Good Morning Coaches!
I have compiled the report for the survey that almost 500 of you completed for us concerning your thoughts on the mercy rules for softball in district and playoff games. I've attached the report in pdf format to this email. Sorry, but it is quite lengthy, but I did break down the votes and percentages by conference, region, and by conference/region.
CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE MERCY RULE SURVEY IN .PDF FORMAT
I also added the list that includes the mercy rules for almost each district in our state for comparison.
Finally, I did this for UIL schools only as I went back and looked at the TAPPS by-laws and the 10 after 5 plus 15 after 3 mercy rules are already in effect for non-district, district, and playoff games (section 175, II, C, 1-2), but I think that when I was at St. Agnes Academy and played a UIL school, we as coaches mutally agreed upon the mercy rules.
My quick observation is that a large majority favor the requirement of a 15 after 3 mercy rule in district play, a small majority favor the mandatory 15 after 3 rule in the playoffs, and somewhere in the middle of the majorities, favor the 15 after 3 rule being optional in the playoffs. To me, if there is no mandatory rule across the state for 15 after 3 in district play, it shouldn't be mandatory in the playoffs. After that, I'm pretty neutral and I'll support what our coaches want.
I will compile the report on the coaches association surveys next week, and I believe the next question will be a 5A/6A question on mandatory 2 out of 3 series in the playoffs as baseball will pilot in 2024. I know that question has come up already as well.
Have a great weekend! Go Astrost!!
BH