Runner tagging on sacrifice fly

[riseball]

True story - my DD stopped playing softball after her freshman year in HS. She's finishing her junior year now and will have her PA Cosmotology licence by the end of this school year. She was actually very good at tagging up.

And I bet she looks awesome doing it!!!

 

[PA SB Dad]

And I bet she looks awesome doing it!!!

I have a strict rule on my team - the players are not allowed to wear more makeup than their fathers.

 

[FP26]

Our team consists of players from several different high schools. Some of their high school coaches teach this, some have them watch the ball the whole way. So we have decided to do a combination of both and give the final decision to the individual player. Our job is to help the players, not dictate every little thing.

Runner on second - if the ball is hit to right center field (general area), we will have the runner look at the third base coach who will have his hand in the air. The coach will pull his hand down trying to time it with the catch. This gives the runner the same type of visual she would be breaking from anyway. If the ball is hit to a place on the field that the runner can watch easily, she focuses on the catch, not on the coach.

Runner on third - if the ball is hit to left field (general area), we will have the runner look at the third base coach who will be standing down the line in the runner's line of sight with his hand in the air. Same as above from there....

Again, if the runner can easily see the ball and the catch, we want her to determine when to go. If she needs to turn her head awkwardly, the coach is there to help her. If we are going to use the signals, I would prefer the visual signal over the verbal signal. First of all, I think it eliminates that time lag that others have mentioned. And secondly, I would be willing to bet that there are other teams/coaches/fans out there that would yell "go" just to try to make the runner jump early.

 

[MTR]

This is a situation where the coach is exercising control but adding zero value. The fewer people involved in this process the better as it is certainly is not faster given the communication lag.

Wouldn't that depend on the coach's signal? Just because the coach says "go" doesn't mean the touch was made at the time the coach started the verbal communications. Any lag can be negated by the coach anticipating the contact.

If the runner isn't watching, she cannot be caught hesitating if she sees a bobble. See this at many levels of softball and baseball.

 

[riseball]

Wouldn't that depend on the coach's signal? Just because the coach says "go" doesn't mean the touch was made at the time the coach started the verbal communications. Any lag can be negated by the coach anticipating the contact.

If the runner isn't watching, she cannot be caught hesitating if she sees a bobble. See this at many levels of softball and baseball.

Step #1 - Recognize there are less than 2 outs.

Step #2 - Keep 1 foot on bag until ball hits the glove.

Step #3 - Run like hell.

If this is too complex for a player we have serious challenges ahead.

 

[quincy]

We have trouble with step #2.

 

[SoCal_Dad]

...we will have the runner look at the third base coach who will have his hand in the air. The coach will pull his hand down trying to time it with the catch. This gives the runner the same type of visual she would be breaking from anyway.
...
If we are going to use the signals, I would prefer the visual signal over the verbal signal. First of all, I think it eliminates that time lag that others have mentioned. And secondly, I would be willing to bet that there are other teams/coaches/fans out there that would yell "go" just to try to make the runner jump early.

A lot of merit in your system. Do your coach's movements provide the same anticipatory info of when the catch will be made that the runner gets by watching the ball? If so, please describe. If not, it's like a sprinter/swimmer having to react to a starter's signal. I prefer they be able to time their start like they do when taking off on a pitch.

 

[MTR]

Step #1 - Recognize there are less than 2 outs.

Step #2 - Keep 1 foot on bag until ball hits the glove.

Step #3 - Run like hell.

If this is too complex for a player we have serious challenges ahead.

Apparently this is a problem at all levels of baseball and softball, and I don't disagree this should be easy. but the question I addressed was the communication lag.

 

[FP26]

A lot of merit in your system. Do your coach's movements provide the same anticipatory info of when the catch will be made that the runner gets by watching the ball? If so, please describe. If not, it's like a sprinter/swimmer having to react to a starter's signal. I prefer they be able to time their start like they do when taking off on a pitch.

Very similar... Some of our players will still use what we taught them at the younger ages when timing their leads. They stand on base with their hand in the air and duplicate the pitcher's arm circle to time when they should leave the base (many have moved away from that now). The third base coach uses a similar timing mechanism for the tag ups. If done properly, his hand should be coming down slightly before the ball is caught, so that the runner is moving at the proper time. Truth be told, I would prefer if the runner would time her own tag, BUT our job as coaches is to help the players. So we provide this as an option to them. If they can get a good view of the catch without using the coach's signal, that is what they will do. If the catch is made at a difficult angle to their stance or they are used to using the coach's signal at their high school, it is there for them to use. We want the players to make their own decisions from there.

 

[SoCal_Dad]

As you described, runners are able to anticipate the release of the pitch by watching the pitcher's arm circle. That enables them to get a moving head start prior to losing contact with the base and timed to the anticipated release. Do your coaches' signals provide that or are they equivalent to saying "go"?

Time seems to crawl when you're anxiously waiting for a signal to start...