Serious Competition at Friendlies...or...

[sluggers]

You have to define a "serious game" before you can define a "friendly".

In a serious game, you play your best players at their best positions and you put your best available pitcher on the mound. And, you never let up.

In a friendly, you put players at different positions and have them try new stuff. You might have your #4 hitter practice bunting. You might go totally crazy and have your catcher try to steal a base. (In one friendly, I had one really athletic kid play every position on the field--it was a hoot.) You keep score, but don't pay a lot of attention to the scorebook.

 

[Vertigo]

For us it was just games at our fields against other “local” travel teams when the college coaches were not allowed to be at events due to the recruiting calendar rules, typically the beginning of the fall season. They were more like scrimmages to get the team ready for showcase events.

 

[FP26]

For us it was just games at our fields against other “local” travel teams when the college coaches were not allowed to be at events due to the recruiting calendar rules, typically the beginning of the fall season. They were more like scrimmages to get the team ready for showcase events.

This is how we used friendlies. If we arranged a scrimmage with one team we simply called it a scrimmage. Sometimes we would invite two teams and play round robin. Each game had a winner but there wasnt a champion for the day. That was a friendly. When we hosted we typically brought a grill and made burgers and hot dogs for all 3 teams at the end of the final game.

 

[uncdrew]

For us, the term "friendly" is just a scrimmage against a team that doesn't annoy us as much as many teams do.

 

[radness]

You have to define a "serious game" before you can define a "friendly".
In a serious game, you play your best players at their best positions and you put your best available pitcher on the mound. And, you never let up.

In a friendly, you put players at different positions and have them try new stuff. You might have your #4 hitter practice bunting.

Yes define intention and goals!

You might go totally crazy and have your catcher try to steal a base.

crazy catchers steal bases
Got it!!!

 

[radness]

You have to define a "serious game" before you can define a "friendly".

This point that Sluggers made I think is really important.

Communicating to the team purpose of the games regardless of what the event is called. Bring this up because could be as simple as what an event is called may put the wrong impression in a player's mind set.

Scrimmages
Friendlies
Tournament to include pool play
Showcase

Make a point of having a purpose!
Things like~
Just because something is called a friendly we still have goals to achieve.
Just because this is pool play it still has a pending result of what happens tomorrow in the tournament.
Showcasing everyone may get playing time but we still have the same standards on the field regardless if you don't have a college that's attending watching you, the college may be watching the team and your teammates.

 

[Rolling Hard]

Not sure why friendlies started being called friendlies???
Do see some teams show up and treat friendlies as if no one's keeping score
vs. a game/sport that keeps score for a reason.

DFP what is your purpose playing in games that are called friendlies?
___________________________

Me, certainly like when teams show up to all games wanting to compete to win!

This is the type of friendly when players who want to be recruited add this to their
'Come watch us list' and live streaming games can gather college coaches attention.

View attachment 26604
18u

That's a pretty good line up there. Could see college coaches interested in watching. Probably quite a few of the players on these teams already committed.

 

[DryHeat]

DDs team just played in the July version of the tourney Rad posted.

It was a good weekend. Good teams. Games were 1:30 drop dead. Free substitutions. DDs coach had the pitchers on a 2-game rotation regardless of score and we started the batting order where the last game left off. The girls got to play against good competition but it was fairly laid back since the W/L results didnt really matter.

We did have an appearance from the HC of a local PAC12 school that wears blue and gold, checking in with her commit on DDs team.

 

[canyonjoe]

To us it was just games that don't count towards anything. There is no bracket day just go out and play 2-3 games. You can keep score but it really doesn't mean anything.

 

[RADcatcher]

That's a pretty good line up there.

Could see college coaches interested in watching.

Absolutely and they do attend that event regularly️

Probably quite a few of the players on these teams already committed.