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oldschooldad
203 Posts |
 Posted - 03/08/2011 : 18:11:17
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What is the thought about scrimmage games? For them or againist them?
IMO- I don't see much use in them. This time of the year practice time is very important and the weather has been on and off. On a nice weather weekend, if no events are scheduled, teams can really work on their weaknesses with a good couple of practices. My expense has always been that in a scrimmage the teams are normally not evenly matched. One is better much and the other is trying to measure themselves againist a better team. The better team doesn't need to pitch their top guys and the better hitters don;t often see any good pitches.
They do help make practices more fun though! |
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baserunner
115 Posts |
Posted - 03/08/2011 : 19:32:32
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I've always been more in favor of them. I agree that the teams are seldom evenly matched but that can be ok if both teams approach them correctly.
It gives the better team the opportunity to develop their second tier pitchers in a lower stress, yet game like conditions. They can also work on some the finer points of the game (bunting, base stealing, double plays, etc.)
The weaker team can focus on their problem areas and experiment with their batting lineup, infield rotation, etc. Things like this are hard to simulate in practice. Just my 2 cents.
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BravesFan
533 Posts |
Posted - 03/09/2011 : 11:31:31
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| These games are helpful early in the season to get kids some work in live situations, that always seems to be the hardest thing to simulate during practice. I've never been a fan of playing a team that is much weaker then yours, always best to play comparable type teams. |
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AllStar
762 Posts |
Posted - 03/09/2011 : 14:34:44
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I liked to play a lot of non-tournament games (15-20), but with umpires, time limits, etc. They didn't "count", so you could pitch different kids and experiment a little, but it was still live.
Didn't like to scrimmage so much. Coaches or catchers calling pitches, no score, setting up situations, etc. Too much standing around. I preferred to get the players more reps. |
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UGA12
29 Posts |
Posted - 03/09/2011 : 16:27:05
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| I like the scrimmages for boys at the 10-12 age. Tournament time is tense and these boys sometimes become their worst enemy bewteen the lines mentally. They have hit thousands of balls, thrown plenty of pitches, fielded hundreds of balls, but having a chance to step in a batter's box or pitcher's mound and just let it go and be relaxed can be huge confidence builder for these young men. There is nothing on the line in a scrimmage and it allows them to relax and do what they have been training to do without the added game day stress tournaments provide. |
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coachtony
236 Posts |
Posted - 03/09/2011 : 19:13:38
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We try to do scrimmage games throughout the year. We split the cost of the Umpires with the other team. We usually play 6 full innings but we agree on a 5 or 6 run per inning limit so nothing can get out of hand. We follow all tournament rules. We are a AA team but we generally scrimmage against AAA teams if we can find them. While I am sure that the kids are keeping score, we don't turn on the scoreboard and I dont even keep up with it. We use it as a chance to evaluate our players so they treat it as a real game. We change pitchers every inning, we move people into positions that they want to try out for or where we may want to see them excel, and, of course, everybody bats (which we do in most tournaments anyway).
Overall we consider it a great training tool.
--T
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scrimmage games
