Letter to Parents/Team
April 2019
Dear Brielle Baseball Parents,
Congratulations to your son for being selected to play on the 2019 Brielle Elementary School Baseball Team! This should be a fun season.
As many of you are already aware, my name is Steve Labrecque and I have taught at Brielle School for the past nineteen years. I have taught many of the players on the team as a 5th grade mathematics teacher. This will make coaching the boys even more fun for me! This will be my sixth year of coaching baseball at the school. I have previously coached both the boys’ basketball and boys’ soccer teams at Brielle Elementary School.
The team will be practicing each school day after school. There may be a day of rest every once in awhile so the boys arms are not getting overworked. I have attached a tentative schedule so you can plan ahead. Please be prompt in picking up your son each day at the end of practice. Our actual schedule can be found on the “Brielle Baseball” website found on the school website under “Sports”. The practice and game schedule can be found on the link to the left of the screen under “Practice/Game Schedule”. If there is a postponement, I will post the relevant information on the front page of the “Brielle Baseball” website.
Our game schedule is also attached. We play two games most weeks. Our first game is Monday, April 8th vs. Wall Intermediate School. Our team is in the American Division of the MCAL. We will play the teams in our division (Manasquan, Saint Catharine, Antrim, Spring Lake Heights, H.W. Mountz) twice – once at home and once on the road, rather than seeing each team in the MCAL once. This change made a few years back makes the team’s schedule a great deal harder than in previous years. There will also be a MCAL Championship game which will pit the winners of the two MCAL divisions (American vs National) in a championship game.
The MCAL rule for bats this year is that the boys can only use bats that are a 5 or less in difference. I understand that this is different from what the boys were able to use for Little League. Hopefully the boys can share bats this season if they don’t have a 5 or less bat of their own. The boys will need to wear helmets with face cages (provided by school) and cannot wear metal cleats by league rule.
The Brielle Booster Club purchased the baseball team new jerseys five years ago. They came out really great and should last a long time if the boys take good care of them. Players will be provided with a hat and socks as well as blue and yellow jerseys, but they will be responsible for purchasing their own white baseball pants.
I look at representing a school in athletics as an honor. It is also a big commitment that your son is making. Your son will be representing the town of Brielle and Brielle Elementary School as a whole. My goal is to make sure the boys represent the town and school in a positive fashion.
Playing for the Brielle Elementary School Baseball Team will need to be your son’s top priority until our last game just before Memorial Day. Players will need to be at team practices and games. I have told my various teams over the past two decades that I have been coaching that their priorities should be:
- Their family
- Their Academics (getting extra help/tutoring)
- Brielle Baseball
With 18 players on the team, I can make no guarantee as to how much playing time team members will receive. Those who work hard, who have the most baseball skill, and come to practices wanting to learn and get better will play the most. My goal is to make sure that each player gets at least 2 at bats this season and plays 5 innings in the field. If the above policy concerning playing time is acceptable to you and your son, congratulations on making the team and welcome aboard! The important thing to me is that your son is playing baseball and it is fun for him to be part of a team.
This year, each team member and a parent are required to read and sign the Opioid Use/Misuse packet that is attached to this letter. Students and parents are also asked to sign the letter of expectations (also attached). Please return to me before the first game on April 8th.
I am excited to be coaching your son this spring. My goals for the season are to teach your son some baseball skills, build teamwork, practice good sportsmanship, learn how to represent the Brielle Community in a positive matter and make playing for the Brielle Baseball Team a fun experience.
Please let me know if you have any questions and thank you in advance for your support and cooperation.
Congratulations,
Coach Steve Labrecque
732-528-6400x116