Tourney format
Wow, okay, got the schedule for the tourney on Saturday. This is going to sound like a word problem, but check this out.
There are eight teams total in this thing. The teams get split into two groups of four. Each group of four plays every other team in their group (what we call a round robin for you non-sports buffs, so three games are guaranteed for each team). The results of the round robin determine where teams are seeded for a single elimination contest for the championship. So there's an additional one to three games in the single elimination, depending on if you win or lose. All that makes sense.
But here's the twitchy part. Each game lasts a max of 70 minutes. Game times? 9:00a, 10:15a, 11:30a for the round robin. That would be three games in a row with a five-minute break in between. Actually the rule is that a new inning just can't START after 70 minutes, which means the games will probably run over. So three games in a row with what may be a zero-minute break in between.
Then in the afternoon, the single elimination round games start. Game times are 2:00p, 3:15p and 4:30p. That would be another three games in a row with theoretical five-minute breaks in between.
Softball might not seem like it's all that taxing, but if you are a softball shortstop as I am, you are running and stretching and jumping and twisting and throwing for almost every play. Plus being mentally engaged and focused and always thinking of possible scenarios with every pitch, depending on who is on base, how good the batter is, how fast the runners are, where the pitch is thrown, which of my teammates are playing what position, etc. I don't know my teammates that well, so there's some guessing too.
Once the ball is hit, I have a second to decide what I need to do. That's fine. I've been playing shortstop and doing that kind of mental calculation all my life, but this team is much faster than I've encountered in years. And they're good, so I gotta step up too.
Imagine doing all that for six full hours and you'll have an idea of what I'm looking at here. I'm looking forward to this and it is going to be fun, I have no doubt. I don't like losing, but I also know that I may be begging for a merciful end by mid-afternoon.
There are eight teams total in this thing. The teams get split into two groups of four. Each group of four plays every other team in their group (what we call a round robin for you non-sports buffs, so three games are guaranteed for each team). The results of the round robin determine where teams are seeded for a single elimination contest for the championship. So there's an additional one to three games in the single elimination, depending on if you win or lose. All that makes sense.
But here's the twitchy part. Each game lasts a max of 70 minutes. Game times? 9:00a, 10:15a, 11:30a for the round robin. That would be three games in a row with a five-minute break in between. Actually the rule is that a new inning just can't START after 70 minutes, which means the games will probably run over. So three games in a row with what may be a zero-minute break in between.
Then in the afternoon, the single elimination round games start. Game times are 2:00p, 3:15p and 4:30p. That would be another three games in a row with theoretical five-minute breaks in between.
Softball might not seem like it's all that taxing, but if you are a softball shortstop as I am, you are running and stretching and jumping and twisting and throwing for almost every play. Plus being mentally engaged and focused and always thinking of possible scenarios with every pitch, depending on who is on base, how good the batter is, how fast the runners are, where the pitch is thrown, which of my teammates are playing what position, etc. I don't know my teammates that well, so there's some guessing too.
Once the ball is hit, I have a second to decide what I need to do. That's fine. I've been playing shortstop and doing that kind of mental calculation all my life, but this team is much faster than I've encountered in years. And they're good, so I gotta step up too.
Imagine doing all that for six full hours and you'll have an idea of what I'm looking at here. I'm looking forward to this and it is going to be fun, I have no doubt. I don't like losing, but I also know that I may be begging for a merciful end by mid-afternoon.