Q: Sandbox scores are a joke.
A: Ok, kinda harsh. But you're right, they weren't working the way we intended, and we've done away with Sandbox Scores as of last week. Still be nice to each other though!
Q: "1st to 3rd line rule is stupid and dangerous if you have to wait until the ball is kicked to move. One should be able to approach once the ball leaves the pitcher's hand. This eliminates the play that happened last game where I (3B) ran full speed into our catcher. We could both have been seriously injured."
A: Without the encroachment line, a defender could begin running forward as soon as the ball is released and just stand directly in front of the kicker and block anything they kick, which is entirely game breaking. Bunting would be eliminated entirely by a good defense. The solution here is simply to communicate with each other and call each other off, no different from a pop fly between two players where communication is necessary to prevent the defenders from colliding.
Q: "While I love Corner Bar (especially the staff), I feel that for the Thursday night league it is just too small. There isn't a ton of room for the bar game and you usually have to ask people to move to participate."
A: I feel the same conflicting emotions. While there's certainly much more to partnering with a bar than just picking one and showing up, I'm always open to suggestions for more suitable solutions! Corner Bar is great in that we essentially own the place on Thursdays, the staff love us and treat us well, and they've got really great prices. Obviously it's small and parking is limited. What I look for in a bar partner is Size, Atmosphere, Prices, Parking, Location. Unfortunately it tends to be a "pick three" situation. Right now we've got atmosphere, location, and prices. Email me at stephen@kickball.com if you have suggestions!
Q: "i'd like to see less, but larger teams. For the past few seasons, its been a ride on the struggle bus to get people to show up. I get its kind of the nature of social sports to run off new players, epsc girls, but we have two girls on our team who have never showed, and that makes things difficult to field."
A: I have to advise changing the way you look at things on this. It is by no means the nature of social sports to run off new players, look at teams like Pitch Please or At Least We're Having Fun! Big teams with tons of women on them that have a great time every week and come back for more. If you put the focus on winning and then don't win, it's not fun. If you put the focus on having fun, then losing doesn't have to be a negative experience that turns people off! Big teams are big because a lot of people want to play with that group, not because they need a bigger pool of players to churn through as people not having a good time leave. We've struck at the 16 player minimum with 6 of each gender minimum to be the right balance over hundreds of seasons of experimenting. Looking for more players for next season's team? Come out to the pick up games before each season to recruit new players! (Side note: Stannis doesn't approve of your grammatical choices. Sorry can't help myself!)
Q: "The start times aren't guaranteed, the cones and bases remind me of PE ... the refs are just there to keep score ... , and the lack of uniforms during cold weather makes it hard to differentiate a teammate next to a base versus a bystander standing nearby."
A:
- Start times can be delayed up to a 15 minute grace period for late arrivals per WAKA policy, but if games are starting later than this please notify me directly at stephen@kickball.com so I can take care of it. Your game should NEVER start later than 15 past the hour so that you can get the full 45 minutes without cutting into the next game's time slot.
- It should remind you of P.E., that's kind of the point. We're playing kickball! While the baselines always start out straight, throw down bases tend to move around a little during play. Don't be shy about fixing them if you notice one has gotten knocked askew!
- All of your refs have passed the Rules Certification exam with a 100% score, and generally speaking are the most knowledgeable people about the rules in the league. This of course doesn't guarantee they'll get every single call right, but talk to them if you have questions!
- Uniforms under jackets are just part of the game in cold weather. It would be unfeasible to require players to wear their WAKA shirts on top of jackets, and prohibitively expensive to produce cold gear uniforms. Fortunately, March is just around the corner!
Q: "Bar games seem to happen too late."
A: Bar Games happen when our Social Coordinator arrives at the bar, and while she's super awesome about everything sometimes her team has a 9 PM game and they can't get there until 10:15 or so. Easy guideline: check to see when Pitch Please is playing, and count on bar games starting an hour and a half after their game starts!
Q: "Stephen got me pregnant too. He jacked me, big time, and now there's a baby growing in my belly. (Is that how it works?)"
A:
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