Unfortunately, I ac.cidentally found out without seeing the game. Then again, it doesn’t look like NBC is going to show it again the way they did all the other games, so I’m probably out of luck . Guess I can watch it online. But it’s not the same as watching it in HD.

Anyway, if you’re reading this you know that Team Japan upset Team USA in the gold medal game. I don’t plan to analyze the game — there are plenty of people already doing that. Instead, I want to analyze the analysis because I’m somewhat amused by the whole thing.

Many of us who coach talk about how tough it is to have parents (or administrators in the case of school coaches) second guessing every decision. Whether it’s player selection or game strategies or something else, most coaches do the best they can with the information available at the time. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes parents and others understand. Sometimes they get angry or show other negative reactions.

You sort of expect it at the youth level. Every parent thinks their kid is the best. So I’m amused as I look around at some of the online forums discussing what happened to Team USA.

For one thing, there is suddenly a lot of negative commentary about Head Coach Mike Candrea. Up until this game most of what I saw about him bordered on reverence. Now, though, there is a whole undercurrent that says he should never have been brought back, he doesn’t know what he’s doing, he did a poor job of player selection, his strategies were poor, etc.

Excuse me? Didn’t this team blow through all their opponents in the prelims, and find a way to win against Japan and Ueno the first time? If he was as bad at his job as these naysayers are implying they would’ve lost more games instead of run ruling everybody.

A big part of that is player selection. There was talk in the messages I read that seemed to think they had the wrong players on the team. I don’t get that either. You had an entire team of hitters who could hit for average and power. Their first two hitters have blazing speed, and most of the rest aren’t too shabby in that area either. The pitching staff is the best in the world — so good that it had to be a tough decision which one to start in this game. Who among us wouldn’t love to have pitching choices the caliber of Osterman, Finch and Abbott?

I can’t comment on the game strategy since I didn’t see the game. I saw something about having Mendoza bunt instead of swing away. My guess is in that situation, assuming it didn’t work out, there were going to be a lot of unhappy people no matter what he did.

All of this sounds so familiar, though. Coaches all over the world go through the same thing. Only the difference is most of us only have about 12-15 sets of parents to worry about. Coach Candrea has a couple of million of them sniping at him.

One last thing. I actually saw a person say they didn’t win because they weren’t hungry enough. You have got to be kidding. This group of women barnstormed all over the country, riding  bus to play game after game, practicing, playing, working out, and busting their butts. Why would they do it if they weren’t hungry for the win?

The truth is, on this particular day, Team Japan outplayed Team USA. They worked hard, took advantage of their opportunities and made it happen. Just like the USA hockey team did in 1980 when they beat the Soviet hockey machine. These things happen, people. On another day maybe Team USA wins. But not this day.

So I guess that’s one more thing I (and a lot of others) get to share with Coach Candrea. Just remember it’s a whole lot easier to make the decisions when you know the outcome of the one that’s made. I’m sure Team USA was only a couple of bounces or a few inches away from a win. You know what happens. Get over it.

Sorry all, I’ve been away for a few days visiting my son Adam before he deploys to lovely Afghanistan. Had a nice visit in Myrtle Beach, SC. So while I wasn’t blogging, I had plenty of time to think about posts. Especially while sitting in airports waiting for flights to board and take off.

One thing that’s been on my mind was something I saw at a tournament this past summer. Essentially, I saw a very strong team take advantage of a very weak team. I think the coach of the strong team realized that they shouldn’t have been in that tournament in the first place — someone else scheduled them in. But what she didn’t realize is there’s a time to press your advantage and a time to pull back. In this case, the strong team, who had experienced players at the 10U level, was able to do pretty much whatever they wanted against the weak team, who had mostly beginners.

My problem wasn’t running the score up to the run rule. You have to do that, and should do that to save your players for tougher games ahead. What I didn’t like, though, was the strong team continued to play as though it there was some danger the weak team could come back, even though it was obvious they couldn’t. Among the things they did that bothered me was continuing to steal bases when it was obvious the catcher couldn’t make the throw, running the bases aggressively on hits (going from second to home on a ball fielded in the outfield), bunting for hits when it was obvious the infielders couldn’t make the play, things like that.

When you’re in a mismatch, I just think it’s wrong to continue doing things to point it out, or to try to embarrass the opposing team. Yes, they’re not very good, but there’s no sense in rubbing it in. Some of the things you can do are not steal bases (especially home, even on a passed ball), run bases station to station, put in a pitcher who doesn’t get much chance to pitch regularly, or even kill an inning by stepping off the base early. (Let the umpire know you plan to ahead of time so he/she catches it.) You can have your team work on things they’ve had trouble with, or give your second string players at key positions a chance to play.

I’m a big believer in Karma — the whole what you do comes back to you idea. Karma has a funny way of evening the score. Like, you decide to have your #1 pitcher steal home on a passed ball and she winds up turning her ankle running across the plate. Or you keep playing your #1 shortstop and she winds up breaking a finger by misjudging a ball.

There’s also the phenomenon of a long memory. Your team may be way ahead of my team today, but perhaps they won’t always be. If I have the chance, I will do to you what you did to me, and I will enjoy it immensely. Fortunes change on teams, especially as they age. A lot of coaches have those kinds of long memories.

Then there’s the “you never know who knows who” syndrome. A couple of years ago we were at a tournament. The coach of another area team that I know was telling me how his team was spanked and humiliated by the host team. Apparently they thought it would be fun to run up the score against this team, which was just finding its way at 14U. Now, we have no connection to the area team — in fact we compete against each in games and for players — but there is something to be said for area pride. We played that host team the next game, and let’s just say we evened things up. Hopefully that coach learned a little something about knowing when to say when.

I know there are people who think you should always stay aggressive, never let up so your players know how to play the game. Get real. Kids aren’t stupid. There is a teachable moment, not just about softball but about life, when you’re in an obvious mismatch. The right thing to do is let up on the gas, and afford your opponents some dignity. You just never know when someone might have to do the same for you.

Yes, here we are. The travel ball tryout season has started. And along with it comes the ever-popular shuffling of players from one team to another.

There are certainly legitimate reasons to leave a team. If you’re a serious player and the others on the team are not you have reason to leave. If the coach is favoring certain players over others despite your hard work, again a good reason. If some of the girls on the team are just nasty and make it a miserable experience, you’d be stupid not to leave.

One thing I often see, though, is players thinking they’ve been treated “unfairly” because they didn’t get to play the position they wanted, even though they put no work into it whatsoever. This is especially true with pitching.

Little Suzy wants to be a pitcher. She told the coach she wants to be a pitcher. But she didn’t take lessons all winter, she didn’t practice because she had volleyball or basketball or hockey or band or whatever to do (or maybe all of them) and the one time the coach did put her in she walked and wild pitched the team single-handedly into a hole so deep it would be faster to climb out the other side than try to get back up. Is it really fair to take pitching time away from those girls who DID take lessons and work hard, just ’cause little Suzy wants to pitch?

No, it’s not. And going to another team is not going to solve the root problem. In fact, it may make it worse, because you may find that the first coach was a lot nicer than the new one. Nobody likes to lose, but some take it harder (and take harsher steps) than others.

If you really want to increase your chances of playing your desired position, don’t sit around wishing for it. Take positive steps to make it happen. Get yourself some lessons. Practice between them (which is where you’ll really get better). Show up to practices and work hard instead of continually asking the coach how much longer until it’s over. If that means you have to drop another activity or two, so be it. Or if you can’t make the commitment, drop softball. You do no one, including yourself, any good by signing up for a team and then not showing up or putting in the effort.

Nothing in life comes without effort. Even those who say they were “in the right place at the right time” first had to get to that place. If you’re not willing to put in the effort, changing teams won’t help. Remember, when you point your finger at someone, three fingers point back at you.
 

The other day I came across an excellent article by Jeff Janssen on the differences between coaching men and women. It’s kind of long, but well worth the effort to get through. 

If you’re a male coaching females, you’ll definitely want to check it out. If you’re a male who’s been coaching boys up ’til now it’s critical that you read it. There’s a huge difference, and techniques that work with boys don’t always work so well with girls.

One of the key ones is how each gender reacts (generally) to criticism. I’ve always said if you yell at girls they tend to take it very personally, and feel that they’ve let you down. If you tell at boys like that they just think you’re a jerk. This article pretty much bears that out.

By the way, if you’re a female coaching females, or a female coaching males, you’ll find this article valuable as well. Whatever combination you have, you’ll probably want to keep this one handy.

Saw this quote from philosopher Bertrand Russell and thought it was worth passing along:

“In all affairs it’s a healthy thing now and then to hang a question mark on the things you have long taken for granted.”

That is especially true in coaching. I think most of us involved in coaching do it because we have a passion for it, for the sport, and for helping our players learn and grow. But sometimes that passion can put blinders on us as well. When that happens we cease to learn, which means we may be missing out on a better way to do things than we currently know.

Early in my coaching career I sought out whatever knowledge I could find in order to help my players. I would look at different resources and decide which ones made the most sense. But I also got into the habit of looking at materials I knew contradicted what I believed. It was sort of an acid test, to see if I still believed in the same things.

I continue to do it today, maybe not with quite as much vigor, but I still do it. It really is healthy to question what you believe to make sure you still believe it and are not just following the same old tenets out of habit. The stronger your beliefs, the more important it is to question them. If they survive the test, you will be that much more firm in your convictions. And if not…well, that’s a good thing too.

NOTE: For those of you reading this who have kids on the team I coach, this post is not directed at you! It’s based on general observations over the years, and especially what I’ve seen happen with newer or younger coaches. So don’t read anything into it.

Not too long ago, my friend and colleague Rich told me about the best explanation of the difference between being an assistant coach and being head coach. “The difference,” he said, “is the difference between suggestion and decision.” An assistant coach can and should make suggestions on the lineup, what’s happening on the field, the practice plan, etc. But it’s the head coach that ultimately has to decide whether to go that way or not.

For those who have never been the head coach of a fastpitch softball team, there’s more to it than you might think. Here’s a quick example. By the time you finish reading the description have your decision ready.

It’s the top of the fourth. You are down two runs but hitting this pitcher ok. You have runners on first and second with one out. The girl at the plate is a powerful hitter, but lately she hasn’t produced much. Still, she’s a good hitter and the potential is there. The hitter after her is not as powerful, and has been hitting about the same. Do you have her A) swing away, or bunt the runners over (she is also a good bunter)? Got your answer? Ok, whatever you’ve decided, you will now have to live with.

Now, multiply that quick decision by 28 to 38 and that’s what you’re deciding as head coach. Every hitter that comes to the plate presents a need to make a decision. Every runner that gets on base presents a need to make a decision. Do we try to steal or bunt her over? When she’s coming into the third and the outfielder has a ball fairly deep in the outfield do we hold her or try to score right now? Do we hit and run? You get the idea.

But wait, we’re not done yet. Your team also has to play defense. So now you have to decide defensive sets (do we assume bunt and play the corners in?), where the ball will be thrown in particular situations (do we cut the run off at home or go for the out at first?), and of course who is on the field with the game on the line.

There are dozens of decisions that have to be made by the head coach in every game, from who is in the lineup to what to do on the last play of the game. Again, they all have to be made in a few seconds (or less in some cases). But unlike the people in the stands (many of whom are also probably trying to make those decisions) only the head coach has to live with the consequences. If you’re in the stands and call for a bunt with a good hitter up and she pops up, or even if she gets it down and the next hitter grounds out to first to end the inning, only you know you agreed with the decision the head coach made. The head coach, however, put his/her decision on display and everyone who thought he/she should let the hitter hit thinks he/she is an idiot.

This can be very tough on young or new head coaches especially. They’re often unsure of their decisions to begin with, and the pressure of being wrong (and having it pointed out repeatedly) can get to them. Grizzled old veterans like myself learn to live with it, but it can still be stressful at the time. If only we knew the outcome of the various options before we commit to one course of action. Then it would be a lot easier to determine which is right.

Do I play the “What would I do?” game when I’m in the stands? Of course. That’s part of the fun. And I can tell you it’s a lot less stressful making those decisions from up there. In fact, when I’m in the stands people will often ask me why a head coach did this or that and I will tend to defend the decision, even if I don’t necessarily agree with it. Generally speaking, the coach acts based on the best information he/she has at the time. If he/she does something downright stupid I’ll certainly say so. But most times it’s not quite as black and white as people would like to believe.

The other thing to keep in mind, especially in travel softball, is the other multiplier — the number of games the team is playing. The head coach has to go through this decision process for an entire game. Then, while everyone else is relaxing and checking out tee shirts or what they’re serving in the concession stand, the head coach is starting the entire process again.

The point is, there are a lot of decisions to be made by the head coach. Some of them are bound to be wrong, or at least not the best decision. But you can be sure that in 99 percent of the cases, the coach is doing the best he/she can in a difficult situation. And trying to do it for everyone on the team, not just the player you’re most interested in — your own. So give the head coach a break. And remember Rich’s definition of the difference between assistant and head coach. The gap is even wider between parent and head coach.