What would be the right game time length in travel ball?

[JayW]

In pgf we often play 80 min finish in pool play and full 7 in bracket. It really separates real teams that have a pitching staff from teams that ride 1 good pitcher until her arm falls off


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arm falling off good practice for the wcws

 

[Rolling Hard]

On this subject, if coaches did a better job of preparing their teams to be ready at the end of an inning you can get a lot more innings in. Make sure
you communicate changes, get your catcher off base with 2 outs,etc.

If umps are instructed to help move the game along, it helps too. Pet peeve of mine is the ump nonchalantly talking to a coach, parent or other ump between innings. Catcher announces "coming down." And they keep talking like we got all day.
Another thing that can help:
Have your players ready to go, in the dugout during the plate meeting. Generally during friendlies teams get 10 minutes to switch fields and grab a quick bite. When the ump calls the coaches to the plate, that needs to be the time your players get into the dugout. Too many times I have seen the coach come out of plate meeting and says "we are in the field" and the players are still in the stands eating and talking. By the time the first pitch of the game is thrown, 5 or 6 minutes of the game clock has expired. The ump generally starts the clock immediately after the plate meeting.

 

[canyonjoe]

If umps are instructed to help move the game along, it helps too. Pet peeve of mine is the ump nonchalantly talking to a coach, parent or other ump between innings. Catcher announces "coming down." And they keep talking like we got all day.
Another thing that can help:
Have your players ready to go, in the dugout during the plate meeting. Generally during friendlies teams get 10 minutes to switch fields and grab a quick bite. When the ump calls the coaches to the plate, that needs to be the time your players get into the dugout. Too many times I have seen the coach come out of plate meeting and says "we are in the field" and the players are still in the stands eating and talking. By the time the first pitch of the game is thrown, 5 or 6 minutes of the game clock has expired. The ump generally starts the clock immediately after the plate meeting.

it's tough between games when you play back to back or have to move fields, but during the game it's not. I remember a team who had a dominant pitcher who would stall from the start of the game. They took forever to go out between innings and never had on deck batters ready,etc. However, most teams that take a lot of times just aren't prepared.

 

[Lobster Birch]

Impossible to run a tournament with games running consecutively on the same fields without time limits.

Not impossible. The Canada Cup is a big tournament up in Vancouver that has all 7 inning games.

 

[JayW]

Not impossible. The Canada Cup is a big tournament up in Vancouver that has all 7 inning games.

ok. I’ll play. Olympics. WCWS. SEC Tournament.

Looks like the Canada Cup lasts at least a week.

But I think we’re generally talking about youth tournaments played on Saturday and Sunday. First post specifically says travel ball. apples and oranges.

 

[Rick M]

In my experience, a typical 80 to 90 minute game gets you into the 5th or 6th inning. I understand that tournaments need to plan their schedules in advance, but how hard is it to give the games two hours? It would result in two fewer games per field on a typical day, but would allow the teams to play a ‘real’ game.

Then it comes down to money. Fewer games per day means less teams, which translates to more cost per team. Are teams willing to pay a premium for a full game? My guess is probably not.


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[tomorrow]

Does that mean that younger ages bring in more cash? or is the same amount just that older ages pay more?

 

[_MIA_]

Does that mean that younger ages bring in more cash? or is the same amount just that older ages pay more?

In a lot of tournaments the older age groups have higher entry fees.

 

[YOCOACH]

Let's be honest, the rules of the game are meant to be for a 7 inning game. I would LOVE to play a tournament like that. However, the TD would need to charge an arm and a leg for it and limit the number of teams or get a large number of fields/facilites. That said, around my area, the average is 70 or 75 minutes finish the inning.

 

[_MIA_]

Let's be honest, the rules of the game are meant to be for a 7 inning game.

Which ones are specifically targeted for 7 innings?