COACHES CERTIFICATIONS
In order to be a coach at Southeast Denver, you must have the following certifications in place prior to the start of the season. The Coaches Education Training Certificate is a 1-time course and incurs a small fee which SEDBSL will reimburse upon request. Concussion, Abuse Prevention and Background Checks MUST be completed and updated yearly. In July 2025, the State of Colorado enacted the “Mandatory Reporting Law“, which is required yearly. Certificates of Completion for all courses must be emailed to the softball division director.
DEFENSIVE FACEMASKS
Babe Ruth League Inc now requires all players playing Pitcher, 1B and 3B to wear defensive facemasks.
The league will provide each team with 3 masks.
If players want to purchase their own masks, they can do so at Dick’s Sporting Goods. See the Event Calendar for our Dick’s Shopping Days dates, where players from SEDBSL will receive discounts at Dick’s.
WEATHER PROTOCOLS
Denver Parks & Recreation has a limited number of employees that maintain and check fields daily. Therefore, they usually provide updates on closed fields later in the afternoon. We also do a late afternoon assessment of the fields we maintain at Holly Hills. We will do our best to send out notices of field cancellations by 4pm via coaches and/or league generated communications. If the games aren’t cancelled and the weather changes closer to game time, coaches can make a decision to cancel their game and should contact the league so that umpires can be notified and games can be rescheduled.
Coaches should cancel any practices on closed fields.
LIGHTNING PROTOCOL
THIS POLICY IS IN PLACE FOR THE SAFETY OF OUR CHILDREN. PLEASE HELP US TO ENFORCE THESE SAFETY GUIDELINES. IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF ALL COACHES AND PARENTS TO DEMAND COMPLIANCE WITH THIS LIGHTNING SAFETY POLICY.
- Practices and games are suspended when/if lightning is detected within 10 miles of playing field.
- If lightning strikes within 10 miles of playing field, ALL PLAYERS and FAMILIES must EXIT the fields and dugouts immediately and wait in their cars until the danger passes. Waiting out the delay in the dugout is strictly prohibited.
- When onsite, a league official will direct coaches and parents. If league official is not onsite the responsibility falls to the coaches and then parents.
- Don’t wait for someone else to tell you to clear the field – if lightning is within 10 miles clear the field and go to your car.
- Players must remain in their car for 30 minutes from the time of the lightning strike, if another strike occurs the 30 minute clock starts over. When a lightning delay reaches 45 minutes, the game will be suspended and made up/played another day.
- If lightning does not strike again after 30 minutes, “all clear” can be given and practice/game may resume.
- The lightning detector at Village Greens gives one long blast to clear the fields and three short blasts for all clear. Players must wait for all clear before returning to field.
- Coaches who willfully disregard the lightning safety policy will be subject to disciplinary action.
PLAYER FILL-IN POLICY
The league’s philosophy is to eliminate forfeited games and allow the players to play all of their scheduled games. For all regular season and league tournament games only players on the official roster are eligible to participate in the game with the following league policy requirements and exceptions:
1. Each head coach shall provide a copy of their official roster (signed copy by the SE Denver League President) to the opposing team prior to each game upon request by the opposing team. The official roster will be provided by the League Administrator.
2. Prior to a game, if a team determines they will not have enough players to have an official game – 7 players for an 8U game and 8 players for all other age divisions (10U, 12U, 14U, 16U and 18U) – then the team may use players from another team as described below:
a. Except for the 8U age division, the fill-in player(s) may not be from the same “age/competitive type” division of the team needing fill-in players. The fill-in player may not play if her age division team has a game.
[Ex. A 10U team needing a fill-in player may not use another 10U player.]
[Ex. An 8U team needing a fill-in player may use another 8U player since there is no “lower age” division.][Ex. A competitive 10U team needing a fill-in player may use a “not-so-competitive” 10U player.]
“Competitive” and “not-so-competitive” division teams are considered different age/competitive divisions.
b. First choice for use of fill-in players shall come from their own “league”.
[Ex. A Centennial 10U team needing a fill-in player shall attempt to use a fill-in player from another Centennial team].
If there are no other available teams within a “league” to choose a fill-in player or no fill-in players are available, then the team needing a fill-in player may use a fill-in player from one of the other “leagues” within the program.
[Ex. A Parker 10U team needing a fill-in player unable to obtain a fill-in player from another Parker team may choose a fill-in player from Centennial or another league.]
c. Upon determination of the specific fill-in player, the coach of the team needing the fill-in player must contact the opposing player and receive permission from the player, her parents and her coach. Once this has taken place and been approved the coach of the team needing the fill-in player shall provide this information to the “league representative” and to the overall “League Administrator”.
[Ex. Centennial 10U team contacts an 8U Centennial team and obtains permission for use of one of the 8U Centennial team players, confirms there is no conflict with the 8U team’s game and the Centennial “league representative” approves. Then the “League Administrator” is notified by the 10U Centennial team coach needing the fill-in player, providing the basic information- fill-in player’s name, age division, game number, date and location, home team name and visiting team name. Once the “League Administrator” approves the use of the fill-in player, then the “League Administrator” will send an e-mail response indicating approval to both coaches and the “league representatives”. Both coaches are expected to have a copy of this “official” approval at the game.]
3. The fill-in player may use either a jersey from the team needing a fill-in player or her own league issued jersey.
At no time shall any player, not properly registered and listed on an official roster, be allowed to participate in the game. Should a coach use an ineligible player then the following actions shall take place:
1. The team, using the ineligible player, shall forfeit the game (s) in which the ineligible player is used;
2. The head coach, of the team using an ineligible player, shall be suspended for the next game in which their team plays following disclosure of the use of an ineligible player;
3. Upon a second offense, the head coach, of the team using an ineligible player, shall be suspended for the remainder of the season;
4. Assistant coaches, of the team using ineligible players, who assume the duties of the head coach as a result of the head coach being suspended, shall be under the same policies as those of the head coach, including suspension for violating this policy.
Denver Parks and Recreation has a weather hotline which is updated daily. You can call the number to get a status of whether or not fields are open or closed for the day.
