Classless or part of the Game?

FP26 · Aug 31, 2017

As a competitor, it is my goal to win every event I am involved in. Whether that is softball, chess, ping pong, or can-jam. As a coach, my responsibilities go much further. In addition to placing my players in a position to be successful, I try to instruct them in such a way that they learn about the mental and physical aspects of the game. And that includes sportsmanship. IMO, there is no place for the things being discussed in this thread. When we are playing a team that acts in this manner, all it does is increase our motivation. Think about football coaches posting something on the locker room walls. Same concept...

A few weeks ago we were facing a team in the semi finals that was acting in a way that I did not consider appropriate. DD was pitching that game. Not only did we go on to win that game, but we ended up winning the tournament championship. To be honest, winning the game against that particular team was more satisfying for me personally then winning the championship game.

Classof2020 · Aug 31, 2017

riseball said:
To each their own but the whole thing sounds very bush league or worse, like an episode of Jerry Springer. This is often the signature of poorly coached teams that feel compelled to employ such shenanigans in place of actual skills between the lines. Best tactic is to stay very quiet and let your game speak for you instead of your mouth. Back in the day there was a team like this from Bartow FL where they typically got louder and nastier as a game progressed and more alcohol was consumed by the parents. Will never forget Jake getting 17K's including a run of 12 straight against them in a tournament in their back yard. A couple of dads had talked trash before we had the plate meeting and with her first pitch school was in session. By the end of the 5th inning they were so quiet you could have heard a pin drop. After it was over we did the customary high fives and quietly walked off the field for our next game as they left for home. Sometimes you say much more by saying nothing at all.

My favorite is to see a team acting like this and then note as they get quieter and quieter as they realize it isn't working and they are now loosing.

I just think it makes a team seem desperate and classless and I always try to make a mental note which teams or organizations I would never let my DD play for or pick up for. My DD is picking up for a team this fall and at the first meeting the coach told the girls that were helping out "if this team can't win with class we'd rather not win" and I appreciated that.

grcsftbll · Aug 31, 2017

FP26 said:
As a competitor, it is my goal to win every event I am involved in. Whether that is softball, chess, ping pong, or can-jam. As a coach, my responsibilities go much further. In addition to placing my players in a position to be successful, I try to instruct them in such a way that they learn about the mental and physical aspects of the game. And that includes sportsmanship. IMO, there is no place for the things being discussed in this thread. When we are playing a team that acts in this manner, all it does is increase our motivation. Think about football coaches posting something on the locker room walls. Same concept...

A few weeks ago we were facing a team in the semi finals that was acting in a way that I did not consider appropriate. DD was pitching that game. Not only did we go on to win that game, but we ended up winning the tournament championship. To be honest, winning the game against that particular team was more satisfying for me personally then winning the championship game.

Beating these teams feels awesome. There have been instances of losing to them for us and that is every bit as irritating as winning against them is great. You just really don't want to see teams like that win, ever.

4 girl's dad · Aug 31, 2017

Ive seen this a lot in D1 ball. Even a team that I follow closely and that I am a fan of does the Ball 1, ball 1 ball 2, ball 2... They have done the beating and banging deal. They have done a lot of these things mentioned in this post. And they are a WCWS team.

But to be clear, I dont like it.

We played a team last weekend that was doing the hi pitched screams as our pitcher released during the first inning. To the coaches credit, they didnt do it in the second inning or the rest of the game. But we were up 7-0 at that point.

Cannonball · Aug 31, 2017

My HS coach once said to me, "you'll be remembered far longer for how you played the game than whether you won."

Top_Notch · Aug 31, 2017

DD's team had a strict policy against cheering against the other team. Could only cheer for our team.

During one tournament the opposing coach went to the mound because the pitcher was getting hit pretty hard. I asked the coach if the girls were going to sing the song about "The pitcher's in trouble..." and he replied, No...No...that's bad karma. Sometimes I think we had the most superstitious coaching staff you'd ever find. One coach even had his "Sunday sweats" that he wore for tournaments. It must of worked because the team was very successful. And we built a great reputation too, even having coaches state they didn't mind if they lost to us.

We have since moved on to a new team, but I can guarantee the antics would not fly for one batter with our new coach. Not because he's superstitious, but because he won't allow any negativity by the players or parents. Period. It reflects poorly on the coaches, the team, and the organization we represent.

Southernmost · Aug 31, 2017

I'm in agreement with the majority. It irritated me and I think it's classless when kids bang on the fence, buckets, bench with balls, bats, or whatever else. I will not let my DD do it. There is a player on our team now that keeps drumsticks in her backpack. Drives me bananas. I'm not the coach and evidently the coach has no problem with it. Good thing we have options after fall season is over.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk

canyonjoe · Aug 31, 2017

On the same subject are every once in a while you'll play a team where the parents are just as bad. They do things like that or yell "miss it" on a pop fly,etc. We had a new player a couple of years ago and her mom and dad yelled that during a game. All three coaches said in unison that we don't do that here and they were quiet the rest of the game. We tell our parents you only ever say 2 things to the other team. "nice hit or nice play".

I've said it before that most coaches and teams we play are class acts. I've met some great kids who love playing the game. It's fun to see the amazing plays some of them make even if it's against us.

CMMom1740 · Aug 31, 2017

As my Southern grandma would have said, "Tacky, tacky, tacky." There have been a few times where I was ready to throttle girls on the other team for playing the bongo drums on those buckets incessantly. And I personally hate it when teams do the taunting cheers ("Rattle, pitcher, rattle," "Too high, too too high, too too high to make it fly," etc...). Just nasty and unnecessary. You'd get thrown out at the Masters if you tried to pull that kind of stunt while a player was in his back swing.

KCPRK · Aug 31, 2017

Or the coaches and players that yell I got it on a foul or fly ball........classless. They are kids playing a game. Let the kids play the game.

And like Comp said most org have rules against the scraming and beating in the dugout if the umpire chooses to enforce it. What I see is the strikezone go against those teams usually.

I remember when the NCAA decided to enforce their rule vs Alabama a couple years ago.

Classless or part of the Game?

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