- Jun 1, 2015
- 501
- 43
Interesting (though all-too common) situation. We play in a summer league, ASA rules except for the following:
- 7 innings or 1:45 time limit (not drop dead - finish the inning as needed)
- Start of this game is at 6:02pm, 1:45 takes us to 7:47pm. This was agreed upon at the pre-game conference.
- We are the home team - this is a regular season game, not a tournament.
Top of 6th inning, score tied 10-10. Visiting team fails to score. Home half BEGINS at 7:42pm. My team gets up - eventually pulls ahead 11-10. 3rd out is recorded. I ask the field umpire (with the official time) for her time. She says, "7:47pm coach." I say, "Then that's game - started at 6:02 plus 1:45 makes 7:47", then had my girls line up. Visiting HC comes from his dugout to argue with me/field umpire, claiming that the game started on the first pitch and not the meeting (that we had agreed upon in our league meeting - my girls are warming up regardless). We go through the lineup and shake hands - visiting HC does not shake hands. We clean up, post-game talk as always, then head out.
This morning, I received an email from the visiting HC that says the following:
""Hi XXXXXXX. I just wanted to thank you for that fine lesson in sportsmanship last night. I know it taught both teams some valuable lessons about life and people. You and I both know what you said in the coaches meeting at the beginning of that game - I believe it was something along the lines of "6:02, 6:04, whatever", although obviously the umps didn't - or were just way more concerned with getting their $40 and getting the hell out of there. I made sure to explain to my girls that some people are way more concerned with the score of a kids game than about teaching most important parts of the game, which are the bigger life lessons like working as a team, integrity, sportsmanship and fair play. I also teach them not to be doorstops and to fight when they are wronged. I also told them to smile and hold their heads high knowing it is better to play the game right and keep our dignity than to act like a weasel to "win" a kids game. You can reply to this if you like, but I will not read it and you can just know that my only reply would be "whatever lets you sleep at night". Thanks"
Mind you, I'm not offended by what was said - however according to everything I've said, was anything I did considered "unsportsmanlike" in any manner? Nothing else was said to this HC or his players at all, and we were abiding by the same rules this league has had since at least when I joined 3 years ago.
EDIT: For the record, I'm not looking for sympathy or anything like that. Just a clarification if anything I did would be looked at in the softball community as "unsportsmanlike". I'm a 3rd year coach, so I always want to improve what I'm doing to be a model for my girls.
- 7 innings or 1:45 time limit (not drop dead - finish the inning as needed)
- Start of this game is at 6:02pm, 1:45 takes us to 7:47pm. This was agreed upon at the pre-game conference.
- We are the home team - this is a regular season game, not a tournament.
Top of 6th inning, score tied 10-10. Visiting team fails to score. Home half BEGINS at 7:42pm. My team gets up - eventually pulls ahead 11-10. 3rd out is recorded. I ask the field umpire (with the official time) for her time. She says, "7:47pm coach." I say, "Then that's game - started at 6:02 plus 1:45 makes 7:47", then had my girls line up. Visiting HC comes from his dugout to argue with me/field umpire, claiming that the game started on the first pitch and not the meeting (that we had agreed upon in our league meeting - my girls are warming up regardless). We go through the lineup and shake hands - visiting HC does not shake hands. We clean up, post-game talk as always, then head out.
This morning, I received an email from the visiting HC that says the following:
""Hi XXXXXXX. I just wanted to thank you for that fine lesson in sportsmanship last night. I know it taught both teams some valuable lessons about life and people. You and I both know what you said in the coaches meeting at the beginning of that game - I believe it was something along the lines of "6:02, 6:04, whatever", although obviously the umps didn't - or were just way more concerned with getting their $40 and getting the hell out of there. I made sure to explain to my girls that some people are way more concerned with the score of a kids game than about teaching most important parts of the game, which are the bigger life lessons like working as a team, integrity, sportsmanship and fair play. I also teach them not to be doorstops and to fight when they are wronged. I also told them to smile and hold their heads high knowing it is better to play the game right and keep our dignity than to act like a weasel to "win" a kids game. You can reply to this if you like, but I will not read it and you can just know that my only reply would be "whatever lets you sleep at night". Thanks"
Mind you, I'm not offended by what was said - however according to everything I've said, was anything I did considered "unsportsmanlike" in any manner? Nothing else was said to this HC or his players at all, and we were abiding by the same rules this league has had since at least when I joined 3 years ago.
EDIT: For the record, I'm not looking for sympathy or anything like that. Just a clarification if anything I did would be looked at in the softball community as "unsportsmanlike". I'm a 3rd year coach, so I always want to improve what I'm doing to be a model for my girls.
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