Pep Talks for games you probably will not win.

[CoachJD]

I disagree with the "Don't talk about what happened in the game" aspect of post-game conferences. You don't have to break out a whiteboard, but the adage in MLB is "You see something you've never seen before every time you go to the ballpark" Well, these kids are young. Even the 16u kids that are fighting for big scholarships. Hell, there are arguments/questions in this forum about specific rules and how/why calls were made. If we're fuzzy on it, the kids have no idea. Teach them the trail runner is out when she passes someone in front of her, but it's a live ball and you still have to make the play. Teach them that if they field a pop-up standing in fair territory and it bounces off their glove and lands foul it's still fair. I guarantee for most uncommon plays there's at least one player there that's at least a little fuzzy on exactly what happened and why and is just not going to speak up and say so. Teach them.

A quick comment on a weird play is one thing, but the idea is that you save all that stuff for practice where you can actually work on what needs to be worked on.

Also gives them a little time away from it. They're far more likely to listen to the coach speechifying the next day at practice than right after a tough loss.

 

[CoachCeetar]

A quick comment on a weird play is one thing, but the idea is that you save all that stuff for practice where you can actually work on what needs to be worked on.

Also gives them a little time away from it. They're far more likely to listen to the coach speechifying the next day at practice than right after a tough loss.

Will they remember? Best when it's fresh. I'm talking about like rule clarifications and uncommon play stuff. But yeah, it'd just be quick comments/clarifications. On the same note, reinforcing good plays, that are maybe more routine but just at the edge of their skill level. Someone makes a good tag play on an overrun at second, pump them up and explain to everyone how heads up a play it was. I think when this stuff is fresh it sticks better, especially if the next practice might not be immediate.

 

[CoachJD]

Will they remember? Best when it's fresh. I'm talking about like rule clarifications and uncommon play stuff. But yeah, it'd just be quick comments/clarifications. On the same note, reinforcing good plays, that are maybe more routine but just at the edge of their skill level. Someone makes a good tag play on an overrun at second, pump them up and explain to everyone how heads up a play it was. I think when this stuff is fresh it sticks better, especially if the next practice might not be immediate.

Nothing wrong with that.

I do think pointing out a couple positive plays post-game is fine, win or lose.

What people really want to avoid, and I agree completely, is spending 5 minutes reminding them of all the mistakes they made during the game they just played.

 

[ninthgirl]

I just came to refresh my memory on the good advice posted here as my child on a rec/all-star team is about to go play a double header scrimmage against experienced travel teams where the lessons will be many and the win probabilities close to zero. Trying to set my kid up in the "do the things you can do" mindset ahead of the game while making sure her expectations are realistic.

 

[HunterMO]

I think it's fine to cover a "control what you can control" standpoint pre-game. But other than that, it's just driving home effort start-to-finish. Which is hard if/when you're getting blown out by mid-game.

Post-game.....call out some positives, clarify anything weird that happened during the game, and move on. Anything from an error standpoint can be worked on during the next practice.

Right, wrong, or indifferent....DD checks out during most post-game talks. Her reasoning is that she knows what she did right and wrong. She knows what happened during the game and is her own biggest critic. She just wants to find some food and move on.

 

[BucketDud]

Nothing wrong with that.

I do think pointing out a couple positive plays post-game is fine, win or lose.

What people really want to avoid, and I agree completely, is spending 5 minutes reminding them of all the mistakes they made during the game they just played.

So what if the coach spends 45 mins after the last game of day rehashing their mistakes?

 

[CoachJD]

So what if the coach spends 45 mins after the last game of day rehashing their mistakes?

Sounds like a coach that's a nightmare to play for.

 

[CoachJD]

Right, wrong, or indifferent....DD checks out during most post-game talks. Her reasoning is that she knows what she did right and wrong. She knows what happened during the game and is her own biggest critic. She just wants to find some food and move on.

They all check out during them. Except the coach who loves to hear himself talk.