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Recently I was asked to help coach little league baseball for the Olympus Youth Baseball league. I received an email from the president Cole Vandenakker who stated that because there were so many kids that had signed up they were looking for more coaches. When I expressed my willingness to help out as a coach, I also expressed my concern that because I was the last coach who volunteered that my son and his team wouldn't be very competitive. I was too that there would be a draft & and that all the kids would be available to choose from. This process was to ensure that all teams would have good players as well as new players learning the game. Based on his knowledge I agreed to coach. When I attended the draft this week I quickly learned that not all of the players were available to draft. The head coach and the assistant coaches kids were all frozen, or pre selected to teams. This was frustrating as I had hoped to draft some good players and have their fathers help me with coaching. This would allow me to integrate with new parents and kids and come more apart of the community. That bing said the draft was not that way, it appeared the teams were pre -selected and that the usual 1or 2 teams would be stacked with talent based on the alliances previously formed with assistant coaches.
It would be easy to say this doesn't matter & that it's just kids youth sports, but then I would say that it clearly matters to those running the league and calling the shots. It's not a fair playing field for kids or coaches & it starts at the top with it's president Cole Vandenakker. Here are the current issues I have seen the past 5 years in this league
1. No other youth sports league allows a President to serve an unlimited number of years. Usually a president serves 1-3 years, then is required to step down and let another community member have the opportunity to serve. This is not the case with Olympus Youth Baseball. Cole Vandennaker has no set term, and will most likely serve until his kids finish playing in the league. Why? This gives him control over who are the coaches, who makes the All Star Teams, Who coaches the All Star Teams, how the draft works, the new Try-out system etc. Full control to do what he wants & for whom he wants to. If Cole wants to change a By-law to fit his needs he has the ability to do it.
2. For 40 years the All Star teams were selected by the individual teams coaches. 1-3 kids were selected or voted by their team at the end of the year to participate in All Stars. Recently Cole Vandenakker changed the by law to abolish this method & hold an open tryout at the end of the year to select the All Start team. This may appear to be an unbiased way to select such a team, but its the opposite. By holding the tryout Cole and other favored coaches are allowed to have input on who makes the All Star team. Meaning there can be 5-8 kids from 1 team selected to make the All Star team. This only reinforces my thoughts above, about the draft not being an equal selection. Further more it gives 1 or a few people to select who they want on the summer team, not who is deserving. No body knows the kids talents and abilities better than there season coaches, they should be the ones selecting 1-3 kids max from each team to participate in the summer league. That represents true parody & equality amongst the league.
3. There are no opportunities for other community members to serve on the olympus baseball board. Even if you want to and ask to serve, because there are never any open positions you can't apply. This is segregation & a strategy to keep control over the league without any community input.
4. I dont believe it's in the best interest to serve as the president of the league and coach 1 or several teams. Your presidential position on the board should be one of integrity, allowing you to act without biased. If you are coaching teams you're a biased towards the teams your kids play for. How can you make fair decisions regarding rules, when you have a vested interest in which teams win?
As long as Cole Vandenakker is the president of the olympus youth baseball league, I believe he will continue to work his personal agenda. Doing things that are in his best interest, the interest of his friends and in the best interest of his kids making teams. The way to invoke change is by bringing the truth out in the open for the public to read and understand. Because many people are unaware of what happens behind closed doors. Without change this will effect kids, kids who deserve to get good coaching, participate in summer leagues and receive All Star coaching, achieve and grow as athletes and become better kids by and through sports. We can't continue to let 1 or a few people dictate how things are going to be. There needs to be checks and balances, and starting with a fixed term for presidents and board members will allow change.
Lets take the adult agendas out of this league and make it about the kids. Speak up ! Voice your opinion to others, lets push for changes and equal play for all of our kids.
Tmuis19, while this post never warranted a response, it's probably worth sharing accurate data with anyone that might read it, given how incredibly absurd your information is. We're certainly not perfect, so we always welcome feedback and we invite any and all to get involved with Olympus Youth Baseball. If you did in fact coach in the past, we are grateful for your willingness to do so.
Olympus Youth Baseball is as strong as ever because of all the wonderful volunteers that sacrifice their time to help kids develop and have a good experience. It is certainly no dictatorship...thankfully, it's far from it. Awesome coaches and supportive parents help the league thrive in a time when most leagues are folding because of travel teams and super leagues.
So, let's provide some accurate information below:
0. The regular season draft has been the same since long before I became involved. It has proven to be the most effective way to try and create parity across the league. The head coach and assistant coach's kids are pre-selected to their team. If this didn't happen, we wouldn't have coaches to coach - a major reason parents choose to coach is so they can spend more time with their kids. Of course we're going to allow a coach's kid to be on his/her team. Those kids are slotted in rounds based on all of the other coaches' input from the tryout evaluation.
1. I have been the president of Mt. Olympus Baseball for the past three years and will not be the president next year. True, I've served on the board for six or seven years, but my time as president was set at three years. Even three years might be too long...I'm not sure anyone would have the energy for more than that dealing with stuff like this.
To be clear, I don't have full control; that's what a board is for.
2. All-star teams are selected by coaches votes. A number of years ago, we heard complaints from parents that their kids didn't get a fair look and would like a tryout so all would have a chance to be seen. We tried that for a year. After that, it went back to coaches voting, with the all star coach having the flexibility to pick the final few spots of his roster. Like you said, coaches typically know players best and that is the process used today.
3. As mentioned above, we welcome anyone interested in helping the league. In fact, we had two new board members this year that were great additions. If you'd like to be more involved, feel free to reach out. We always appreciate parents in our league that are willing to roll up their sleeves as opposed to point fingers.
4. I didn't coach any Mt. Olympus teams this year; nor did my kids play any all stars. All of our board members, including myself, have coached teams in the past. Commissioners are selected for each age group so the board members don't govern that division, unless there is no other option available i.e. no one else is willing to volunteer to do it. If we were ever in the enviable position where board members didn't have to coach teams because we had enough coaches, that would be great. Unfortunately, we're typically in need of coaches as the season starts.
Mt. Olympus Baseball's mission statement is, "To provide a positive and competitive environment in which the greatest number of kids have the most opportunities to develop and improve their baseball abilities." You're absolutely right - "we can't allow one or a few people to dictate how things are going to be." Luckily, Mt. Olympus Baseball isn't run that way and the league continues to provide a great experience for the youth in the community.
Your inaccurate slandering of my name is unfortunate. Doing it anonymously and under the cover of being upset with Olympus Youth Baseball is just sad. Should you like to have a conversation about any of this, please feel free to reach out. I'm sure you know how to get a hold of me. I, or any of our board members, are always open to productive discussions. Slinging mud, that's false and inaccurate, from behind a screen is neither helpful nor productive, so we'll avoid that. Look forward to hopefully hearing from you.
Best,
Cole