Managers, whenever we send out an announcement of any kind, please forward that to every member of your Team.  Many of our Managers already do that, but all too often we send out something important, and at the very next tournament a Player says "I have never been told that," or something close to that statement.  So, please communicate with your Players.  If you do not have computer skills, someone on your Team does, so get them to forward the information out.

 

I have a few things for you:

 

I want to remind you to always check the weather line on the FHC website starting a couple of days before the tournament begins.  You will find the most up to date weather information, and info on whether or not we will go to a 'shortened game' situation or not.

 

This past weekend, I received an email telling me we should have contacted the Teams earlier than 7am about a delay at the Diamondplex Complex.  I was there at 6:15am, and the field Supervisor got there at 6:30.  We decided to move the games back a couple of hours.  I am sorry, but that statement about contacting the Teams earlier is just down right silly.  We do not run these facilities we play on.  They tell us when we will be able to play.  Thank God we work with such good people, and they work their butts off to get the fields ready to play for us.  This past weekend, the maintenance crew at Walker Road got there at 2am to get the fields ready for us to play on at 8am.  Nuff said.

 

We begin checking the weather at least 2 weeks prior to a tournament.  About 3-4 days before we are to play, I talk to the local people, and check Accurate Weather about what might happen.  The final decision must be made by Thursday at 10am if we are going to cancel.  That gives the people who booked rooms 24 hours in advance to cancel so they will not be charged.  If we are at a 50% or so chance of rain, we decide to play most of the time, unless there is a possibility of a Tropical Storm or worse.

 

Make sure that you get your Tournament Fee in on time.  If it is not received on time, you will pay an additional $25 late fee.  If you have a problem, just contact Al Melendez at 727-741-1859.

 

Make sure you remind your Players, especially the new Players, that this is a League, and not a National Qualifier or National Championship.  We play for Tee Shirts, my friends.  We do not tolerate bad language, aggression towards other Teams, or disrespectful behavior towards our umpires or FHC Staff.  If that happens, we will act quickly and harshly.  We have already been forced to suspend an entire Team for several months, and individuals for several months as well.    

 

We will always support our Umpires.  Of course they are not correct 100% of the time, but we will back them up in public.  We train them, and appreciate their effort, and we feel we have the best umpires in America.  If they make a mistake, we will address that situation behind closed doors.  Always understand that philosophy because that will not change.

 

See you at the next Tournament,

 

Mike Knowles

Chairman

FHC Senior Softball