The focus of OBA baseball of course is the youth of Orinda. However, the opening words of OBA's Mission Statement provide recognition that OBA by necessity serves, involves, benefits, co-exists with and requires the support of the Orinda community in general. It is therefore essential that OBA, in the manner in which it carries out its mission, seek to make the community of Orinda as a whole a better place to live.

OBA's Mission Statement next recognizes that in order for OBA to provide a broad-based, consistent and high quality youth baseball program, effective governance is critical. Such governance requires that OBA operate within a well-defined, efficient and functional organizational structure, be fiscally sound, and engage in thoughtful long-term planning. More important, OBA's success is ultimately reliant upon the dedicated participation and contribution of many members of the Orinda community committed to carrying out the OBA Mission.

OBA's provision of a well implemented youth baseball program also requires those associated with OBA to strive: (a) to maximize the overall quality of its baseball program -- and the environment within which that program takes place -- given the financial, field space, managerial and other resources and constraints that exist; and (b) to develop and implement programs by which, over time, the resources available to OBA will be progressively increased and the associated constraints will be progressively reduced. Such developmental programs might include, by way of example, long term programs to locate and make available additional playing fields, or to identify, encourage and enhance the capabilities of potential manager and coaches deemed to have the requisite qualities, skills and knowledge to implement OBA's mission.

Finally, the Mission Statement articulates that OBA is a youth baseball program. While OBA serves and benefits the Orinda community in general, its fundamental reason for existence is the youth of Orinda: not the managers, coaches or parents.

OBA's Mission Statement recognizes that participants in OBA baseball, and their parents, are expected to be committed to the program. Moreover, at the Bronco level and above, OBA baseball is primarily suited for the very good to exceptional player at the Bronco level and above.

OBA's Mission Statement establishes three specific experience goals for each OBA player - the experience should be positive, competitive and rewarding. OBA is founded on the proposition that a successful youth sports program attains a sensible balance between these three goals, and that the goals are not mutually exclusive but rather, when sensibly approached, are entirely consistent.

First, the OBA experience should be positive. Simply stated, OBA is dedicated to providing each player with a special opportunity to enjoy competitive participation in the game of baseball. In order to assure that this joy of competitive participation is individually and collectively attained, it is a fundamental requirement that each OBA team member be afforded a reasonable opportunity to develop his or her skills and participate meaningfully in both practices and games under the direction of managers and coaches committed to OBA's mission. The OBA experience should also be designed to afford each player the additional opportunity to enhance his or her self-esteem, develop traits of sportsmanship and teamwork, foster friendships, and have fun.

Second, the OBA experience should be competitive. OBA strongly supports the propositions that competition is a valuable and necessary element of sports, that winning is a laudable goal, and that competitive success derives in large part from the challenge faced and the effort given.

Finally, the OBA experience should be rewarding. Generally, if a player's experience is both positive and competitively successful, he or she will consider the experience to have been rewarding. Additionally, however, it is important that each OBA player be afforded the opportunity to obtain the further reward of skill development in all aspects of the game of baseball.

In light of the three specific experience goals set forth above, the OBA Mission Statement reemphasizes the importance that the experience presented to an OBA player afford him or her both the opportunity to develop baseball skills and enhance positive behavioral traits and the opportunity to participate meaningfully in practices and games.

The final phase of the OBA Mission Statement is intended simply to remind us of the obvious though sometimes neglected truism that baseball is, and in the final analysis only is, a game.

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