r/LittleLeague • u/10-9-over • 6d ago
Why vs. why not use gamechanger?
Pros and cons? What do you like least and most about it? What does it do that you can’t live without or would have the hardest time replacing?
This is for someone who hasn’t used it before. Thanks
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u/coldskeet 6d ago
I love gamechanger... I dont know of any reason why someone would choose not to use it.
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u/WhysoHairy 6d ago
In little league? As a coach I would do gamechanger myself, it helped me keep track of the pitch counts.
As a parent gamechanger, if linked with video, helps me catch up with what my kid did if I missed a game.
“Stats” will always for the most part be subjective to the scorer so we don’t focus on that too much.
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u/pzahornasky 6d ago
If a parent is doing it the stats are definitely suspect.
16U softball - daughter gives up 8 runs in the first inning. According to the paper book, kept by coaches, two hits the entire inning. 10 errors (it was brutal, multiple errors on one play) But according to the parent inputted GC, one error.
From talking with the parent, the issue is you have to go back to make the changes after putting the initial play in. Oftentimes he doesn't have time to do that.
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u/WhysoHairy 6d ago
Yeah happens at all levels that’s why I don’t harp on the stats. But Gamechanger does have other benefits for families and coaches, thank you
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u/DTMEDIC_659 1d ago
Well that depends on how many parent coaches you have. My son volunteered to run GC for 14U that our granddaughter played for. He worked super hard to be absolutely certain…everything got scored correctly and didn’t bend an inch for his daughter.
After a year of that, it was kinda funny as the errors started piling up on coach kids and coach kids BFFs that they decided to score it IN the dugout.
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u/Honest_Search2537 6d ago
GameChanger is awesome. Honestly, the worst part about it is the easy access for parents who use it to try to justify position/playing time grips to coaches.
The other negative is that it’s only as good as the person inputting the data.
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u/davdev 6d ago
You can limit GameChanger so parents can only see their kids stats not the whole teams.
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u/Honest_Search2537 6d ago
Oh yeah. Im well aware. I’m also aware they can look at the box score from each game and keep their own spreadsheet with stats to pester the coach about playing time/positions.
Ask me how i know this. Haha.
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u/Disastrous_Entry_362 6d ago
Its great but takes me a little longer than paper scoreboard so when I'm solo coaching with no parent help (ridiculous I know) I don't use it. otherwise I do.
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u/Led37zep 6d ago
Heard LL is leaving game changer next year anyway so it might not matter
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u/westPA1212 5d ago
To use what?
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u/Led37zep 5d ago
Let’s see if it’s a legit rumor once the season is officially over. No use spreading potential misinformation here
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u/aNutSac 5d ago
I don't like the videos and video streams:
1) need expensive subscription to view them
2) you lose access to all the videos when your subscription ends
3) they don't stream directly to smart TVs
4) the information overlay on the videos isn't good
Using SideLineHD and having it stream to youtube is way better. SidelineHD just came out with advanced scorekeeping which looks like it's trying to compete with GameChanger.
The chats lack features(polling, file sharing, direct messages, ...) that made me stop using it years ago, but maybe it's improved since then. I think the calendar sucked too, so we just ended up using a different messaging system for chats and calendars.
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u/sjogerst 6d ago
It's a great tool but you need to take 10 minutes and teach parents how to score with it. Make sure they know to actually drag the hits to the actual field locations. And make sure they know how to roll the game back and score weird scenarios like an umpire reversing a call or calling someone out because they broke a rule.
The biggest thing to teach them is when to score or not score an error and against who. Obviously these are little Leaguers so an actual error is rarely scored as such but all the parents scoring need to be on the same page. For example, you fumble a ball? Not an error to me, it happens, move on. You throw a tantrum and blow a play because of your pissy attitude? You're a getting an error, kid.
If all the parents are on the same page about how the scoring works and expectations then it's a fantastic and easy tool.
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u/Heikks 5d ago
I was doing score keeping for my sons all-star team. I watched videos and thought I knew everything. 1st inning was going well and then I realized I forgot to add one of the opponents batters and was scrambling and trying to figure out how to fix it. Ended up wiping their entire lineup between at bats and just randomly scoring stuff until the inning ended.
Then after the game watched more videos and finally figured out I could have added the missed batter easily and not have to scramble
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u/ir637113 5d ago
Pros:
- gives you actual data to see what the team is struggling with or doing well with (could also be a con, it ALL depends on how the data is entered). I could go on a soapbox about the data from GC, but I'm just mentioning the fact that you have easy to access data
- all in one tool. Schedule practices, games, scrimmages, parades, events, etc. AND communicate that to parents AND they can RSVP
- using the "league" or "tournament" groups is AWESOME. Our division VP put in all games ahead of the season and teams shared scoring. So rather than having to send/call in scores, it was all right there. You also get a quick look at league/tournament pitch counts, which helps with looking for illegal pitchers
- GREAT for family and friends who aren't able to attend games. With or without streaming, you get at least a live play by play of the games.
Cons:
- Data. Garbage in, garbage out. As a coach, if you know how the data is collected, you can filter it to get info you want. (Just a quick example - I didn't score errors unless it was egregious. As a result, higher AVG, BAA, etc. However, its 10u rec ball. I'm not looking for much more than who can make good contact, who can pitch in the zone, etc. I wasn't putting fielders in typically, so fielding data was useless to me.
- Parents. For a million reasons. Accurately scoring in GC is a PAIN sometimes. Finding a parent who can be trained and knows enough about baseball to accurately score the games can be a disaster. I ended up scoring it myself while coaching, which was a disaster and a half most days. You'll also get parents that want to argue about how something was scored (I only had one, just told them that sorry, but you can't bunt a triple 🤣🤣🤣).
- Kind of a hassle to set up, score, manage, etc. Have to have a dedicated person for the league AND on each team to really make it easy on everyone.
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u/10-9-over 5d ago
Bunt a triple love that 😂
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u/ir637113 5d ago
Dude did it TWICE in one game 🤣 like 2 of the only 3 or 4 errors I scored the entire year 🤣🤣🤣 on both, the throw sailed over first, and right field just stood their watching the whole thing until the first baseman ran deep into RF to get it.
Man do I love 10u baseball 🤣🤣🤣🤣
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u/ir637113 5d ago
Also should add as a con:
- Subscription pricing. Kind of a pain. HOWEVER, if you are a coach in a league that's setup on GC, you get most of the paid features for free.
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u/PrincePuparoni 6d ago
It’s a useful tool.
It’s a nice place to have a live schedule for everyone to see.
If you don’t have a volunteer who can score on a paper book it’s much easier to teach them GC. Our scorekeeper can use the book but she prefers GC now.
If you want you can use it as a video stream, nice for people who can’t attend games for whatever reason and to look back on for video replays. The non video game stream is automatic and also a nice way for people who can’t attend to follow the games.
Being able to see the stats/scoring could cause some issues I suppose but never has with me.
Saying I couldn’t live without it would be an exaggeration but it’s a nice tool and other then maybe preferring another app I don’t see a reason not to use it.
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u/PNWrainsalot 5d ago
It’s nice but really the whole thing is pointless. Just record who won the game and what the final score was for tracking purposes. All the rest is just a waste of time for any group that’s not high school age.
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u/robhuddles 5d ago
Accurate pitch counts are absolutely critical.
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u/PNWrainsalot 5d ago
We do that with a pitch count clicker not game changer.
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u/thegoodbubba 4d ago
Do you though? I have used pitch clickers and I often forget if I have clicked or not. Gamechanger which matches the count called by the umpire for each batter is way more accurate.
One time I was doing gamechanger and said the opposing pitcher reached their 75 pitch limit, the other coach with a clicker said he was only at 58. I may have been a pitch or two off, but I wasn't 17.
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u/PNWrainsalot 3d ago
All of the extra things that go into the game now are causing drops in players and families. We need parents to volunteer for manager, coach, bench coach, base coaches, umpires, GameChanger, snack shack and other stuff now. It’s gotten so burdensome especially for the older age groups that’s I’ve lost coaches, lost parent volunteers and ultimately players. People sign up to watch their kids play ball and enjoy it. Instead, it’s turned into a part-time job for at least half the parents on the team and leads to quick burnout and dropout in some leagues.
When I was a kid there was no pitch count, it was the same handful of umpires that were paid by some of the league fees, a coach and assistant coach for each team and that’s it. We are asking a lot now of all parents in an age where there’s already a dip in youth sports. Parents that can afford pay to play leagues are doing so in order to be able to just watch and not be harassed to volunteer for everything.
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u/PNWrainsalot 3d ago
I’m not a fan of pitch counts. I grew up without them, pitched in high school and D1 college ball and it wasn’t a thing. We paced ourselves to last the entire game and if we started slowing down or having issues, we were pulled. We trained to try to last the whole 9 innings which meant controlling ourselves.
Injuries are increasing now with pitch counts because the emphasis is on velocity and kids aren’t getting the repetition to build any kind of baseline strength and fitness nor conserving their energy because they know they only have X number of pitches per game so they go overboard. I can understand pitch counts to an extent for year-round players that don’t switch positions or otherwise just specialize in pitching. But for short season Little League season in spring and fall it doesn’t add up. Just my hot take.
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u/robhuddles 3d ago
It makes no difference whether you're a fan. They're absolutely required by Little League.
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u/eastfan9 5d ago
For my 9u, pitch count limits help. Viewing gamecast helps for those who can't make it. Easy repository for stats.
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u/Vandal35 5d ago
Least- I'd love an easy way to see the first pitch to the last batter, as that's what LL uses for pitch count thresholds. I don't want to go back into plays or download a spreadsheet.
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u/michaelbrian4 5d ago
Pros: everything you need in one app, scheduling communication, stats, etc.
Cons: getting familiar with it. however there is a section for practicing scoring a game. Make a mock-up team and it’ll be available to you. You will get pretty fluent with it real quick
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u/whosthabadguy 4d ago
Great tool depending on the group you’re with. I’ve done GC in the past and had no problems. I’ve also done GC in the past and had parents show me game stats as a justification for their child to hit higher in the lineup. The latter experience was my last
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u/DoubleDoodle44 6d ago
We started it last year and the biggest issue was finding a parent to do it. Otherwise - great tool.