What would you expect coaches/tournament directors to do differently when we return back to play

[BlaineAB]

This is the one big catch to not having tournaments. At 16U and above, players want to get in front of coaches, and coaches only have so much time to watch games. The tournament format definitely works for them.


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And for me, some of the coaches are a part of the problem. On the one hand, they say they don't like showcase game lengths, would rather the players play a full game, but doing that means just two games a day (in theory).

As an umpire, I don't like showcase games, as the rules are really relaxed. We just call balls/strikes, fair/foul, safe/out.

 

[radness]

This is the one big catch to not having tournaments. At 16U and above, players want to get in front of coaches, and coaches only have so much time to watch games. The tournament format definitely works for them.


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Good point.
Small recruitment window too!

 

[marriard]

Fair point. What about some sort of ranking system/accumulation of points like cycling does for Cat 3, Cat 2 and Cat 1 riders?
Could take some of the politics out of it.

Yeah, been through this before. There are just so many sanctions and teams and areas and none of them play nice together.

Even if you tried within a state - and people have tried - any sort of real comparison would be a mess. They try this for HS using MaxPreps which has the advantage of one org per state which gives them somewhat of a strength of schedule factor and it is still total garbage.

 

[The Man In Blue]

And for me, some of the coaches are a part of the problem. On the one hand, they say they don't like showcase game lengths, would rather the players play a full game, but doing that means just two games a day (in theory).

As an umpire, I don't like showcase games, as the rules are really relaxed. We just call balls/strikes, fair/foul, safe/out.

I really don't mind showcase games for the most part. I wouldn't want to do them all the time, but the relaxed atmosphere is a nice change of pace.

Where that goes off the rails is with the coaches who decide in the middle of the game that they have a chance to win and NOW want to be competitive and enforce rules. Coach, it is a showcase of player talents, not your coaching.

 

[YOCOACH]

Have you met other people? Honest assessment isn't one of their strong points - especially of their own DD. And accepting an honest assessment - that isn't a strong point either. And people agreeing with each other.... yeah...

It always devolves rapidly into a have and have-nots and some version of the 'old boys club'

There, I fixed it for ya!

 

[BrianTx01]

I am sure some of y'all have older kids but my DD is 11 and plays 12U and the idea of playing with no parents and social distance dugouts is crazy. Softball is a social sport. That is at least 50% of the reason most of the girls play. They love to hang out with their friends. I think the right call is to wait to things calm down a little in your respective area and then institute common sense measures like eliminating the post game hand shake for the time being.

I also agree with the outdoor practices but the problem is the cities control most of the fields while private individuals control most of the indoor facilities. Unfortunately, it is likely we will see a lot of indoor practices before we see dirt time.

 

[Kfeltner]

For the sake of this discussion, assume that we return back to play in mid May-June 1st. I understand that may not be possible but I would rather not discuss when we are returning.

What would you expect or like to see coaches and tournament directors implement to reduce the likelihood of spreading the virus?

A few ideas;

Each team gets their own balls. Could limit the transfer of the disease from one team to the other. Clean the balls between innings.

Clean dugouts between games. I am talking disinfecting the dugouts. Similar to what you see the workers at Costco doing to their shopping carts. If you have not seen it they are using a sprayer with some kind of disinfectant. You would have to schedule games further apart to do this.

No sharing of softball equipment. Including bats.

One of the bigger issues I would see is the bathrooms. This would be an issue, especially if they are using portable toilets.

Limit the number of spectators. This would suck but it should help to an extent. 1 parent per player, no siblings. Sounds shitty but if that is what it takes it can be done.

I like the parent thing. Bathrooms is the problem and kids being kids around each other.