Whatever happened to playing with class?

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I have been reading these and I guess I would need way more data before I can really call team dufus coaches a bunch of @holes.

Last year I watched my daughters mostly 11U team blow 9 and 10 run leads. My wife (the coach) was on the verge of an alcer I think after those games. Now those were early season and the team stopped doing that non-sense but it does happen.

In this case I would also agree with some on why the 11U team was playing a 14U team. In the fall you could actually have a 10 year old on the fields with a 14 year 9 month year old girls or even a 15 year old girl. That is just stupid. I have a 10U daughter that could play 12U right now but she is 4'6" and 80 pounds and I will not put her in a game where she WILL be giving up 60-70 pounds to other girls until she has to do it. Coaches need to use common sense.

I also saw an 11U team entered in a tournament this weekend as an 12U "A" team in Michigan and proceed to get beat 11-1, 11-1, 15-1. And I saw two of the teams having girls walk off 3rd to end innings. That coach took an average 10U team from the year before who won one tournament and put them in harms way like that. He is an idiot. He should have entered them as a B team and he would have been put in the 11U pool. Instead he got his team clobbered and did not even show up Sunday for the pool game.

It is a shame that some coaches have so much of their ego attached to wether or not a bunch of young ladies win or lose a softball game.

 

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I have been reading these and I guess I would need way more data before I can really call team dufus coaches a bunch of @holes.

Last year I watched my daughters mostly 11U team blow 9 and 10 run leads. My wife (the coach) was on the verge of an alcer I think after those games. Now those were early season and the team stopped doing that non-sense but it does happen.

In this case I would also agree with some on why the 11U team was playing a 14U team. In the fall you could actually have a 10 year old on the fields with a 14 year 9 month year old girls or even a 15 year old girl. That is just stupid. I have a 10U daughter that could play 12U right now but she is 4'6" and 80 pounds and I will not put her in a game where she WILL be giving up 60-70 pounds to other girls until she has to do it. Coaches need to use common sense.

I also saw an 11U team entered in a tournament this weekend as an 12U "A" team in Michigan and proceed to get beat 11-1, 11-1, 15-1. And I saw two of the teams having girls walk off 3rd to end innings. That coach took an average 10U team from the year before who won one tournament and put them in harms way like that. He is an idiot. He should have entered them as a B team and he would have been put in the 11U pool. Instead he got his team clobbered and did not even show up Sunday for the pool game.

It is a shame that some coaches have so much of their ego attached to wether or not a bunch of young ladies win or lose a softball game.

Surely this guy discussed this with the team before being the tournament, maybe with a disclaimer...;&

Ok, he did it once but would he do it a second time?

 

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Here's what I don't understand... At what point does this become classless? ASA rules state you have to be up by 15 in 3 innings for the mercy rule to take place. The original poster stated going into the 4th inning the score was 16-0. Technically the game should be over right?
At what point does it become classless to win? Granted there is a point in a game where you should dial it down, but really 16-0 is sealing the deal. Afterall, team dufus was only playing the game. I can't stand the mentality that softball is supposed to be fair and equal. There isn't a team out there that hopes their opponent is equal. You practice and practice to be better than the next team.

 

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I don't think it all had to do with the score. He also mentioned that they were pointing and making fun of the younger team. I guess like Charles Barkley they are not role models. JMHO.

 

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Here's what I don't understand... At what point does this become classless? ASA rules state you have to be up by 15 in 3 innings for the mercy rule to take place. The original poster stated going into the 4th inning the score was 16-0. Technically the game should be over right?
At what point does it become classless to win? Granted there is a point in a game where you should dial it down, but really 16-0 is sealing the deal. Afterall, team dufus was only playing the game. I can't stand the mentality that softball is supposed to be fair and equal. There isn't a team out there that hopes their opponent is equal. You practice and practice to be better than the next team.

I don't think it all had to do with the score. He also mentioned that they were pointing and making fun of the younger team. I guess like Charles Barkley they are not role models. JMHO.

Exactly, joboo...the point at which it becomes classless (regardless of the score) is when there is "pointing and laughing" at the other team's mistakes, and "contesting every call".

And yes, HD...it comes around every year, and always will, lol. Because there will be jacka$$ coaches/teams/parents every year.

 

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I would agree with the pointing and laughing. That isn't sportsmen like at all.

 

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We had a team (very big kids) point and make fum of our kids (most very little kids) once. Problem was, they did it before the game started. We beat them for the Championship. One of the most satisfying wins I can remember.

 

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just for conversation 1 team shootmenow shouldn't be in a tourney like that and play up.

just for conversation 2 maybe team dufus has 6 onew players and wants to see what they can do so they are stealing and squezze bunting and gettinging them to get theextra base

just for conversation 3 maybe coach dufus has finally gotten a team that can play and he was sick of getting beat up on for years like a bum on the street and he really doesn't know how to "act like he's been there before"

Really?

 

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I can't believe some of you folks are sticking up for this type of behavior. Did you read the original post about how the winning team behaved and the big difference in talent?
I wouldn't allow my kid to play for a team/coach who allowed his kids to behave like this and if the coach made no effort to call off the dogs. You can't tell me in this scenario that you couldn't tell that you have a superior team and making changes on how you manage the game like not stealing bases, subbing out your pitching, rotating players, and even purposely making outs so the other team can get more at bats.

 

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IMHO you can not ask your kids not to play. They can't not hit when you have been teaching them to, or purposly make errors or outs. Those are habits you do not want your girls to get into. However, You don't have to steal home on passed balls etc... Also, as a coach, you can work your girls on bunting, on left hand hitting, put in a pitcher that is not as effective to give her pitching time etc.. There are ways to still play the game without disrespecting the team you are playing.

 

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As a coach you could even talk with your girls as a learning point and say to them on the bench as play is going on, OK up by this much what would you think we should do here, or now, or what. Teach them sportsmanship and those unrwitten rules and see what they come up with....

 

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We have played teams that are trying to break into the travel world from rec or all star programs and it can get ugly right out of the chute. I am not condoning bad behavior on any part but I agree with Beckham on this.... If you play top comp every weekend and then enter a tourny where a newer/younger/less experienced team has entered and you get them in your pool. It can become a mauling from the get go.

I blame the coach of the younger 11u team as much or more than the team that showed bad sportsmanship........ why in the world would you put your kids in a tourny where your bracket has kids that are 3 to 4 years older. Common sense should have said that looks like it could be a not so good situation for my kids.

As you get older and get into tougher tournies the kids get more aggressive and more vocal........ not for the faint of heart . That 11u team had no business being there in the first place.

This is like placing a second year 14 in a 18u tournie and complaining about the language the older girls used..... Know what your getting yourself and your team into before you make the commitment. I know Im going to get hammerd by the younger coaches and families for this........


Tim

 

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Blaming the 11-U coach is an entirely different issue than the behavior of the older team. Just because the 11-U team might not belong at that tournament does not give license to the older team to do whatever they wish and then be given a free pass from criticism.

The bottom line is that if anyone coaches long enough, they will be on both sides of this type of thing. When you are on the winning side, it is entirely up to you as a coach to determine how your team will behave. If a coach wants to run up the score under the guise of "we have to work on things," or, "it's the other team's fault" for playing us, then by all means, go right ahead, but prepare for an onslaught of well-deserved criticism for having no class.

 

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My dd's team was playing in a 16u tourny at 14u and her team was up by 7 or 8 runs i think when a girl on her team hit a double , at this point it was an advance one bag on a hit situation as per our coach,anyway the girl on second reconized a change-up and stole 3rd,when she got to third our coach asked why did you do that i didnt give the steal sign!!..Young lady replied"sorry coach ,i reconized the change-up and went on instict"...Coach said ???????well you did the correct wrong thing and that was that...Hard to pull the ranes in sometimes.;&
but stealing after your up by 14 is out there.

 

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In Lilron's situation above, yes the player's instincts on the change up were good. At that point, it's up to the coaches to teach the players the unwritten rules of the game. Over time, they will learn.

 

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What a jacka$$!!

I like, short and to the point. Right on too.

 

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We played a team a few weeks ago, who although the girls didn't seem to have any sportsmanship, the parents and coaches did. Pitcher would laugh every time someone would swing and miss at her change, laughing at opposing pitcher, 3rd and pitch had a nice little routine between the two of them. I thought maybe it was just me and my opinion, but other parents noticed it too.

Sportsmanship is so important and I just don't understand why some people don't get it!