This is one of the many problems with time limits in a sport that wasn't designed for them. Unfortunately they're a reality.
Yes they are and I understand why.
This is one of the many problems with time limits in a sport that wasn't designed for them. Unfortunately they're a reality.
Maybe if your goal isn't to get as many girls up to bat as possible, you shouldn't be in a showcase. Go find a "competitive" 18U tournament. I don't know who these guys were, or what their motivation was, I just know it isn't how I was taught, or how I have taught my daughter to play. I am not "coaching" your team, but asking you to hustle between innings enough to get a decent well paced game in on time. Seems reasonable to me.
If they're going to have drop dead time limits, they should have strictly-enforced time limits between innings. Watch how fast she gets that gear on if the umpire starts calling an automatic ball every 10 seconds after the allotted minute (or whatever) for warmups has elapsed.
Where that argument fails for me, as a coach, is the utter lack of respect it demonstrates for your own players. You're telling your players you don't believe in them. You're telling them that without playing silly games with the time limit, you don't think they can win. You're telling your players you didn't do a good enough job preparing them to win the game on the field, so now you have to resort to clock games to try to eke out a win.
I'm not really sure how a coach could face his/her players after pulling stunts like that, and I know as a player I'd lose all respect for a coach who played these kinds of games.
Hmmm. Maybe that coach is actually showing an unwavering amount of respect for his players by using the rules provided to him to limit the amount of innings his pitchers, catchers, and other players have to play in a day when they are going to have to play 20+ already. Travel softball is the only place they will have to do that....and they do it every weekend. And he does that despite having to hear from those high and mighty folks that he is disrespecting his kids.