Actually, this doesn’t just apply to softball coaching. It also applies to work, and family, and just about any other interaction. But it’s something to keep in mind:

The biggest mistake in coaching is insisting on proving you’re right in face of all evidence to the contrary.

Yet it seems to go on all the time. Coaches will stubbornly adhere to a certain strategy or way of playing even though it doesn’t work. Or they’ll set a lineup and stay with it even though it’s not producing runs – or wins.

One of my biggest pet peeves is coaches who make a decision at the beginning of the season  (sometimes even before the season) about the abilities of their players, and never bother to notice which players have improved and which ones haven’t.

Whatever it is, they may think it makes them important, or awesome. But it only hurts the players and the team.

It’s good to have opinions and convictions. But not to the point where you do things just to prove you’re right. Instead, be sure to constantly evaluate what you’re doing, and don’t be afraid to make changes for the better.