AZ Lions Baseball
Code of Conduct
AZ Lions Baseball is a competitive youth program built on respect, accountability, and the way we carry ourselves in front of other people. This page sets the standard for every player, parent, guardian, sibling, and guest who wears our name or sits in our stands.
It applies at practices, tournaments, showcases, hotels, team events, and anywhere the AZ Lions name is attached, including social media. Read it with your player. Everyone is held to it equally.
Section 01Our Standard
These are kids playing a game. The adults set the temperature of that game, and the temperature at an AZ Lions event is calm, loud in support, and quiet in criticism. Our players are watched by college coaches, tournament directors, and other programs long before anyone checks a stat line. Behavior in the stands is part of that evaluation, fair or not.
The short version is below. The sections after it explain how each one is enforced.
Coaches Coach
Players hear one voice during a game. Instruction from the stands puts a kid in the middle of two bosses.
Cheer, Do Not Critique
Support every player on our roster, including the one who just made the error. No coaching, no correcting, no groaning.
Umpires Are Off Limits
No comments on balls, strikes, or safe and out calls. Not under your breath, not to the person next to you.
The Dugout Is For Players
Players, coaches, and approved team staff only. Details are in Section 02.
No Confrontations
Never engage another parent, another team, a coach, or an official. Bring it to our staff and we handle it.
Leave It Better
Clean the dugout and your area of the stands before you leave. Every field, every time.
Section 02Dugout and Field Access
The dugout is a working space for the players, the coaching staff, and approved team personnel only. That is the rule for the entire event, including between games, during rain delays, and after the final out.
Who is allowed in the dugout
- Rostered players
- Coaches listed on the tournament roster
- The designated team parent or scorekeeper for that event, approved in advance by the coaching staff
- Medical personnel responding to an injury
Everyone else stays outside the fence. That includes parents, grandparents, siblings, family friends, and guests. Please do not stand at the dugout fence to talk to your player, pass food or drinks through, or get their attention during the game.
If you need your player, we will come get them
You do not need to approach the dugout for any reason. If something comes up, text or find any coach or the team parent. We will send your player to you, or a coach will come to you.
If there is an emergency involving your player, we come to you immediately. If there is an emergency involving your family, tell any staff member and we will bring your player out right away. This works in both directions, every time, no exceptions.
During the game
- Keep the area behind the dugout and along the fence line clear so players and coaches can move.
- Siblings stay with their adult and off the playing surface, the bullpen, and the warm up areas. Foul balls and live bats make those areas genuinely dangerous for small kids.
- Do not signal, call out instructions, or gesture to your player from behind the fence during an at bat or a defensive inning.
- If your player is injured, stay where you are until a coach waves you in. Our staff will get you onto the field.
Section 03Parents, Families, and Spectators
You are the most visible part of this program. Tournament directors remember the parents long after they forget the score.
Expected of every adult at our events
- Cheer for effort and for our whole roster, not just your own player.
- Say nothing to, at, or about an umpire. Judgment calls are not debated at any level of youth baseball, and the staff handles rule questions through the proper channel.
- No taunting, heckling, mocking, or commentary directed at the opposing team, their players, their coaches, or their families.
- No arguing with another parent. If someone is out of line, walk away and tell an AZ Lions coach. We will address it with the other program or with tournament staff.
- Keep language clean. Kids and younger siblings hear everything.
- No alcohol, cannabis, or intoxication at any AZ Lions activity, regardless of venue rules or what other teams are doing.
- Follow the host park and tournament rules on chairs, tents, coolers, pets, and smoking. Those rules are theirs, not ours, and they apply to us anyway.
- Recruiting conversations, playing time, and roster questions are never raised at the field.
Photos and video
Photograph and record your own player freely. Do not post video or images that identify another family's child in a negative context, and never post footage of an on field or in stands incident. Take those concerns to our staff instead.
Section 04Players
You represent your family, your teammates, and a program that people are watching. Effort and attitude are the two things you control on every single pitch.
- Run on and off the field. Every inning, every game, win or lose.
- Respect the umpire. No reaction to a call, no turning around in the box, no body language. Your coach handles it.
- No thrown bats, helmets, or equipment. No slamming gear in the dugout.
- No trash talk toward opponents, and no mocking a teammate for a mistake.
- Shake hands at the end of every game and mean it.
- Keep the dugout clean and pack out your own trash.
- Be on time, in the correct uniform, with your gear ready. Arrival times are set by your coach.
- Social media carries your name and ours. Nothing profane, nothing targeting another player or program, nothing you would not want a college coach to open.
- Bullying, hazing, or harassment of a teammate ends a player's time in this program. See Section 06.
Section 05Talking to the Coaching Staff
Every parent has the right to be heard. The rule is about timing and setting, not about silencing anyone.
The 24 hour rule
No conversation about playing time, position, lineup, or a coaching decision happens on game day. Wait 24 hours, then contact your player's coach directly to set up a time to talk. Emotion runs high right after a game and those conversations rarely go well in a parking lot.
The order to follow
- Start with your player's coach. Most issues end here.
- If it is unresolved, contact Jason Martin at [email protected]. Put the concern in writing with dates and specifics.
- Safety concerns skip the line. Anything involving a child's safety, suspected abuse, or a threat goes to program leadership immediately, and to the appropriate authorities where required.
What is not up for discussion
Playing time for another family's player, roster decisions about another player, and in game strategy calls. Your own player's development, role, and what they need to work on are always fair conversation.
Section 06Zero Tolerance
The behaviors below skip the warning system entirely. They result in immediate removal from the event and a review of the family's place in the program. This applies to players, parents, and guests without exception.
- Any physical altercation, shoving, or attempt to fight another adult, a player, a coach, or an official
- Threatening language or intimidation directed at anyone, in person, by text, or online
- Racial, ethnic, religious, or sexual slurs, or any derogatory language about a person's identity or disability
- Confronting an umpire or tournament official, at the fence, between games, or in the parking lot
- Bullying, hazing, or harassment of any player, ours or anyone else's
- Attending an AZ Lions activity under the influence of alcohol or drugs
- Damaging or stealing property at a host facility, hotel, or park
- Public attacks on a player, family, coach, or official through social media or team communication channels
- Retaliation against anyone who reports a concern in good faith
One more thing worth saying plainly
A parent's conduct can end a player's season. That is not a threat, it is how tournament organizations and host facilities enforce their own rules, and we will not put the rest of the roster at risk of forfeit or ejection to protect one adult's temper.
Section 07Consequences
Conduct issues follow the steps below. A first offense does not have to start at Step 1 if the behavior is serious, and anything in Section 06 starts at Step 3 or Step 4. Every step is documented by the coaching staff and shared with program leadership.
Verbal Notice
A coach or program representative speaks with the parent or player directly and privately, explains which section applies, and asks for it to stop. The conversation is logged.
Removal From the Event
The individual leaves the facility for the remainder of that game or that day, at the staff's discretion. A written summary goes to the family and to program leadership within 48 hours.
Suspension
The individual is barred from attending AZ Lions activities for the next two tournament weekends, including all games and practices in between. A suspended parent may not attend in any capacity, and arranging for someone else to carry the same behavior on their behalf extends the suspension. A suspended player continues to attend and support the team unless leadership decides otherwise. Returning requires a short conversation with Jason Martin first.
Removal From the Program
The family's participation in AZ Lions Baseball ends. Program fees are non refundable, so no refund is issued for a removal under this code. The decision is made by program leadership and is final.
Outside authority still applies
Tournament directors, umpires, and host facilities can eject or ban anyone under their own rules, and those decisions are not ours to overturn. A league or organization suspension is honored by AZ Lions Baseball in full.
Section 08Reporting an Incident
If you see or experience something that breaks this code, report it. Waiting until the end of a tournament makes it much harder to address with officials or with the other program.
- At the field: tell any AZ Lions coach or the team parent immediately. Do not handle it yourself.
- After the event: email [email protected] with the date, location, who was involved, and what happened. Photos or video help if you already have them.
- Anything involving a child's safety: call program leadership immediately at (623) 396-3759, and contact local authorities where the situation calls for it.
Reports are kept as private as the situation allows. Retaliation against anyone who reports a concern in good faith is itself a zero tolerance violation.
Section 09Common Questions
My player forgot their water or needs medication. Can I walk it down?
Hand it to any coach or the team parent, or text the coach and we will come get it. If it is medication, tell us before the first pitch so the staff knows where it is and who needs it.
What if there is a family emergency during a game?
Tell any staff member and we will bring your player straight out to you. You never have to enter the dugout or wait for a break in play.
I disagree with a call. Can I say something to the umpire between innings?
No. Rule questions go through the head coach, who is the only person permitted to address an official. Parent contact with an umpire is a Section 06 issue.
Does this apply to grandparents and friends who come to one game?
Yes. Every guest you bring is your responsibility, and the same standard applies to them.
I want to talk about my player's playing time. When is the right time?
Wait 24 hours after the game, then reach out to your player's coach to schedule a conversation. That discussion happens away from the field, never on game day.
Section 10Agreement
Participation in AZ Lions Baseball means the player and every adult in their party accept this code. By taking the field or the stands at an AZ Lions event, you are agreeing to it.
Every family completes the acknowledgment at registration and again at the start of each season. Program leadership may update this code at any time, and the current version on this page is the one in effect.
Questions About This Code
Ask before it becomes an issue. The staff would much rather answer a question in the parking lot on Friday than have a conversation about Step 2 on Saturday. Reach Jason Martin at [email protected] or (623) 396-3759.