Women coaching softball

[sluggers]

We had a couple of moms coaching a 16U team--so, it was a "Mommy-Daughter" team. The HC played softball in HS but not in college, but had great inter-personal skills. The AC had played D3 ball in college. They did a fantastic job. The team played well, the kids were well coached, and the parents were happy.

screwball--I think you may be stereotyping. I wouldn't generalize your experience with a few male coaches to all men. My DD's pitching coach (who probably knows more about the game than anyone I've met) refused to talk about softball except at practice or during a game. He was more than happy to have a beer afterwards, and would happily discuss politics or baseball, and give opinions where his expertise was considerably less. His famous words: "Too bad, too bad. People who stay up all night worrying and fretting about a game of softball are crazy. Do you think anyone in Biloxi is worried about who won? If they aren't, then I'm not."

 

[sluggers]

this happened because these Dads in this situation just happened to have exceptional players as daughters,

Wow...you don't get this at all. It is not happenstance that the crazy Dads have exceptional softball players.

The coach I was talking about (dozens of D1 pitchers, a CWS MVP and 3 Olympians) told me that the crazy dads are the ones who make the players exceptional, not him. Why? Because a Crazy Daddy is crazy enough or stupid enough (depending upon your world view) to work with his DD every day for years on the off-chance the DDs had the talent to be really good.

Anyone who is out in the backyard with his DD catching 200 or 300 pitches every day for 10 years is not normal. The guy playing golf (or fishing) every Saturday, Sunday and Wednesday is the normal one.

There was a guy across the street whose DD was twice the athlete my kids were...but, his priority was golf. He wouldn't leave work early to go out in the backyard and play with his kids. He didn't take his kid to the gym when there was four feet of snow on the ground to pitch. He would stay in and watch SportsCenter. *HE* is the normal person. I'm the abnormal one.

A coach has to learn how to handle Crazy Daddies. If the coach doesn't, he will never be able to get and keep the exceptional players.

 

[Momo'sDad]

I coached my DD for the first time this past spring. While most of the t-ball/8u coaches around here are women, all of the HCs in our 10u division are men. I had 2 young women who assisted part-time, but unfortunately, they weren't able to attend enough practices or games to really bond well with the girls at all.

For the fall team, a woman will be our AC. She's been coaching in the league for 3-4 years, but this will be her first time with 10u. Our general philosophies and coaching styles differ, but I think this is what made her such an effect coach with the younger age groups. She played all the way into college and is very knowledgeable of the rules of the game. IMO, she also does a good job teaching softball skills. She's coached my DD 2 seasons in the past, but this will be our first time working together.

Even though I probably could've learned how to do a good job, I honestly do not feel I could've coached 8u and given the players everything they needed.

My strengths are game management and teaching players their fielding responsibilities and baserunning. I'm guessing that I'm probably the better 10u strategist, but we'll each have the opportunity to set lineups and roster positions during the season and then I'll handle it all during the tournament. Based on my observations, it's my opinion that I'm a bit more competitive than she is, so in play-to-win situations, I'd rather be the one managing our overall team strategy.

We're different people with different personalities and I think we both bring something of value to the table.

Maybe our relative hormone levels have some impact on our personalities, but teaching young girls safety, sportsmanship, and softball is pretty gender-neutral IMO.

 

[chinamigarden]

Maybe the women are too busy cooking and quilting to coach. Maybe they are too busy getting their hair and nails done. Maybe they aren't good enough at math to do the statistical stuff, so they avoid coaching. Perhaps woman are so competitive with one another that they are unable to coach together because they end up in cat fights.

Or maybe stereotypes and generalizations are wrong and should not be used by anyone to describe the opposite gender. Regardless which the opposite gender is.

 

[smallball]

For the fall team.... our AC......Our general philosophies and coaching styles differ,....

This is a recipe for disaster, regardless of gender.

 

[Momo'sDad]

This is a recipe for disaster, regardless of gender.

Yes and no.

Her primary softball responsibility will be to teach the players the skills they need to be successful, while my primary softball responsibility will be to teach the players how to use the skills they're learning from her in game situations.

I imagine she's likely to learn some 10u strategy from me, and I'm likely to learn skills teaching techniques from her, things we'll be able to take to our respective teams in the spring.

 

[Momo'sDad]

This is a recipe for disaster, regardless of gender.

Yes and no. The fall season is very short, so there won't be a lot of time for contrasting styles to clash with one another.

Her primary softball responsibility will be to teach the players the skills they need to be successful, while my primary softball responsibility will be to teach the players how to use the skills they're learning from her in game situations.

I imagine she's likely to learn some 10u strategy from me, and I'm likely to learn skills teaching techniques from her, things we'll both be able to take to our respective teams in the spring.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

I was the only female manager (head coach) in boy's Little League, for the many years that I had 2 boys involved. I didn't have any more problems than the men did. If you can show that you can do your job, no matter what that job is, you will be OK.

Now, there was that time, that I called the local HS, to apply for the spot teaching P.E. that they had advertised. The superintendent said "We need a man, for that position." I said 'Why is that?" And he said that they needed to be able to go into the locker room. I asked who was going to go into the girl's locker room and he didn't have an answer.

 

[LAdad]

When DD started playing, 8U and 10U rec ball, I was surprised by how few women coached. I think that was in large part because very few of the mothers seemed to have done any kind of sport earlier in their life. That was about 10 years ago; I hope that over the years we get more mothers who have, say, played at HS level. I must say though, the few women who coached in that league, were, if anything, more aggressive and winning-oriented than most male coaches, sometimes even too much for the level of play. I pretty much figured that that attitude was required for women to get in that position at all, given the male-dominated environment.

On the other hand, DD's HS coach is a woman, and I've never heard anyone complain about her being a woman. DD's longtime PC is also a woman. She found out recently that prejudice against women was alive and well when she tried to help out with her own daughter's U6team. I sometimes think that it may be easier for women coaches to make inroads at the higher levels, like college, where people may have a better appreciation for actual skills, than at the rec level, where most people's coaching knowledge is limited to what they experienced as kids themselves.

 

[Sparky Guy]

Do you think anyone in Biloxi is worried about who won?

It was actually the "The Mayor of Biloxi isn't worried about who won."