Cell Phones

[quincy]

My DD was had a cell phone since she was 5 years old. We have received permission from her teachers, and school principals, for her to have it during school. It is a unique situation which she has never abused.

If I am distracted and miss something in a game I ask her, her entire focus is on the game whether she is playing or not. She will explain to me in detail what happened.

Are players really using their cell phones during a game?

I have never run across this and am not sure how I would react. After my mouth started working again I am sure things would go bad for me.

 

[starsnuffer]

I don't allow them during games, I've never had a problem with this rule being followed. My girls are also to be standing and supporting their teammates (some exceptions for catchers/pitcher in hot weather) so I don't even know when they'd have time to text.

I allow them to use the phones again after the post-game meetings so they can tell their parents that they are allowed to return from left field or wherever I banished them to.

As for my own daughter. . .. she managed to leave both a cell phone and an ipod in her softball pants to be washed within the same month. Since then, I have told her I will never buy her anything that fits in her pocket again, and she has never asked. Cell phones, IMHO, are completely unnecessary and nothing but an insecure parents security blanket and facade of "safety", but that's just my opinion.

-W

 

[quincy]

Please forget the personal stuff, I know I started it and respect your opinion.

Our Team does not have a “rule” about electronics, never even entered my thought process to impose one.

Should we? What should the rule be?

 

[Greenmonsters]

Rule required! No cell phone/texting during practices or team/coach meetings, shouldn't even have to mention games but it's prolly best to be crystal clear. As age increases, so does the boy/girl drama and the urge to sneak a peek at text messages during any break. Ipods/MP3s w/ headphones/ear buds can be a little more ambiguous - I think they are OK sometimes for example, during pre-game stretching before the 2nd/3rd etc game of the day, but it really depends on the group of kids and their ability to stay focused.

 

[starsnuffer]

Yeah, we have it as a rule too. I've found that the more clear you can be, the easier it is to tow the line going forward. When dad comes asking why his daughter was on the bench for the entire game, and you can say that she broke rule x, so she was benched, the conversation is over because both you, parent, and player knew the rule.

A simple "no electronic devices/cell phones during games/meeting/practices like Greenmonsters stated works great.

I'm glad you never had a problem with it, that's a good thing. Honestly if the girls are involved it shouldn't even be a problem. What you have to remember though is that these things can be contagious. Once one girl starts texting/calling, the rest think it's a good idea and then they're all doing it. Hell I have this same problem with my employees during staff meetings and I'll even catch myself looking at the blackberry when I'm bored. Best to teach the girls good habits so they're not as rude as we are when they're adults.

-W

 

[Sparky Guy]

Quincy,

Set a firm set of rules right now before you even set foot outside. My rules when it came to cell phones and any other electronics was simple. They are never allowed during team practices, games or any other team activities. I tell the girls to either turn it off or mute it. I can't tell you how many times at first I would see one of them look towards their equipment bag when a phone cheeped or tinkled. When I tell them they are on my time I expect the gadgets to by put away. I had one girl who could never seem to follow the rule. She always has to peek at the last text she got. The way I stopped that was to make her give the phone to her mother to hold. All of the sudden it was no problem to turn the phone off when it was handed to her mother.

Put it in writing and make sure all the girls and the parents know exactly what to rule is. You'll have one or two try to push the rule. Don' t bend and you'll be fine.

 

[Daddylawman]

We made it easy on ourselves - and actually on the girls too. When they arrive for warm-up all cell phone go in a bag (one of those mini-backpacks). One of the parents holds the bag. If we have a long break between games they get to look at them until we start warming up again. Otherwise, we keep them in the bag. As others noted - since the rule is clear, it's easy for the girls to comply.

 

[sftballstarr77]

Hi everyone!
I am 17 years old and I just wanted to add in on this discussion because I feel like, in my experiences, cell phones have been an issue for many of the teams that I have been on in the past few years. Two years ago, I was a freshman and I played on the JV team at my high school. I like to compare that team to a rec team because the coaches were not the best and the other girls on the team were not as invested in the sport as I was. I was a captain of the team and I felt like it was my job to keep all of the girls united and focused on the game. There were set rules by my coaches against using cell phones, but it wasn't very strictly enforced. By the end of the season, most the girls on my team had their cell phones sitting on the bench at all times or tucked into their sliding shorts during practices and it was MISERABLE for me and a few of the other girls who actually wanted to play. Even after we asked those girls to put their phones away, they would still sit in the dugout "getting a drink of water" and secretly texting. I hated it so much.

This past summer, I played on a 16U ASA team with much stricter coaches and girls who were there for the game, but I would still see the girls texting in between innings, hiding behind their gloves or something. This really bothered me. I felt like half of the team had their minds in a completely different place half of the time, and it was frustrating.

So, the moral of my story is that even if you coaches have "very strict rules" on cell phones, or anything for that matter, there are always going to be a few girls who feel like they don't need to follow the rules and sneak their way around them. Make sure that you stand by your rules and don't allow too many exceptions. If you don't care your girls use cell phones, be prepared for those who will take advantage of your rules. That's just how teenagers are.

 

[guero_gordo]

I actually had to contact our rec. league's umpire coordinator because one of his UMP's was texting during a game.

 

[Sparky Guy]

We made it easy on ourselves - and actually on the girls too. When they arrive for warm-up all cell phone go in a bag (one of those mini-backpacks). One of the parents holds the bag. If we have a long break between games they get to look at them until we start warming up again. Otherwise, we keep them in the bag. As others noted - since the rule is clear, it's easy for the girls to comply.

I think the approach you use can become necessary as you start dealing with the mid-teen years. For some reason they seem to think they are smarter than you during those years and rules are for everyone else but them. The younger ones listen better.

The REAL key is the parents need to be 100% on board with it. I believe the vast majority of them will go along with it. Every once in a while you'll get a parent who has no spine when it comes to controlling their child. That's when it's tough when you have to educate a parent in standard team etiquette.