first game thoughts - 12u rec

[briand]

Last night was my first game as 12U rec coach (coached 1 season of 10U). Have a mixed bag of players but here are some thoughts

Girls sometimes run when not told to and others don't run when told to??? Caught stealing 3 times either because they were ball watching and then slowed down before reaching the base.

Don't bother telling them to slide, they don't want to get dirty.

Second base is impossible to find when covered with dirt. New player decided to cut across the infield instead. Other players defended her by saying they could not see 2nd.

2 dropped third strikes while on defense (should have been outs 2 & 3, batter 3 & 4 in inning) can then cause the wheels to fall off, opponent batted around and scored 8 runs

 

[Coach Al]

Welcome to the wonderful rec ball! Now you know what you have to work on at practice. Some people will tell you that all your problems are because of poor coaching. I won't because I have been there. You go to clinics, buy videos, use the internet, talk to other coaches and you learn. Don't worry, you are typical. When they get to JV and do things like that, then there is a big problem. That is what happen when my oldest DD got there: not her, she had been playing with the boys in the neighborhood since she was 7, but most of the team didn't have a clue. I got involved and fixed it by working with the local organization and it got better. That's a story I'll leave for later!

 

[mudbug]

Sounds like fun. Brings back a few memories.

A girl plays on my DD HS team, who played rec softball with her when she was about 7. My DD was a natural player and athlete, this other girl isnt, and is still a very poor player today. Anyway, The other girl was on first and my DD hit what should have been a triple or an in-the-park homerun at that age. The other girl stopped on second to fix her bow under her helmet, it was falling out., and wouldnt run to 3B. My DD got to second , couldnt make her go, and then had to go back to first.

My wife still brings that up when that girl does poorly today, misses an easy ball, etc. She still holds a grudge.


Unfortunately, there are often even girls in 12U A travel ball that cant slide, so dont feel too bad about that either. Hold slidiing drills and make them practice it.

 

[Ade's Dad]

Sliding should be just a normal part of every practice at 12u .Just work on the things your team needs to work on even if you have to drop some the things you normally do .Use a large piece of cardboard out in the grass to slide on.If you don't know how to teach it properly , do some research or find an older girl that knows how .It's amazing how fast children learn when someone they look up to takes the time to teach them how to do something properly.

 

[amanda_cake]

Sliding should be just a normal part of every practice at 12u .Just work on the things your team needs to work on even if you have to drop some the things you normally do .Use a large piece of cardboard out in the grass to slide on.If you don't know how to teach it properly , do some research or find an older girl that knows how .It's amazing how fast children learn when someone they look up to takes the time to teach them how to do something properly.

Agree, agree, agree, agree... especially as one of those older girls. As I've mentioned before, what's really turned our community around is girls like myself (I'm 17, play 16U rec--not a lot of travel ball around--and high school varsity) that come out and help with the little ones. They all love me, they listen to me, and I make things fun. Not to mention, the coaches learn so much from me. I've been places, I've been to camps and clinics. I know how to do stuff that they might be a little unclear on or whatever, so they have me to ask questions to. Our 16U rec pitcher (also pitches for her Varsity, has played travel ball in the past and pitched there) will help the little kids with their pitching. They don't want to listen to the coach or their parents, they want Taylor to come help them!

 

[briand]

I definitely have some direction for upcoming practices. We worked on sliding at several practices but it will become part of every practice from here out. I am going to talk to the 10U coaches in our assocation and make sure they are working on it just as much. I am going to try and find an older girl to come and attend some practices. I only have one assistant coach so it is hard to get through everything in practice (infield, outfield, hitting and situations).

 

[TimothyJ]

Having the older girls help out is SUCH a benefit ( and props to you Amanda for working with the little ones!)

We run a winter clinic/workout every Saturday for the rec girls, and typically 2-6 of the High School/Travel players would show up to help out each week. The younger girls just love working with the older ones. They get such an added benefit over just what us Dads are trying to teach them.

At the end of this years winter, one of the HS girls ( 16yrs old, also plays 18u travel) asked if she could help me out some when we started team practices. I did her one better, and signed her up as an official assistant coach. She was ELATED, and the girls absolutely love having her around. They hang on every word when she talks hitting, baserunning, etc. ( and yeah, she taught them how to slide)

 

[mudbug]

Slidiing practice is usually good for laughs too. Not making fun of anyone that cant , but hard to mentally do not in game situation. they all mess up. It can be really entertaining.

 

[amanda_cake]

Timothy, I'm glad that you put her as one of the assistant coaches. It's such a great leadership position and it looks great on college applications, as I've been told. I did 12U fall ball with my best friend and that was a joy. Neither one of us were the official head coaches, but we made all the decisions. We had a parent of one of the girls as the head coach. She is a very supportive mother, kept score, and was the head coach on paper. Because both my best friend and I were underage, neither of us could be the official head coaches due to league rules.

Ask around if you are interested in finding an older girl to help (this goes for anyone). A lot of them are interested, but don't know who to get in touch with. It is a close community where I play so I knew where to go and who to talk to.

Mudbug, I agree with you so much with the sliding thing. When I've got time to think about it, my slides turn out so ugly. In the game, they just happen!