Cell Phones

[Sparky Guy]

SB Starr,

Thanks for the insight from a player's perspective. It's great to hear from a dedicated player who knows what it takes to try and play the game to the best of their abilities. Trust me. What you're going through is not new.

Several years ago my daughter went through a similar situation on her team. They were playing in a very large and important exposure tournament. There were a couple of girls on the team suffering from a severe case of boyfrienditis and kept checking their phones in the dugout. The coach caught them and told the entire team they had to turn their phones in at the start of warm-ups. The biggest offender raised the biggest stink about it. So much so, she even had her mother trying to tell the coach he was wrong. He only bent slightly. He told her the mom had to hold phone and it was not allowed in the dugout. As soon as the post game meeting was over the girl would literally sprint to her mother to get the phone back.

 

[Lozza]

It was so much easier when I was a teenager, as mobiles were only just starting and no-one had them!

I know our junior rep coaches have the bag as well. Each girl has to put it in and they have the parents numbers programmed into their phones with a special ring tone so if it's a parent ringing for any reason they know to answer it.

 

[Carty]

I put a no cell phone policy in writing including the consequences. No phones at any time that the team is preparing, practicing, game time, you name it. They can keep them in their bags but taht is where they stay. I extend this to include team activities such as eating a meal. Incidently, I include myself on this policy. I have to have the cell with me, but if the call or message is not due to a possible emergency, it goes back in my pocket unanswered.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

I think a team mom or someone needs to be designated to be called, by lost parents. If you are lost in traffic or at the wrong field, you need to be able to get ahold of someone.

 

[quincy]

I was curious if Managers or coaches included themselves in their own policy.

I am lucky enough that my wife comes to all our games so I give her my phone before pre-game preparation starts. She does not come to a lot of our practices so I must admit I have my cell phone on me during practices. Embarrassed to say I have answered it a couple times. Then again I have never said anything to a girl who has used her cell phone during practice so I am not a hypocrite.

 

[Sparky Guy]

I was curious if Managers or coaches included themselves in their own policy.

I am lucky enough that my wife comes to all our games so I give her my phone before pre-game preparation starts. She does not come to a lot of our practices so I must admit I have my cell phone on me during practices. Embarrassed to say I have answered it a couple times. Then again I have never said anything to a girl who has used her cell phone during practice so I am not a hypocrite.

My cell phone is an integral part of my business. Most of the calls are less than 60 seconds. I can't not answer it during a practice.

During the games my phone is in my bag. Fortunately, 90% of games are played during non-business hours.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

I can have as many emergencies as anyone, generally girls won't receive those types of calls. My cell phone is on because Mother is 91 and she may need to call.
It has never been an emergency, but I was playing last year in Albuquerque and she called me in the dugout. I answered and she says "I just wanted to see if i can reach you." She is in IL.

 

[starsnuffer]

I leave my phone in my coach bag. If it's that important, someone can send a carrier pigeon and I'll answer that.

My phone is important for my work, but my personal time is more important then my work. I consider softball part of my personal time. I set the expectations to my professional colleagues and clients in advance.

I do check my messages and email during breaks between games, just as I allow the girls to use their phones between the time the post-game meeting ends and warm-ups begin. The truth is, there is nothing I can seriously accomplish within the two hours I am out of reach on a ball field, so being "available" would only be an exercise in futility or time wasted repeating the expectations I've already set up.

I do appreciate the message from SBstar. This just reinforces the need for suitable consequences for breaking the rules. I realize that in rec and HS ball a girls desire for play time is not as high as playing A ball for a travel team, but I've always felt that denying play time via benching is always a good way to get my point across. If the girl doesn't want to play badly enough to follow the rules, she's just wasting her time and her parents money.

-W

 

[Sparky Guy]

I can seriously accomplish within the two hours I am out of reach on a ball field, so being "available" would only be an exercise in futility or time wasted repeating the expectations I've already set up.

I wish I had that luxury. What I do has a 24 hour shelf life and about a 45-60 minute call back response time limit.

 

[GA42sDad]

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

Thats funny you brought it up about the umpire. This past fall league i was coaching first base in one of our games and the umpire was on his phone. I know that the fall leagues are normally pretty laid back and not taken very competitive, but i was really disturb about what was taken place.