Author Archives: Ken Krause
Fall Ball Is a Great Time to See What You Have
It seems like only yesterday that the summer travel ball season was getting started – and teams were already promoting open workouts and private tryouts for the next season.
Well, next season is now officially upon us, and with that comes fall ball games. Back when I was coaching teams, fall ball usually meant one practice a week, a couple of double headers (if you could find another team that wanted to play), and maybe a tournament or two if you could scrape up enough players who weren’t committed to fall sports at their schools.
Nowadays for most teams, though, practices are multiple times per week (3-4 for some teams!), there’s a tournament practically every weekend through Halloween, and maybe even a few more “friendlies” sprinkled in here and there. That’s progress I guess.
If you are following this type of heavy schedule I do have a suggestion for you: don’t just treat it like summer ball 2.0. Instead, use at least some of this time to figure out what you have in the way of players. I mean, hopefully you chose well in the tryout process, but you never really know until you see them in action.
To do that effectively you have to be willing to do something that many coaches these days seem reluctant to do: potentially lose some games you might have otherwise won.
For example, instead of pitching your Ace for one out of two games of pool play and as many bracket games as she can go without her arm falling off like you usually do, try using your #2, #3, or even #4 more. Your #1 will probably appreciate the additional rest and recovery time, and you’ll have more opportunity to see what the other pitchers (especially the new ones) can do in a game situation.
There is also an added bonus to this strategy: If your #1 is a strikeout pitcher and the others are more “pitch to contact,” your fielders will get more work and you’ll gain a better understanding of exactly what you need to work on – whether it’s skills, knowing what to do with the ball, communicating effectively or some other aspect. Better to find out now than next summer when it’s probably too late to do anything about it.
One other thing you can do with pitchers is maybe leave them in the circle a little longer than you usually might to see if they can work their way out of a jam or regain their control if they start to lose it a little. Sometimes all a pitcher needs to get out of funk is to get more innings; this is the perfect time to make that happen.
You can also use the fall to shake up your batting order a bit and give hitters who normally are at the bottom a chance to get a few more at-bats. Maybe you don’t move the whole bottom up to the top at once – no sense in going crazy with it – but moving one or two up strategically might help them find their rhythm better and might give you some extra quality bats throughout the lineup for when you need them most.
Going back to fielders, the fall gives you a good chance to see what your backups at a particular position can do. Instead of using, say, the same shortstop or the same catcher, or the same something else in every game, put those backups into a starting role and see how they handle it; they might just surprise you.
The fall is also a good time to try out different strategies to A) see how your team handles them and B) short up any areas of deficiency you discover.
For example, I know the short game isn’t as important in fastpitch softball as it used to be. Everyone digs the long ball these days, but there are still times when the ability to perform a suicide squeeze or lay down some other type of bunt can make the difference between winning and losing a big game.
If you try it in the fall and it works, you’ll have more confidence trying it next spring. And if it doesn’t, well, that practice plan kind of writes itself.
The same goes for unusual defensive sets. If you’re facing a speedy slapper maybe you want to try pulling your second baseman or shortstop in closer, like up next to the circle, to see if you can take away her speed.
Or if you’re facing a situation where you’re pretty sure the offense is going to try a bunt, bring your first and third basemen in about 15 feet away from home to give them a better shot at making the play. You can even try having them shift into that from a more traditional set once the pitcher is ready to throw the pitch so you don’t give it away.
You can also use the fall to try some trick plays, like those first and third plays you keep practicing but never call, or faking a throw to first on a ground ball to see if you can sucker the lead runner into a rundown. The possibilities are endless.
Sure, there are times when you’re going to have to go with what you know. If you’re trying to win an early bid to Nationals next year to get that out of the way you’re probably going to want to play to win. But if it’s a meaningless tournament, or a showcase where you’re just going to play X number of games and then go home, why not use it to find out what you don’t know?
Yes, it can be difficult to lose a game you might’ve won, and nobody likes losing. But taking that small risk now can pay big rewards down the road.
Don’t just take it from me, though. On our From the Coach’s Mouth podcast Jay Bolden and I have spoken to several college coaches who have followed this fall ball strategy to help them get ready for the spring. If it’s good enough for them…
Leaves photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
A Softball Lesson from General George S. Patton
When I was still working in the business world, I used to have this quote from WWII General George S. Patton hanging in every cubicle and office I worked in:
“A good plan, violently executed today, is better than a perfect plan executed next week.”
I would also copy the paper I had it on and give it to new co-workers when they joined the company, especially the younger people who might be intimidated coming into their first big jobs.
I found them to be great words to live by for a variety of settings. And they definitely work for fastpitch softball.
Think about hitters. We’ve all seen hitters who let good pitches go by waiting to see the perfect pitch.
They wind up in an 0-2 hole, where their odds of seeing a perfect pitch go down substantially, and as a result their chances of getting a good hit drop significantly as well.
Or take pitchers who are working on a new pitch. They feel like they’re doing pretty well with it, but they (or their coaches) are reluctant to use it in a game because they don’t have full (perfect) control over it yet.
The result is they never gain game experience with it because none of us is ever going to be perfect. Instead of waiting for absolute reliability, I say pick a safe situation (nobody on, nobody out, 0-1 count for example) and give it a try.
Worst case the count goes to 1-1, but it could have done that anyway with a “safer pitch” that the pitcher doesn’t throw well or that the umpire misses. Throw that new pitch so you start getting used to it in game situations so you have it for later – not to mention maybe it works the way it should now even if it’s by luck and you start building confidence.
The words of General Patton don’t just apply to players either. Coaches, how many times do you work on a defensive play for when there are runners on first and third, or a special offensive play such as a suicide squeeze, only to be too afraid to try it in an actual game?
Your team’s ability to win an important game might just come down to its ability to execute one of these high-risk plays. But if you’re too worried it’s not ready when you’re playing a friendly or a non-conference game, you’ll never know if it’s ready when it counts.
I say give it a try now, when a screw-up doesn’t mean as much, and see what happens. Maybe you learn your team is close to executing it but needs a little more work; maybe you learn there’s no point in wasting valuable practice time because your team is never going to be ready to pull it off with any degree of certainty.
But at least you’ll know.
Remember that in softball, as in most things in life, the situation is changing constantly. Waiting until you have the “perfect” conditions or opportunity means you could be passing up a whole lot of other ones that, while they carry a little more risk, also carry a lot of potential rewards.
With fall ball coming up, this is the perfect time to trot out some of those special plays, or new pitches, or more aggressive approaches at the plate, or new fielding techniques, whatever else has been gathering dust in your back pocket.
Prepare as best you can in the time you have, then give it a try. You may just surprise yourself.
Hitters, Math, and Being Prepared
Since a lot of the U.S. has either gone back to school or is about to, I thought it would be a good time to talk about math. Specifically, the math of hitting in a game and why letting a good pitch go by early may not be such a good idea.
At its most basic, hitters are given a maximum of 5 pitches that count in each at bat. (Yes, you can get more if you’re fouling off pitches, but for the most part the goal is to hit the ball fair rather than foul it off so let’s stick with that.)
If you just stand there and get to a 3-2 count, that means 3 of the pitches were judged not good pitches to hit by the umpire and 2 were determined to be good. Again, you can debate umpire strike zones all day but for this argument we’ll assume the blue has a good zone.
So that means you had 2 out of 5 opportunities to get a good hit by swinging at a good pitch. Put another way, less than half the pitches were good ones.
Now let’s bring in those foul balls. Maybe they were good pitches you missed, or maybe they actually weren’t good pitches but they were close enough that you (rightfully) felt compelled to swig.
If you had 5 foul balls and 3 of them were borderline. you now had a total of 10 pitches, of which 4 were good and 6 were not. You’re still at the same 40% mark as before.
On the other hand, if one more of those pitches was borderline, you now had 3 good and 7 not-so-good pitches and your percentage of good pitches to hit dropped from 40% to 30%.
Ah, but we’re not done yet.
It’s pretty rare for hitters to hit pitches in all zones equally well. Most have zones where they hit better – say up and in and up and out – and zones where they don’t hit the ball well at all, even though they are legitimate strikes.
So now, of those 3 or 4 good pitches we outlined earlier, maybe only one was in a zone you liked. Which means out of the 10 pitches in that at bat, you only got 1 truly good pitch to hit.
No wonder hitting is so difficult.
Now stretch that across an entire game. If you get 3 at bats, you may only have gotten 3-6 pitches out of 30 that were where you can be confident you could hit the ball hard somewhere.
Pretty low odds, wouldn’t you say? Add in that a hard-hit ball could still be fielded for an out by a fielder and it is amazing anyone has a decent batting average.
The point of all of this is, as a hitter, there is a pretty good chance you’re only going to see 1 truly good pitch per at bat, so you’d better be ready when it comes.
Keep in mind the pitcher’s goal is to not throw you ANY good pitches to hit. At the college level and even high school or higher travel ball levels the opposing team may have a book on your that shows where you like the ball and where you don’t. Guess where they’re going to try to throw it?
At the younger levels, many of the pitchers don’t have full command of their pitches yet so their locations may be a little to a lot erratic. The forgiving term for that is “effectively wild,” i.e., they can’t hit a location reliably, but even if they’re off they’re close enough to the strike zone that it works for them anyway.
We’ve all known pitches like that.
Whatever the case with the pitcher, again, when she does throw a pitch you can hit well you have to be ready to hit it. For me, that means you have to assume EVERY pitch is going to be that pitch, load up and start your swing as if that’s true, and then hold up if you see it’s not.
After all, you don’t want to waste the very few really good pitches you’re going to see by realizing too late that you should be swinging. If you’re only going to see 2 or 3 hittable pitches in a game, you need to make the most of them when they come.
That includes the first pitch you see, by the way. I know some hitters don’t like swinging at the first pitch, and some coaches preach letting the first pitch go by so you can get a look at how the pitcher is throwing. I’m not a fan of either approach.
Keep in mind pitchers are coached to get ahead in the count. Many teams place a lot of emphasis on first pitch strikes and track that stat religiously.
It would be a shame to let the best pitch you’re going to see in that at bat go by automatically just because, don’t you think? At the very least, on that first pitch you should be looking for a particular pitch and your best location to hit, and if you see it go ahead and swing with enthusiasm.
It will take a lot of pressure off of you and keep you from having to go into survival mode later in that at bat. If your coach insists on no swinging at the first pitch you have to abide by that, of course, but hopefully he/she can be convinced to at least green light a pitch that’s in your happy place.
The math is the math. Hitters usually don’t get a lot of opportunities to hit good pitches, so you need to be ready when they do come along.
Take advantage of good pitches when they come and you can make the math work for you.
Teacher photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com
It’s OK To Go After the Lead Runner. At Least Sometimes.
With my heavy lesson schedule I don’t often get a chance to go out and watch actual youth softball games. But over the last couple of weeks – thanks to the miracle of modern streaming technology – I’ve been able to watch several games online.
While I was mostly watching some of my students as a fan, the coach in me couldn’t help but notice something rather, well, odd. Let’s set up the situation then we’ll get to what was strange to me.
In the plays I’m talking about there were runners on second and/or third base with less than two outs, and only a run or two separating the team on defense (which was behind) from the team on offense. A ground ball was hit right to an infielder or the pitcher and – and the fielder immediately picked up the ball and threw it to first base.
No checking to see what the lead runner was doing – which in most cases was taking off immediately. No awareness that I could see that there even WERE runners on base.
Just automatically making the play at first, which resulted either in a runner scoring, putting the team on defense even further behind, or a runner advancing to third, increasing the offense’s chances of scoring again, especially if the out at first was the first of the inning.
I don’t get that at all. Why wouldn’t coaches be teaching their players to at least take a look at that lead runner, and if there is a play there go for that instead of throwing to first?
To be honest, in the plays I saw the lead runner should have been caught dead to rights. There was plenty of time to make a play if the fielder had been trained to think, “I should see what that lead runner is doing and throw her out if I can.”
In one example, the lead runner on second ran right past the shortstop. Had the shortstop noticed her, she could have made a quick pivot to throwing side and either gotten the runner immediately on a tag play or else created a rundown situation.
But instead, the shortstop showed no awareness at all of the runner who had just passed right in front of her and instead opted to make the long throw across the diamond. Yes, she got the out, but the lead runner eventually went on to core.
Had the shortstop made the throw to third instead that runner would have likely been erased. And since the chances of scoring from third with two outs are more than double than the chances of scoring from first with two outs (.321 v .144) according to 643 Charts, the defensive team wouldn’t have had as a big a hole to climb out of when it was their turn to hit.
Another situation was a combacker to the pitcher with a runner on third. Rather than checking the runner to see if she was going (she was), the pitcher automatically threw the ball to first, allowing an easy score.
Had she looked at the runner she would have seen that a simple toss home would have resulted in either an easy tag play or at least a rundown that, if it was properly executed but didn’t get an out, would prevent a run from scoring.
So does that mean you should always go after the lead runner? Of course not.
There are a number of situations where the out at first is your best option – not the least of which is when your team is having trouble getting outs at all. In that case get an out somewhere and get out of the inning!
Another obvious situation is a ground ball to the second baseman, especially if she is playing somewhat deep. She probably doesn’t have the arm to make a throw home and get the runner so going to first is the smarter move.
Even if she does have the arm, though, if it’s going to be a close play at home but an easy play to first, take the out. There’s probably little likelihood of getting the out at third either so take the out at first.
Bunts in general tend to be another exception. If the catcher fields the bunt she might have a chance of making the play at second because she’s used to making that throw and she’s moving in the right direction to do it.
For everyone else, unless there’s an extremely slow runner on first, take the out with the hitter.
There are some other factors as well, such as whether your team is good at putting up runs. If you’re struggling on offense already, either overall or in that game, you might want to do everything you can to keep the game close, including not giving up runs when you don’t have to. On the other hand, if you’re confident you can trade a run for an out because you’ll make it up in your next at bat, take the out at first.
Another factor is where you are in the game. The fewer outs you have left on offense, the more important those runs given up on defense become.
Even if your philosophy is “take the easy out,” you may need to adjust if you’re coming down to the last inning or two. Yes, there is a risk of making the situation worse if your team can’t execute the throw and tag, but hey, that’s what practice is for.
On the other hand, if your team is up by six runs late in the game, trade that run for the easiest out. You have runs to spare, while the offensive can’t spare any outs.
Early in the game, keep in mind that a well-executed play on a lead runner may cause the other team’s coach to become more cautious on the basepaths. No one wants to get a runner thrown out at home so if you can show you’re able to do it you might just keep the pressure off your defense for the rest of the game.
Speaking of which, the other big factor is your team’s ability to judge whether they can make the throw in time and your confidence that they can execute the play overall. There’s a big difference between trying it with a college or 16-18U travel team versus a 10U travel team versus a rec league team.
Clearly, there is no “one-size-fits-all” solution here. But going for the lead runner is at least worth considering.
Teach your players HOW to do it, then teach them when. You never know when that one out your saved can mean the difference between winning and losing.
Where Have All the Pitchers Gone? 2025 Edition
Two years ago almost to the day I wrote the post below. Sad to say things don’t seem to have gotten any better so I thought it would be worthwhile to re-post it.
I still believe one of the biggest problems is coaches who are so averse to losing that they won’t give their less experienced pitchers the opportunity to develop. Instead, they go with their Aces all the time, even when they don’t need to. For example, in weekday “friendlies” or pool play games, especially when seeding is going to be determined by a blind draw anyway.
Pitchers who don’t get the opportunity to pitch get discouraged and stop doing it. In the meantime, pitchers who are over-pitched develop over-use injuries and then often become unavailable to pitch when they get older.
It all ends up in a perfect storm of not enough pitchers to go around by the time teams get to 15U/16U. Or sometimes even second year 14U.
Teams need pitchers right now like crops need rain. Let’s try to do better at the early ages and give budding pitchers an opportunity to grow.
Because you never know. Today’s gawky, uncoordinated 11 year old may just turn out to be tomorrow’s stud – if she’s given the incentive to stick with it.
Yes, I know, it sounds like a folk song but it’s a legitimate question. Especially now that we are hot and heavy into the softball tryout season.
If you’re following softball-oriented Facebook groups or forums such as Discuss Fastpitch you’re probably seeing this plea a lot, particularly in the older age groups: Impossibly great team looking for one more bracket pitcher to complete our outstanding roster.
With all the 8-10 year olds jumping into the pitching pool you would think there would be a cornucopia of pitching at every level. It’s not unusual to see box scores on GameChanger that show four or five pitchers each getting an inning of work on a regular basis. And it’s been that way for long before GameChanger existed.
So what happened to all those pitchers?
Well, somewhere along the way they stopped pitching. Or maybe even playing the game entirely.
Sure, some probably found that they just didn’t care for the pressure of being in the circle. And some probably found that they didn’t like all the extra work that goes with being a pitcher. All legit, and to each her own.
But I can’t help but think that the rapid shrinking of the pitching pool might in many cases also be driven by team coaches and parents who are more focused on winning 10U or 12U games or trophies than they are on ensuring their players develop properly.
Take the coach who has 5 pitchers on his/her roster but gives 90% of the innings to the #1 pitcher. Yes, it’s nice to win games and tournaments, but if you’re only really giving one pitcher an opportunity to pitch regularly the others won’t develop.
Then they won’t develop, they’ll fall farther behind, get discouraged by their lack of progress as well as their lack of opportunity, and eventually stop pitching. So now four more are out of the pitcher pool for the future.
Oh, and in the meantime the #1 develops an overuse injury and may end up not pitching either.
Then there are the coaches who set impossible standards for their young, developing pitchers. They tell them in order to pitch they need to “hit their spots” 80% of the time.
Not because it’s necessary – really the only “spots” that are important at the 10U level are ball and strike – but because they heard on TV or read an article that said that’s what college pitchers do. Or because they want to use the vague “hit your spots” as an excuse not to pitch a girl who isn’t going to walk in and dominate every game.
So again, she doesn’t get circle time, falls behind, and eventually gives it up because what’s the point of taking lessons and practicing if you never get to pitch, even in “friendlies” or pool play?
Pitching coaches who say they’re teaching 10 or 12 year olds to throw seven pitches aren’t much help either.
Most 10U and 12U pitchers have enough to do mastering a fastball and and a changeup. Having them work on five other pitches – especially with some of the crazy mechanics I’ve seen them try to use – is a recipe for disaster.
Those pitchers never master their fundamentals. So when the hitters get better all those so-called different pitches turn out to be bullet spin fastballs to different locations that are fairly easy to hit. And then they’re out of the pitching pool because they’re getting hammered all the time.
And the list goes on. If we really want to have more pitchers available at 16U and 18U, parents and coaches have to do more to encourage greater success for more pitchers at the younger levels.
Keep them pitching, keep them developing, and give them opportunities to learn their craft – even when they’re bad at it. Then maybe there won’t be so many teams begging for pitchers or fighting over the same ones at the older levels.
My good friend Jay Bolden and I have started a new podcast called “From the Coach’s Mouth” where we interview coaches from all areas and levels of fastpitch softball as well as others who may not be fastpitch people but have lots of interesting ideas to contribute.
You can find it here on Spotify, as well as on Apple Podcasts, Pandora, Stitcher, iHeart Radio, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you’re searching, be sure to put the name in quotes, i.e., “From the Coach’s Mouth” so it goes directly to it.
Give it a listen and let us know what you think. And be sure to hit the Like button and subscribe to Life in the Fastpitch Lane for more content like this.
Lead photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
Giving Players the Chance to Work Through Adversity
One of the most common phrases you will hear in all of sports is “player development.” Whether it’s a 10U girls fastpitch softball team coached by volunteers or a multi-billion dollar NFL franchise, everyone likes to talk about how important player development is for the short- and long-term success of the team and the organization.
That is, of course, until somebody makes a mistake or a problem arises. Then all that talk about letting players develop goes out the window as the coach unceremoniously removes said player from the game so the team doesn’t face the unthinkable prospect of possibly losing a game because of that one play.
Yeah, I’m getting a little hyperbolic but it’s to make a larger point: how in the world will players develop when the minute something bad happens they are removed from the situation?
We’ve all heard the phrases “iron sharpens iron,” “steel is forged in heat,” and “diamonds are lumps of coal that stood up to pressure.” But none of those great outcomes happen if you remove the object from the situation the second any stress occurs.
That’s why, if you are actually committed to seeing your players develop, you have to leave them in to face their greatest difficulties or fears, even if it means you might lose a few more games here or there rather than pulling them something starts to go wrong. By giving them a chance to work their way out of a difficult situation, even if they ultimately fail today, you will help them become better-prepared for the next time they face similar pressure.
Take a pitcher, for example. Maybe she is fairly new to pitching, or has been sidelined for a while with an injury.
She starts the game and does ok in the first inning, but then she walks a couple of hitters on 8 or 9 total pitches. Time to pull her, right?
Not necessarily. If you’re in an elimination Sunday game maybe.
But if you’re playing a meaningless weekday friendly, or a showcase where no college coaches are there to see someone specifically, or a pool play game (especially where seeding will be decided by a blind draw) a better strategy for the player and the team might be to go out and talk to her, try to reinforce her confidence, then leave her in there to try to work her way out of the situation.
She just might surprise you. And even if she doesn’t, who cares?
Losing that game doesn’t really affect anything but your ego around your team’s record. But giving that pitcher a chance to work her way through difficulty might be just the boost she needs to help her contribute more to the team down the road.
After all, pitchers need innings if they’re going to be effective. Taking them out of the game because you panic at the first sign of trouble (or are more worried about wins than giving your players a chance to develop) will just set them back further on their own journeys – and could even cost you players who become great when someone else shows a little more faith.
The same is true for fielders and hitters. If you pull a fielder after one or even two errors rather than giving her a chance to recover she’s not going to learn very much – except that you have no faith in her.
If you constantly DH for a hitter because you don’t want to give up an out, or put in a pinch hitter any time the situation is remotely tense, it’s unlikely she’s going to develop the confidence it takes to swing the bat effectively.
Then, one day when she comes to the plate in a meaningful game where you have no other options, you’ll have no one to blame for her failure but yourself.
Ok, so does this mean I think you should never pull a pitcher or make another substitution? Of course not.
There are times when it has to be done. If you’re in a “win or go home” situation and your pitcher is starting to struggle, you’re probably going to want to look to the bullpen sooner rather than later.
Although even then, if you truly believe in that pitcher, you might consider leaving her in a little longer with the understanding you may not win this lesser tournament in order to make sure she’s ready for a more important one down the road.
Same with the fielder or hitter. If the fielder looks like she’s not mentally focused, or is herself panicking over the error(s), and there is a risk of elimination (or even dropping needlessly into the loser’s bracket), you may have to take her out.
But if you do, don’t just send her to Purgatory. Talk to her, try to reinforce her confidence, and assure her she’ll get more opportunities. Today is just a tough day.
If you have to DH or pinch hit for a hitter, let her know it’s not the end of the world. This particular situation needed a change, but she will have more opportunities to work herself back into the batting lineup, because the change is situational, not permanent.
Then live up to it.
Bottom line is there are times when hard decisions have to be made and players need to come out. But all too many times, coaches are making those decisions for the wrong reasons.
Instead of making a knee jerk decision at the first sign of trouble, give those players an opportunity to face the tough challenges and work their way out of an issue for a little longer than you might be comfortable. You never know when it will be just the thing to spur the creation of your team’s next superstar.
And help you build a reputation as a genius at handling players.
My good friend Jay Bolden and I have started a new podcast called “From the Coach’s Mouth” where we interview coaches from all areas and levels of fastpitch softball as well as others who may not be fastpitch people but have lots of interesting ideas to contribute.
You can find it here on Spotify, as well as on Apple Podcasts, Pandora, Stitcher, iHeart Radio, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you’re searching, be sure to put the name in quotes, i.e., “From the Coach’s Mouth” so it goes directly to it.
Give it a listen and let us know what you think. And be sure to hit the Like button and subscribe to Life in the Fastpitch Lane for more content like this.
Top photo by Kindel Media on Pexels.com
Understanding Why Athletes Quit Playing
As another softball season heads into the final stretch run, many softball players are making the tough decision whether to stay with their current team or make a switch. For some, though, the decision is a little different: they are deciding whether to play at all anymore.
There are lots of reasons players stop playing. But in survey after survey, you’ll find one common reason overriding all the rest: it’s just not fun anymore.
When kids are small, they sign up for sports because they look like fun. Sometimes they find it’s not as much fun from the inside (for example, kids who don’t like to run usually don’t stick with soccer or basketball) so they move on to something else.
Once they find something they like, though, they tend to stick with it. At least for a while.
For some, the fun just keeps growing. They like the act of playing, they like the competition, they like the atmosphere.
But for others, it can become overwhelming. And that’s when they start to consider whether playing ball is something they want to continue doing.
This lack of fun can take a number of forms. Some call it burnout.
They’ve been doing the same thing over and over, constantly working on their games to get better. While that can be a driver for some, for others they just grow tired of it and decide they need to move on to something else.
For others it’s outside pressures, especially as they get better and begin to play at higher levels. These higher levels come with higher expectations, from coaches, from parents/guardians, from fans, from recruiters and others.
There is more pressure to win, and losses become more traumatic, especially if they’re playing for coaches with a “win at all costs” mindset.
Some thrive on the pressure, but others find themselves overwhelmed by it. They lose their sense of self and the reasons they started to play, and all they can think about is how bad it will be for them if they fail.
Eventually they succumb to those negative thoughts and just feel like they need to get out from under it so they stop playing before everyone thinks badly of them (in their minds).
In some cases the responsibilities of playing make them feel like they have no time for anything else. Yes, playing at a high level often requires sacrifice, such as missing a trip to the amusement park or a concert or a bestie’s birthday party because they have yet another tournament that weekend.
If there’s nothing they’d rather be doing they don’t mind missing those events. But if they start feeling like softball is starting to keep them from living the rest of their lives, they may decide to play at a lower, less-demanding level or not play at all.
So when does this feeling begin to occur? Typically it’s around the age of 13.
The game starts getting harder and their lives start getting more complicated. Instead of just playing for the love of the sport, they start feeling like they have to perform in a certain way in order to attract the attention of colleges so they can secure a scholarship to their college of choice.
If they don’t, even temporarily they can feel like they’re not enough or like they’ve let the people they love down. Rather than risking it, they decide to eliminate the problem by dropping out of the sport entirely.
So how do we keep that from happening and keep more players in the sport they love?
One is to understand that they’re not perfect. Your favorite player is going to go through tough times.
They’re going to strike out a little too often, or walk a few too many hitters, or make a few too many errors, or have some other issue. Instead of coming down on them about it, recognize that they didn’t fail on purpose.
Then give them the support they need. Encourage them, and help them through the tough times.
Remind them that it’s not the end of the world, and one bad game or even a series of bad games doesn’t have to define them.
Maybe they need a little extra practice time, and if you can help them with it do so. But maybe they need a break, something to take their minds off a bad game or series, so take them out to dinner or to a movie or to their favorite beverage retailer and talk about anything but softball.
In other words, help them clear their heads of the bad juju that’s going on in there and let go of whatever is dragging them down.
If they feel like the level they’re playing at is too much, talk to them and maybe suggest they drop a level to see if they can find their love of the sport again rather than abandon it entirely. Just like learning a new skill, sometimes you have to take a step backwards before you can take a step forward. They may find themselves reinvigorated and may even want to start pursuing it a higher level again once the pressure has been relieved.
You know your child best, so think it through and help her find the fun and the love she once had so she can get it back again.
Now, understand there can be other reasons a player may not want to play anymore. She may still love the game but her life priorities have changed. That’s not what we’re talking about here.
I’m thinking more about the player who has had the love of the game sucked out of her; she probably still wants to play but can’t quite get back into the right headspace.
The fun doesn’t have to be gone forever. Recognize the warning signs and help your player get back on track, and maybe everyone involved can enjoy this great sport a little longer.
When Old Ways Become My Way or the Highway
I recently received a rather exasperating note from the mother of one of my catching students. She told me her daughter’s team coach is now insisting that their catchers rip off their hockey-style masks when going after foul balls and making other types of plays.
Neither her daughter or the other catcher is happy about it. They’ve both been taught (one by me, one by someone else) to leave the mask on.
But they are both concerned that if they don’t follow what the coach says they won’t get playing time. In my mind if they both band together and refuse what’s the coach going to do – pull in an outfielder to catch? But let’s table that discussion for now.
The coach’s admonition was, “You play for me and not your catching coaches,” thereby asserting the right of kings in making decisions regardless of the facts or the best information available. In other words, it’s the old coaching philosophy of “my way or the highway.”
From what I am told, this entire controversy cropped up when the other catcher missed a pop-up. The coach drew the conclusion the miss was caused by a lack of visibility within the mask without any real evidence to support it.
The reality is of the many things that could have caused the catcher to miss that pop-up, a lack of visibility caused by the mask is one of the least likely. That’s because the hockey-style masks are designed specifically to provide full visibility throughout the catcher’s field of vision.
Back when I was a catcher, in the days when dinosaurs roamed the earth, we used flat masks that were held in place by elastic straps on the back of your head. They provided good visibility straight ahead, i.e., in the direction the pitch would come from, but restricted your peripheral vision, making it difficult to locate pop-ups or see a ball coming in from the side on a tag play at the plate.
Additionally, those masks were easy to pull off and toss out of the way, so it made sense to remove them for anything that wasn’t a pitched ball coming from straight in front of you.
Today’s masks are large hunks of plastic designed to protect the catcher’s entire head. They are form-fitting and difficult to remove quickly. In fact, trying to remove the mask when doing something like chasing after a foul ball can become a huge and painful distraction if it gets caught on your nose or ears or forehead.
Ripping the mask off can also cause problems if you’re wearing sunglasses or even worse prescription glasses in order to see. The glasses get pulled off and now you’re far worse off than you would have been had the helmet remained in place.
Then there’s the problem of getting rid of it. The old flat masks were lightweight and easy to toss; a full-on hockey-style mask is much bulkier, making it harder to toss and creating more of a tripping risk because of its size. Tough to catch a pop-up when you’re lying flat on your belly, no matter how well you can see it.
Finally, we come to what happens on a play at the plate. When a runner is sliding into home (or worse, crashing into the catcher as she goes to apply the tag even though the runner is supposed to avoid contact) the catcher will be much better protected with the helmet on than the helmet off.
No cleats to the face, no banging your unprotected head on the ground if you’re knocked backwards.
By the way, this isn’t just me saying all this, although it is what I tell catchers. A quick Google or AI search will find pretty much all top-line catching instructors saying the same thing. Removing the catcher’s mask is both unnecessary and less safe.
So the only reason left to insist your catchers rip off their masks when making a play is because YOU ARE OPERATING OFF OF OLD AND OBSOLETE INFORMATION (saying it loud for the folks in the back), and you are letting your ego get in the way of doing what’s best for your players.
This is why it is so important for coaches to continue to seek out new information and learn. Not just about catcher’s masks but all aspects of the game.
The old ways may have worked, but there are a whole lot of smart people out there who have the time, tools, talent, and budget to research every aspect of the game more thoroughly. If new discoveries or information come along that can help your players do better why wouldn’t you want to take advantage of it?
I know some people hate to admit that they may have been wrong in what they were teaching, but they need to get over it. They need to understand it isn’t that they were wrong – it’s that they were using the best information they had at the time, and now they have new and better information.
As my buddy and podcast partner Jay Bolden says, as coaches we expect our players to be learning and improving all the time. Why shouldn’t we demand the same of ourselves?
The fact is we should be eager to learn more, because the smarter and more informed we are, the better chance we have of developing better players who will help us win more games. Sticking with something because that’s the way you’ve always done it is a very poor way to coach, and one that could hurt a player’s development – or even end up with her injured.
The catcher’s mask discussion is just a symptom of a larger issue. Before you insist on players doing something in cases where they’ve been taught something else, take the time to do a little research and see WHY it’s being taught differently.
You might just learn something that will help you not just now but in the future as well.
My good friend Jay Bolden and I have started a new podcast called “From the Coach’s Mouth” where we interview coaches from all areas and levels of fastpitch softball as well as others who may not be fastpitch people but have lots of interesting ideas to contribute.
You can find it here on Spotify, as well as on Apple Podcasts, Pandora, Stitcher, iHeart Radio, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you’re searching, be sure to put the name in quotes, i.e., “From the Coach’s Mouth” so it goes directly to it.
Give it a listen and let us know what you think. And be sure to hit the Like button and subscribe to Life in the Fastpitch Lane for more content like this.
A Couple of Common Recruiting Myths Busted
As I write this we are heading into one of the most important periods for softball players looking to get recruited to play in college – especially at a Power 4 or other Division i school. Because we are right in front of the major tournaments in Colorado, as well as a few other events across the U.S.
Players (and their parents) at various age levels are eagerly anticipating their opportunities to get on one of the big stages, show what they can, and hopefully get discovered by one of the myriad of college coaches who are scouting at these tournaments. It’s the softball equivalent of the story about actress Lana Turner getting discovered at the Top Hat Cafe soda fountain and going on to a fame and fortune as a leading lady in numerous Hollywood movies.
I hate to be the one to burst anyone’s bubble, but the odds of being “discovered” at a tournament, even a big one, are about the same as the odds of being discovered sitting in a restaurant in Hollywood – basically one in a million. I’m not saying it can’t happen (more on that in a bit), but it’s extremely unlikely to happen. Here’s why.
First, all of these major tournament have multiple sites, and which site you play on plays a large part in determining which college coaches (if any) will be at your site. You may be at the Biggest, Baddest tournament in Colorado, for example, but the field you’re on could be 20 or 30 miles away from the epicenter of the tournament.
As a result, you’re not going to see Patty Gasso, or Mike White, or Gerry Glasco, or Karen Weekly, or others of their stature. Or their assistants.
There may be a handful of coaches at your site, but they’re more likely to be from smaller schools. This, incidentally, is the reason so many local teams are abandoning their local organizations and becoming franchisees of bigger-name programs.
They’re hoping that more well-known name will get them on the better fields at the bigger tournaments. Although you do have to wonder if we’ve already reached the saturation point on that play, particularly with organizations that aren’t too choosey about who they award a franchise to.
The more important reason the idea of being “discovered” is pretty much a pipe dream, though, has to do with the way college coaches recruit. They don’t go to tournaments to see who’s playing and try to find kids they don’t know about.
Ask any college coach and they will tell you they are going to those tournaments to look at specific players in whom they’re already interested. They have had contact with them before, maybe seen some videos of them, or seen them play at another tournament, or know them from their camps.
They have a list of who is playing where and when, and they have mapped out in advance where they plan to be each day (and probably each hour of each day) of the tournament.
There are a couple of reasons for this. One is the rules around recruitment.
College coaches are allotted X number of days they can spend on recruiting activities, and that X is a small number. For example, in the summer recruiting for Division 1 is only allowed between June 1 and July 31. (Other divisions and organizations have their own rules.)
As a result D I coaches can’t waste time wandering from field to field, or complex to complex, hoping against hope they can find some undiscovered talent. They need to check out the players they’re already interested in to see not just how they play but learn about how they handle adversity, what type of teammate they are, how they respond to their coaches and parents, and other “character” information.
Now, if you happen to be playing on the same field as one of those players they’re looking at and you happen to have the opportunity to do something spectacular (such as hit two home runs or pitch a no-hitter) you might earn a look from one of those coaches, or at least get on his/her radar. But again, that’s leaving a lot to chance.
The other reason is those coaches are just not very likely to take a chance on a complete unknown even if you DID look great in the one game where they saw you. They’re likely to figure if they haven’t heard of you until now there’s a reason for it.
There are way fewer slots, especially at the big schools, than there are people who want to fill them. If you haven’t been tagging those coaches on X, texting them, emailing them, calling them, attending their camps, and doing whatever else you can to let them know you’re interested they’re probably going to think you’re not very serious about going there.
Getting recruited is a numbers game and a persistence game. You have to be in it for the long haul and doing all you can to stand out from the crowd. Starting that effort your freshman year is not too early.
Sure, some of the showcases and ranking organizations can help you gain some attention, particularly if you are toward the top of your class. But you still have to be making that individual effort on a regular basis if you want them to know who you are well enough for them to say “Yes, I will make an effort to check you out at the such-and-such tournament.”
So here is what I can tell you: If you haven’t been in touch with any college coaches as outlined above, if no one has said “Send me your schedule” or if you haven’t sent your schedule anyway, there’s no real reason for you to get too uptight about the upcoming tournaments. The coaches you want to impress probably won’t even be looking at you, so enjoy the trip and the opportunity to compete against high-level competition.
Then, when you get home, start your campaign right away so when you find yourself in Colorado or another, similar location next year you can maybe get some of those coaches to spend a few of their valuable minutes watching you. And don’t forget to start upping your skills (including your interpersonal skills and mental game) so they like what they see if/when they do come out to see you.
Again, I’m sure there’s a player every now and then who legitimately gets “discovered” at one of these big tournaments, but that’s not the way to bet. Understanding how recruiting works in the real world, and then following those steps, will do far more to help you achieve your dream.
My good friend Jay Bolden and I have started a new podcast called “From the Coach’s Mouth” where we interview coaches from all areas and levels of fastpitch softball as well as others who may not be fastpitch people but have lots of interesting ideas to contribute.
You can find it here on Spotify, as well as on Apple Podcasts, Pandora, Stitcher, iHeart Radio, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you’re searching, be sure to put the name in quotes, i.e., “From the Coach’s Mouth” so it goes directly to it.
Give it a listen and let us know what you think. And be sure to hit the Like button and subscribe to Life in the Fastpitch Lane for more content like this.
Coaches, Stop Putting Pitchers in Games without Warming Them Up
Today’s post was a suggestion from several of my pitching coach colleagues who all shared similar horror stories. As you can probably tell from the title, it comes from their pitching students being put into game situations (usually very difficult ones) without the opportunity for a proper warm-up.
If you’ve been seeing this rest assured you’re not alone. Apparently it’s happening all over the softball world based on the stories I’ve been hearing, and expect to hear in the comments afterward.
Now, let me state up-front that I don’t think too many coaches are doing it intentionally. It’s more a matter of circumstances.
Here’s a typical example. Pitcher A starts the game and is doing fine for three inning. Then, in the fourth, the other team figures her out and starts hitting her, or she starts walking batters like she’s being paid to do it, or a combination of both.
Suddenly the coach realizes he/she needs to bring in a reliever and calls in Pitcher B from first base, or right field, or the bench, or wherever Pitcher B has been spending her time this game. No warning, no warm-ups, just her name called and a frantic gesture to come to the circle.
Of course, Pitcher B isn’t at all ready to come in and pitch effectively, either physically or mentally, so she throws her five allotted warm-up pitches and then proceeds to struggle. In the meantime, the coach gets mad because Pitcher B is not performing up to her usual standards; doubly mad if Pitcher B is normally his/her reliable Ace.
It happens. I’ve seen it happen. I’ve counseled distraught pitchers after it happened, because they feel like they let their teams down, their coaches yelled at them for not pitching their usual games, and in some cases they’ve now lost confidence in their ability to pitch at all.
But the problem isn’t with the pitcher. It’s with the coach who didn’t plan ahead and perhaps doesn’t understand that going in to pitch is a little different than subbing in at second base or shortstop or center field.
There is a reason pitchers typically warm up for anywhere from 10 to 40 minutes or more. Pitching a softball well requires a complex set of movements that are unique to that position and that must be precisely timed.
A little stiffness here, a little imbalance there, and the whole mechanism is off enough to cause pitchers to struggle. It doesn’t take much. It also requires a certain rhythm that must be found before the pitcher is ready to go full-out. And that’s just for a basic fastball.
Each pitch also needs its own warm-up time to help the pitcher home in on the precise mechanics that will make it do what it’s supposed to do, whether it’s to move in a certain direction, give the impression it will come in at a different speed, or do something else that will cause the batter to either swing and miss or hit the ball weakly.
On top of all that, pitchers need that warm-up time to prepare themselves mentally for the battles ahead. They need to find their inner calm or inner fire or whatever it is they use to help them compete, and they need to feel ready to face the trial by fire that is inherent in the position.
None of that will happen if the pitcher is suddenly yanked into the game and given five warm-ups. It also won’t happen if a pitcher is pulled from the game or the bench and told to go warm up quickly and then two minutes later the coach is asking “Are you ready yet?”
Oh, but you say, the pitcher warmed up before the game. I guess that’s better than nothing, but just barely. Keep in mind that that warm-up likely happened more than an hour ago.
In the ensuing time most if not all of the benefits of warming up have been lost. The pitcher’s motion is cold (even if the arm isn’t), her rhythm has been lost, and her mind has been focused elsewhere.
It’s almost the same as saying she warmed up before the game yesterday so should be ready today. In pitching terms, that hour is so long ago it’s as if it never happened.
I understand that there are times when it’s unavoidable. Sometimes the pitcher gets injured, whether it’s taking a line drive off the bat, having a runner slide into her on a play at the plate, getting hit by a wild pitch when she’s batting, or twisting her ankle landing halfway into a hole that resulted from no one dragging or raking the field after the first of the day was thrown.
At that point someone has to take over. In these types of emergency scenarios it’s important for coaches to keep their expectations (and their game plans) realistic.
Keep pitching calling simple (fastballs and changeups most likely) and don’t be surprised or express disappointment or anger if the pitcher isn’t as effective as she usually is. She’s trying, coach.
In any other situation, remember these wise words: Your lack of planning does not constitute my emergency.
Even when things are going well, coaches should have a backup plan in place. Keep a pitcher warmed up and ready to go in at a moment’s notice, just in case whoever is in right now needs to come out. Unless there is a huge disparity, a warmed up #3 will probably do better than a cold #2, or even a cold #1.
Also keep in mind the health and safety factor. A pitcher who has not gone through a proper warm-up is at higher risk of injury, especially in and around joins like the shoulders, elbows, knees, and ankles. Giving your pitchers adequate time to warm up before heading into that stressful, high-impact position will make it far more likely she’s ready to go not just this time but the next time you need her too.
Pitching is hard enough on the body, the mind, the emotions, and the spirit. Don’t make it harder by pulling a pitcher in without a warm-up.
With a little planning and forethought you can keep your pitchers healthier and produce better results for the team.
Life in the Fastpitch Lane 