning players from prior seasons, and attempted to honor all player
requests. This was done largely without consideration of competitive
balance, and it was continued over multiple seasons because the board
wanted to honor families’ request to remain with the coaches they liked,
especially while the league worked to improve overall coach talent to a
more consistent level across divisions.
Northside has the good fortune now of having that consistency across the
divisions. We’ve been lucky to find excellent volunteer coaches, each
with different strengths and approaches, but all working together to
provide the environment consistent with Northside’s Mission Statement.
This past fall, the Northside Board of Directors ratified a new spring
draft process intended to improve competitive balance across all
Northside divisions.
With the new draft process, coaches will still be able to choose amongst
requesting players with a few draft picks. After those rounds, each
player’s evaluation rating will be monitored and the drafting coach
would still have the opportunity to draft from his/her pool of
requesting players if competitive balance is still maintained. Players
who are returning to the league who wish to play for the same coach as
previous seasons should indicate that coach's name as a request
What this means to you: It is still likely you will
receive the coach you have requested, but it is possible your
son/daughter will find themselves with a different coach. The board
feels this should not be viewed as a negative since Northside is lucky
to have a quality stable of volunteer coaches.
The league works with the coaches each season to improve their skill-set
and approach by hosting coaching clinics, and through the league’s
coaching liaison and each division’s commissioner monitoring in-season
performance. While the board understands that players are more
comfortable with coaches they know, the board also feels a player can
benefit from experiencing a different coaching style as well.
This change to the draft process was not taken lightly. It was discussed
amongst the board and coaches over the course of the last year. All
viewpoints were welcomed and considered. We believe we have arrived at
the process that best balances requests, with ensuring competitive
balance across the divisions.
As always, your comments or questions are welcome. Please feel free to email us with any concerns.
Sincerely,
Alice Riccabona
President, Northside Cal Ripken League
