New trick play

[riseball]

Given the personal nature of your replies, I suspect that I'm hitting close to home. While you're busy stuffing straw-men and serving up red herring, you're missing the point. Is it intentional? Who besides you equates a change-ups and squeeze plays with a coach telling his players to run in circles and fall down in the dirt in an effort to draw an ill-advised throw to 1B?

Do not take it personal, I just do not take myself quite as seriously as perhaps you do yourself. The OP was not intended for the Platinum, Gold Elite Select Premier Teams such as yours. I am just always struck by a coaches claims of their teams grandeur that is due in large part to their superior coaching. But to each their own. It sounds from your post that you are a great coach and have an tremendous team. As you stated you are above having some fun with the shenanigans described and do not abide those who would. I am sure you and yours lack for very little except possibly some humility.

 

[Cannonball]

While I have never done any of these trick plays in softball, I have defended them and to be honest, games at several levels are won and/or lost due to a teams preparation to defend the unexpected. I don't think any of these plays are "BS" as long as they don't take away from a team's general preparation. At the state level in baseball in my state, I have seen just about every trick play you can see and, to be honest, I have seen teams head home because they lost their cool when defending them.

 

[Strike2]

Do not take it personal, I just do not take myself quite as seriously as perhaps you do yourself. The OP was not intended for the Platinum, Gold Elite Select Premier Teams such as yours. I am just always struck by a coaches claims of their teams grandeur that is due in large part to their superior coaching. But to each their own. It sounds from your post that you are a great coach and have an tremendous team. As you stated you are above having some fun with the shenanigans described and do not abide those who would. I am sure you and yours lack for very little except possibly some humility.

There's a big difference between recognizing the "personal nature of your replies", and me taking it personally. The ad hominems and sarcasm do an excellent job of masking any relevant point you might bring on the subject. It doesn't take exceptional coaching or playing talent to defeat baserunning trickery, and it's beyond strange that a coach's desire to teach and play the game in a straight-forward manner is something that, to you, indicates a need for humility.

 

[Rocketech1]

She would naturally slip and fall down making her an even more tempting target. If the defense bit on the fake and confusion the runner from 3rd would take off for home. After a while all of the local teams got it figured out and he quit doing it.

This is the definition of bush league. It's right up there with the batter laying the bat across home plate and waving it around like a banshee trying to distract the pitcher. You only see this at the youngest rec leagues and with inexperienced coaches at the helm. Fastptich is a great game, let's give it the respect it deserves and not resort to these god awful tactics.

 

[mothgirl]

My dd's coach just taught this fall down in the dirt pickle play to our team last week.

 

[ConorMacleod]

I always teach my Catcher to focus on the lead runner, and either throw to that base immediately, or look at lead base runner until she stops her forward momentum, then fire back to the pitcher quickly.

I guess it all comes down to what your goal is as a coach of a younger team. Is it to win at all costs (that's the only goal of many, many coaches)? Or is it to develop your players knowledge and skill of the game to be able to succeed at a higher level. Our organizations lower level (8-12U) goals are to feed the high school softball teams with quality players. In that regard, I don't play the trickery game so much as I try to teach them the whole game. This includes being aggressive on the base paths (not foolish or silly), and certainly the small ball game of bunting, slap hitting, etc. If I wasted my time with these goofy trick plays, then I'm not spending our little time together working on more important aspects of the game that will help them be successful past the 12u level.

 

[ConorMacleod]

If you have the bases loaded, or runners on 1st and 2nd, with less than two outs, why are you trying to exchange an out for a run in the first place? Why settle for 1 run when you can have a huge rally and put up some crooked digits?

Also, if you know a team likes this tactic, I would probably "remind" the Umpire pregame of the look back rule, specifically stating this teams tactic. Then remind your catcher and pitcher as well.

 

[riseball]

I always teach my Catcher to focus on the lead runner, and either throw to that base immediately, or look at lead base runner until she stops her forward momentum, then fire back to the pitcher quickly.

I guess it all comes down to what your goal is as a coach of a younger team. Is it to win at all costs (that's the only goal of many, many coaches)? Or is it to develop your players knowledge and skill of the game to be able to succeed at a higher level. Our organizations lower level (8-12U) goals are to feed the high school softball teams with quality players. In that regard, I don't play the trickery game so much as I try to teach them the whole game. This includes being aggressive on the base paths (not foolish or silly), and certainly the small ball game of bunting, slap hitting, etc. If I wasted my time with these goofy trick plays, then I'm not spending our little time together working on more important aspects of the game that will help them be successful past the 12u level.

Do you feel that the tactic as described requires only minimal skill to execute? Would you say that working on it at practice provides absolutely no benefits which transcend into other aspects of the game?

 

[AndyS]

Clever...but inaccurate.

I teach my catchers to keep their cool, pay attention to the lead runner, and ignore any orchestrated drama. As mentioned, a firm throw back to the circle suppresses much of this foolishness. Last week in a tight game, a team was dancing their runners off 3B trying to bait a bad throw. In the final inning, a fast runner pretended to move back to 3B. When my catcher threw back to P, the runner reversed and took off, attempting the delayed steal. We had practiced this, my pitcher saw it coming a mile away, she threw a bullet back Home, and got the runner by five feet. Game over.

Work on your hitting and teach solid baserunning. There's nothing wrong with a good small-ball game and being aggressive on the bases, but those who confuse BS theatrics with fundamentals are doing their kids a disservice. At higher level ball, nobody wastes time with this stuff because it will blow up on you. If you can't score runs without playing mind games with inexperienced kids, perhaps you should reevaluate who you are as a coach and an adult.

Are you saying that a delayed steal is BS theatrics? How about runner on 1st and 3rd and the runner on first slowly jogging to second on a steal trying to draw a throw? Like you say these type things work less and less at higher levels but I never saw it as something bush league.

 

[guero_gordo]

Not a fan of trickery in general, IMLE it was only effective to work over the weak teams.

.....and you can save the standard hatebucket replies, neither burned nor bitter. ;-)