No Softball in Illinois this Summer?

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May 29, 2015
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We were in that one. They gave us a full refund of $650. They were indeed not charging gate. That was a “good to great” move, here is why.

I always like that tournament except they wouldn’t open the back gates ( I asked them to three years in a row) and it was a long walk to the back fields. It was too long of a walk especially for older people. I don’t know what it was about the people they had working the one gate you could go through but I have never been on a team where the parents and coaches didn’t complain about those old bats.

Opening up the gates on both ends and getting rid of the gate ladies makes that a much better tournament.

I was reading that literally as "old [softball] bats" and it took me a few times. Duh! :p

Be nice, those old bats bought me donuts for throwing Legendary Larry out of a game! They really are some nice old ladies. I've seen both sides of them though, even as parent before I worked up there. I gave them some grief one morning because they wouldn't let me bring my coffee mug in. I asked if they served coffee, because I would happily buy it from them if they did. They did not (at that point in time anyway), but still would not let me take it in. So I sat out there for about 15 minutes and finished my coffee with them. Talk to them and they are nice, be an rear to them ... well, you get what you give. They put up with A LOT of crap. (Some of which is self-inflicted.)

I'm not sure what "back gates" you are referring to. Maybe I never paid attention. The only entrances that I know of are on both sides of "the front" (near the parking lots, away from the highway). You can come in on the park side or the high school side. The only other entrance I know of comes in through the umpire area.


As far as walking, that is one thing that I really admire up there: their shuttle service for senior citizens or individuals with disabilities. They could do a little better job by giving them radios to be summoned, but I always thought they did an admirable job continually going back and forth, particularly shuttling folks to the back quad.
 
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Mar 15, 2013
67
8
I will say Wisconsin is getting hit by Illinois people coming in to eat and drink and just hang out. The border counties cases are going up.
 
May 29, 2015
3,731
113
I will say Wisconsin is getting hit by Illinois people coming in to eat and drink and just hang out. The border counties cases are going up.

That does not surprise me one bit. That is the problem we will see down the road. Sports tournaments and any activity that encourages travel to congregate are a part of that.
 
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May 29, 2015
3,731
113
I would agree with only one small caveat.

You should never let you lead-off hitter bat again because she struck out the first time against a pitcher she had never seen before.

I’ll just agree to disagree before I go too far off the track ... er diamond. ;)
 
Apr 28, 2014
2,316
113
You should never let you lead-off hitter bat again because she struck out the first time against a pitcher she had never seen before.

I’ll just agree to disagree before I go too far off the track ... er diamond. ;)
Gotcha
She's an amateur and he cost 40 million jobs.
He doesn't have the convenience of getting things that wrong ;)
I'm done too.. it's really not even an argument
 
Dec 11, 2010
4,713
113
I was reading that literally as "old [softball] bats" and it took me a few times. Duh! :p

Be nice, those old bats bought me donuts for throwing Legendary Larry out of a game! They really are some nice old ladies. I've seen both sides of them though, even as parent before I worked up there. I gave them some grief one morning because they wouldn't let me bring my coffee mug in. I asked if they served coffee, because I would happily buy it from them if they did. They did not (at that point in time anyway), but still would not let me take it in. So I sat out there for about 15 minutes and finished my coffee with them. Talk to them and they are nice, be an rear to them ... well, you get what you give. They put up with A LOT of crap. (Some of which is self-inflicted.)

I'm not sure what "back gates" you are referring to. Maybe I never paid attention. The only entrances that I know of are on both sides of "the front" (near the parking lots, away from the highway). You can come in on the park side or the high school side. The only other entrance I know of comes in through the umpire area.


As far as walking, that is one thing that I really admire up there: their shuttle service for senior citizens or individuals with disabilities. They could do a little better job by giving them radios to be summoned, but I always thought they did an admirable job continually going back and forth, particularly shuttling folks to the back quad.

The little old gate ladies take a lot of grief from WHO exactly? That makes zero sense.

How about this, ladies? How about everyone is sick of getting complaints about you so your phoney baloney job is now gone. You have been replaced by a nominal fee. Buh Bye.
 
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Jun 6, 2016
2,714
113
Chicago
Phase 3 Guidelines were posted today.


Scroll down to the Youth Sports section. Practices are allowed, though there are some restrictions/limitations (nothing too difficult to implement I don't think).
 
May 29, 2015
3,731
113
The little old gate ladies take a lot of grief from WHO exactly? That makes zero sense.

How about this, ladies? How about everyone is sick of getting complaints about you so your phoney baloney job is now gone. You have been replaced by a nominal fee. Buh Bye.


They take crap constantly ... as I said, I gave them crap once myself.

Maybe it is the state of the world now, but my opinion on giving a minimum wage staffer or volunteer heck just because you don't like it or didn't get your way has changed. I highly doubt any of them went out of their way to pick a fight with customer. I would bet 100% of all those altercations starts with "You can't ..." and then the fan/coach acting like a fool. Again, I know I did.

The elimination of the gate fees was a selling point for their tournaments (like many places, their registrations this past year were notably down compared to past years), not a reaction to "We're sick of listening to self-entitled people who didn't get their way when they were trying to scam their way past the gate, or wanted to bring their kitchen refrigerator-sized cooler in, or were mad they couldn't bring their dog in."

Honestly, if an aggrieved parent came to you and complained about your employee (who you know is dealing with The Public) ... whose side of the story are you going to believe? You are going to try to satiate the customer, but I would hope you are not going to throw the employee under the bus.

I'm not saying they couldn't have been a little more flexible or worked a little better with people ... I'm saying they put up with a lot and, in my experience, they were a "get what you give" bunch. Softball parents and coaches have been to enough of these things that NONE of this is new and NONE of this is a surprise and there is NO reason to act hostile towards people working a menial job. They are not proxy-punching bags for all that is wrong in your life that morning. Being a donkey to the folks at the gate says more about your character than their practices. (And, again, YES, I was that guy at one point in my life too.)

Just like a coach who is a donkey to an umpire. Oh yeah, that's always the umpire's fault too.
 
Dec 11, 2010
4,713
113
They take crap constantly ... as I said, I gave them crap once myself.

Maybe it is the state of the world now, but my opinion on giving a minimum wage staffer or volunteer heck just because you don't like it or didn't get your way has changed. I highly doubt any of them went out of their way to pick a fight with customer. I would bet 100% of all those altercations starts with "You can't ..." and then the fan/coach acting like a fool. Again, I know I did.

The elimination of the gate fees was a selling point for their tournaments (like many places, their registrations this past year were notably down compared to past years), not a reaction to "We're sick of listening to self-entitled people who didn't get their way when they were trying to scam their way past the gate, or wanted to bring their kitchen refrigerator-sized cooler in, or were mad they couldn't bring their dog in."

Honestly, if an aggrieved parent came to you and complained about your employee (who you know is dealing with The Public) ... whose side of the story are you going to believe? You are going to try to satiate the customer, but I would hope you are not going to throw the employee under the bus.

I'm not saying they couldn't have been a little more flexible or worked a little better with people ... I'm saying they put up with a lot and, in my experience, they were a "get what you give" bunch. Softball parents and coaches have been to enough of these things that NONE of this is new and NONE of this is a surprise and there is NO reason to act hostile towards people working a menial job. They are not proxy-punching bags for all that is wrong in your life that morning. Being a donkey to the folks at the gate says more about your character than their practices. (And, again, YES, I was that guy at one point in my life too.)

Just like a coach who is a donkey to an umpire. Oh yeah, that's always the umpire's fault too.
I agree with everything in this post. I’ve been the employee taking b.s., I’ve been the supervisor of employees that were being wronged and I’ve been the supervisor of employees that I had to say “hey man, maybe next time you could try _____________“ while thinking to myself “because what you did made them want to kick your rear,” lol

Yet Champion Fields is the only place I can ever remember people of all types complaining about the gate people. Think about that- the people taking money at the GATE are causing beefs? Tournaments pretty much all have the same rules but this one venue is known for it? I‘m a coach, (never even been warned in a game, Thanks), I don’t pull a wagon, don’t have a cooler, my players carry buckets so I’m going in, holding up my creds with a backpack on and I get hassled trying to get in? They have to closely inspect my creds etc? Please. They were the problem. Not the gate people in Decatur, not the gate people in St. Charles, not Chattanooga, not the ones in Colorado, not the ones in Moline, not the ones in Texas, not the ones in Georgia, not the ones in......... It was the poor, poor little victims of the public in Bloomington. Nah. Not buying it.
 
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