Cheating in 8u machine pitch
I’m genuinely curious how others would handle this situation.
Our league sent two 8U teams to a tournament, and we ended up playing each other in the championship game. During the mandatory coaches/umpires meeting before the tournament, it was made very clear that coaches were not allowed to adjust the pitching machine’s height or velocity. If there was an issue with the strike zone, both coaches had to agree before the start of a new inning and agree on the pitch placement before processing the inning.
During the championship game, multiple people noticed the opposing coach adjusting the height of the machine on several occasions. It always seemed to happen when the umpires or tournament officials were distracted (after a foul ball, when the umpire was hit in the mask, etc.). Our coach challenged it during the game, but the concern was dismissed.
We also have GameChanger video showing the machine being adjusted, so this isn’t based on speculation.
We’ve brought our concerns to our league because, regardless of who wins or loses, everyone deserves a fair game played by the same rules. However, it seems like this may not be addressed.
So what would you do? Would you let it go since the tournament is over? Would you send the GameChanger video to district or Little League leadership? Would you continue pushing your local league to address it internally? Or would you simply move on and hope it doesn’t happen again?
I’m honestly looking for advice. This isn’t about trying to change the outcome of the championship. It’s about making sure the rules are enforced consistently so every team has a fair opportunity moving forward