From the Dugout: Managing Disappointment

Sept. 1, 2020

By Terry Hennessy
SSUSA CEO

Disappointment, whether you are 5 or 50 years old, feels lousy.  Depending on the importance of the situation, it can be devastating.

When we sent out notifications of change for the first three World Masters Championships sessions, we were disappointed not to be able to do the tournament in Las Vegas – we knew players and their spouses and friends looked forward to coming to Las Vegas all year.

Fortunately, we found good alternative sites in St. George, Utah,  and Kingman, Az., and we could do those sessions on the same dates.

The fourth session (50 Men and Women) was much harder.

We kept hearing that the Nevada governor might be opening fields for tournaments for groups with proven Pandemic Protocols.  Fortunately, we had used our protocols successfully in more than 20 tournaments throughout the country – so we were optimistic.

We knew, however, that the clock was ticking.

If the fields in Las Vegas weren’t open by the first week of October, we needed a backup plan.

We checked cities with enough fields that were close on the same dates: nothing was open.  Then we went further out, trying to keep the same dates: no cities with enough fields were open.

We then asked these cities for any dates in October.

Fortunately, Mesa/Glendale in the Phoenix area had three 4-plexes and one 6-plex on the last weekend of October.

We realize the change in both dates and location for the 50 Division is very disappointing because it entails new days off from work and changes in travel plans for players and their families.

On the bright side, the fields are very good and Phoenix is a wonderful place to play in late October.

Terry Hennessy is chief executive officer of Senior Softball USA and can be reached at terryh@seniorsoftball.com.