Category Archives: Coaching
Your role as parent v coach
So, you think you have it tough drawing the line between being a parent and a coach? How would you like to be a Hall of Fame athlete and have to try to make that distinction?
That’s the topic of an article called Parent First, Coach Second on the Responsible Coach site from Liberty Mutual. (It’s a great site, by the way, and one to which you should consider subscribing.)
The focus of the article is on NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana and his relationship with his two sons, both college quarterbacks. In it, Joe talks about how he had to learn to back off and let his sons come to him for advice rather than always trying to tell them what to do.
Think about it. You’re Joe Freaking Montana, one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game. You have accolades out the wazoo, and an incredible knowledge of the game. Yet when you try to give your son a little help on his game, he doesn’t see all that. He sees his danged Dad getting in the way again. That should make all of you who either coach your own kids formally or work with them on the side feel a little better about yourselves.
Drawing that line is one of the toughest parts of youth sports. I know, because I did it for 20-some years between coaching my own kids in soccer and fastpitch softball. But this isn’t reserved only for those who are a team coach. Anyone who wants to help their son or daughter succeed in their chosen sport faces this dilemma.
How many times have you stood on the sidelines yelling instructions to your young athlete, even though you’re not the coach? Or worse yet, someone else’s kid? How many times have you gotten in the car after the game and gone on and on for the duration of the car ride, dissecting each play and analyzing the whole thing ad nauseum? How many times have you made your kid go out and practice after a game when you didn’t feel their performance was up to snuff?
I know I’ve done all of them at one time or another. I’m not proud of it, but admitting it is the first step to getting past it.
What’s important to remember is that no matter what your capabilities or past accomplishments are in the world of sports, your first responsibility to your children is to be their parent. Be the one who supports them, who picks them up when they’re down, who loves them unconditionally — even if they did swing at that 0-2 changeup in the dirt you and everyone else at the field knew was coming.
Yes, be there to help, but let your player decide when it’s time. You can’t force it. I know.
About 10 or so years ago, I tried to teach my son Eric how to hit a baseball. By that time I’d already built a pretty good track record working with boys and girls, and I knew I could help him improve. But he didn’t want any part of it. He resisted everything I told him mightily, and copped an attitude with me when I tried to work with him. I got mad, but then realized it was pointless. So I told him fine, if you want to do it your way go ahead. Have at it.
After a season of futility he came to me and said, “Ok Dad, I’m ready now. I will do whatever you tell me to do.” He was true to his word, and his hitting improved dramatically after an off-season of work. He wound up getting a lot of extra base hits in the rest of his career, and working on his hitting became a bonding time for both of us. We still talk about it, in fact. But it only worked because he chose to have me coach him. And during his games, if I wasn’t on the coaching staff I just sat back and enjoyed the game as his parent.
So what about you? What have your experiences been? Have you learned how to draw the line between parent and coach, or do you still struggle with it? And if you have any war stories of your own (either as a parent or as a player), be sure to share them in the comments section below.
Technology doesn’t replace the human factor
Technology is a wonderful thing for tryouts. It certainly helps to be able to put numbers against certain things in performance, because it reduces the guesswork — especially when you’re trying to remember back after the fact.
Yet over-reliance on technology can work against you, too. As with many things in life, you have temper that technology with some common sense.
I saw this today when I was working at our program’s tryouts. When it became time to view the pitchers, out came the technology. In addition to my Jugs radar gun, another coach brought out the Rev-Fire, a device that measures ball spin in revolutions per second. The higher the number, the faster the spin and presumably the more the ball will move.
So there we were, standing behind (and a bit to the side) of the catcher as the pitchers were doing their thing. The coach with the Rev-Fire was dutifully calling out the numbers. It seemed like no one but me was really watching the pitches critically. At one point, a pitcher threw a screwball and the guy with the Rev-Fire whistled and said, “Wow, 21.3” or something in that range. I looked at him and said, “Doesn’t matter. The ball was spinning in the wrong direction.” Instead of a screwball spin, it was more of a curveball spin.
And that’s the issue. If all you do is run the technology and take down the numbers, you might think the pitch was impressive. Yet not only did it not move a bit, it wasn’t even spinning properly. It wasn’t physically possible for the ball to act like a screwball.
The Rev-Fire is probably a good device. But it doesn’t replace a coach using his/her eyes. No matter how fast the device says the ball is spinning, it doesn’t matter unless the pitch does what it’s supposed to do. Because the hitter could care less how fast the ball is spinning, or in what direction, if it comes in flat. She’s going to hit it a long way.
The same works in reverse, too. No matter how fast the bat measures on a device, if it doesn’t contact the ball it’ll just be a more impressive strikeout.
Things that make you proud as a coach
Tonight was one of those nights where I couldn’t have been prouder of the team I’m helping coach.
You see, I had invited a couple of my 12U students to come out and help our 14U team prepare for nationals by being baserunners for us. The 12Us have finished their season and were itching for a bit of softball action so it seemed like a mutually beneficial opportunity. The only question was how the older girls would react to a couple of younger players coming in.
That’s what made me so proud. From the moment I introduced them, our girls were extremely welcoming and went out of their way to make them feel good. A couple of times they gave the 12Us some cheers. Our girls also went out of their way to help the 12U players learn some baserunning tricks that will help them in the future.
Toward the end, we worked on rundowns. The 12U girls not only were runners but were given the opportunity to participate as fielders. They had a blast, and again our girls explained to them what they could do in order to execute them better.
It was really an awesome display. Later in the evening I received texts from the mothers of both girls thanking me for the opportunity for their daughters. They too were most impressed with the class and friendliness our girls showed. It made the night of the 12U — and their participation definitely helped us work on our defense. Everyone won.
To see the way our girls treated these 12U girls was a great moment. No matter what happens at nationals, I feel like a winner because I’m associated with so many great, classy players.
Game to make batting practice more interesting
Batting practice can get boring sometimes. Ok, a lot of the time, especially when you’re working on a specific skill. But the other day I came up with an idea to make it a bit more interesting.
I was working with a hitter on generating a sacrifice fly with a runner on third. The idea was she had to hit an outfield fly ball no matter where the ball was pitched. We did it for a while, then we got serious.
Every time she hit a fly ball as required, she received a plus one. Every time she produced a popup or a weak ground ball, she received a minus one. A line drive or hard grounder was a “push” — neither plus nor minus. I could’ve made them minuses, but since they’d probably accomplish the goal of scoring the runner I decided to make them neutral.
You can set the game to any number you want. I selected five to keep things moving, and so the game was on. The object was to get to plus five before the hitter reached minus five.
Another variation would be to name two teams, such as the hitter’s first name v. her last name. The first name gets the pluses and the last name gets the minuses.
It’s fun, and it definitely puts some pressure on to perform. Next time you’re working on a specific hitting skill, give this game a try.
Live by the change, die by the change
Tonight in our game we had the opportunity to test something I wrote a few weeks back. In that post I talked about running on the changeup if you recognize it.
We were facing a pitcher with an excellent change. She maintained arm speed and the pitch was very deceptive. After seeing another pitcher who wasn’t nearly as strong, that change was pretty devastating. At first.
The problem was she knew how great it was too. She was absolutely in love with the pitch, and liked to throw it often. One of our hitters, a girl named Erin, led the way. First time up she struck out on two of the changes and one speed pitch. Next time up to bat, knowing it was coming, she just waited for it and then took a hack at it.
From there it was a slug fest. The pitcher kept throwing the change, and we just sat on it and pounded it. When our runners got on base they knew to look for it too and it was off to the races.
So the lesson here is not just for hitters but pitchers as well. There is such a thing as going to the well too often. It’s called a “change” for a reason. It should offer a change to keep hitters from getting too comfortable. But it doesn’t become much of a change if it’s happening all the time. Then it’s a “normal.”
Perhaps tonight’s pitcher’s plan was to work on her change. It was, after all, just a scrimmage game (or “friendly” as it’s called in some circles). If so, she certainly did. If not, however, she needs a new strategy. Doing anything too much makes you too predictable, and that can be deadly.
What’s in your coach’s bag?
Most coaches have a bag or two they use to carry various items. Typically, one bag has items such as lineup cards, a clipboard, maybe an eraseable board to post the lineup, a scorebook, pens and pencils and assorted other items. The other bag might carry a glove, an extra ball or two, a stopwatch and maybe a bat.
But after nearly 15 years of coaching, I’ve found there are a host of other items that can come in handy. Throw them in your bag and, like a Boy Scout, you should be prepared for just about anything.
- Dandelion puller — This tool comes in handy if you’re using the breakaway bases with the thin post. A little dirt gets in there after a slide and the base won’t sit right. If there’s no ground crew around, the dandelion puller will help you.
- Resin bag — On a hot, humid day it can be tough for pitchers to get a good grip on the ball. A resin bag can help keep the pitching hand dry. Some pitchers like them whether it’s hot or not because it helps them get a little extra spin on the ball.
- Towel — Into ever life a little rain must fall. Every coach should have a towel handy to dry off the ball when it gets wet. Sure beats using your shirt.
- Duct tape — You folks from the South know what I’m talking about. Duct tape can fix just about anything. Have a shoe falling apart? Duct tape it. Lineup board blowing around on a windy day? Duct tape it. Water bottle leaking? Duct tape it. Is there anything it can’t do?
- Glove repair kit — In a perfect world, all your players would take great care of their equipment and inspect it regularly. Doesn’t happen. You can’t do much about a dented bat, but if a player comes to you with a broken glove what are you going to do? Loan her a glove she’s not familiar with? Not good. But if you have a lace pulling kit you can make a quick repair and get her back on her way. Be sure to have some spare lacing just in case it isn’t just out but broken.
- Glove cream — Ok, so she decides to get a new glove and it’s not broken in. You can help get her on her way with a little glove cream. Just remember to do it after the game or practice, not before.
- Tape measure — I have been on fields that just didn’t quite look right. But unless you can prove the pitching rubber is set too far or too close, or the bases are the wrong distance, you can’t get it corrected. A 100′ tape measure doesn’t take up much room, but it can be a life saver. It’s also good for measuring pitching distances during warn-ups, too.
- Spare batting gloves — Let’s face it — kids lose things. If one of your hitters loses a batting glove you can come to the rescue with a loaner.
- Sunscreen — You need it yourself, but also make sure your players are wearing it. If they don’t have any you can loan them yours.
- Insect repellent — Shouldn’t need it during the day, but if you’re playing at dusk, or on a field with lights, you’ll be glad you have it.
- Fold-up jacket or poncho — When the rain starts you’ll want to be protected. After all, you’re not 14 anymore.
Those are many of the things in my bag. What’s in yours? Did I miss anything? If so, add them to the comments below.
Coach learns a valuable lesson about the men in blue
Got an email today from the mom of one of my students about something that happened in a tournament. She wanted to know if I would talk to her daughter’s coach Kevin about it. I was a little concerned at first, but no need. She actually likes the coach, and it turns out he’s a fan of this blog. Of course I said “sure” — I would’ve done that even if he wasn’t a reader — and then waited for the call.
When he called he told me what happened. His team was at a tournament, and during a close game he noticed that the opposing pitcher was starting with one foot behind the rubber instead of both feet touching. Being the sort that believes people should play within the rules, he decided to bring it up to the umpiring crew — average age approximately 20. Yep, you guessed it. Big mistake.
The field and plate umps talked with him, and then the field ump declared the pitcher wasn’t doing anything illegal. Or at least he couldn’t see anything illegal about it. (He said the back foot was pretty obviously off, and I trust him on it, so it was more of a choice than an inability to see it.)
The next half-inning when his team took the field it started. The field umpire waited until the other team had a runner on base, then called his pitcher (my student) for crow hopping. Not once but twice, advancing the runner to third. Guess he showed Kevin!
I know this student very well, and she doesn’t crow hop. She may get a little airborne from time to time, which would be a leap, but you’d have to be looking awfully close to see it, and it’s nothing she does all the time. If the field umpire couldn’t see the other pitcher starting with her foot off the rubber, it’s unlikely he saw whether Kevin’s pitcher was leaping or not.
There was one other part to the story. Kevin told me there was a rather large rut coming off the pitching rubber, thanks to a general lack of field maintenance. So it’s possible that Kevin’s pitcher wasn’t even illegal since a pitcher is allowed to have her foot off the ground (level with where the ground would’ve been) if there’s rut.
The conclusion he came to was he probably shouldn’t have said anything about the other pitcher. It’s likely the umpire took exception to him bringing it up and decided to make him pay for it. (There’s also a possibility he got “homered” although he didn’t have any way of knowing for sure.)
Bummer, but such is life. Good umpires know coaches questioning things is part of the game and let it roll off their backs. After 15 years of coaching and never being successful in getting even an obvious illegal pitch called, I’d say it’s not worth it. If you see it, learn to let it go and hope the folks in blue care enough to keep the game fair and the playing field level. Thanks to Kevin for allowing me to share this story. And Kevin, if you’re reading this and have anything to add, be sure to leave a comment. The rest of you too!
I love it when the training takes hold
Had one of those experiences that makes a coach feel good — and guilty at the same time. We had a game today, with me coaching third.
We had runners on first and third, and there was a wild pitch. I sent the runner, who is not exactly fast, home as I could see the ball was slowly rolling back to the screen. I could see it was going to be a close play, so I stood there watching it like everyone else. The runner was safe at home on the toss. I then looked toward third, where I saw the runner who had been on first halfway between second and third, looking like she was not exactly sure if she should keep coming. I motioned for her to come and she was safe with no play.
It was a real heads-up play on the runner on first’s part. We’ve been talking about runners using their heads and making judgments on their own. We’ve also been talking about not settling for one base when you can get two. It was cool to see it actually happen.
The only negative was on me. While the play at home was going on, I stood their like a spectator. All I was missing was a box of popcorn and a Diet Coke. What I SHOULD have been doing was ignoring the play at home and looking to the trailing runner. Luckily, the runner was doing her job, even if I wasn’t.
With the A-Team movie coming up, I only have one thing to say about today’s play: I love it when a plan comes together!
Is Softball a Team Sport?
Guest post by Mike Hanscom
Softball is often a series of 1:1 battles. The pitcher against the batter or the runner against the fielder. I always used to say it was a team sport, because everyone else did too. Then I started coaching and realized it is all about individual match-ups and got away from believing it was a team sport. All you need to do is get a bunch of good individuals on the field at the same time so you can win more of those individual battles and then you will dominate, right? I mean, if you win more of those 1:1 battles, how could you not dominate?
I would watch the opponents warm up and know when their individuals were better than ours, or vice versa. I always knew the outcome of that game long before we played it, until we actually played it and it ended differently than I expected. For those games I would sit there afterwards trying to figure out what happened and why. I could pick out that certain player that made the critical error and privately put the blame on them, or on the #4 batter who struck out 3 times, or our pitcher who didn’t strike anyone out or the runner who got thrown out at the plate. There was always another reason nagging at me but I usually ignored it.
That feeling that I would ignore was the underlying feeling that we outplayed them as a team or vice versa. I wasn’t sure what that meant though – this sport is a bunch of individual battles – not a team effort. Seriously, how many players really get involved on a typical play? The pitcher pitches, the batter hits it, the fielder gloves it and throws to first. Four players on the average play, but it was all sequential. Nothing like football where you have running backs and lineman going one way and blocking just so you peel back and throw the opposite direction to a WR down the field. That’s at least 8-9 of the 11 players all doing things at one time to protect the QB, misdirect the defense, free up the WR – now that is teamwork!
Luckily I was an assistant then and simply helped out where I could, and luckily I had other coaches to help show me what it meant to be a team before I became a head coach. I realized that the feeling I was ignoring was the ability to have each player moving at the same time to accomplish a specific task.
I previously only saw the 4 players in the typical play. Now I was understanding that what I was missing was the right fielder moving to back-up the throw, the left and center fielders running to back-up the SS, the 2nd baseman covering 2nd in case the ball gets away and the runner continues to 2nd, the catcher yelling where to go with the ball, the third baseman staying close to the SS in case the ball caroms off the SS.
That is 8-9 out of 9 players involved on the play. Huh, now that is teamwork! That is what I’ve been feeling! Those good teams, they are the ones who have it all synchronized, their players are on the same page and move on every play – nobody is just standing there. Softball isn’t just about teaching the typical play, it is about teaching the kids how to plan for mistakes and what to do when mistakes happen – because they WILL happen. Sounds like a life-lesson if you can teach them to do that for life too.
It is teamwork that prevents the big innings, the big errors. If your left fielder isn’t backing up SS, how far does that grounder that went through the SS’s legs roll and where does that runner stop? Does she score because of it? With teamwork that runner stops at first.
Teamwork is that sac bunt that moves a runner over to get her closer to home to try to get that winning run in. It is that solid hit off the pitcher that gets the bats going because hitting is contagious. It is the batter who struck out on 3 pitches, who comes back to the dugout with her head held high (as opposed to sulking or crying) and tells the next batter what pitches to expect or how they move so she now has a better chance to get those bats going. It is that 2nd baseman yelling the runner is going so the catcher knows to throw her out. It is that catcher acting as a field general yelling where plays are to go that enable good plays to happen. It is the 1st baseman going out for a cut-off to prevent the tying run from coming in. If your kids are doing these types of things on a regular basis, then you are coaching a team and not a group of individuals.
You can see it in the teams that have good teamwork – there is a flow to them with how they warm up, how they encourage each other, how they huddle, how they communicate with each other on the field, how they know where to be in each situation.
Some say it is good coaching, I say it is teamwork, I say it is attitude. Some kids don’t get it – they are there for themselves and don’t care about the team and you can usually see those attitudes from far away. They are the ones standing there without a role after the play has broken down.
You know the kids who have the team attitude and give the extra effort. Not in stretching a single into a double, but the ones who help the other players become better players, team players. Those are the ones who help define that group as a team. They are the kids who others listen to and want to learn from, not necessarily in technique, but in how to make the group of kids work together as a synchronized unit, as a team. You need those kids to help the team be the best it can be. They are the ones who in the end can make the difference between winning and losing.
So if you feel you have a good group of individuals on your squad, then you are probably winning games because you win more of those individual battles (or a bunch of those games if you have that untouchable pitcher and you only need to score one run per game). Are you dominating though, or at least winning the ones you should? If not, then take a look at your kids and decide if you have a group of individuals or a team. If you have a group of individuals, then find those kids who can help you make it a team and get them working on it. If you are one of the better clubs in your area, then I bet you already have those team players on your team and are one of the better teams out there.
Coaching and adversity
Once after a loss, my friend and fellow coach Rich Youngman said one of the more profound things I’ve ever heard in relation to coaching, and certainly one of the most profound things he ever said. After there was some tension about the game, and our poor play, he said, “Adversity doesn’t build character. It reveals it.”
With the high school season well under way, and the summer season for younger players getting under way, those are words for all coaches to remember. It can be very frustrating when your team doesn’t play the way you know it can. It’s aggravating when they let balls go between their legs, or drop in front of them instead of catching them. It’s maddening when they’re taking called third strikes or swinging at balls over their heads. And when the losses start piling up it’s not very much fun to be in charge of the mess.
Believe me, I know. I’ve coached those teams. Sooner or later, most of us will no matter how hard we try to avoid it. As difficult as it is, it’s important to keep it together. You may want to yell, scream and disparage your players, especially if it seems like you’re the only one who feels bad about the poor play, but fight the urge and remember that this too shall pass.
Actually, let me amend that. Sometimes a little strategic yelling can work wonders — if it’s done as a “wakeup call.” What doesn’t work is the complaining-type of yelling, with put-downs and insults thrown in anger. You may feel better temporarily, but in the end it just helps you and the team circle the drain faster.
Once again, remember that adversity doesn’t build character, it reveals it. When adversity strikes, what is it revealing about you?
Life in the Fastpitch Lane 