There is a lesson there and the one being taught is not a good one.
Clock
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There is a lesson there and the one being taught is not a good one.
Well then I will just consider myself a bad coach teaching girls bad life lessons. We are home and up one, with two outs, the count is 1-0 with 60 seconds left and I call the batter over and spend 30 seconds making sure she understands that she is not swinging not matter what and that she needs to back out after every pitch and get the sign from me and then remind her what the take sign is and that she is taking the pitch. As I am going back to the coaches box the other coach just gives me that wry grin and after the next two pitches the game is called and he says "nice game coach I would have done the same thing". Again maybe I am a terrible coach but the girls bust their butt all game to fight for the win there is no reason I can't do my part.
I guess every coach has their line, if we are down and home with a runner on I will get the umps attention and have the runner step off the base to get to the next inning, I have not called defensive timeout and huddled the girls on the field and I have never made a defensive substitution but depending what is on the line I am not going to rule it out....most championship games are no time just for this reason. While I don't really like it from a practical standpoint unless you are going to slot two hours for every game you are not going to be able to run a tournament without some kind of time limit.
If there is a clock, clock management has to be part of the game. How would it be different than basketball? I am not going to hurry up and give the other team a chance to score, to be a good sport.
Take away the time limit and go with the number of innings that you want to allow. 4? 5? You can even use ITB, if you want, but lets play innings not minutes. Lets score runs, not points.
Take away the time limit and go with the number of innings that you want to allow. 4? 5? You can even use ITB, if you want, but lets play innings not minutes. Lets score runs, not points.
- Jun 24, 2013
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And the lesson being taught would be what? More game time? More chance for our batters to gain experience and our fielders to gain experience? More experience in a potential pressure situation? Please tell me what "bad" lesson I am teaching them.
Well, dropped dead time limits are a dumb as anything at a tournament. They simply should not be used.
It is improper to teach players to deliberately violate a rule. It teaches the wrong life lessons to the players. Gamesmanship is fine, provided it is within the limits of the rule and doesn't involve unsportsmanlike conduct. It is certainly unsportsmanlike for a coach to tell a player to deliberately violate a rule. A coach's first responsibility is safety and then sportsmanship and the moral and mental development of the players. Players need to learn that despite doing everything right, they don't always come out on top.
- Jun 22, 2008
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If there is a clock, clock management has to be part of the game. How would it be different than basketball? I am not going to hurry up and give the other team a chance to score, to be a good sport.
Take away the time limit and go with the number of innings that you want to allow. 4? 5? You can even use ITB, if you want, but lets play innings not minutes. Lets score runs, not points.
But the coaching is the reason there are clocks. Tournaments have taken so many teams to make as much money as they can, a clock is necessary. Get rid of all the rah-rah and constant huddles and ludicrously long discussions coaches have in visits to the circle and eliminate the coaches who will allow runs to score to play another inning against a team that shouldn't be on the field with them and then you MIGHT be able to get rid of the clock.
In just this thread you hear people complaining about clocks, but admitting to managing their game to go beyond the time allowed for the game for one more at bat. With all the time these players put in on the field, just how much of a percentage does that increase by beating a clock for an extra inning here and there? Parents complain about the heat and back-to-back games, but god help everyone if that one last at bat isn't stolen from the clock.
Play straight up competitive ball with a reasonable number of teams and game scheduled and that clock will go away if you really want it to go away. But I guarantee you, there will be that one Earl Weaver wannabe that thinks he can outsmart and outcoach the world that will use every possible gimmick to get whatever it is s/he wants and the games will come to a snail's pace and that is not good for anyone other than that one individual.
Because when it comes down to it, like it or not, other people, like maintenance & field crews, concessionaires, umpires, etc. have lives beyond softball. Tournaments cannot just continue indefinitely into the night and around the clock. This is a fact of life, not some anti-softball scheme. And if you make them choose between family and softball, what do you think most will choose?
Not sure what you are talking violating rules unless you are referring to steeping of the bag, again the on;y reason you are doing that is because the clock has arbitrarily said you don't get another inning to try and come back, well if I can give myself another innings and give the girls a chance why not.
In a perfect world as MTR described we could actually have tournaments with big enough time blocks to finish games to their conclusion but that would mean every tournament would be about cut in half from the current number of teams
- May 17, 2012
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In our huddle last night on the mound we discussed where we were going to go afterwords for ice cream. There was also a brief discussion on if the they sold Skittles at the concession stand. I concluded with throwing out the runner on 1rst that was going to steal 2nd on the next pitch (runner on third, two outs).
We got the runner and solved some other nagging issues (ice cream and Skittles).
Take that Mr. Umpire!
- Jun 24, 2013
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And I see tournament directors that get their feelings hurt when one softball complex schedules tournaments from another organization and then refuses to use that softball complex. I have driven past empty ballfields on the weekends because some TD got his/her feelings hurt that the owner of the softball complex had the audacity to try and schedule atournament on the weekend that they don't have a tourney there. Make use of all the fields and you can eliminate some of the time clock issues.
I NEVER tell a girl to violate the rules. I also do not stall towards the end of a game. Why would stepping off the bag be violating the rules? The rule says if the girl leaves early she is out. It in no way endangers the girl or violates the rule.
I NEVER tell a girl to violate the rules. I also do not stall towards the end of a game. Why would stepping off the bag be violating the rules? The rule says if the girl leaves early she is out. It in no way endangers the girl or violates the rule.
I don't have a problem with a team that steps off to try and get an extra inning or tells the hitter to take a pitch or 2 to try and finish the time. I do have a problem with coaches that goes out for a meaningless conference with 2 minutes left or calls the batter over to tell her to take a pitch. If you are playing in a TB tourney and your team can't get the signs and take a pitch you don't belong there. I would like the umps to have the ability to stop the clock in the last 5 minutes for conferences,etc. A lot of it can be avoided by hustling on the field every inning. I think everyone hates Drop dead time limits. If you do play them, never be the home team if you can avoid it.
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