Friendlies, Scrimmages

The teams are not being diluted by showcase ball, the teams are being diluted by the fact there are tooooooooo many teams w/ too many bad coaches and struggling players because of it. Just because a kid is an athlete does not make them a softball player. There has to be some affinity for softball. Too many of these "local" teams have kids that are great athletes and great kids. Just don't have the "ball" skills. Add to that a coach more worried about getting kids seen than teaching fundamentals (at an earlier age), and you have a recipe for failure.
Coaches, take the time to learn how to teach your kids PROPERLY and how to market them properly. Any coach or kid NOT trying to win regardless of the situation is in it for all the wrong reasons.

Now Phreak, you get on this no time limit/winning is all thing every year and while i AGREE that i would LOVE to see more competition tournaments, there is a place for showcase ball. And it's all a matter of what's more important to you. BUT EVERY college coach i've talked to wants the time limit stuff so they can know that when they go to a set field at a set time they will see the kid they want to see. That's the bottom line for a showcase. Even in a big time showcase that has added a single or double elimination, you will see most of the colleges leave Sunday morning instead of watching. If they do stay it's to actually talk to a particular kid.

As for "friendlies", it's a great idea....however you're living in a fantasy world if you don't think a "top ten" tourney would not ruffle ALOT of feathers. "my team wasn't invited so we'll start another different one and invite our own teams" on down the line to we're at the same point you're complaining about w/ the showcases. So now where do the colleges go? Oh it'll be to the "friendlies" that the Cardinals, the Blues, the Challengers, the Flames, the Wildcats have.....so what about the rest of the players....endless cycle....endless cycle....

I worked the score board at several games and saw some of the stuff you did, but it is what it is. The best thing i can say about it is that it shows the character of the coach AND the players.

Here's my scenario...actually saw this happen this weekend. Team A is up 5-1, top 5, about 10 mins. left in game. Team B gets a rally going...runner's on 2nd & 3rd no outs...8 mins. left....2 runs score, then another....6 mins. left.....5-4....coach could have stalled...could have called timeout, changed pitchers, catchers, anything to stall, but no that coach i assumed wanted to win the right way, and played like he had the rest of the game...another hit...tied game...finally got out of it...3 mins. left....coach of team B calls his kids together going out, tells a different kid to get suited up to catch...does EVERYTHING to slow down the inning changing process until....time is up...Told me everything i needed to know about both coaches.

On a side note (an observation). I saw what i think is way too many young pitchers (13 & 14) throwing way too many curveballs. I know the mechanics are different but we're already seeing over use injuries to pitchers that we used to not see. So are all these curveballs (behind the auspice of doing what it takes to win) hurting these young pitchers? Just a thought.

 

I agree with those points. And they are part of the reason for the dilution. There is a place for showcase, but not every weekend.

You may have hit on something about the coaches not watching on Sunday. Maybe they could have the showcase games on Saturday and the real competition on Sunday. I bet more coaches would hang around Sunday.

As far as ruffling feathers and forming your own gig, that's not so bad. Maybe leagues would form. Maybe teams would get more competitive. Sounds good to me.

 

No that is my point. Dynamite's has had a single elimination for years and the coaches know it, AND could care less. If they didn't want showcases done that way, then they wouldn't be done that way. Problem is there is too many tounaments called "showcases".

 

Questions?

Why can't you just make the games with a longer time limit...say 1:30 or 1:45. With a drop dead of 1:15 some of the bottom hitters may only get to bat once (if that happens every game those girls get only 4-6 at bats per tournament) At least you would have a chance of finishing a game. The friendlys are nice but how do you decide who to invite? Just wondering how did the college coaches respond to the friendlys?