Tell me something good about rec ball!

I hate our rec department. Girls pay to play and do not have to be at practice to get to play their 6 outs and bat no matter what. No discipline can be given to players for lack of performance or attendance. I got asked to help a team earlier this year for the first time in 7 years I decided to help, thought I would be doing some good for the ones that do not have the exact skill set of TB or even some of the school players. I was wrong and I see why they were stuck with finishing out their career in the rec department because they have no motivation to be better. I should not say it like that but when you have 14 on the roster and 8 of them could care less it makes the other 6 hate the game too. I would rather coach a lower B level TB team any day than a rec team, at least in our area.

KCM said:

Girls pay to play and do not have to be at practice to get to play their 6 outs and bat no matter what. No discipline can be given to players for lack of performance or attendance. I got asked to help a team earlier this year for the first time in 7 years I decided to help, thought I would be doing some good for the ones that do not have the exact skill set of TB or even some of the school players. I was wrong and I see why they were stuck with finishing out their career in the rec department because they have no motivation to be better. I should not say it like that but when you have 14 on the roster and 8 of them could care less it makes the other 6 hate the game too. I would rather coach a lower B level TB team any day than a rec team, at least in our area.

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Based on this post, it seems like the players had the same attitude as you. None of you really wanted to be there.

In my experience, the attitude of the players often reflects the attitude of the coaches.

Some coaches have the knack for working with even the youngest players or, in this discussion, rec teams. I have really high admiration for those coaches that can coach at this level. Not everyone can do it!

In rec softball you don't have to put up with elitists who think they're too good for rec softball.

Cowdogz said:

In rec softball you don't have to put up with elitists who think they're too good for rec softball.

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I wouldn't tag them elitists but some have put in the work and have the experience to play at a higher level.

I stand by my choice of words about our rec department softball program. Coaches have no control and the parents and kids get all the control. So how do you weed out the bad to work with the ones that want to learn? I like working with kids that put in the effort to learn and stride to get better. That is what I did with the few that wanted to learn but it sucks to watch the ones that caused strife and drama drag down the good. While we coaches could do nothing other than try and try but no success because their was no consequences for the bad actions.

KCM said:

I stand by my choice of words about our rec department softball program. Coaches have no control and the parents and kids get all the control. So how do you weed out the bad to work with the ones that want to learn? I like working with kids that put in the effort to learn and stride to get better. That is what I did with the few that wanted to learn but it sucks to watch the ones that caused strife and drama drag down the good. While we coaches could do nothing other than try and try but no success because their was no consequences for the bad actions.

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Some school teachers face this on a daily basis. Maybe we could get some answers from them.

I have coached rec for the past 5 seasons (to spend time with my DD and because it's fun). We have the same issues noted by KCM, but it is made clear to the coaches that our rec division is all about fun and instilling a love of the game 1st, player development (skills & attitude/sportsmanship) 2nd, and competition last. As the we move up in age brackets, the competition part gets more emphasized, but all the girls play and we run a continuous batting order. We have a 5 run/inning limit, and games end in ties.

So what's good about all this? The girls have fun in a low pressure environment. Everything I do or say is in the form of positive reinforcement, and what I've noticed is that the girls who maybe could play TB are very positive and helpful with the girls who can't make the throw from 2B.

Yeah some coaches and some parents can make it rough, but on the whole it's a positive experience. This season we played 10 of 12 games with 6 or 7 players, and went 6-2-2 (other 2 were a loss in the only game I had a full roster, and a forfeit on a rain makeup). Our official record was 1-11 due to forfeit rules, yet we borrowed 3 from our 10U division for the tournament and finished 2nd. We played hard and got beat by the #1 seed in the championship. My girls were so stinking proud of what they'd done, it was a joy to watch! But what really hammered home to me that I'd done my job was a mom giving me a hug and thanking me for coaching her daughter, and having several grils from other rec teams on my fall ball squad who requested me specifically, one of whom refers to me as "the nice coach".

That is what is good about rec.

If you're in it to win it, stay away, but if you're there to help the girls learn and have fun, it can be rewarding!

Ray

marriard said:

Need to add one more thing.

When one of your coaches decides to be a jerk (and there is always one) and tries to take advantage of some loophole in the rules you put in place to try to get fair playing time, continuous batting, fair play etc, etc, create a new rule to stop this and name it after the coach in the rule book on the website an send out notification of this new rule to all the coaches and parents. This stops this real quick.

Here it is - the only time we had to do this:

"Rule X.X Coach Rob Surname's Rule*: The catcher in a coach pitch game is required to take an appropriate catchers stance and provide the coach pitcher an appropriate target. Penalty: offensive team can either take result of play or the pitch can be retaken without counting as a thrown pitch in the count"

* Name changed to protect him here... but not locally

(Coach Surname was having his catcher stand up in Coach Pitch and not behind the plate as there were no passed balls/stealing/etc in this division in an effort to make it harder for the Coach Pitcher to throw decent pitches. This put a stop to this and further rule loophole efforts by this coach and all other coaches real quick).

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Wow, you must be one of those total tight arse coaches that argues every close call every game, regardless if your winning by 10 or losing by 10. My daughter played in the USFA 8U world series this year in FL and almost every 8u team had their catcher standing up behind the plate. If a coach pitch pitcher needs a the opposing catcher to give him a target...well then you have the wrong coach pitch pitcher. Get your panties out of a wad and deal with it.

marriard said:

Need to add one more thing.

When one of your coaches decides to be a jerk (and there is always one) and tries to take advantage of some loophole in the rules you put in place to try to get fair playing time, continuous batting, fair play etc, etc, create a new rule to stop this and name it after the coach in the rule book on the website an send out notification of this new rule to all the coaches and parents. This stops this real quick.

Here it is - the only time we had to do this:

"Rule X.X Coach Rob Surname's Rule*: The catcher in a coach pitch game is required to take an appropriate catchers stance and provide the coach pitcher an appropriate target. Penalty: offensive team can either take result of play or the pitch can be retaken without counting as a thrown pitch in the count"

* Name changed to protect him here... but not locally

(Coach Surname was having his catcher stand up in Coach Pitch and not behind the plate as there were no passed balls/stealing/etc in this division in an effort to make it harder for the Coach Pitcher to throw decent pitches. This put a stop to this and further rule loophole efforts by this coach and all other coaches real quick).

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the first post was sooo good too. This is the type of Rec mentality that KILLS leagues. Don't like one little aspect then make a rule about it...soon enough there are so many rules that following them is more hassle than it is worth and good families quit How about just telling the coach that couldn't concentrate on throwing a strike to be better at pitching? I wouldn't care one bit if the opposing catcher at 8u did cartwheels behind the plate.

This is a much better example of what not to do. With all the rules in my DDs rec league last spring, the coaches needed a slide rule to figure out who was still eligible to pitch/play infield etc. in a given inning.

Better to just let the jerk who tells his catcher to do this be recognized for a jerk, no need for a rule about it.