Frequently asked questions:
1. What type of shoes should I wear? We recommend a baseball, soccer, or turf cleat. Tennis shoes tend to be very slippery.
2. Can we wear shin guards? Yes, as long as they are of soft pliable material. No hard plastic is allowed.
3. Can we wear jewelry? Yes, as long as the type of jewelry does not hinder your movement or cause bodily injury to yourself or others. It is at the discretion of the Umpire and/or CTKA Board Members.
4. Why are we required to have our shirts tucked in when kicking/running? It is the umpires' judgement that if a ball is thrown at a runner, the ball must hit the waist or below. If the runners shirt is out, the umpire is forced to make an unreliable call. Also, the tournaments that we attend, require shirts to be tucked in.
5. Why are children/guests not allowed in the dugout with us? We do not allow children/guests in the dugouts for the safety of the children/guests and to allow for space for the team players/coaches to sit. Please have babysitting available at the field during your games and have fans and family members stay outside the dugouts.
6. Can you clarify the strike zone? The strike zone is an imaginary rectangle, 3 feet wide (over the 3 foot plate) and as high as the kicker's knee. Also, keep in mind that if an imaginary line were drawn straight down from the side of the ball to the ground and that imaginary line crosses the plate lower than the kicker's knee, it is a STRIKE. This is what we call a "shadow". Not the actual shadow the sun creates.
7. Can we cut the sleeves off of our uniform shirt? Yes
8. Do we have to attend the tournaments? No. The tournaments are voluntary. We take a list of who wants to attend and create teams from the list. There are two tournaments we attend yearly; AWKA (Austin) Labor Day Tournament and the CCKL (Corpus Christi) Tournament.
9. What is the best way to catch a ball? Make a BASKET with your arms, elbows close together, fingers together, and wrap your arms around the ball.
10. What is a bunt? A bunt is a touched ball that falls or rolls short between the shortstop and the catcher. Stand in the circle as if you were going to kick the ball. Take one step with your planted foot and bring your kicking foot up off the ground in front of you, toe pointed up (flexed), and allow the ball to bounce off the bottom (cleat side) of your foot. The object is to have the ball roll very slowly past the 3 foot line into fair territory down the 1st base line. If hit with the inside of your foot, the ball tends to fly up in the air and is easily caught.
11. What day of the week will the games be played? All games will be played on Thursday evenings.
12. Will there be any New Player Clinics? Yes. Check LeagueApps page announcements and or other social sites such as Facebook for more details.
13. What times will the games be scheduled? 1st game begins at 6:30 pm. Games will be 55 minutes or 6 innings. The next game will start promptly at 7:30 pm. All pre-game warm-ups will be done outside the playing field or in the outfield.