GAME TIME LIMITS

Huh ???

Okay !!!!

 

I have only seen "drop dead" time limits in showcase tournaments.

 

There are only so many minutes in a weekend, and so many fields in a complex. I understand the need for time limits. I don't think this is limited to showcase situations, either, because you need to be able to plan when you will have time to eat, and how much time, etc. I definitely do not think that time limits are all about Tournament Organizer greed.

However, I also think that 1:15 is too short for a bracket game (I remember my DD's first-ever travel game that only went two innings due to a 1 hour 5 minute drop dead), that drop-dead does a disservice to everyone, and that umpires who won't follow the rules (that state that the inning begins with the last out of the previous inning) are all issues that should be addressed.

 

Time limits

I dislike time limits but if the home team is decided before game, dugouts are assigned, rules are clear prior to start of tourney and you hustle on and off field, most seven innings games can finish in 1:20. Sure I have seen many delays to run out time clock. Twice last fall teams delayed the game to tie us! The umpire finally stepped in and made them play and would not allow their coach to come out of dugout. However, the better quality teams and tournaments we all play, the less likely for that to happen. The Carolina teams are capable of beating anyone so we should avoid the temptation to delay, I almost lost two games and did lose one for making my kids hustle with just a couple minutes to go but I want them to play hard every minute and understand it is our job to hold on to a lead and to be smart. In Showcase ball, I want every inning possible and want to bat first all the time! Girls on stage as much as possible is the way to go.

 

Thats Class!

.... If Mrs. Marlin and I were looking for a team for our children, we'd hope to find a coach that, win or lose, maximizes his kids opportunity on the field.
Props to Abbey for a great post!

 

Screw the college coaches. It should be about the girls getting to play some &*%# softball. If a girl is good enough to play in college she will be seen. 1 hour 30 minutes should be the minimum

 

Guru, you nailed it on showcase tournaments. The kids need to "play to win" because the college recruiters want to see that intensity out of the players they are looking at, it falls under the "intangibles" that they, the coaches, consider when evaluating a player.
I think parents and some team coaches get too hung up on winning a trophy and this starts at the younger ages. Ages 8 through 14 is really just about getting better and developing a players skills. 16 to 18 is about promoting the players that want to play at the next level.
Now about showcase tournaments... My DD played in one this fall that all they did for position players was run 20 yds (60'). I thought what kind of "evaluation is that? Pitchers and catchers got a little more work, but there was no fielding or hitting. Also there were no college coaches, that I saw, watching all of the girls. Having gone through the showcase deal with my son playing baseball, I think I have a good idea of what a showcase should be... and that sure wasn't it!
If a tournament is going to be "sold" as a showcase then the organizers need to list what colleges have been represented in the past and which ones are expected to be present at the upcoming one. If there are less than five schools being represented, then that ain't no showcase! If they are going to do individual evaluations, then they need to do them fully and allow each player to show her strengths. These evaluations should not be done while games are being played. This will give the college coaches a chance to focus on the players individually, then they can follow up on how they do in the games.
Example... "Betty Boop" can mash, but all she did in the individual workouts was run sixty feet... and Betty doesn't have rockets in her back pockets! Now her only chance to "showcase" herself is in the games. All the team coaches know that Betty can mash so they pitch around her cause they are tryin' to win that trophy. Betty has shown the college folks absolutely nothing and has wasted a lot of time and money!
There has been talk at times about some of the baseball showcases being "all about the money" and there are some that a player can waste a lot of money attending, but the communication between folks, like here on TBR, quickly sorts out the good from the greedy! Hopefully, this will become more prevalent here on the softball board so that the girls that deserve to be seen will get the best opportunities to let the college coaches see what they've got.
One other note on showcasing. Players, and especially parents, need to be realistic about their talent. Just like in baseball, there are going to be players and their parents that think they are a big time talent when it just isn't so. They will bad mouth the showcase people because they didn't get offers from State U. after they attended a showcase when, in reality, they have marginal skills at best. This can be difficult after many years of travel ball and/or dominating the local league. It' the reality though that each player must face. To give you a number to think about... of 134,477 Senior high school base ball players there were only 8,219 freshman slots available at the college level (I don't have the stats for softball, but I'm sure it's comparable). That means 0.06 of HS players play in college... it ain't easy!

 

This part is the only thing I have to disagree with. I think the opposite that parents and some coaches to to caught up in "getting the girls seen'' and forget the most important thing is letting them have fun. If they have fun and are good enough thet will be seen. It don't take a genius to see what most of the girls want. They love winning a tournament and getting a trophy. not as much the trophy as it is just winning it. I see them all the time jumping up and down happy when they win a tournament and many cry when they lose it. You never see that kind of excitement and emotion just because a college coach was there and saw them. I remember one time we picked up a girl for the weekend and we happened to win the tournament 18u. We got our trophies and were taking pictures and the girl we picked up was crying. I ask her what was wrong and she said she was so happy. she said I've played all my life but never on a real good team and this was the first trophy she had ever got. she wouldn't have traded it for any coach seeing her. We adults try to force our wants on our kids thinking they want that too. While most do want to play in college they are still kids and winning a tournament whether it be for the trophy or just for the fact of winning that is the most important thing for most of them. There are some exceptions but they are not the majority. We never bought into the showcase mind frame with but just played in tournaments to win and most of our girls who wanted to play in college got the opportunity
As for time limits I don't like them but they are necessary but I agree hour and a half should be the shortest. These one hour ten minutes are a joke

 

I agree with you Reporter. Having fun is the most important part. From what I have heard from parents 2who have girls playing in college the money helps, but it is marginal. One of the showcases we played in this summer was such as joke, one of the coaches had to tell the recruiting service people how to clock a pitcher's speed. The running times were messed up. I really question how reliable they are. I did see the college coaches there, but they seemed to mainly come and watch girls they probably already knew.

 

That's the feeling I've had when talking to some of the players. They want to compete full effort individually and as a team. They want to win and they want to do everything it takes to win.

When that all-out competition is diminished in any way it leaves them a little empty; bored even sometimes. It leaves them with the question that was asked during one of the conversations I had with a player during a tournament: What for?

There are simply too many tournaments lately that are not fully competitive. The primary thought is "being seen" by a college coach.

If "being seen" by a college coach is the primary goal there are many other ways. Some of the other ways are much better, in fact. Go to the clinics of the coaches you're interested in. I don't believe there is a more thorough way of being seen. For instance, go to one of Donna Papa's clinics. You will be seen by one of the best. Not to mention the other schools that are usually there assisting.

I would like to see a return to more competitive ball and let the chips fall where they may. We need far fewer "showcase" tournaments. We need to play ball!!