It is absolutely imperative that all of you Managers do a good job of communicating with your Players and Team followers.  I will address that momentarily.  In the last tournament we had bad weather on Saturday afternoon and lost a few games so we decided to go to 'shortened games' to get Sunday's schedule in and hopefully finish the Saturday games.  We put it on the FHC Rain Line.  We put to on the website.  We sent an email to every single Manger in the tournament, and we still had teams that were not informed that the Sunday schedule had changed.  What galls me is that my Directors called me and said that a few of the Managers were upset.  They were not upset about changing the schedule because they understood that part.  They were upset because they did not check their email, website, or rain line and yet it was our fault their teams were in the dark.  That kind of logic escapes me.  I do not feel sorry for those who blame everyone but themselves.

 

Other than that incident we have done a great job of "weathering the weather" so to speak.  Just a reminder that we really do put a lot it time in determining if we need to stay with the schedule, go to 'shortened games', or in rare circumstances, cancel the tournament.  What we have found though is that the teams that are scheduled for the later games are a whole lot more appreciative of going to an alternative schedule than the teams who play early.  I have actually heard some say that we should do it like the old days, and play a regular game until it starts storming, and then alter the schedule.  Others have said that they do not care about the other teams.   Thank goodness the overwhelming number of you understand we are trying to be fair to all of our teams.

 

I sent out a message to you Managers recently reminding you that everyone who attends our tournaments are subject to the same treatment as the Players.  FHC is in charge of the discipline at all of our Sites and will not hesitate to suspend a Team Follower if necessary.  We had an altercation between fans.  We handled it promptly and fairly but the police could have been called.  Again, you Managers must relay this message to your fans and followers.  I had a Player call me some time back and asked me if we were trying to have a 'church league' because he was ejected because of the bad language he used during the game.  I told me "no, we are far more strict than most church leagues."  The emphasis is on LEAGUE.  We are the largest Senior Softball League in America.  We want to have a place where families can come and enjoy the games, each other, some good food, and watch their dad or grandfather play ball.  That is it in a nutshell.  This is not a National Championship where you are playing for thousands of dollars.  We play for Tee Shirts.

 

We are continually trying to help you get a decent room at a decent price but many of you do not adhere to our advice regarding when to place your reservations.  We are not in the Hotel business but we do have a man that tries to get some decent prices at decent Hotels.  He secures a certain number of rooms at a discounted price for so many rooms but when they are gone the price goes up.  You must make your reservations at least 6 weeks early or you are on your own.  Check the website or contact tony@globalconciergtravel.com about rooms outside of Lee County.

 

Unfortunately, we have not seen the last of the 'covid' virus.  We are still in the same protocol as in the past years. If you or a Player is sick, stay home.  If you or a Player has a positive test for the virus, stay home.  If you or a Player does test positive they must have 2 negative test before they come back to FHC.  You Managers have done a great job on this so please continue to do so.  When you are at the park please adhere to all safe guards.

 

 

*****Once again, CONTACT YOUR PLAYERS, COACHES, AND TEAM FOLLOWERS with all information that you receive from FHC.

 

God bless and good luck,

 

Mike Knowles
FHC Chairman