Have You Thanked the Team Scorekeeper Lately?

Most people don’t jump at the change to be the team scorekeeper. Not only is it a monotonous job, but it also tends to be a thankless one. Furthermore, the person who usually ends up doing it is often a volunteer, filling the role for no money despite the investment of time and energy.

It’s also important to note that, though it may seem like it, being the team scorekeeper isn’t easy. Trying to keep score during a game presents the scorekeeper with tons of distractions. Plus, despite the fact that the scorekeeper is busy, people still tend to come up and ask, over and over again, what the score is or what the pitcher’s pitch count is. These volunteers often don’t get a moment of peace during the entire game!   

There are really only a couple of ways to be fair to the scorekeeper and to thank him or her for all the effort and hard work. The first is to offer a small gift or even a little money to the scorekeeper for his or her role though many would just be happy with regular “thank yous” from team members and players. If you don’t want to go that route, then it’s probably best to hire and pay someone to do the job.

The obvious choice in terms of who to hire is a coach or assistant coach. Often, since the coach is already getting paid, adding on this duty won’t cost a lot (or any) extra money. Also, if the coach and assistant coach can trade off score-keeping duties, no one person gets stuck with all the work.

Plus, coaches often make the best scorekeepers all around. They are knowledgeable about the game, fully understand and may even have helped to create the league rules, and are easier to access when a player or parent wants to check up on the score or some other figure.

Coaches already know a lot about their players, but, when they step into the role of scorekeepers, they learn even more. They’ll have a better handle on who’s doing a great job at one specific position or task and who needs a little extra help during practice.

In the end, there are many benefits to designating a coach as scorekeeper. Whether that’s possible for your team or not, be appreciative of the team scorekeeper and all of the work he or she puts in.