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Inconsiderate smokers. I was sitting in an area with people that included an infant, a small toddler & a couple other little ones. A very rude man stood right behind us and smoked like a chimney. What a tool! 
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um, cowbells, Massillon, and the random bird that flies over you and you duck from its shadow because you think it's a foul ball.
Oh, and comraderie-ish girls as they are beating you. Okay, you're good, get over it
Oh, and comraderie-ish girls as they are beating you. Okay, you're good, get over it
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The biggest peeve I've developed in the last two years is 'softball snob'...I have really grown tired of reading and hearing about how if you're not invited to this tourney or that tourney or your DD plays for this team or that team or if you don't listen to this coach's school of hitting or this pitching coach your DD isn't good enough. Bullcrap. Girls were excelling at this game befor your organization was in existence or before coach x was getting paid to offer advice...and they will continue to excell long after those thing go away...just enjoy the fact that girls have an opportunity to play at a higher level and love the game and stop making them seem insignificant if they're not playing in your invit tourney...
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The biggest peeve I've developed in the last two years is 'softball snob'...I have really grown tired of reading and hearing about how if you're not invited to this tourney or that tourney or your DD plays for this team or that team or if you don't listen to this coach's school of hitting or this pitching coach your DD isn't good enough. Bullcrap. Girls were excelling at this game befor your organization was in existence or before coach x was getting paid to offer advice...and they will continue to excell long after those thing go away...just enjoy the fact that girls have an opportunity to play at a higher level and love the game and stop making them seem insignificant if they're not playing in your invit tourney...
Hm . . . I'm not at all sure that the OFC discourse is as negative as you describe. There are indeed a handful (ok, maybe a sure one and then some hangers-on) who will expressly challenge whether a player deserves to play the game unless she plays with xyz team or at an A++ level of tournaments. But even those comments are rarely aimed at some specific player. I think the rest of the comments about styles of hitting and pitching, who the better hitting and pitching coaches are, who the better travel team organizations and coaches are, etc. etc. are aimed at getting information out to newbies who have posted questions or are just aimed at giving credit where credit is due. To give someone who asks about quality tournaments your opinion on ones that are considered the best is not the same as saying that a player not participating in any or all of those tournaments is "insignificant". To credit a team that plays well in one of those tournaments is not to say that other teams are "insignificant".
But thank you for your post, because the charge of having too many softball snobs on OFC struck some kind of chord that has made me really think about the issue whether many of us (and especially me) are too snobby. I've opted for the conclusion that, with the exception of that snobby handful, we are just sickly addicted to the game and love to talk about its higher levels of play and instruction, without intending to criticize other levels as creating "insignificant" players.
I know a lot of girls getting at least some money for playing ball in college who never played for the teams or at the tournaments that true softball snobs would insist upon. And more important, I know a lot of girls getting full academic rides that have little if anything to do with their softball experience. I think few of us would characterize those young ladies, or what softball brought to the quality of their lives, as insignificant.
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"Guest" players that STAY on your team! Yes, Susie is a great player but she hasn't PAID, she hasn't spent the entire winter PRACTICING with you and the worst part is she is actually harming your team by throwing her helmet if she strikes out, or gets thrown out...heaven forbid if she pops it up! If she misses a ball while fielding, the head goes down and I think the bottom lip could almost reach the ground....takes 3 more plays for her to get back in the game! Then Susie goes and sits right in front of her mom on a cooler because she needs to be consoled - ARRRRRRGH!! I believe we were short a player 3 weeks ago and now we have too many - hmmmmm, but don't sit Susie, she has to play every minute of every game!!! Glad my kid is an average player who knows the game and I can sit in the outfield and not have to constantly stroke her ego - or that of the coach!
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300 ft fences. It's irritating all the way around, it robs some girls of the HR and also is makes life really difficult for the OF.
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Kids that throw equipment, hang their heads and pout if they make a mistake, and then run to their parents to consol them are a pet peeve of mine too! I just tell myself that down the road, all things being equal, these are the kids that college coaches will "overlook" because of their behavior
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Sounds like you should have a beef with your coach not Susie
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Soounds like he has a beef with both. Coach for keeping Susie and Susie for pouting.
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Yea you're probably right. Over the years we have been with teams that added players in the season, doubt they paid any fees and I have no problem with that. I trust the coach to do whats best for the team. Life is so much better when you don't worry about cr@p like that.
As for kids that act like Susie I blame the parents and coach for not "teaching" her better. I would never tolerate that in my kids because I love them and have never had a coach that would either.
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No apologies necessary. As I said, there are snobs, including the artist formerly known as Dice , who from time to time make explicit and in my opinion wrong statements that suggest playing anything less than top flight national showcases and national tournaments means the kid isn't a real player. And then there is the more nuanced question whether the discussions the rest of us have could be read to imply that the softball experience isn't very important unless the player participates on a well-known travel ball team or in highly competitive state tournaments. I think that nuanced question is very legitimate. I choose to conclude that the perceived implication was not intended by most OFC posters, but I take seriously the point that we need to acknowledge that travel ball at all levels involves quality softball and life experiences for players who are very significant, both in and outside softball.
, who from time to time make explicit and in my opinion wrong statements that suggest playing anything less than top flight national showcases and national tournaments means the kid isn't a real player. And then there is the more nuanced question whether the discussions the rest of us have could be read to imply that the softball experience isn't very important unless the player participates on a well-known travel ball team or in highly competitive state tournaments. I think that nuanced question is very legitimate. I choose to conclude that the perceived implication was not intended by most OFC posters, but I take seriously the point that we need to acknowledge that travel ball at all levels involves quality softball and life experiences for players who are very significant, both in and outside softball.
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Guess my 'beef' is that when Susie was told very nicely by a teammate that she should calm down and not throw her stuff around, she snapped back and told the girl to "Shut Up!" (and no, it wasn't my daughter, and yes, it was loud enough for plenty of parents, spectators AND coaches to hear). To me, Susie should have been sat out for disrespecting her teammate and for giving a 'black eye' to the team - looked like that kind of behavior is tolerated by the whole team/organization. I don't like to cause problems, I too believe that a coach knows what is best for his team, but I don't think that kind of attitude helps any team - no matter how good the player is. (We won more games without her to be honest!)
In all reality, softball is a game and should be FUN. If you bring that much pressure upon yourself (as Susie obviously has), it can't be fun - and you are making those who want to enjoy a well played, high level game re-think if they even want to play...which is very sad.
In all reality, softball is a game and should be FUN. If you bring that much pressure upon yourself (as Susie obviously has), it can't be fun - and you are making those who want to enjoy a well played, high level game re-think if they even want to play...which is very sad.
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No apologies necessary. As I said, there are snobs, including the artist formerly known as Dice
If this site was just read by adults I wouldn't have a problem with the snobs but every time I read one of those asinine posts I cringe at the thought of a child reading it. The snobs seem to be adults lacking in their own worth and ability who HAVE TO live through their kids or risk be nothing. hehe :cap:
Dang, I should probably consider a child reading some of the cr@p I post.
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Not downplaying your concern about the whole situation, but was there anything said at the beginning of the season about bringing in other players? I know some orgs do state that they can bring in players as they see fit. Others say they stick with who they chose to be on the team initially.
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No, our roster was set at 12 players from the beginning of the season. Our first tournament was missing a girl from MI and one who couldn't be there until later in the day....we still had 10 girls to start the tourney with - don't know why we actually needed another girl, but who am I to question the coach. This hasn't cut into my DD's playing time, but I know that it has some other girls, and that isn't right either since we are playing 'exposure' tournaments and some of the original girls are sitting out when the colleges that they want to attend are watching the game -- not a good situation at all as far as I'm concerned. Like I said before, her 'attitude' is what is more maddening that anything else, and I really don't think that we should have 13 players from here on out.
(Guess that's why I've never let my DD be a guest player, unless a coach has specifically asked her and she is absolutely needed. I would hate to have others sit out because DD is there.)
(Guess that's why I've never let my DD be a guest player, unless a coach has specifically asked her and she is absolutely needed. I would hate to have others sit out because DD is there.)
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New #1 Pet Peeve....
Starting Pool Play at 8am on Friday so that the beer league slow pitch games can be played Friday & Sunday evening.
Starting Pool Play at 8am on Friday so that the beer league slow pitch games can be played Friday & Sunday evening.
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Reading a tournament post and not recognizing any of the teams. Are there that many teams out there?
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Pet peeves?
1. Good close games that end in the 4th inning due to time limits. Are we really better than you because we were leading 6-5 after 4??
2. Tournaments that don't allow coolers and outside food. We're all supposed to eat hot dogs, nachos, and Snickers I guess. The lack of healthy food at tournaments is truly deplorable.
3. Weather delays. The tournament director has an obligation to ensure perfect weather during the tournament and it's shocking to me that they don't take this obligation seriously.
1. Good close games that end in the 4th inning due to time limits. Are we really better than you because we were leading 6-5 after 4??
2. Tournaments that don't allow coolers and outside food. We're all supposed to eat hot dogs, nachos, and Snickers I guess. The lack of healthy food at tournaments is truly deplorable.
3. Weather delays. The tournament director has an obligation to ensure perfect weather during the tournament and it's shocking to me that they don't take this obligation seriously.
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300 ft fence fields..
Or even better, this weekend we go through pool play with temporary 200 ft fences then in bracket play and even championship semi's and finals we have no temporary fence and have to defend with 300 ft fence fields. Makes no sense to me..
Or even better, this weekend we go through pool play with temporary 200 ft fences then in bracket play and even championship semi's and finals we have no temporary fence and have to defend with 300 ft fence fields. Makes no sense to me..