Shoveit4Ks posted:All this belt talk has me ginned up a bit and I am actually in need of a new one. Since I am in Clemson for the banquet tonight, I think I'll stroll downtown to The Tiger Sports shop and get me a new one with Tiger Paws on it. I wonder what the other parents willl think?
btw, son 92/94...up to 95, closed scrimmage game last night, 3up-3 down.
Go Tigers!
That's awesome - congrats!
Shoveit4Ks posted:All this belt talk has me ginned up a bit and I am actually in need of a new one. Since I am in Clemson for the banquet tonight, I think I'll stroll downtown to The Tiger Sports shop and get me a new one with Tiger Paws on it. I wonder what the other parents willl think?
btw, son 92/94...up to 95, closed scrimmage game last night, 3up-3 down.
Go Tigers!
Have fun at the banquet. Lots of good luck to your tiger.
Yes, get a purple one with orange paws, show it off for being the hardest working parent.......
And go tigers.....
Would we even be having this discussion if the coach gave the high performers leather pants? Nobody would want those!
Coach_May posted:Your name on a line up card. The staff's praise for a job well done. Your performance when the lights were on which was created by your work ethic when they were not. The respect of your team mates and Coaches. The Jersey you get to wear. The privilege to compete on this team. That is your reward for doing what is demanded of you to do. IF there are people who don't reach the level of expectations that are required to wear that jersey they won't need a belt. They can sag in the stands or parking lot.
Everyone works hard. Everyone is held to the same standard on and off the field. Some will exceed those standards. Their reward is knowing they have done that. Our reward is they are an example for others to follow and reach even higher. If a non leather belt player scores we get 1 run. If a leather belt player scores we get 1 run. If a non leather belt player strikes out we get an out. If a leather belt player strikes out we get an out. We have all paid the same price to have the privilege to represent our school, community and family. Some have paid a higher price but we have all paid the price to be worthy. Those who have not are not with us.
We all look alike. We wear the same uniform. No one can see a difference. We all run as hard as we can. Some just run a little faster. We all play as hard as we can. Some can just play a little better. Be we all see the same thing. My brother who paid the same price I paid to be a part of this. I am not a leather belt and your a plastic belt. We are all the same.
If a Coach has players that don't work hard and they still wear the Jersey then he needs to take off his belt because he doesn't deserve it. If a coach only has 4 players that will work hard enough then he has failed them they have not failed him. If a coach only has 4 players that are worthy then give them a uniform that is exactly the same and work hard to properly build a program that 5 would want to play for the next year. And when he gets 9 he will have a team. JMO
as always, very well stated.
Belts?????
This would make more sense if we were talking about different colored belts, rather than what they are made from.
How about players on the same team wearing pants high or low? What about some wearing sleeves while others don't? When it is cold, some wear hoods, others don't. Some don't use batting gloves. Long hair, short hair, facial hair, clean shaven, jewelry, no jewelry? These, and many other things, are all more noticeable than what material the same colored belt is made out of.
So a team can dress like a team and still the players not look identical. In fact, it seems like the individual look is getting more popular in sports these days. Not saying that is good or bad, it's just very obvious.
Personally, if only four players on my team got a leather belt, I would rather have what the majority is using. And the only time I have ever noticed belts is when someone doesn't have one or if their's were a different color than the rest of the team.
Will admit... I like the identical look. Everyone with short hair, clean shaven, pants worn the same way, no jewelry, exact same look for every player. Unfortunately, that is kind of rare these days.
Shoveit's belt story reminded me...
Fall before last, my wife and I traveled for the final game of son's college's fall series (also banquet weekend, I think). Of course, this pits teammates against each other in a very competitive environment. There is meaningful reward for the winners and consequences for the losers.
Immediately post-game, we were surprised to see son handsomely rewarded for MVP of the series - new trainers, a signed bat from a high profile guest and some other stuff. Did others not try as hard as he did? That was very apparently not the case. Did others feel cheated? Sure didn't look like it. Were parents of the losing team butt hurt? Hardly. Oh, and BTW, the split teams wear different uni's. Which team gets to wear the favorite set? No idea and none of them seemed to care. But they sure were motivated to compete. LOTS of intentional divide among the team with this structure. Well, what do ya know, after some post-series rubbing, it really seemed to bring them all together.
We got to experience that. These guys were all VERY motivated by the structure of being pitted against each other in competition and by the carrot of reward and consequence. And, guess what. Almost every college program in the country holds some version of this same event every year.
Oh, and no one seemed to mind when he wore his new trainers, that were just a little different than everyone else's.
cabbagedad posted:Shoveit's belt story reminded me...
Fall before last, my wife and I traveled for the final game of son's college's fall series (also banquet weekend, I think). Of course, this pits teammates against each other in a very competitive environment. There is meaningful reward for the winners and consequences for the losers.
Immediately post-game, we were surprised to see son handsomely rewarded for MVP of the series - new trainers, a signed bat from a high profile guest and some other stuff. Did others not try as hard as he did? Very apparently not. Did others feel cheated? Sure didn't look like it. Were parents of the losing team butt hurt? Hardly. Oh, and BTW, the split teams wear different uni's. Which team gets to wear the favorite set? No idea and none of them seemed to care. But they sure were motivated to compete. LOTS of intentional divide among the team with this structure. Well, what do ya know, after some post-series rubbing, it really seemed to bring them all together.
We got to experience that. These guys were all VERY motivated by the structure of being pitted against each other in competition and by the carrot of reward and consequence. And, guess what. Almost every college program in the country holds some version of this same event every year.
Oh, and no one seemed to mind when he wore his new trainers, that were just a little different than everyone else's.
I've had the privilege of working several of these series at the end of fall ball. It's like a rivalry series without the bad blood and some of the best times I've ever had. If they think you've missed a call, you are going to hear it--and usually it's with things they've been practicing.
RJM posted:Coach_May posted:Your name on a line up card. The staff's praise for a job well done. Your performance when the lights were on which was created by your work ethic when they were not. The respect of your team mates and Coaches. The Jersey you get to wear. The privilege to compete on this team. That is your reward for doing what is demanded of you to do. IF there are people who don't reach the level of expectations that are required to wear that jersey they won't need a belt. They can sag in the stands or parking lot.
Everyone works hard. Everyone is held to the same standard on and off the field. Some will exceed those standards. Their reward is knowing they have done that. Our reward is they are an example for others to follow and reach even higher. If a non leather belt player scores we get 1 run. If a leather belt player scores we get 1 run. If a non leather belt player strikes out we get an out. If a leather belt player strikes out we get an out. We have all paid the same price to have the privilege to represent our school, community and family. Some have paid a higher price but we have all paid the price to be worthy. Those who have not are not with us.
We all look alike. We wear the same uniform. No one can see a difference. We all run as hard as we can. Some just run a little faster. We all play as hard as we can. Some can just play a little better. Be we all see the same thing. My brother who paid the same price I paid to be a part of this. I am not a leather belt and your a plastic belt. We are all the same.
If a Coach has players that don't work hard and they still wear the Jersey then he needs to take off his belt because he doesn't deserve it. If a coach only has 4 players that will work hard enough then he has failed them they have not failed him. If a coach only has 4 players that are worthy then give them a uniform that is exactly the same and work hard to properly build a program that 5 would want to play for the next year. And when he gets 9 he will have a team. JMO
Some newer posters may not be familiar with Coach May. He doesn't post as frequently anymore. Because I know he's humble I won't make a long list about who he is and his accomplishments. If your kid is fortunate he will play for a Coach May. Your kid may come home grumbling because he was told the truth. But when it's all over your kid will know Coach May got every bit of ability out of him. As a parent you will know everything was fair and on the level. You will know your son will see obstacles as opportunities rather than make excuses. I'll give him one compliment. He's the EF Hutton of the board. When he posts pay attention.
i'm fairly new to the board and picked up on this right away. I absolutely love his takes.
Matt13 posted:cabbagedad posted:Shoveit's belt story reminded me...
Fall before last, my wife and I traveled for the final game of son's college's fall series (also banquet weekend, I think). Of course, this pits teammates against each other in a very competitive environment. There is meaningful reward for the winners and consequences for the losers.
Immediately post-game, we were surprised to see son handsomely rewarded for MVP of the series - new trainers, a signed bat from a high profile guest and some other stuff. Did others not try as hard as he did? Very apparently not. Did others feel cheated? Sure didn't look like it. Were parents of the losing team butt hurt? Hardly. Oh, and BTW, the split teams wear different uni's. Which team gets to wear the favorite set? No idea and none of them seemed to care. But they sure were motivated to compete. LOTS of intentional divide among the team with this structure. Well, what do ya know, after some post-series rubbing, it really seemed to bring them all together.
We got to experience that. These guys were all VERY motivated by the structure of being pitted against each other in competition and by the carrot of reward and consequence. And, guess what. Almost every college program in the country holds some version of this same event every year.
Oh, and no one seemed to mind when he wore his new trainers, that were just a little different than everyone else's.
I've had the privilege of working several of these series at the end of fall ball. It's like a rivalry series without the bad blood and some of the best times I've ever had. If they think you've missed a call, you are going to hear it--and usually it's with things they've been practicing.
Son's high school recently played World Series - two teams picked by senior captains - which was best of three. Winners got steak and losers got dogs at the cookout afterwards. Let's just say they got after it and it wasn't about the steak.
SanDiegoRealist posted:Would we even be having this discussion if the coach gave the high performers leather pants? Nobody would want those!
I dunno. I kinda like mine.
We're going with the sansabelt pants this year as to keep parents happy. Tried to play with our shirts un-tucked the first scrimmage but too much dirt up shirts.
In HS, our HC rewarded players who brought in sponsors with various team swag. There were 3 levels and the top was a $500 sponsorship. If you got that one, you got the all the swag, if you only got the minimum, you got zilch. His philosophy was/is get sponsors, have a team banquet w/ silent auction and host a golf tourney...that covered the budget.
Do those and no one has to sell cards, hams and other crap, hold raffles etc and we can just play baseball. It has worked for a long time and i can tell you the volunteering from the parents is where the real rubber hits the road and as you can probably guess, it was the few who did the majority of the work.
hshuler posted:I'm 99.9% sure this is how the conversation would really happen:
Son - "Dad, A, B, C & D were awarded the leather belt for outstanding hustle and leadership.
Me - "That's awesome! Did you congratulate them?"
Son - "Yes!"
Me - "Good because you should always be happy for others when good things happen if you expect the same in return."
Son - "I know."
End of discussion
....and sorry for the boring script but it's all I got.
Shu funny talking to you over here lol. But this is the real you right there. Very few people I have known in person or on line that are happier and more interested in other people's success - that's one of the many things that make You a good guy. As for the belt thing... who cares. If it motivates I say go for it. Obviously it does cause those without the belt clearly get upset. So work to get one!
