The BABA Dugout: Bay Area Baseball Association Blog

In the first of this series, Starting a new team: Part I, we talked about the first steps required to start a new team with Nations Baseball: registering, choosing your team name, and creating your team. In this article, we’ll explore the next steps: determining your team age, class considerations, and forming a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. If you’d like to read the whole article, see the Start a New Team page on www.bayareaball.org.

1. Follow the steps in Starting a new team: Part I.
    
2. Determine your team age.
   However, to follow Step 3 in Part I, you must know your correct team age. Baseball playing age and actual age are sometimes different. Nations Baseball, Little League, and USSSA all use the same baseball age metric. Baseball playing age is measured by a player’s age on April 30 of that season. Team age is based on the age of a team’s oldest player. If your team has 10 nine-year-old players and one 11-year-old player (in baseball age), then you will register as an 11U team. To easily calculate baseball playing age, use the BABA Baseball Age Calculator.     
     
3. Consider class issues when you add players.
   Nations Baseball determines the class of your team after you add your players; teams do not select their class as they do in USSSA. However, you still have control over your class. All it takes is some knowledge of how the Nations Baseball class system works. All teams are classed as Select (AA) when they first register. Once they add players, their class might change. Select teams are allowed to add up to four Elite (AAA) players and still remain at the Select level. If a Select team adds even one Premier (Major) player, that team is instantly moved up at least one class (Elite), or two classes (Premier), depending on whether the player merely played at the Premier level or was frozen at the Premier level. For detailed information on class issues and how players can move from team to team, see the Bay Area Baseball Association – Roster Issues page.
      
4. Take care of business (birth certificates, rules, yada, yada, yada…).
   Some managers are lucky enough to have an administrator to do all the paperwork for them. (I hate the term “team mom.” We’re not giving out juice boxes here.) But remember, the manager is ultimately responsible: the buck stops here. So make sure you at least have the following:
     
   • Birth certificates for all your players.
     Upload electronic copies on your Nations Baseball roster, and you never have to bring paper copies to a Nations Baseball event. Those players who have birth certificates attached to their roster history can never have their age questioned during an event. (For other sanctions, you must still carry the paper copies.)
       
   • Know the rules, know the rules, know the rules!
     Nations Baseball rules are posted on the Nations Baseball and BABA websites. Each tournament may have its own set of local rules as well. Nations Baseball tournaments use high school rules as their basis (except for balks). USSSA uses Major League Baseball rules. Both organizations have state and national rules that are accessible on their websites. To view links to all the rules, from Major League Baseball to local rules, see the Rules menu on the Bay Area Baseball Association website.
      
     Being ignorant of the rules does not excuse you from having to follow the rules. Managers that understand the layers of rules and can operate within them have a distinct advantage over those coaches who “just want to play some baseball.” Remember, baseball is a game rooted in rules. If you are not teaching your players to play by the rules, you are doing them a great disservice, now and in the future.
      
   • Communicate with your team.
     It goes both ways. Talk and listen. Simple as that.
       
5. [Optional] Set up a 501(c)(3).
   I get a lot of questions about this topic all the time. First, is it a necessary step? Well, no. It is not required. You can still get donations even if you are not set up as a charity; however, it is much more difficult to get those big sponsors to donate because their donations are not tax deductible, and you must pay income tax on everything you earn!
    
   Is setting up a nonprofit easy? No; it’s either a pain in the butt or expensive. I personally have set up two (and don’t get any ideas; I’m not going to do yours for you). It is doable, but it does take perserverance and a minimum of a couple of weeks to compile and write all the required paperwork. Sound daunting? Don’t be scared off. It is a large task, but none of it is difficult, it is only the sheer volume that is off-putting. Just take it one piece at a time. (And I would never consider paying someone to do it for me. You have to tell them everything anyway; you might as well do it yourself and save money.)
     
   So where do you start? First, look at what someone else has done. If you have a 501(c)(3), you must make your paperwork available to anyone who asks. It doesn’t have to be online (though BABA posts its nonprofit documentation online). Peruse the nonprofit documentation on the Documents page of www.bayareaball.org (use the Contact form on this site to request the password) for an example of how to structure your nonprofit with a board of directors. For an example of how to structure your nonprofit with members, see the Documents page of www.texaswildcats.org. (Request a password on their contact page.)After you get a sense of what’s involved, review the full guidelines and instructions on the IRS Charities and Nonprofits site. And remember, after you apply for your 501(c)(3), you still have to apply for your state sales tax exemption with the comptroller. They are separate entities.

  Hint: You can get a sales tax exemption even if you don’t have a 501(c)(3). Just apply as a youth sports team. You still have to pay income tax, and donations to you will not be tax deductible, but you might qualify for exemption from state sales tax for certain purchases made for the team.

There are many other things that must be done when you have your own team: ordering uniforms, collecting dues, recruiting, entering tournaments, researching the game (or hiring an expert), maintaining your roster, fundraising, filing your taxes, and of course, playing and practicing. It is not for the faint at heart. But it is all worth it when your players (current and former) look at you with respect and affection and call you “Coach.”

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