Day Three at the NFCA Coaches College
Ok, technically this is the day after Day Three. By the time I got home, a six hour drive after the class finished, I was too exhausted to do my final report. And since I knew I was taking Monday off from work anyway I figured I could let it go a day.
The final day was a relatively short (and relaxed) session, from 8:00 AM to Noon, which included getting our certificates of completion. We had covered a lot of ground in the last couple of days, so this day was really focused on pre-game, post-game, during-game situations and things like that. The instructors also answered a lot of questions from the students.
Of course, one of the cool things about this program is that it isn’t designed to be a strictly one-way lecture. There was a lot of the instructors asking us what we think, or what we would do (or have done) in such situations.
One thing I noticed is how reluctant a lot of these good coaches were to speak up, at least early on. I kind of felt bad because I was answering a lot of the questions throughout the weekend. But I also felt bad for the instructors, because I know the feeling. I think we all do. You ask your team a question, such as “What do you do when you are on first, there’s a runner on second, there is one out, and the hitter pops it up?” and all you get are blank stares. So when the silence got uncomfortable I’d chime in so the instructors weren’t left hanging. By the last day, though, more people started providing answers, which was good.
The funny thing is, there are answers, but not necessarily the RIGHT answer. Even when we looked at situations from the Womens College World Series it was tough. They’d have a still photo from the TV broadcast on-screen, say here’s the situation, what would you do? Then we’d break into groups of four or so to come up with answers.
Trouble was, there was still a lot we didn’t know. One I recall is it’s late in the game (fifth inning I believe), you’re the home team and you’re down two runs. You have runners on first and second with two outs after a hit. Do you use a pinch runner, and if so for whom?
Our group was thinking put in a rabbit for the runner on first, because she might be able to score on a ball in the gap. You figure the runner on second will already score, and she’s only one run, so it’s the trail runner who’s key. But what we didn’t know was A) do we have any real rabbits on the bench, 
can the next hitter (or a pinch hitter put a ball in the gap), C) how fast is the outfield (and how strong are their arms), etc. But hey, that’s just like a real game isn’t it?
The other cool thing in all of this is the relationship the students develop with the instructors. Carrie Dever-Boaz made a point of saying that every time she does one of these classes she’s writing down notes and learning as she goes. John Tschida and Jay Miller agreed. There is just so much to learn in our game, so many great ideas and ways to teach it, that you can’t possibly know it all. That’s what keeps it challenging.
I know I had fun. I always enjoy going to these classes, and always come out with new ideas, drills, approaches and the like. I also enjoy meeting coaches from all over and hearing about their challenges and triumphs.
But since I know some of my fellow students also are Life in the Fastpitch Lane readers and Discuss Fastpitch members, what did you-all think? What were your favorite parts of the classes? What was your experience like? If this was your first time, would you do it again?
As for me, it’s off to take my follow-on test. Wish me luck!
Day two at the NFCA Coaches College
Just got back from the NFCA Coaches College. Today was the long day. We started at 8:00 AM and finished up a little after 5:00. That’s a lot of softball talk, but it seemed to go by pretty quickly. Helps to have instructors who are polished presenters!
First off, one thing I forgot to mention yesterday is that I’ve run into a few Discuss Fastpitch Forum members. That was cool. So many of us go on there and “talk” anonymously with one another. It was nice to put faces with names, and to hear people find it valuable. If anyone else is there, stop by and say hello. I’m “Babe Ruth.” Attendees will know what that means. 
For the last hour of the class today we got to watch each of the instructors run a mini practice. It’s fun to watch someone else do it, see how they approach things and how they relate to the players – all of whom are either middle school or high school age. Got a couple of good drills, a couple of variations on some old ones, and some neat vision training ideas.
At the end they had all us coaches do a little pitching with wiffle balls and a little fungo hitting. I can safely say I nailed the pitching part, which should be no surprise. In addition to teaching pitching I usually pitch BP before games — with wiffle balls. So the drills there were pretty easy.
Fungo hitting was another story. We were supposed to hit fungos and knock balls off of tees. I was horrible! I think we each got three shots. The first one I pulled and almost hit Carrie Dever-Boaz and a young lady named Morgan who was helping out. The second one I whiffed entirely. I finally got a decent ground ball my third try. Of course it was nowhere near any of the three tees. Good thing my players weren’t there to see it. I totally cracked under the pressure, I guess.
For the classroom part we covered a lot of ground on game-day types of things, including charting (which I always intend to do but never seem to get done), evaluating opponents, game planning, coaching on the bases, things like that. I picked up some interesting ideas on how to keep players who are not in the game involved.
Here’s one: have your pitchers who are not in the game try to steal the other team’s pitching signs, and reward them if they are successful. Or have other players try to steal bunt, steal, etc. signs. Even if you don’t use the information it gives them something to do and helps them learn the game.
It’s funny, because I have random notes all over my notebook as various topics and ideas come up. There’s a lot of material to absorb, but the key is how you can apply it. Even the instructors say they don’t do all of it. But there’s plenty there for any of us to choose from, all of which will help us get better.
Tomorrow we go from 8:00 AM to Noon. Thankfully, we get an extra hour of sleep tonight so it should be doable! Then I get to drive back home.
I know I say this all the time, but anyone who has been there will agree. These are awesome courses. If you’re serious about your coaching career and helping your players, get yourself to one. You’ll quickly get hooked.
Day one at the NFCA Coaches College
Well, I’m back at it again. I am up in Minnesota for the NFCA Coaches College course 407 on Game Day coaching. Our instructors this time are Jay Miller, John Tschida and Carrie Dever-Boaz.
Today was the first day – a five-hour session that combined classroom (actually auditorium) discussions with some live observation of some local players. Lots to think about as a result.
We opened the class talking about the DP/Flex rule and how coaches can use it for more than just getting an extra player in the game. The key takeaway for me was the DP should be a player who is expendable. In other words, you have a lot of what she can do. For example, if you have a lot of speed on the team, you can make the DP a speed player. When it’s her turn to bat, you let the Flex bat for her, which takes her out of the game. If the Flex gets on base, you re-enter the DP and let her run. Of course, if you do it again the DP will be out of the game. But that’s where the idea of what you have a lot of comes in. You just put in another speed player as a sub and keep going. The Flex can go in and out for the original DP as often as you want.
We looked at some of the considerations you might want to have when you get to the park, how to warm up a team and how to put together a lineup. Watching the players was fun. Jay, John and Carrie each demonstrated a drill they use with their teams. Too bad it’s probably going to be cold going forward in the Chicago area. I have some new stuff to try!
After the class, the instructors went out to dinner with anyone who wanted to go. That was fun too. I got to sit between Jay and John, and talk to them as well as several of the other coaches attending the class. It was a good time, although I think the Blue Moons started to get to me toward the end.
Tomorrow we have to be there at 8:00 for a very long day. But you know, when you’re learning cool stuff it doesn’t seem so long!
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.
Wherein Stephanie gets her kitty
A few months ago I blogged about one of my students, Stephanie, who had been promised a kitten by her father if she hit 57 mph. (I tried to find the original post but couldn’t and so gave up. But it’s out there somewhere.)
Last Friday night, Steph earned her kitten. In fact, she blew past the goal and actually nailed a 58 as well as a couple of 57s on the Jugs gun. I always require a second reading at a speed before I’ll trust it, as there are all kinds of factors that can create a false reading on a one-time try.
I think her dad Rick had mixed emotions on it — happy she got there but dreading the addition of a kitten to the family — but I can tell you Steph was high-energy for the rest of the lesson.
One thing that was interesting was how Steph got to her best speeds. On her first couple of attempts, she scored a 56. I knew this was something she really wanted, and guessed she was over-amping herself. So I told her to take a deep breath, relax and give it another try. Sure enough, she hit 58.
It was the same with each of her attempts. When I would remind her to take a deep breath she’d hit her target. When I let her go on her own, she’d fall just short. She told me afterwards she’s going to add the deep breath to her pre-pitch routine. Something for all pitchers to think about as they try to get that little bit extra on the ball. Instead of getting all tightened up, breath deeply and relax.
So for those of you rooting for Stephanie to earn her kitten, you can be delighted for her. She’s there. Can’t wait to see the photos. And by the way, she told me if it’s male kitten she’ll name it Ken, and if it’s a girl it will be Kendra. Guess we’ll see about that.
Best way to get off first on a steal
Today was the day we spot-checked how our players are getting off first on a steal. We used a technique I first heard about at the NFCA Coaches College . It’s pretty simple. You set up a video camera(in this case a Kodak Playsport) in a spot where you can see both the pitcher and the runner on first, and then you see whether the runner is getting off the base on time. To make it easier to see, we transfer the video to a computer, incidentally.
It’s amazing what you see when you do it. We tell the baserunners to anticipate the release, essentially getting going when the pitcher’s hand is over her head. The general rule, which I got from Team USA coach Jay Miller, is you’re either safe at second or out at first. Despite all of that, some of our runners were still late getting off first.
In looking back at the video, however, we also noticed a pattern. The players who used the “rocker” start — where you place the left foot on the base and drop the right foot back and to the side — were consistently late. Most were about four frames late (on a 30 fps video). The players who used a “sprinter” start — back foot on the base and front foot out toward second — were either early or on time. None were late.
At that same Coaches College class we were told that when a study was done, the sprinter start came out faster, even though everyone thinks that the rocker start provides an advantage because you’re already in motion. Perhaps, in looking at the video, this is why.
While those doing the rocker start may get started a little earlier, they’re not really getting going early enough. It’s much harder to time the release from the base to the release of the pitch because there is more margin for error. Using the sprinter start, as soon as you get into motion you’re off the base.
If you’ve been teaching the rocker start, it might be worth doing a recording to see if you’re really getting the benefit you think you are. You may just be surprised. And if you do happen to do the test and it shows your players getting off on-time, or early, please share how you’re teaching it. But no speculation — actually run the test.
Congrats to our sister team, Lake County Freedom
Over the last weekend, our sister team, the Lake County Freedom, took first place in an ASA Northern Nationals qualifier tournament, so I wanted to give them a shout out and hearty congratulations! Here a link to an article from the Chicago Tribune that covers it in more detail.
I’m also proud to say that our Lake County Glory did its part to help, loaing the Freedom one of our players (Justine Schattner) who did just fine despite playing against girls three to four years older in some cases.
So congrats, Freedom! Keep up the good work.
The rules on hit batsmen
Ok, this is for all the parents who are new to travel ball, having just moved up from rec ball. It’s also for those umpires who are allowing themselves to be bullied into make the wrong call.
In ASA and as far as I know every other sanctioning body, there is no limit to the number of batters a pitcher can hit, whether in an inning or a game. I repeat, there is no limit, other than how many baserunners the defensive team’s coach will allow to be on base.
I understand you hate to see your daughter be hit by the ball, especially by a pitcher who is throwing hard. You also don’t want your daughter to have to face that pitcher in case she might strike out. Better to get that pitcher out of there any way you can.
Again I say to you, there is no limit to the number of batters the pitcher can hit. So quit complaining and demanding that the pitcher be taken out. And you young umpires out there, quit letting those parents talk you into it. Read your rulebook, both for what’s there and what’s not. It’s your responsibility to know.
There. I feel better now.
Throwing from your knees
Got an excited text tonight from a catcher (Lindsay) who played on the team I coached this summer. She wanted to let me know that she used a technique we worked on this summer and it worked — mostly, anyway.
The technique was a pickoff to third by dropping to her knees. It’s good to do on runners on third who are not paying attention, or who are looking to come home on a passed ball.
Essentially, you set up a little deeper behind the hitter than normal — just a foot or two, enough to clear a little extra room. The pitcher throws the pitch — something the catcher can grab easily, preferably to the inside on a right handed hitter — and the catcher receives it. Instead of throwing it back to the pitcher, or standing up, the catcher drops her left knee and throws as she “falls” to her left. The momentum of the knee dropping helps get a little something extra on the ball.
Here’s why it’s effective. When most catchers want to throw, they stand up, turn toward the base, and make a full throw. Everyone on the field can see it coming, and it gives the runner plenty of time to get back.
But when the catcher drops a knee and throws, the runner never sees it coming. The catcher is somewhat shielded by the hitter, and she doesn’t act the way the runner is expecting. All of a sudden here comes the ball and often it freezes and confuses the runner.
From what Lindsay said, that part of it worked like a charm. In fact, it worked so well it also caught the third baseman by surprise. (They hadn’t had a chance to practice it, so the timing wasn’t quite there.) She had little doubt it would work in the future.
Of course, it’s not for everyone. You need a catcher with a good arm, a quick release and the brains to know when the opportunity is there. But if you have a catcher like Lindsay, it’s a great play.
What would Babe Ruth do?
This isn’t exactly fastpitch softball, but it does have to do with baseball — and it’s a really interesting article. My friend Ray Minchew sent it to me, so thanks, Ray.
The article was written Bill James, the guru behind The Baseball Abstract — that statistical analysis that once was looked down upon by the baseball Powers That Be but now is the Bible, or at least the law book, of the sport. But this time he’s not talking about statistics; he’s talking about all the gnashing of teeth over the use of steroid and how they’ve affected the record books.
As he looks at the current troubles, he harkens back to Babe Ruth and what he was like. I mean, you have to love an article that starts like this:
“First of all, I have absolutely no doubt that, had steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs existed during Babe Ruth’s career, Babe Ruth would not only have used them, he would have used more of them than Barry Bonds. I don’t understand how anyone can be confused about this. The central theme of Babe Ruth’s life, which is the fulcrum of virtually every anecdote and every event of his career, is that Babe Ruth firmly believed that the rules did not apply to Babe Ruth.”
Yet while he starts with a baseball premise, the always thoughtful James expands his premise to look at America as a whole and how we are really a nation of scofflaws at heart. We love our independence, and our right to do whatever we darn so please whenever we darn so please.
There’s more to it, but I can’t really do it justice her. Follow the link above and give it a look. It will make you smile and think at the same time.
Life in the Fastpitch Lane 