Why so many early Friday games?

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Question: Why the heck are so many tournament directors starting games so early on Fridays? I wouldn't have as much of a problem with it if the championship games on Sundays were later than 2:00 pm, but usually they aren't. For the "average" family, this is a problem. Not all of us are doctors or small business owners who are able to make our work schedules out around softball. Thankfully I make my own hours, but not everybody does. Is this what sets the "elite" tournaments apart from the "others"? It makes me wonder how the 9-5 parents do it. It isn't fair that they have to miss their kids games and rely on other people to take their kids to the games because they can't get off of work. Just putting this topic out there for discussion. Maybe I'm missing something. Is there a problem with playing late into Sunday evening?

 

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No you are not missing anything. I fully agree. It's impossible to get every Friday off. My daughter's team is going to ASA Nationals in Virginia in August. I took off those days. Now it's just playing it by ear for the rest of the tournaments. The local tourneys my daughter will drive herself to if the game times are while I work. Fortunately the parents on the travel team work together. I have a family that lives by us, so any of our away tournaments are covered by one of us. But I agree, it's not fair for the parent to miss any games. My daughter's coach always makes sure that all of the girls have a way there.

The tournament schedules need to be made "average" family friendly. If they don't have enough hours in the weekend then they need to limit the number of teams like a lot of tournaments do.

 

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The tournaments can be any way they want. Teams have the option to enter or not. If things appear unreasonable (I can't make many friday games either) then the coach can simply not enter those tourneys. Though I share your pain I think as long as teams are entering then there is no reason for them to change.

 

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If you take out Friday play you will have small tournaments with small fields and teams don't want to play those. It is what it is. Be a half glass full parent and be happy you get to see some pool and all the bracket. Some have to work weekends and miss it all. Wouldn't it be nice if tourneys were televised? ha

 

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If you take out Friday play you will have small tournaments with small fields and teams don't want to play those. It is what it is. Be a half glass full parent and be happy you get to see some pool and all the bracket. Some have to work weekends and miss it all. Wouldn't it be nice if tourneys were televised? ha

I have absolutely no problem with Friday play, I think it's great to be able to play in the bigger tournaments with large fields of teams. The problem that I have is starting play at noon on Friday, instead of, say 4 or 5 (this could accommodate a half day vacation); not having any games later than 4:00 on Saturday, then having the championship game at 2:00 on Sunday. I can see where a lot of games could have been played later on Saturday and Sunday. I'm not complaining at all, just trying to understand. It wasn't like that when I played (not too incredibly long ago).

 

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Personally I think Early friday games are rediculous. As a parent I feel it is my duty to be there for every one of my daughters games. We all work hard to be able to pay for the things our kids do. I think just paying for them to be able to participate is not enough. Especially at the younger ages. How do you think the kids feel when mom or dad isnt there to support them. They don't always understand the working world. Most of the tournaments that have early friday games are double elim. If you want a big tournament then either find more fields to use or make them single elim. I feel that every kid has the right to have at least one parent and or grandparent there to support them. If it was truly all about the girls then tournaments should make a strong attempt to accomodate this. As much as we parents (that includes coaches) pay for this thing we call travel ball we have every right to be able to watch our kids play. After all, they are our kids.

 

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I hate having to take off Friday as well, and in fact get thrown under the bus. But you know what, I will be more than glad to take a days less pay to watch my kid play. Trust me no doctor, I'm paid peanuts. I used to have to take unpaid leave off too. However, dd's pitching coach, told me as they get older, expect to take Thursdays off as well, especially for Sparks, St. Louis, Sparkler, etc, and then add nationals. You need a great support staff with those issues and we do. I count my blessings on that.

 

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I hate having to take off Friday as well, and in fact get thrown under the bus. But you know what, I will be more than glad to take a days less pay to watch my kid play. Trust me no doctor, I'm paid peanuts. I used to have to take unpaid leave off too. However, dd's pitching coach, told me as they get older, expect to take Thursdays off as well, especially for Sparks, St. Louis, Sparkler, etc, and then add nationals. You need a great support staff with those issues and we do. I count my blessings on that.

We definitly do have a great support staff. I have two who play travel and the coaches and parents on each team are wonderful. Our kids will always have a way there and we trust everyone on both teams but they are still OUR daughters and we feel both of us need to be there for every game. Unfortunately that is not possib;e with two playing at two different tournaments but at least one of us is always there for each girl. It would just be nice if these tournaments would start Fri eve instead of early Friday.

 

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No win situation.Remember it did rain last year.
Late games friday and it rains:
-be sure you have lights
-be sure only 30 teams or less
-play indoors
-then you can run a 2 day tourney with no changes to format and only have to ajust schedule
-I've seen rain and had a 1 pool play game and then seeded for elimination!
Early games friday and it rains:
-extra 1/2 day to get in games
-no reduction to 50 minute games for example
-no loss of a pool play game-if it rains,wont have to change double elimination to single elimination?
-plan to finish early sunday and have room to spare on time if it rains
-if it doesn't rain,finish early sunday.Sunday is the "if" day in case of rain

Don't get spoiled that rain hasn't dampered it yet this year,it is Ohio?

 

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All of these points are moot if parents can't get there to watch their children.

 

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Personally I think Early friday games are rediculous. As a parent I feel it is my duty to be there for every one of my daughters games. We all work hard to be able to pay for the things our kids do. I think just paying for them to be able to participate is not enough. Especially at the younger ages. How do you think the kids feel when mom or dad isnt there to support them. They don't always understand the working world. Most of the tournaments that have early friday games are double elim. If you want a big tournament then either find more fields to use or make them single elim. I feel that every kid has the right to have at least one parent and or grandparent there to support them. If it was truly all about the girls then tournaments should make a strong attempt to accomodate this. As much as we parents (that includes coaches) pay for this thing we call travel ball we have every right to be able to watch our kids play. After all, they are our kids.

Why don't you get on a team that won't play tournaments that play on Friday or play rec or both? My DD prefers the bigger tournaments, we like the better competition and so we have no problem with Friday starts even if I miss some games. We have 4 tourneys that start on Thursday. So for us it IS about the girls, OUR KIDS, girls that prefer the bigger tournaments with better competition and we don't want it changed for you. We want you to tell your team to go to the smaller tourneys that only play on weekends and we will all be happy.

 

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Good points by everyone. My boss happens to be one of the food ones. He has no children but lets me take off whenever needed for ball. He completely understands what the sport means to my DD and my family. Hopefully y'all are lucky enough to have a boss like that? If not, wish you the best, and I'm sure the kids will understand that there are bills to be paid and the money and sacrifices you r making are for there benefit.

 

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Why don't you get on a team that won't play tournaments that play on Friday or play rec or both? My DD prefers the bigger tournaments, we like the better competition and so we have no problem with Friday starts even if I miss some games. We have 4 tourneys that start on Thursday. So for us it IS about the girls, OUR KIDS, girls that prefer the bigger tournaments with better competition and we don't want it changed for you. We want you to tell your team to go to the smaller tourneys that only play on weekends and we will all be happy.

Musty, I wasn't trying to offend you. My other concern is what if there is an injury or major injury and mom or dad wasn't there? Then what happens? We enjoy going to the bigger tournaments and the better competition howevergetting there on Friday morning isn't that easy. My girls are 9 and 12 and I would feel pretty crappy if something happened to them and My wife or I wasn't there.

 

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Trying to remember Music City Hits in Nashville, Starts Thursday and you need to get there Wednesday to play Thursday and it's not one of those huge Nationals either.... Cool though as it coincides with COuntry Music Week.

 

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The 2pm Sunday championship is a good plan as it allows flexibility if you get rain delays by having a 4-5 hour cushion. Sometimes that is needed. If a TD set the schedule with a late Sunday championship and games are lost due to rain, he would get pilloried here on OFC for poor planning.

 

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Its a no win situation for TD's - if they play later games on Sunday they get slammed by teams saying they are getting home too late on Sunday night. That is especially tre case in the fall and when kids are in school.

I think the point everyone is making that this sport has many, many options. As a family you have to decide what works for you and what doesn't. If you simply can't make the events that start early then there are evnets that are weekend only. If your family can, and wants to play the weeklong events there are plenty of those around as well. As with everything in life there are choices that have to be made and not all of them are always popular.

 

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The 2pm Sunday championship is a good plan as it allows flexibility if you get rain delays by having a 4-5 hour cushion. Sometimes that is needed. If a TD set the schedule with a late Sunday championship and games are lost due to rain, he would get pilloried here on OFC for poor planning.

Well done Mad_Hornet - see old guys like me can still learn something on these forums -

PILLORIED - A wooden framework on a post, with holes for the head and hands, in which offenders were formerly locked to be exposed to public scorn as punishment. I thought that was just being placed in the stocks!!!

 

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We've had this conversation before: http://www.thesoftballzone.com/vb3/...sing-move-early-friday-play-implications.html

If the tournament is an ASA/USA qualifier run under the authority of Ohio ASA, there can be no limit on the teams that enter and there is usually a deadline for entry as short as seven days before the tournament.

If the tournament is a college showcase, most college coaches attend Friday and Saturday yet still want the showcase to have a large draw so that it is worth the college's time to come.

But as my opening post on the thread above shows, I have significant concerns about all this Friday play for smaller tournaments. And I truly wish that playing a really competitive schedule didn't mean that parents either have to miss a day of work or miss seeing games. (BTW, I think for some players there is value in playing a few games without parents there; sometimes parents don't realize how much their behavior and communications ratchet up the pressure and nerves for the player).

 

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But as my opening post on the thread above shows, I have significant concerns about all this Friday play for smaller tournaments. And I truly wish that playing a really competitive schedule didn't mean that parents either have to miss a day of work or miss seeing games. (BTW, I think for some players there is value in playing a few games without parents there; sometimes parents don't realize how much their behavior and communications ratchet up the pressure and nerves for the player).

Agreed, coaches work too, and my employer schedules vacation and personal time at the beginning of the year, everything else is sick time.

 

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Musty, I wasn't trying to offend you. My other concern is what if there is an injury or major injury and mom or dad wasn't there? Then what happens? We enjoy going to the bigger tournaments and the better competition howevergetting there on Friday morning isn't that easy. My girls are 9 and 12 and I would feel pretty crappy if something happened to them and My wife or I wasn't there.

No offense taken but you can be "truly about the girls" and play on Fridays. My point was there are options to not play on Friday so lets not attack the ones that want to. For me playing in the bigger, better tournaments but having to play on Friday or even Thursday is worth it. I understand wanting to be there, especially at the younger ages. Teams are extended families and I have seen it where a young girl gets injured with no parents there and the other parents step up and take the roll. I know it's not ideal but it works pretty good. I bet OFC'ers have some great stories about another parent stepping up and helping their kid in need.