Can coaches participate in a scrimmage?

I'm itching to get in there and play. Other than our single allowed Staff vs Students game, can I legally play in a scrimmage with my players?

????????? Why, not sure what you are talking about but NO. Go join a league if you want to play.

Legal probably not...for insurance liability problems, if you were to somehow injure a kid, your insurance might not cover you and you could be personally liable since you were not coaching but playing...especially hitting.

Now if this was internal team scrimmage and you only have seven players and you want to stand in the outfield and shag balls and throw them in fine but other than that NO

hssoftball101 said:

I'm itching to get in there and play. Other than our single allowed Staff vs Students game, can I legally play in a scrimmage with my players?

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Within your team - probably no issue unless it is specifically disallowed by your insurance. You likley already are for the most past. Coaches participate ALL the time in all sorts of physical activities in practice - throwing BP, teaching how to hit and field, hitting ground balls, hitting fly balls, working on skills, demonstrating various things and so forth. One of our coaches is an ex-DII pitcher - she pitches with no restriction to our batters ALL the time. When she hits grounders she hits them at game speed - so what is the real difference if it is within a intra-squad scrimmage?

As long as you do it WITHIN that context you are fine. Why can't you role model how the game should be played.

Yeah probably need to be exact in what you mean. Practice sure, although hitting BP at full speed is not exactly the same as hitting of your pitcher full speed...no way I would do that, even in the staff v student game I slap or place the ball, I'm just not going to be able to live with myself if I hurt a girl hitting a bullet off the pitcher or 1B, so I don't.

I have pitched BP full speed although I doubt I'm much over 50mph (I only really learned so I could teach my girls and feel like I knew what I was talking about plus save my own pitchers arms), that's no real different than getting plunked in a game.

I actually meant a scrimmage vs another team. Say our team has no pitcher that day, so we are forced to forfeit a game but both teams want to continue playing in a unofficial scrimmage with the ump there. And I would pitch for my team against the other kids instead of asking to borrow one of their pitchers .

hssoftball101 said:

I actually meant a scrimmage vs another team. Say our team has no pitcher that day, so we are forced to forfeit a game but both teams want to continue playing in a unofficial scrimmage with the ump there. And I would pitch for my team against the other kids instead of asking to borrow one of their pitchers .

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Most, if not all, umpires I know would walk away from this and not risk getting sued should something happen.

Just borrow a pitcher. It really isn't worth it.

There's always a risk of getting sued by someone for something; that's what liability insurance is for. A coach should have a personal policy in addition to whatever softball related insurance. Umbrella liability policies aren't that expensive, and cover far more than softball. Most every physical activity has some level of assumed risk, and unless you're doing something that is well outside the range of reasonable practice for that activity, winning a lawsuit is very much an uphill climb, and your insurance company will defend you.

Are you talking about playing with a bunch of older travelball players, or some 12U rec team? That makes a difference. The skill level of many teenage travelball players can exceed that of adults, including those who've played at a high level. Marriard is right; coaching involves all sorts of activity that mirrors game play. Even then, you still have to stay within reasonable boundaries. When I hit and throw to players on my team, I adjust to the field conditions, individual ability, and the protective equipment they might be wearing. I typically save my hardest throws and hit balls for my own kid.

If you're a pitcher, don't throw ridiculously fast for the age level, and don't deliberately hit anyone, then you're probably not doing anything out of the range of reasonable as a coach. Umpires would probably stay away because, generally, they are hypersensitive to liability issues, but then it would be a just a pickup game. If you're played with older travelball players, it's probably YOU that needs to be careful.