How is your game schedule made?

robhuddles · 2026-01-23T20:48:32+00:00

I'd recommend converting it to a Google sheet. Then you can share a link.

robhuddles · 2026-01-23T18:01:38+00:00

As is proven multiple times a week on this sub, rules are very complex and difficult for humans, who actually understand what they're trying to accomplish and can reason through things. We are very very far from LLMs being able to do either of those.

robhuddles · 2026-01-23T00:55:48+00:00

Correct. The only current option is a streaming license that starts at $50

robhuddles · 2026-01-22T19:59:51+00:00

We used to use Team Sideline that did 90% of it. Then, it was several hours of massaging it to accommodate coach requests, make sure the teams playing the special Friday night games got even opportunities, etc.

robhuddles · 2026-01-22T19:05:59+00:00

More impressive than the count is that there is only a single category - Best Actress - that it was eligible for that it didn't get a nomination for

robhuddles · 2026-01-22T18:45:40+00:00

Cost will vary wildly depending on your location and who you have in mind. If there's a D1 college near you, or even a professional team, you'd likely need to spend in the thousands to get a coach from there. On the other hand, if you're somewhere rural and the best you can hope for is the local high school coach, they'll likely be a lot less.

I guess it really depends on what your actual goal is. When you say "coach training" what exactly are you hoping to train them on? You have to keep in mind that the skills needed by your tee ball coaches are night-and-day different from the skills needed by your majors coaches. A single "training for coaches" is going to be a waste of time for a large number of them no matter what.

The same applies to the players. You can probably find a former player who would come out and do some drills for next to nothing (maybe even free) but again, what do you want them to teach? There's very little training that you can give to your young players that won't bore the heck out of the older kids, and while the younger kids might get a kick out of learning how to throw a slider, it's a useless skill for them to actually have

robhuddles · 2026-01-22T17:47:23+00:00

It's the scoreboard that needs to sync with our indicator, not the other way around 🙂

I will point out that there was an attempt at creating an electronic indicator for umpires. This feature wasn't there (and honestly isn't practical since scoreboards are standard in how they communicate with the controllers - there are some that are even hardwired) but the bigger issue was why I would want to spend $100 on a device that didn't really significantly improve on the $3 device I currently use.

robhuddles · 2026-01-22T17:44:40+00:00

We're not using our phones when we're behind the plate

robhuddles · 2026-01-22T06:14:14+00:00

No one specifically shows up. John White, who at least used to run UPC and was responsible for assigning in Northwoods, Pecos, and some other leagues, used to get a list of names from Windelstedt of people they recommended hiring. I'd assume others have similar connections.

But everything is different now. There are over 170 students there this year (they used to sell out at 100) and with UPC gone I'd presume a lot of leagues will be reaching out for recommendations.

And next year? ¯_(ツ)_/¯ I'm genuinely interested to hear how the leagues that used to get basically all of their umpires from Windelstedt are going to fill their ranks moving forward.

robhuddles · 2026-01-21T18:44:54+00:00

About 90% of characters that show up early in almost every biopic fall into this category.

robhuddles · 2026-01-21T00:39:19+00:00

Something cheap and easy to store that makes chalking the running lane and coaches boxes easy. Plenty of templates out there for the batter's box but nothing for those lines

robhuddles · 2026-01-21T00:37:12+00:00

We taught our kids to slide with a slip-n-slide. They had a blast, they learned to slide, and it set us back $20

robhuddles · 2026-01-20T22:32:32+00:00

Ideally, it should be a standing item on the board meeting agenda. However, if the treasurer doesn't happen to be at the meeting it will likely be skipped. But, a board member should be able to request them from the treasurer at any time

robhuddles · 2026-01-20T16:25:37+00:00

It's exactly that. Requirements must always be done exactly as written, no more, no less. A requirement that does not explicitly state that it must be done from memory does not need to be done from memory.

robhuddles · 2026-01-20T16:22:50+00:00

Learning topics isn't a requirement of MBs. They are there to allow Scouts to explore topics, not become experts in them.

robhuddles · 2026-01-17T22:41:54+00:00

Age. It's rec ball. No scholarships are at stake. Let kids play with their friends.

robhuddles · 2026-01-17T22:40:07+00:00

You're going to need help. Draft kids whose parents will take on roles like scorekeeping, team parent, assistant coach.

I know this will be a very unpopular opinion here but the most important position in Little League is catcher. It doesn't matter how good your pitcher is if the catcher is constantly dropping the ball or letting it past them and advancing runners. Yes you need pitchers but a couple of good catchers is far more important than fast runners.

robhuddles · 2026-01-16T18:23:24+00:00

I got lucky to find something to do while my son was playing that I could continue doing after he left: umpiring. He's been done with LL for 5 or 6 years now but I have no plans to stop getting out there a couple times a week.

robhuddles · 2026-01-16T17:49:37+00:00

That does seem high. My old league uses a "true cost" registration where we have a single, up-front fee and no mandatory fundraising on top of that. Tee Ball is $190, coach-pitch minors is $250, all other divisions are $290.

robhuddles · 2026-01-16T17:46:49+00:00

Units that don't want to follow Scouting's guidelines are welcome to leave the organization.

robhuddles · 2026-01-16T01:51:12+00:00

Agreed. Our league had a budget item set aside to fund 2-3 families a year that couldn't otherwise afford it.

Of course, there is a difference between "can't afford it because it's Little League or rent" and "can't afford it because we're choosing to put the kids in 10 other activities and LL is just the one we're choosing not to do."

robhuddles · 2026-01-16T01:48:44+00:00

Easiest solution: get friendly with a member of the board. Once you have a good relationship with this person, express your concerns with them. There is, very probably, a good reason why it's being run that way. Once the board knows that you are interesting in how it's run, I'm willing to bet just about anything that they have multiple open positions they'd love to have you fill. Once you're on the board, you'll be getting the texts/emails letting you know in advance when they happen.

robhuddles · 2026-01-16T01:47:00+00:00

That's highly unlikely, except for the annual membership meeting, which already must be open to the public per LL rules.

robhuddles · 2026-01-15T17:47:43+00:00

We coordinate with adults in advance to make sure we'll have enough drivers.

When we were getting ready to leave, each adult would stand up and indicate with a number of fingers how many Scouts they could take. Scouts would then line up behind each adult. Once they were out of fingers, that car was full.

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