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Originally Posted by AtlUmpSteve
You aren't thinking about the rec league in town, and in the next town, ad infinitum. Sure, the travel teams want to play in ASA tournaments; so do some of the more elite adult teams. But, the vast majority of rec leagues are made up of teams that just want to play recreational softball; be it youth slow pitch, youth fast pitch, or adult slow pitch. They honestly have no reason to ever play in a tournament; they just want to play recreational softball. Every alphabet organization wants their registration and their business, and that means they may (the alphabet organization) would most likely get umpire registrations, too.
If the teams just want to play rec ball, and really don't care what the championship rules are, or what tournaments may be available, just what does any softball organization offer in return for registering their teams? Think about that. Rec leagues like that either stay unaffiliated (because they can!!), or affiliate with some organization for a business reason. The reasons are 1) getting access to umpires, 2) getting access to group insurance, and 3) getting rule books, scorebooks, and other tangible items of value. Otherwise, they wouldn't register.
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No, I'm not talking about church leagues and rec. ball. I'm talking about competitive, traveling teams.
ASA isn't the only show in town. There are pockets throughout the country where ASA is
not all that popular. There are areas where AFA, NSA, and USSSA are actually more prevalent. I'm not saying it is because they don't like ASA - it's just that some other sanctioning body has taken firmer root there, for one reason or another.
Those teams have little interest in registering with ASA. The alleged "enticement" to get the rulebook is moot. They could care less.
And even teams that
do play an aggressive ASA schedule - the rulebook is not an issue to those teams. Like I said, it either gets lost, forgotten, or left behind. I blame the teams for that.
Coaches
should take more time to educate themselves on the rules and to educate their players with the rules, as well. Fewer arguments would certainly be one side benefit.
SIDENOTE: Years ago, the head coach for my daughter's team got quite upset when, with the bases loaded and only one out in a critical situation in a critical game, one of our batters hit a pop-up to the 3rd baseman. The umpires properly ruled it an Infield Fly, but the fielder lost it in the sun and dropped it. Our runners became confused and, to make a long story short, the defense ended up registering TWO outs as our runners were being tagged and caught in rundowns.
He was very upset and I had to calm him down by saying, "Mark, we really can't blame the players. Have we ever taught them what an Infield fly
is and what it
means? We haven't. This is the kind of stuff that eventually happens. They didn't know that they had the option of remaining on the base."
David Emerling
Memphis, TN