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Online now: 1 member: vielajk; 12 anonymousDiscussion: Is it fair............
| Posted | Discussion |
| April 27 #6 Men's 60 1173 posts | Ok, I would really like some "honest" and not smart ass comments, please.If your the starting shortstop on a traveling tournament team and in the real world your a remodeling contractor but with the economy work is so bad work you can't afford to make some of the "big tournaments", would it be better to ask the coach if he needs to pick up someone who can make all of the big tournaments.....I would understand, just asking, what would you do if you were in my shoes ? BYW........I PLAY WITH SOME GREAT GUYS AND A GREAT COACH ! THANKS ! |
| April 27 JBTexas Men's 70 432 posts | You have to honest with coach and team, tell them the problem and let them decide. good luck, I think everyone has the same money problem in one way or other. |
| April 27 #6 Men's 60 1173 posts | Thanks John.......I have been honest with most of them and have really been with the coach.......didn't want to let all of them know how tight money is right now....most of the players don't ever look at this site ! Good luck Buddy......... |
| April 27 TexasTransplant Men's 70 516 posts | I think you've got to level with the coach and let him pick up players as needed. Play when you can, but you can't expect the new player(s) to sit all the time when you are there. You may have to accept a lesser role until you can get back to full-time participation. Good Luck. I hope business picks up soon. I believe I recognize you from previous posts and being from Texas, will you be in Baytown this weekend? If so, stop by and introduce yourself. I'm #14 with Crackerbox (65+AAA). |
| April 27 Omar Khayyam 1353 posts | I think Texas Transplant had a very insightful answer as to letting another shortstop have some playing time, even if you are available. I agree that you need to tell the coach. Of course, in this economy, he will understand that your family's needs must come first which limits your leisure expenditures. And what are the alternatives? Don't tell him, but then beg off of a big tournament at the last minute because a remodelling job that you were counting on fell through? Picking up a shortstop must be one of the more difficult last minute replacements. Don't tell him the real reason and so he guesses at it, and guesses wrong, so then some of your teammates are irritated with you? Nope, level with your coach. You may be with him for many seasons to come, even when times are better. If he's the kind of man you want to play for, he'll treat you right and understand. If not, better to learn that now than later. Good luck with your job, even if it means missing a tournament or two because the remodelling is urgent. |
| April 27 Duke Men's 65 908 posts | #6 Sorry to hear about your job situation. Much unemployment now, which mkaes going to softball tournaments a financial hardship for many. In response to your question, "is it fair", it is a tough call for you, your team, and your coach/manager. From my 20's to my 60's, this has been a issue from time to time. I was in your position in my late 30's for about a year, but since then, I am fortunately doing well. As a coach during the past 35 years, I have dealt with this situation in a compassionate way. I only have players on my team that are a good fit and can play a good game of softball. I have helped out players on my teams, so they could continue to play with my teams. Other players have helped out from time to time as well. I would pay a player's share of the fees, drive them to tournaments, and let them room with me at little or no cost to them. All I ever asked them to do is pay for their own food, pay their own way when things got better, and attend most of the tournaments. This may not always be possible for a coach/manager or team to be able to do. Realistically, paying the tournament fees for a player, was the only cost to me. Driving and a motel for a player was never a problem or an additional cost. I would drive anyway and have a room anyway, so it did not cost me anything additonal to have a player in need go with me and stay with me. Hope it all works out for you soon, and it will, so hang in there. See you out on the fields! Andy Smith |
| April 28 bucs15 25 posts | #6 I say be honest let the coach know.Here is another thought.We travel to 6-10 Tournaments a year that start on Fridays some as early as Thursdays,WHY? With the economy people can't afford to miss this many days from work for basically bracket ball-seeding.Most of these Tournaments only have 6-25 teams at best and your telling me you can't get these games in 2 days.Remember back in the days when there were 40-80 teams in every Tournament and they found ways to get them in.Hell I never in 35 years remember playing Thur only Fridays and these were Nationals. |
| April 28 #6 Men's 60 1173 posts | Thanks all, as I mentioned in my post I have been srtaight forward with my coach, not only is he my coach, he's one of my best friends. TexasTransplant, can't make Baytown for this reason. Thanks Andy and Omar ! |
| April 28 #6 Men's 60 1173 posts | Thanks Duke, Didn't mean to leave you out. Kenny |
| April 28 Gary19 Men's 50 2596 posts | Being honest with your team and coach as early as possible really isn't even up for discussion, is it? |
| April 28 #6 Men's 60 1173 posts | Gary19..I said that in my first post ! |
| April 28 garyheifner 653 posts | My team is a 65+ team and been pretty much in tack for 9 years. We added 2 this year for 16 guys. Our manager puts out the tourney list for the year which is 12 dates and players fill it out as to dates they can make. We have some who still work and many who are very family oriented and miss some dates. We have at least 13 comitted for every date and only one that all 16 will be there. We don't have the full 16 for any of the ring tournaments this year. We go with who shows up and our track record has been successful. Nobody bitches or complains if a key player misses. A season can take strange turns due to injury and family issues. If you are a starter and been a good team member, a smart coach will say make what you can. At the least, you will be one hell of a sub and should be able to start some of the games. Can you arrange your schedule to miss some of the qualifers and make the big ones??????? |
| April 28 garyheifner 653 posts | P.S. To add to some of the above comments. We have discussed the impact on some of our guys and being on social security, price of gas and the possibility of dropping some of the tournaments if it gets worse. We try to double up and travel together to save $$$$. Don't feel like the lone ranger with $$$$$ concerns. We don't have any sponserships and pay our own way. It's going to be interesting to see how many teams show up at each tourney compared to previous years. |
| April 28 mad dog Men's 65 4188 posts | kenny,understand your dilemma.i have the same prol and can't make all tourney we are going to.i told ed right from the get go.i will make dalton for SPA,and am going to reno the 1st of june with them. we made the decision not to do phx this year(another story),early this month.prolly will do few ssusa tourneys b/c of it. do what you can maybe skip local area tourneys that are of town,to save money,maybe try and put a little away(know it is hard with this economy)with each if ya can. oh cut back on the bud light .......LOL...... |
| April 29 Gary19 Men's 50 2596 posts | sad pup, when did honesty become a dilemma? If you mean there is a dilemma in deciding what tourneys to attend, agreed. If you think being honest with your coach, teammates, and friends is a dilemma you are sadly mistaken. |
| May 9 doker Men's 60 184 posts | is gary19 and dirty the same person?????...are you only on this site to stir up trouble????/...Kenny has been totally honest with all of us on the team and we understand his problem and help when we can....there is no controversy whatsoever on our team about Kenny!!!! we are all great friends and will remain that way as long as we are alive!!!! We definitely have missed his presence at the tourneys we've played as he is our spark plug and MAN who keeps us loose which makes us play better in the long run....KENNY 'we love you man' |
| May 9 #6 Men's 60 1173 posts | Doker, Thanks for the kind words, your a great friend !!! |
| May 9 mad dog Men's 65 4188 posts | oh wait there doker,i need to throw the BS flag on ya,you guys only like kenny,b/c like our coach(ed) he brings the beer for the team....DOH,LOL..... |
