Ronnie Carter Interview

[CoachT]

Coacht, i will respectfully disagree with this statement. Everyone pays is not the easiest way. The easiest way is to set a price that is reasonable for kids and young adults and not make everyone make up the difference for the 2 or 3 that might lie about a kids age. That statement more leans toward "We'll go ahead and make an extra $200 or 300 instead of losing $25 at the gate". That shows me that the T$$AA is even more money hungry because they are scared they might lose out on a few coming through the gate. I don't think $7 is too high at all to watch any game at the state tournament level, and don't really mind to pay to park, but for anyone to suggest that charging a 5 year old to get into a high school baseball game is fair, imo, that is totally ludicrous.

 

Sure, everyone pays is the easiest way. I didn't say it was the best way. What age should you start charging and how do you verify that age? As a child myself a guy with us lied at a state park lake. He told the ranger he was 12 when he was 19 so he could fish free!! (My grandfather was absolutely livid when the ranger told him.) Should the ranger have just let that go?

 

Ideally, 12 or 13 should be the cut off. Something in that range.

 

I have always wondered why, at regular season games, we don't charge $3 in order to put more people in the seats.

[Frayser1974]

Sure, everyone pays is the easiest way. I didn't say it was the best way. What age should you start charging and how do you verify that age? As a child myself a guy with us lied at a state park lake. He told the ranger he was 12 when he was 19 so he could fish free!! (My grandfather was absolutely livid when the ranger told him.) Should the ranger have just let that go?

 

Ideally, 12 or 13 should be the cut off. Something in that range.

 

I have always wondered why, at regular season games, we don't charge $3 in order to put more people in the seats.

 

You are taking advantage of the same students who have been supporting their school all year. Let students in at a discounted rate. If they say they are a student , charge them as such. You will sell more shirts and concessions, etc..

[gunzablazin5]

Yea, charging everybody is the easiest way and no, it's not the best way by no means. Your right about that coacht. But I would assume that most people working the gate can tell the differences in the age of kids. But don't let the TSSAA fool you. They are not out for the good of the student-athletes. Nor is the NCAA. They are after power and control and they do a dang good job of it.

[1moreDBmom]

Yea, charging everybody is the easiest way and no, it's not the best way by no means. Your right about that coacht. But I would assume that most people working the gate can tell the differences in the age of kids. But don't let the TSSAA fool you. They are not out for the good of the student-athletes. Nor is the NCAA. They are after power and control and they do a dang good job of it.

 

 

 

I fully agree with you on this one gunz.

 

The world is in "powerplay" mentality. From the coaching on up it is about what can I do to get noticed and climb another rung on the ladder! And it matters not who gets stepped on along the way.

[plowboy2]

Most of the games that I attended this year people in the stands watching were either players parents or grandparents.Only in district or regional did interested fans start showing up.At $5.00 a pop it is kinda expensive to attend games if you are a grandparent,or a parent on a limited budget.We are the ones getting gouged with inflated prices.$3.00 is plenty to get in a game of any sport.We are the ones in the bleachers supporting our kids and teams.Wonder why the attendance is down?On top of high gas prices,you got to pay high gate prices even for a kid who is not even interested in the game.Lower the gate prices for all sports and they will come!

[Imatiger]

Sure, everyone pays is the easiest way. I didn't say it was the best way. What age should you start charging and how do you verify that age? As a child myself a guy with us lied at a state park lake. He told the ranger he was 12 when he was 19 so he could fish free!! (My grandfather was absolutely livid when the ranger told him.) Should the ranger have just let that go?

 

Ideally, 12 or 13 should be the cut off. Something in that range.

 

I have always wondered why, at regular season games, we don't charge $3 in order to put more people in the seats.

 

 

Ok, easiest and best are 2 different things. I was looking for best not easiest. 12 or 13 is a great age and discounted with your student ID.

[riverdaleman]

On 50/50 rule:

-RC: This is a rule that is keeping sports from taking over a kids life. Recently, fall leagues and AAU leagues have been necessary for high school athletes. For instance, in basketball some players ended up playing an NBA length schedule. We want student athletes to be able to have a life outside of sports. This is to create some balance in young peoples lives.

 

 

 

RP I think most people that have kids agree that if a kid has too much time on his hands there is more potential that what they do with there time is waisted or they get into trouble while i agree that kids need time to play and od other things i think they have plenty of time now to work around their ball shedules and still have time to socialize with their friends. Its funny he mentioined AAU because it was hardly touched I think Mr Limabuagh had a great breakdown of how much aau was really effected

[Imatiger]

On 50/50 rule:

-RC: This is a rule that is keeping sports from taking over a kids life. Recently, fall leagues and AAU leagues have been necessary for high school athletes. For instance, in basketball some players ended up playing an NBA length schedule. We want student athletes to be able to have a life outside of sports. This is to create some balance in young peoples lives.

RP I think most people that have kids agree that if a kid has too much time on his hands there is more potential that what they do with there time is waisted or they get into trouble while i agree that kids need time to play and od other things i think they have plenty of time now to work around their ball shedules and still have time to socialize with their friends. Its funny he mentioined AAU because it was hardly touched I think Mr Limabuagh had a great breakdown of how much aau was really effected

 

 

Exactly! Let's give them time to run around and see what the kids with no future in anything are doing and see if they like that life better. They shouldn't be telling someone how to run their kids lives. If the kids want to be involved in something they love and want to get better at it no one should be able to tell them they can't. And yes, I am one of those that has a good ball player but cannot afford to send him 45 miles from home for private lessons or afford to pay for a private gym for him to work out in. Being a teacher and 3 kids just won't allow that.

[rcpatriot]

I find it very funny that RC states basically that he wants kids to have a summer, but yet he (TSSAA) puts nothing in place to keep the HS basketball coaches from mandating practice 3 times a week, as well as football teams mandating weight lifting and agilities 4 days a week throughout the summer, with exception to the dead period.

As a parent, as well as a HS coach, what TSSAA is doing crosses the line of what they can control and what they can't. If I want to let my son play on a traveling baseball team that just so happens to have 5 others from his HS team on it, and they aren't playing during the school year, that is my right as a parent. The team isn't associated with the school or TSSAA, nor is it playing in any games during the school calender year. So, what legal right does TSSAA have in telling my child or yours what they can and can't do with they're summer days off from school?

[larry]

I find it very funny that RC states basically that he wants kids to have a summer, but yet he (TSSAA) puts nothing in place to keep the HS basketball coaches from mandating practice 3 times a week, as well as football teams mandating weight lifting and agilities 4 days a week throughout the summer, with exception to the dead period.

As a parent, as well as a HS coach, what TSSAA is doing crosses the line of what they can control and what they can't. If I want to let my son play on a traveling baseball team that just so happens to have 5 others from his HS team on it, and they aren't playing during the school year, that is my right as a parent. The team isn't associated with the school or TSSAA, nor is it playing in any games during the school calender year. So, what legal right does TSSAA have in telling my child or yours what they can and can't do with they're summer days off from school?

 

I don't mean this answer to be flippant but they are not telling you what you can do in the summer. They are telling you what you can't do once school begins. If it is a summer team then he can play, no problem. It is a fall league that he can't play on with more than 4 other teammates.

[rcpatriot]

Maybe I've misunderstood, but I understood RC to say at a coaches rules meeting that this would apply to summer months as well. He stated that it would allow kids to actually "have" a summer as well as the coaches, and that AAU traveling teams, specifically, are making kids play "year around sports". When, in fact, it's the HS coaches that are mandating summer workouts/practices that keep some kids from playing other sports.

As it applies to the school year, unless it falls under a TSSAA sanction, they have no jurisdiction. As such, if a kid wants to play fall baseball on a non-sanctioned TSSAA team, with a non-sanctioned TSSAA coach, how does this fall under TSSAA's governing body? How are they going to police this?

[CoachT]

Maybe I've misunderstood, but I understood RC to say at a coaches rules meeting that this would apply to summer months as well. He stated that it would allow kids to actually "have" a summer as well as the coaches, and that AAU traveling teams, specifically, are making kids play "year around sports". When, in fact, it's the HS coaches that are mandating summer workouts/practices that keep some kids from playing other sports.

As it applies to the school year, unless it falls under a TSSAA sanction, they have no jurisdiction. As such, if a kid wants to play fall baseball on a non-sanctioned TSSAA team, with a non-sanctioned TSSAA coach, how does this fall under TSSAA's governing body? How are they going to police this?

 

Except for the dead period, they pretty well left the summer alone.

 

A kid can play on a non-sanctioned team but not with more than 4 teammates. If they do, the TSSAA won't/can't stop them but can make them ineligible for TSSAA teams.