Different Strokes for Different Folks

Written by: Rich "Compromise" Alvarez
Questions/Comments: metermanrich@gmail.com


The past week of kickball commentary has been interesting, to say the least. I've been trying to keep my head down to avoid getting caught in the verbal crossfire. However DJ Freddy is curious to know what I think about the whole "situation". Truth be told, the whole thing made me extremely uncomfortable and I'm glad to see everything has calmed down.

I never expected for the all the comments to get as contentious as they did. In fact, I felt the need to use the comment moderation option on the blog, because things were getting a little bit out of hand. I assume full responsibility for the whole fiasco, because ultimately it is me who decides what gets posted to the blog. I knew the "Angry Umpire's Corner" was going to be controversial but I never thought it would anger as many kickballers as it did. So I made the decision to pull the postings and continue on without the Angry Umpire's Corner.

The one constructive thing that came out of this weird event, is that something very useful has been brought to light. There seems to be strong, growing competitive and non-competitive contingencies out there. Different people play kickball for different reasons. Some play for fun, while others play to win. One reason isn't any better than the other. However combing these two styles of kickballers is becoming problematic.

Last season, I was really trying to push the idea of separating the league into two different groups, one competitive group and one fun group. The idea was discussed during an end of season coaches meeting. The coaches recommended we keep fun and competitive teams together. The idea was briefly discussed during a board meeting but without player support, the idea was shelved. However things change...

With the Summer Season slowly approaching and anticipating another large influx of teams, the opportunity to make some format changes is becoming imperative. I know the Spring Season hasn't even ended yet but with the constant problems SCK has been plagued with (example: the rain outs, the lights not working) I can't wait for the Summer to get here. But I digress, if you are a player in favor of making a separate competitive and non-competitive division, please let your voice be heard. You can send an email, send a Facebook message, or track down a board member, umpire, even your own coach. Let them know you feel the seperation would be a great addition to the league. This will ensure that fun and competitive players are able to both enjoy the kickball experience.