When success shows up....

[radness]

My post was more in line with what I thought the latter part of the discussion turned to. Where others were talking about coaches changing players.

In regards to the original point. I do not do any "coaching" during tryouts. I will re-instruct what I am looking for, but I don't explain any technique or way to accomplish the task. After the tryout, when I am selecting the team, I will have a conversation with both the player and the parent about what I saw, and whether or not it needs to be adjusted. This gives me better insight as to how receptive the parents are and the player. Very important information before the season begins.

Yes gleaned that from your original post.
Thought it brought a great point to the discussion of
Changing players!!!

Also like what you wrote toward tryouts!!

 

[HighStrung]

Coach is advocating bat path down and the double tee drill? Run the opposite direction and don’t look back!

8th grade coach, DD is in 7th but teams were practice together for first time. Makes me look forward to next year

 

[Ksphenom]

About the OP.

Coaches love to throw the 2 cents in on a great player. I don't know if they feel instructing a great player validates them in some way.

I know several coaches who will fall all over themselves to take credit for a softball players success. Credit to those young athletes who endure year's of this instruction that seems to do nothing else but stroke the egomaniac HC with a downward bat path garbage.

Never take credit for a kids success or failure.


Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

 

[Beeg]

DD, back when she was in 10U, had been taking private batting lessons for several years. She bat left. This was the team with 5 dad coaches. One dad coach was a former baseball player. Showed up once in a while and acted like he owned the team. One day in a cage I caught him hawking over DD. He was tall and DD was pretty tiny. She was hitting off a tee, and he stood there right next to her in the cage while there were tons of other girls in other cages needing help. He didn't realize I was sitting in the far corner. After a while, he still didn't move away so I slowly strolled over closer to her. He immediately walked away.

Afterward when we were in the car, I asked DD what he said. She said he was telling her what to do in different situations. She said she did exactly what we taught her, where the ONLY person she listened to regarding hitting was only from her batting coach. (She knew that even if we as parents told her something different, she shouldn't listen.) So she only politely nodded while he kept giving her pointers. She thanked me for getting him to move away from her because she was feeling a bit uneasy.

She said one thing he told her was that if she hit to 3rd base, she's early. If she hit to 1st base, she's late. She is a LEFTY so that's completely wrong. He either was too full of himself or that he wanted to sabotage our child. Of course, his DD couldn't hit, run, nor field (and really shouldn't even be on this team), but got to play 3rd base whenever he showed up (and stuck in outfield whenever he wasn't around.) He probably wanted to sabotage our child (who batted 2nd or 3rd in the lineup) so his little darling could move up the batting lineup.

This was also the same doofus who, right before a game, told all the girls to throw the ball from upper-right corner, across the body, and release the ball at the left-lower corner, as far from the body as possible. I pulled DD aside and quietly told her just throw how she normally did. At the game, the girls were so off at throwing and grounding every throw (this team, before this game, was very good in fielding), and all the parents were commenting why. I just shook my head because the girls were doing exactly what he taught them.

So yes, there were "coaches" who thought they knew everything, and they had to impart their awesome knowledge.

 

[chinamigarden]

DD's coach does this a lot, and I think it has to do with a player's frame of mind after making (or not making) a play. A kid who made the play is generally going to be more receptive to input than one who just made an error. The kid who made an error is feeling bad, and doesn't need the coach to point out what she did wrong. She needs a lift --"it's okay."

The kid who made the play is feeling good about herself, and can take some feedback for what it is: advice on how to perform better and not just a criticism. It's opportunistic coaching. I think the worst dressing-down DD ever got from her coach was in the middle of a no-hitter. On 0-2, she threw a pitch right down Broadway which, luckily, was fouled off. "You CAN NOT throw there on oh-and-two! Use your head!!" her coach screamed from the dugout

As for the original topic, no coach at a tryout is trying to fix a kid's swing or her pitching mechanics. If they ask a player to do something different, they're trying to gauge her ability to take some direction and put it into practice.

My view on it. And with at least one coach my view was from the dugout. The girl who gets criticism is often upset because she didn’t do it wrong. The coach just feels he has to say something. The girl who gets no criticism and no follow up doesn’t care.

It causes issues with team moral.

 

[radness]

DD, back when she was in 10U, had been taking private batting lessons for several years. She bat left. This was the team with 5 dad coaches. One dad coach was a former baseball player. Showed up once in a while and acted like he owned the team. One day in a cage I caught him hawking over DD. He was tall and DD was pretty tiny. She was hitting off a tee, and he stood there right next to her in the cage while there were tons of other girls in other cages needing help. He didn't realize I was sitting in the far corner. After a while, he still didn't move away so I slowly strolled over closer to her. He immediately walked away.

Afterward when we were in the car, I asked DD what he said. She said he was telling her what to do in different situations. She said she did exactly what we taught her, where the ONLY person she listened to regarding hitting was only from her batting coach. (She knew that even if we as parents told her something different, she shouldn't listen.) So she only politely nodded while he kept giving her pointers. She thanked me for getting him to move away from her because she was feeling a bit uneasy.

She said one thing he told her was that if she hit to 3rd base, she's early. If she hit to 1st base, she's late. She is a LEFTY so that's completely wrong. He either was too full of himself or that he wanted to sabotage our child. Of course, his DD couldn't hit, run, nor field (and really shouldn't even be on this team), but got to play 3rd base whenever he showed up (and stuck in outfield whenever he wasn't around.) He probably wanted to sabotage our child (who batted 2nd or 3rd in the lineup) so his little darling could move up the batting lineup.

This was also the same doofus who, right before a game, told all the girls to throw the ball from upper-right corner, across the body, and release the ball at the left-lower corner, as far from the body as possible. I pulled DD aside and quietly told her just throw how she normally did. At the game, the girls were so off at throwing and grounding every throw (this team, before this game, was very good in fielding), and all the parents were commenting why. I just shook my head because the girls were doing exactly what he taught them.

So yes, there were "coaches" who thought they knew everything, and they had to impart their awesome knowledge.

Great read!

 

[_MIA_]

One dad coach was a former baseball player.

She said one thing he told her was that if she hit to 3rd base, she's early. If she hit to 1st base, she's late. She is a LEFTY so that's completely wrong.

Maxing out at t-ball doesn't really count as playing baseball.

 

[santafe]

In hindsight, I now know why my little league coach didn’t give us too much advice. lol

 

[CoachJD]

Fast forward to mid-season and we have a parent meeting to talk about playtime.

"Playing time will not be discussed with parents" is in our Rules and Expectations document. It's in red and bold font.

Coaches, don't talk to parents about playing time.

 

[CoachYodaD]

"Playing time will not be discussed with parents" is in our Rules and Expectations document. It's in red and bold font.

Coaches, don't talk to parents about playing time.

As much as I would like this to be true, in my experience, this can no longer be the case.

The world we now live in is changing. Athletes lead a more sedentary lifestyle than the generations before them. They live within their phones and social media. Videos are everywhere covering every possible subject, and parents hover more than ever now. (Just take a minute or two and read all the negative posts about coaches on this site alone). Parents are invading the college ranks as well.

The number one killer of a team is when Sally loves her team but Mom or Dad hates the Coach. Now, at the dinner table, Mom and Dad are putting that negativity into Sally which causes her to be torn. Family first, so the Coach tends to lose that battle every time. I think it is better to be reasonable and explain, rather than build a wall. It is ok to leave the conversation with an agree to disagree.

There is nothing wrong with your Rules and Expectations. We use techniques and tactics that work for us and what we are trying to accomplish. I don't mind talking with parents about their athletes. In more times than not, I have gotten parents to help me get Sally more reps and more focused on improvement. I haven't won all the conversations. Oddly enough though, the ones I lost, the player was a bit toxic anyway. I truly understand the Apple and the Tree analogy now.