"Any game becomes important when you know and love the players." – W.P Kinsella

Parents -

First and foremost, I would like to thank you for entrusting East Tipp Summer Rec (ETSR) with developing your most prized possession—your child. It is a responsibility everyone involved with ETSR takes very seriously. Our board works tirelessly to ensure your family's experience each spring, summer, and fall is memorable. 

As a board, we recognized we needed to be different. We needed a different scoreboard to play by and determine our success. Final scores and stat lines tell us nothing about how our kids develop physically, mentally, and emotionally. Outlined below are four ways we have determined to gauge our success.

Support Parents
East Tipp Summer Rec is a non-profit organization. Although non-profit organizations do not have explicit owners, there are implicit owners or stakeholders to whom the board is accountable. For our organization, the implicit owners are you—the parents. 

For too long, parents have been viewed as outsiders—even opposition—to the organizations entrusted with the development of their children. As a parent of four children, three of which are involved in organized sports, I would be lying if I said I didn't have fears about the future and development of our kids.

Most of you reading this have unexpressed fears as well. You should not feel like you are alone when it comes to the questions you have about the development of your children. As a board, we are committed to coming alongside and helping you. We are discussing ways to support you for however long you decide to be involved with ETSR.

Equip Coaches
Most of us probably have a story or a person in mind when you hear the word "coach." In our society, coaches at all levels and ages hold a prominent role in the development and formation of children. Our organization is only as good as the coaches we have. Therefore, we will commit to equipping and resourcing our coaches with the knowledge and tools necessary to coach their players to the best of their ability. 

Baseball and softball can be intimidating sports to coach. A primary barrier to coaching is the lack of resourcing and fear of failure. Through our commitment to equipping coaches, Our hope is that more parents will feel empowered and confident to volunteer and coach.

Develop Kids
Sports challenge us to balance development and competition. Too much focus on development and kids lose interest because they are not challenged. Too much competition and we risk destroying the confidence of kids too soon. Add into the mix that each child is uniquely wired to respond differently, and we can see how hard of a task this can be.

Our focus as a board needs to be on long-term development rather than short-term success. Development is difficult and frustrating because we cannot see the initial growth. We can plant seeds and water soil, but we cannot cause any growth on our own. The only tool we have at our disposal once "seeds" have been planted is patience. 

Therefore, when we look at your child's development, we will focus on the cultivation of "soil," not the causing of growth. The "soil" we can cultivate and control is supporting you, equipping our coaches, and providing proper conditions for growth.

Serve Our Community
As an organization, we exist for our community. We will honor those who have come before us and laid the foundations for children to chase after and achieve their dreams, whatever those may be. These men and women have committed to leading and guiding our community through work that will never be known, celebrated, or documented for the world to see, hear, or praise. Moving forward, we will seek opportunities for our organization, families, and athletes to serve our community. 

The Future of East Tipp Summer Rec
Last summer, I was able to come home during my baseball season. My kids had games and practices but wanted to go to the fields early. While I was with them, I had a realization that my life had come full circle. I was now on the same fields I grew up playing with my children. On that day, we played the game I love, and they were learning to love. The game that has given me and taught me so much more than just balls and strikes, hits and runs, wins and losses. 

I am excited about the direction and future of East Tipp Summer Rec. More importantly, I am excited about the impact we can make as an organization, parents, coaches, and a community committed to serving and stewarding the greatest gift we have been given—our children.

The East Tipp Summer Rec Board