Chair City Baseball and Softball Inc. (formerly Gardner Youth Baseball and Softball League) has been and will always be an all-volunteer, "parent-powered", organization. We rely on as many parents, guardians, and community members like you getting involved.
Volunteers are a big part of what makes Chair City Baseball and Softball succeed. We have a very ambitious Board of Directors, but the 12 of us can not do it alone. We are looking for assistance with our committees (sponsorship, fundraising, registration), the snack shack, events, future board members, team parents and especially coaching!!
Volunteering for Chair City Baseball and Softball is a wonderful opportunity to meet other parents, spend time with your kids, share any ideas you may have and be better informed about the league. Your participation, no matter how much time you are able to give, will contribute significantly to the success of our league and its players. We understand that people have busy schedules and appreciate any time you can spare.
We ask and encourage your participation.
Without volunteers, Chair City Baseball and Softball will not be able grow or even continue on for years to come.
Click here to register for any of our Volunteer opportunities described below!
Coaching Opportunities
This is probably the most important volunteer position Chair City Baseball and Softball has to offer outside of our Executive Board Member positions. We would love for each one of our teams to have a Manager/Head Coach and at least one Assistant Coach.
The Manager would be responsible for attending any player evaluation days prior to the season starting, attending meetings, complete online Coach training course(s), setting up practices, attending every game, preparing the field prior to a home game, creating a lineup, communicating any issues with their Director, and would have to submit a background check and acknowledge and follow our coaches code of conduct.
The Assistant Coaches will have tasks assigned to them by the Manager/Head Coach and will also fill in as the Manager/Head Coach if they are unable to attend a game or practice. The Assistant Coaches will also have to complete an online training course(s), submit a background check and acknowledge and follow our coaches code of conduct.
Team Parent Opportunities
Team Parents are like support staff for the Manager/Head Coach and Assistant Coach. Team Parents help out prior to the game by prepping the field. During the game they are on the bench and in the dugout keeping the players engaged and focused on the game, making sure the players always know who is up next, helping the catcher out with their equipment, warming up the next pitcher and any other tasks that keep the game running efficiently so the Coaches can focus on coaching.
Team Parents also help out at practices with whatever the coaches may need them to do.
We would like each team to have 1 or 2 team parents, not to exceed a total of 4 Coaches/Team Parents.
Team parents would have to submit a background check and acknowledge and follow our coaches code of conduct.
Event Volunteer
The more volunteers in this category the better! No amount of time you can offer is too small. Whether you can be there just to set up before the Kick Off Party, or you can be there for everything that we do from start to finish, we have something for everyone!
Not only do we need day of help but we could also use help leading up to the event.
Volunteers would meet/discuss with the Chair City Baseball and Softball Secretary and/or Fundraising Committee (depending on the event) to come up with event ideas, make signs, put together raffle baskets, reserve bounce houses/dunk tank/etc, fill swag bags, create schedules, purchase decorations, request/pick up donations......etc.
Those volunteering to help out at events would have to submit a background check.
Some of our Events
Winter Clinics, Evaluation Day, KickOff Party, Picture Day, Closing Ceremony, Summer Sandlot/Clinics, Fall Ball Opening Day.
Concession Volunteer
We would love to have a full-time Concession Manager or a couple part time Managers that work well together, along with several volunteers so we can keep the Mechanic St. Snack Shack open during every game. Eventually we would like to expand to have satellite concession tables with a limited selection at our other fields during T-ball, Rookie Baseball and Softball Home Games.
This would all be dependent upon volunteer numbers.
Anyone 18 years or older, volunteering in concessions, would have to submit a background check.
Duties would include, but not be limited to, signing in at the beginning of each shift, cooking, counting money and making change, counting stock and cash before and after each shift, cleaning, locking up and setting the alarm, *making a volunteer schedule, *purchase orders.....etc.
*Managers Only
Committee Member Volunteer
Registration Committee
The Registration Committee is managed by the Chair City Baseball and Softball Secretary, 2 members of the Board of Directors and up to 3 Volunteers. Volunteers will assist in promoting The League by attending registration events, passing out registration fliers to the local schools and brainstorming ideas on how to get people interested in wanting to have their children play for our League!
The majority of this work happens in the months of late December through Mid March.
Fundraising Committee
The Fundraising Committee is managed by 3 members of the Chair City Baseball and Softball Board of Directors and up to 3 Volunteers.
Volunteers will assist in creating promotional materials for these events, budget planning, obtaining donations from local businesses, coming up with fundraising ideas (3-4 per year), scheduling dates that work around the baseball/softball schedules and the committee's schedules, securing venues (if needed), recruiting more volunteers for day of fundraising events.......etc.
Member of the Board of Directors
Descriptions of each position can be found in our Constitution and By-Laws on pages 7-12.
Click here to be brought to our Board of Directors Page
Once elected, positions are expected to be held for 1 year.
October 1st - September 30th.
Umpiring Opportunities
Would you like to be involved and make a little money? Umpires do not need to be patched to call any of our 10u Softball, Rookie or Minor Baseball games. If you have experience with the sport and you are over the age of 13, please reach out to us. We would love to hear from you!
Rules and Regulations
With the introduction of the federal law, the "Safe Sports Act of 2017", as well as long standing Massachusetts State Law, all adult volunteers that are in direct contact with children (i.e. Coaching, Team Parent, Events, Snack Shack) must pass a federal background check, a state background check, clear the national sex offender registry as well as complete an online course in sexual abuse prevention.
Anyone volunteering outside of League events, games, practices or clinics (i.e. field maintenance and cleanup) are not required to go thru the background process.
Chair City Baseball and Softball will cover the cost of the background check by providing a coupon code to all coaches/volunteers.
On our registration form you will have the option to select that you are interested in being a Manager/Head Coach, Assistant Coach, Team Parent or Volunteer. The league will work with the previous years Head Coaches to determine who is interested on coming back to manage a team. From there Head Coaches are selected and presented to the VP's and Director of each Division, who has the final approval. All Assistant Coaches are selected by the Head Coaches for each team and again approved by Director and VP's. No Head Coach or Assistant Coach positions are automatically carried over from season to season.
Starting in 2025 we will ONLY be allowing up to 4 volunteers per team. A Manager (Head Coach), Assistant Coach and 2 Team Parents (1 to do the score book and one to make sure the players are ready and cheering on their team). These volunteers will be the ONLY Adults, aside from the umpires, to step onto the field or into the dugout/bench area during the game.
The Chair City Baseball and Softball Board of Directors ask that you are responsible for your words and actions while volunteering and participating in all Chair City Baseball and Softball events. As a Representative of Chair City Baseball and Softball, you should be models of good sportsmanship and behavior for our players and parents and all our community members including participants and spectators alike.
If at any time the Chair City Baseball and Softball Board of Directors feels as though a Volunteer is not representing the league positively, the Volunteer will be relieved of their duties immediately.
Click here to be brought to our online Coach and Volunteer registration form.