Midnight Madness...What am I doing?

[Down and Out]

They made me do it!

The girls (12u) wanted to play in this Midnight Madness Tournament, so I signed us up. I don't think any of them have ever stayed up till midnight, so I don't think they know what they are in for.

Pool games start at midnight on Friday and continue through the night. There will be a section in the outfield, past a temporary fence, for tents & camping. Sounds like it will be the biggest slumber party in the world.

Has anybody ever played in one of these?
Do you try to feed them between games to keep their energy levels up?
Do you try to sleep between games?
Do you get them to sleep during the day before the tournament?

I think I am going to assign one of the girls to be the coach. She can do the lineups, she can pick one of the other girls to coach 1st base. The catcher can call her own pitches. I'm just going to stay in the motorhome in the parking lot.

"Good game girls! It's 1:30am now, be back here at 3:00am for the next one..." Good Grief.

 

[hillbily75]

sounds like a bast to me.... were do we sign up

 

[GOINGDEEP]

I wish all the tournaments in the summer started at midnight and took a break from 2-7, then resumed play. It would be a lot cooler.

 

[starsnuffer]

Just have fun. That's the best age to do those kinds of tournaments. The last one we went to was a Halloween midnight madness. The facility had an indoor soccer arena that they used as a "campground". They also had plenty of games, like a shooting gallery (players had to pitch/throw instead of "shooting") scavenger hunt, and other skill events. I remember they even had a coffin on wheels that they used on the main field during a pitcher change (new pitcher rolled out in the coffin, old pitcher rolled back in).

My advice is to sleep in the day before, maybe even have a nap. The kids will find a way to keep themselves motivated.

-W

 

[RichK]

Hate to be a grump, but haven't enjoyed midnight madness tournaments....girls tend to get foggy and then crash, parents about 3am are like WTF are we doing this, etc....better option if you need an all-nighter is a lock-in where a few volunteers oversee the kids until they fall asleep and the parents (and coaches) can be home in bed, lol!

Wish you best of luck :>

 

[Amy in AZ.]

It sounds like fun. It would be my luck that bad weather would hit, in the middle of the night, though.

 

[Down and Out]

I've heard some teams love it - can't wait to do it again next year, others hate it - would never do it again! Personally, I haven't seen the ball drop on New Years Eve in over 10 years. I cannot see concentration levels be very good at 3:00 am. At least not mine.

 

[42'sdad]

Sounds like a blast, I'm sure the girls will love it!! Does anyone know of any of these "midnight madness" tournaments in the midwest? I would be interested in taking our team to one.

 

[MsDinosaur]

With all the weeks we had with temps in the 100s every day this summer, playing at night sounds pretty nice. It's only been mid-eighties today--feels cold, but good!

 

[roscoe545]

42'sdad, it looks like the Illinois Bash program hosts a bunch of them over winter indoors.
I don't see any dates on their website yet for this winter, but they get a great turnout.
Sounds like a blast to me, but I think I have a few screws loose!!