As long as it's finish an inning you have the same opportunity. It would be nice to play 7 innings but it's also nice to play more games o you can find the right competition. I imagine UTEP wasn't thinking how great it was the other day that it was supposed to be a 7 inning game.
How many innings does it take?
- Thread starter radness
- Start date
Welcome to Discuss Fastpitch
Your FREE Account is waiting to the Best Softball Community on the Web.
OK,
Umpire here who does high school including JV and travel ball tournaments. I hate time limits but in tournament play we need a limit as 6-8 games per field take a while during pool play.
I prefer 90 minutes finish the inning. Older girls get games completed. Younger girls in a 1:15 usually get 3-4 innings no matter how I try to get some hustle.
I hate drop dead as there are too many coaching tricks to exhaust time limit. In a friendly it is a glorified practice. I even ask if teams want to practice international tie breaker in last inning.
I prefer full games that can last up to 2 hours but for travel tournaments 1:10, 1:15 are not going to give us a 7 inning game average. When the games are planned for 1:30 finish inning I feel most comfortable that the games are the most important.
Hope that helps.
It is about money. More games more teams paying a fee. If is is just against one team 3 games would make zero sense. Most tournaments will have some variance on 75 minutes, drop dead, finish the inning etc. I agree with you playing two seven inning games makes a lot
More sense than 3 4 inning games which is usually what you get. Could have a 3 inning game thrown in there also. 5 innings good luck.
I think it is interesting these timed games, even at 10U I have witnessed coaches us different strategies because they are up or down, hustling in or walking around to kill some time. I like the tournaments that had a time limit and you finished the inning, it felt like more of a game. With the drop dead times, it feels like a scrimmage game and the coaches felt like it was a waste of time and they shut down the scrimmage.
I didn't read all of these comments, because it started just getting into a back and forth.
I agree with Marriard that they shouldn't be called 'gamettes'. It just feels disrespectful.
I agree with RADCatcher that the shorter timed games suck.
Indoors it makes a bit of sense though because there is just limited space to run a tournament. I live in the upper Midwest and we have to play indoors, it's just the way of live.
With all of that said, I'd prefer they structured tournaments based more on age. 12U and under, 75 minutes. 14U 90 minutes. HS divisions 105 minutes. And then maybe you schedule the HS age groups with the 10U one weekend and the 14U and 12U the next weekend. This is more for an indoor tournament option. Once you go outdoors, the field availability should dictate team/timing numbers more.
I agree with Marriard that they shouldn't be called 'gamettes'. It just feels disrespectful.
I agree with RADCatcher that the shorter timed games suck.
Indoors it makes a bit of sense though because there is just limited space to run a tournament. I live in the upper Midwest and we have to play indoors, it's just the way of live.
With all of that said, I'd prefer they structured tournaments based more on age. 12U and under, 75 minutes. 14U 90 minutes. HS divisions 105 minutes. And then maybe you schedule the HS age groups with the 10U one weekend and the 14U and 12U the next weekend. This is more for an indoor tournament option. Once you go outdoors, the field availability should dictate team/timing numbers more.
radness
Possibilities & Opportunities!
- Dec 13, 2019
- 7,270
- 113
What i notice at the extremly shortened games of 75 minutes.
And particularly friendlies where coach tries to get everyone an at bat.
( an at bat = 1 per game....really)
Players realize immediately they will most likely get one at bat in a game. The focus on producing results can be either
Extremely daunting and pressure is on cuz only get 1 chance. Or completely non relevant because well you only get one chance.
Players realize they dont say
'i played a game' they say
'Well i played the whole time but it wasnt a full game.''
Pitchers should develop by facing the same batters again and again to learn how to pitch better the next at bat.
Pitch sequences.
Hitters should develop by facing the same pitcher again to read pitches better...or not be bested next at bat
Pitch sequences.
The defense who may have not gotten very much defense because the pitcher dominated while the batters struggled. And the batters dont get another chance to adjust.
Often teams either start out strong first innings and fizel later on .
While other teams start slower but pick up intesity as the game progresses.
Really super shorter games dont create defining endurance. Or picking up pace controlling tempo later in game.
Often because innings are
( or can be ) consumingly long like 25-30 minutes. Per half an inning...
Watched games that hardly get to finish 3 innings.
For players and coaches Strategy by paying attention to the opposing team becomes almost irrelevant because there is no first half of game to reflect for second half of game.
Playing time for players possibly the biggest issue.
3 friendlies that each game are cut by -15 minutes.
When players already know they 'only get innings of playing time'
( not games played)
15 minutes per game less is a chunk in what could otherwise be playing time.
15 minutes can be about 1 full inning!
Less grounders
Less fly balls
Less runners challenging the defense
Less pitching to batters
Less batters facing pitchers
Less catchers throwing
Most importantly....
LESS GAME TIME SHOULD NOT BE THE GOAL!!!
And for NO GOOD REASON!
And particularly friendlies where coach tries to get everyone an at bat.
( an at bat = 1 per game....really)
Players realize immediately they will most likely get one at bat in a game. The focus on producing results can be either
Extremely daunting and pressure is on cuz only get 1 chance. Or completely non relevant because well you only get one chance.
Players realize they dont say
'i played a game' they say
'Well i played the whole time but it wasnt a full game.''
Pitchers should develop by facing the same batters again and again to learn how to pitch better the next at bat.
Pitch sequences.
Hitters should develop by facing the same pitcher again to read pitches better...or not be bested next at bat
Pitch sequences.
The defense who may have not gotten very much defense because the pitcher dominated while the batters struggled. And the batters dont get another chance to adjust.
Often teams either start out strong first innings and fizel later on .
While other teams start slower but pick up intesity as the game progresses.
Really super shorter games dont create defining endurance. Or picking up pace controlling tempo later in game.
Often because innings are
( or can be ) consumingly long like 25-30 minutes. Per half an inning...
Watched games that hardly get to finish 3 innings.
For players and coaches Strategy by paying attention to the opposing team becomes almost irrelevant because there is no first half of game to reflect for second half of game.
Playing time for players possibly the biggest issue.
3 friendlies that each game are cut by -15 minutes.
When players already know they 'only get innings of playing time'
( not games played)
15 minutes per game less is a chunk in what could otherwise be playing time.
15 minutes can be about 1 full inning!
Less grounders
Less fly balls
Less runners challenging the defense
Less pitching to batters
Less batters facing pitchers
Less catchers throwing
Most importantly....
LESS GAME TIME SHOULD NOT BE THE GOAL!!!
And for NO GOOD REASON!
Last edited:
7 innings matters. Some of the best games I have been part of have been 7 innings. Some of them at the 10U and 12U level. What makes softball and baseball special is there is no clock. You need to get the last 3 outs. Quite frankly even the low run rules bother me. Unfortunately organizations use tournaments as a fundraising mechanism to keep costs low and fund other things like indoor training. As long as that is the case time limits will always be there.
- Dec 21, 2018
- 13
- 3
my suggestion is 3 innings with 7 outs per innings = 21 outs
- Dec 21, 2018
- 13
- 3
my suggestion is 3 innings with 7 outs per inning=
please try to play 3inning with 7 out per inning total out 21. You will have
more grouders
more fly ball
more runners challenging the defense
more pitching to batters
more batters facing pitchers
more catchers throwing
more hits
more plays
in less time
