Coaches Golden Rule

All decisions for your team come down to you and you alone. You should not invite other players to participate in rule discussions, or allow them to participate in debates over rule disagreements. As coaches, we will at times disagree and may even sometimes get testy with one another, but it is important that we keep these discussions to the back of the house and do not allow rule issues to spill over to the general players. Keep it fun for everyone and don't let the inmates run the asylum!

Win on the field, not in the rulebook.

Rules are made to be enforced, but in our game - things happen. Players get hurt, or they disappear, or they are late, etc. Please always be flexible in dealing with unusual situations. It is much more important to complete a game than it is to take a cheap, easy, rule-forced win. You don't need to put your team at a disadvantage, but at least allow the game to be interesting.

Be a Player's Coach

This is a fun event, so please be flexible and try to accommodate requests as much as possible. If someone wants to bat, let them bat. If someone hates playing catcher, don't force them to play there all the time (although rotating them there is always ok). Every player paid the same amount to play, they should have a good experience even if they are weaker, skills-wise.

Pool Play Versus Tournament Play

Contrary to popular belief, pool play DOES MATTER. You can earn byes and home field advantage in the tourney. That said, use pool play to get your more novice players the play time they paid for. Novice players who play plenty of innings in pool play will be much more accepting of you deciding to "bench" them more often in the tournament. If you have a player that really wants to play shortstop but you know you have a better option, maybe you give them a game or two in pool play. Use pool play to give your best players a couple innings on the bench, so nobody bats an eye when they never leave the field during the tourney.

Don't Be a Jerk. Don't Let Your Team Be a Jerk.

A little trash talk never hurt anyone, but don't be that person yelling "By You!" on every single play. If you see a player struggling, don't instruct your team to intentionally pick on them. Don't tell a player coming up to the plate that they should walk, because the person behind them can't hit (even if it's true). Play to win the game in a manner where you know all players from both teams will be happy to grab beers with their opponents when the dust settles.

League Joe Slowpitch Draft Rules - Tournament

League Joe's own custom ruleset specially design for draft style, recreational slowpitch softball play.

View Official Rules