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Life Lessons Life Lesson #35: Tournament Mentality The Pros and Cons of Tournament Play Over the last five years, tournament play has become increasingly popular. More and more players are participating in 2, 3 or 4 day tournaments over weekends (sometimes extended Holiday weekends). There are many positives to these competitions, but coaches must be careful with the different managing decisions faced when taking a team through tournament play. This is known as ?Tournament Mentality.? POSITIVE ASPECTS OF TOURNAMENT PLAY Physical experience: There?s no denying that an athlete that plays in a number of tournaments will receive a large amount of game-situation reps. That is, the athlete will experience 15-20 live at-bats, a number of ground and fly balls, and the game intensity of 18-30 innings of baseball. Mental experience: Along with all of that game intensity, comes the mental development of dealing with pressure. Athletes must deal with winning and losing, and do so in a very quick amount of time. With the next game starting in a couple hours, or early the next day, an athlete has no time to pout or gloat over previous results. On the field, athletes experience advanced levels of mental challenges. Pitchers must now hold runners and control the running game. Hitters must perform with increased intensity hinging on each at-bat. Performance is directly linked to winning and losing, with increased stakes coming with more ?playoff? or ?championship games.? Competition: Athletes learn to compete game in and game out. Overall, tournament play places a larger emphasis on winning. With prizes and championships to be won with greater frequency, the opportunities to experience success also increase. Winning allows teams to continue playing in a given tournament, and also dictates game times (which are especially important to parents). Development: It?s no secret that the more you play, the better you can get. With increased repetitions, challenging situations and working through competitive battles, players very often improve their skills. There is no substitute for game experience, and tournament play provides the opportunity to play lots of games. Fun: Perhaps the most positive aspect of playing in tournaments in enjoying the game. Kids get to play baseball. NEGATIVE ASPECTS OF TOURNAMENT PLAY Finances: Tournament fees are pricy. And that?s just to play in games. It doesn?t include money spent on travel or lodging, food or equipment. Burnout: While one weekend tournament can provide many of the positive experiences listed above, too many of these weekends can lead an athlete to burnout. Both physically and mentally, kids can grow tired of the constant pressure, screaming coaches and long days. Overuse: Physical dangers of injury increase with heavy play over a short period. Pitchers push their arms to the limit and catchers ask their knees to handle a high number of innings. Time: Parents, coaches and parents alike are required to give up entire days to a single tournament. With a morning game and an afternoon game, the competition leaves little time for anything else. Tournament play is a major time commitment. One could easily form a convincing argument for or against tournament competition, and so many people will choose to play them. For those that do, let?s focus on the mentality of the coaches involved with tournament teams ? the TOURNAMENT MENTALITY. I believe that multiple games over two or three days require teams to play a certain way. Managers must make unique decisions based upon these conditions, and players are often asked to do things they normally would not. I call this ?Tournament Mentality,? and believe that this type of thinking should be limited. With true seasonality, tournament mentality is seen once a calendar year: ? Youth ? Playoffs or All-Stars ? High School ? Playoffs ? College ? Regional Playoffs / College World series ? Professional ? Playoffs / World Series For each respective group, these are the only times when the tournament mentality is used. It?s win or go home, so everyone is stretched a little bit. Pitchers are pushed physically, whether asked to pitch on short rest or increase their pitch count. Certain players and catchers are NOT lifted late in ballgames or given a day off. This is acceptable because win or lose the teams face a long and restful offseason following these games. Even in youth or high school play (where summer ball is a very common exercise)? athletes typically get the month of June to rest before playing games again. Problems can arise when tournament mentality is put in use much more than that. Here in Southern California, tournaments are available nearly every weekend of the year. Go to a local sports complex in December and you?ll find 25 teams competing for this weekend?s ?championship.? Complications arise naturally when coaches are put in difficult situations unique to tournament play. For example, Coach Johnson is in the semifinals of a typical weekend tournament. Having played two games Friday afternoon, and two games on Saturday, Sunday morning?s contest becomes a must win to reach the final game. Coach J?s star pitcher has already closed a difficult game on Friday night (1 inning) and started the morning game on Saturday (3 innings). Heading into the 4th inning of the semifinal game, coach J?s team leads a strong opponent 4-3. With limited pitchers left, Coach J knows that if he puts his star pitcher in the game, the opposition would likely be held to a run or two at most. The chances are good that his team would likely win, advancing to the finals. Under tournament rules, a pitcher is allowed 6 innings of work (which is probably a very low limit), so technically his ?horse? has 2 innings of mound work left. Additionally, he realizes that if he puts one of his lesser pitchers into the game, he is likely compromising his team?s chance for victory. What is Coach Johnson to do? The answer to this difficult question depends on the greater picture. Was this a one-time situation (playoffs, all-stars, college or professional World Series), you could make a case for putting the stud on the hill. ?Suck it up, dig deep, gut one out?? to win the championship. However, this is NOT the case. This tournament, in the middle of December (the offseason), is sandwiched between the Turkey Shootout over Thanksgiving and the Christmas Classic surrounding the Winter Holiday. Winning this championship means nothing ? as the next championship will be awarded in seven calendar days. Pushing an athlete, specifically a pitcher, during tournament time is risky. The example mentioned above violates numerous pitch count limitations. Young pitchers should never pitch on successive days (excluding a closer?s role); let alone more that one game in a single day. However, it?s very understandable why a coach would take such a risk - especially one not well-educated in protecting a young athlete?s arm. Coach Johnson knows that the parents, kids and coaches would all love to win the game. Putting the stud on the mound obviously gives the team the best chance. He says his arm feels fine and the coach knows it?s ?only for one game.? Well, often times... it?s not. It?s one game this weekend, then one game next weekend, then one game in a month. This creates serious risk of overuse injuries and is entirely preventable. Either limit the number of tournaments played or establish firm limitations of innings / pitch counts / rest times that must be adhered to. With those limitations in place, a coach is not put in that difficult decision. He simply looks at the chart, realizes that his star pitcher threw 56 pitches on Saturday and therefore needs three days of rest before pitching again. This clearly takes him out of consideration for Sunday?s game, and makes the decision quick and easy. All parents received a handout sometime before the tournament breaking down the limitations and the reasons behind them. And the most important reason on that list: To protect their kids! Realistically, tournament play requires lots of pitchers on a single team. It also requires a manager willing to put his athlete?s arm health ahead of the team?s success. Knowing this beforehand, Coach J can now work to prepare 6-7 pitchers to be mound ready. If more thorough limitations were established across the board, the playing field would be level and no coach? no athlete would be put in a compromising position. To conclude, these limitations are coming! Inning limits are already in place. Limits on pitch counts per game are coming and rest times associated with those pitch counts will be next. Everything comes full circle, and with increasing rates of injury and increased understanding of prevention, the rules to tournament mentality will likely change along with them. If you desire to play tournaments, continue to do so. However, be sure to establish firm guidelines that you can turn to when faced with a tough decision. The pressure to win a youth tournament should never make a decision for you. |
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