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PostPosted: 03 Nov 2010, 22:15 

Posts: 176
Ok, how would you handle this situation?

Several months ago my son signed up for the local rec. league basketball program. This will be his third year. The basic structure is one night per week practice and a game on the weekend. Like a lot of kids these days, he has certain commitments during the week. I am a big believer in meeting your commitments -- ie; no missing practice.

No teams have been annouced yet -- comming soon. I contact the program and ask that he be put on a team that will practice on the 3 other days of the week he has available -- thus avoiding complications after teams have already been notified and allowing him and his team zero disruptions. The response I get is that there are no "special requests" allowed because the program is too large to accomidate everyone's request. A coach will contact you shortly.

So now I wait. If we are lucky, we have a 3 in 5 chance we won't have a conflict. However, I am a little disturbed. Frankly, I think the leauge is lazy -- their reasoning is a cop out. I know requests can be a pain, but they are a fact of life in today's world. Satisfy the customer, right? I also think there is some BS going on because I have seen kids switched from teams -- and if no special request are allowed, what then was the reason for the switch?

Truthfuly, I was hesitant to sign him up in this league to begin with. I don't like their lazy attitude -- teams are picked out of a hat (so there is no parity), too many kids on a team, games are rushed, ect. Overall, it isn't the greatest experience for the kids. So why did I sign him up? Many of his friends play there and it is convienent (local).

So if he is on a team which practices when he isn't available, does he miss practice and see what happens? Complain a little louder -- sqeeky wheel -- to see if I can get it changed? Or try to find another league (might be a little late) even if it means no friends and a farther drive? Thanks in advance.


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PostPosted: 04 Nov 2010, 06:38 
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Another tough call..... and I see things like this a lot.... kids being involved with too many sports that overlap etc.

I have a good friend of mine ( we taught together and I am a God parent of one of her twins ) and they had the kids going from Karate, Piano lessons, basketball, softball, not to mention that the dad and mom both coached...... do ya think there was enough time in the day and week? LOL

I don't know how old your son is but it might be time to sit down and ask yourself ( and him ) what is more important.... if something has to give, what is it going to be??? It's not fair to the bball team to miss practices or games becauase he is overextended. I think thats why they wont let kids in high school play on a school team AND a park or rec league in the same season. I had a ref tell me of a couple of my players doing just that.... I had to tell them to make a choice - penalty for the team is forfeiture of all the games played with them on the team. They cant play two sports in the same season ie; soccer / football either.

The league could inform the coaches involved so at least they would be forewarned..... maybe that coach doesn't draft him for that reason or maybe he doesn't care... but at least they would know in advance. OR, you could just let him play and let the chips fall where they may and let him have fun. Good luck with this.


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PostPosted: 04 Nov 2010, 12:19 

Posts: 176
Coach Sar,

I hear you regarding overscheduled kids. And I make it a point not to do it. Here we are talking about a 10 year old kid and a rec. program. Since there are 5 nights per week and he is only scheduled for 2, there are 3 available of which 1 would be dedicated to basketball. This leaves 2 nights free. So I don't think overscheduling is a problem.

My irritation is at the response and lack of accomidation. I completely understand that accomidating everyone's request can be a pain in the rear, however, such is life. When you have a program in which only 1 day per week is dedicated, missing kids kills your program. It is not like there are several practice opportunities, so missing a few don't kill you. Supposedly we are doing it "for the kids." We'll see.


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PostPosted: 04 Nov 2010, 14:02 
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I hope it works out for both of you..... like I said.... maybe you can talk to the coaches? I agree with you when it comes to kids missing practices... even at our level... since we have a practice plan in advance.. and if we are going to put in something new... we like everyone to be there so we only have to introduce it one time.


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PostPosted: 05 Nov 2010, 16:47 
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Location: Miami, Fl.
I usually don't get involved in these discussions but I feel I have to stand up for the league.

Have you ever run a league? The single most difficult task is scheduling players and teams. It is not a matter of precedent or just being obstinate, it is an issue of practicality.

Before you condemn the league, how many other requests have they have for these types of changes? What are their facility and personnel limitations? Do they have people working full time on this? Every request has a snowball effect. Are the league people able to spend enough time on it to pick up the dominos?

I have run camps where I had to schedule games for 700 player. I have also run leagues with as few as 6 teams. It didn't matter. When a request like this comes in it is a nightmare when you try to accommodate it.

From your side it is simple request, from the other side it is a quagmire.

Keeping commitments is a double edged sword, you should keep the ones you make, but you shouldn't make commitments you can't keep. Life is about choices.

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PostPosted: 05 Nov 2010, 22:10 

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I understand what you are saying, I just don't see it as that big of deal to make accomidations. Some trouble and extra work? Yes, but not insurmountable.

I have been involved in many leagues. And as it happens, kids have conflicts. If so, changes are made so the kid can participate. As a coach, I have had kids swithced around. It is imporant to note, this is a leauge which assigns teams one night per week to practice. So if the kid misses that night, he misses everything.

I just don't see the problem. First, the teams are picked from a hat -- no draft, and zero effort to keep any type of balance between the teams. So size and skill level don't even come into play. If you have 10 teams, you have 2 teams practice each day -- Monday thru Friday. If a few kids can't practice on Wendsday, you move them to another day of the week. If a few can't do Monday, you move them to Wendsday or Thursday, etc. I don't see the big problem. Thanks.


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PostPosted: 06 Nov 2010, 07:19 
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How about you offer to do the scheduling for them?

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PostPosted: 06 Nov 2010, 07:28 
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Good suggestion

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PostPosted: 06 Nov 2010, 12:42 
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Please understand where I am coming from.

You are making a simple request based upon you desire to get the best experience for your child. It is not unreasonable and is a request that, as a parent, you should make.

But before you make value judgments on the league, the people or the answer, consider the other side of the desk.

I can bring a comparison to your attention. My wife is a graphic designer (a very talented one at that). She was working on a brochure for a customer which really took a lot of time and at the end, looked great. When she gave it to the customer, she was asked, "Could you just add this picture." To me, it didn't seem unreasonable. It was just a little picture, didn't seem that difficult - to me. My wife then had to explain that by adding the picture, it would take her off the page. If she went to a new page, the way the book was put together it meant that it is not only 1 new page, but 4 new pages. It would take much more copy and a substantial amount more money to produce the book.

Because of the type of person she is, I watched her spend 14 hours re-sizing, re-aligning, re-formating multiple pages, just to accommodate that 1 little picture and not have to add more pages and costs. She put other work aside to satisfy that 1 customer and it cost her her entire days.

If I had not seen that, I never would have known what was involved. To the customer, it looks like she just pasted the picture into the book. But, obviously, there was much more to it.

I am not saying don't make the request. I am not saying that the league isn't being accommodating just because. Maybe that is the reason. Maybe they are totally arbitrary and obstinate. Maybe they are, maybe they don't belong near kids leagues, maybe they are intentionally making it difficult for people or just don't want to work. I don't know. I don't know them and I don't have the information.

All I am saying, before you make those judgments, consider what is happening on the other side. It may not be as simple as it appears.

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PostPosted: 06 Nov 2010, 18:24 
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Don makes some great points Golfman..... for you it is a very simple request, for the guy running the league... who knows how many of these might come up... it all depends on the size of the league. I don't know how big the league is or how many kids are involved... and from what you say, practice facilities are tough to come by. I don't know if you have ever done any scheduling before but its not all that easy. I made the schedule for the boys and girls programs for all levels.... 5 girls and 5 boys teams. 3 gyms and a fieldhouse facility that was a nightmare. The rule was simple... this IS the SCHEDULE.... IF YOU need to make a change, talk to the coach that you want to switch with and work it out. Most of the time things were changed smoothly.

Like I said before, go talk to the coach(s) and see what you can come up with.


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