Stupid Things Coaches Say (But Shouldn’t)

[Ken Krause]

People say stupid things every day in all walks of life. All you have to do is watch the news or go onto social media or even listen to conversations happening around you in a semi-crowded area and I guarantee within five minutes you’ll find something that makes you slap your forehead and shudder in […]

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[Rolling Hard]

Great read. This sums VVVVV it up BUT unfortunately the EGO overrides the logic in many a coach.

"Yes, change can be hard at times. It can be even harder if you have to admit that the way you’ve been doing things may not have been the best way. None of us wants to look like we’ve been wrong for years.

But it’s not about being wrong before. It’s about being willing to adjust what you’re teaching when a better way comes along."

As for excuses for losing:
We were playing in drop dead timed game and the other team was coming back with the winning run at the plate when time expired. One of the players from the other team said to his coach, "if we had more time we would have won, that's not fair." To the coach's credit, he responded without missing a beat, "we had an hour and 25 minutes to win that game, we lost."

 

[PJR202]

What exactly is wrong with telling a pitcher to just throw strikes?

I've certainly said it a couple times, and the reason I did so was because the pitcher I said it to was trying to use pitches that she doesn't always throw well and was struggling. I wanted her to just get the ball in the zone. Logically, a pitcher than can generally/sometimes get spins over the plate should be able to put a fastball down the middle with consistency.

Even if she just has a case of the yips and even the fastball isn't working, I would see no reason to have her trying anything BUT that fastball.

If I have a kid out there that can't even consistently put a fastball over the plate, all I have are basic mechanical tips to toss out there--not that I expect the to work when she's already at the PONR.

 

[Rolling Hard]

What exactly is wrong with telling a pitcher to just throw strikes?

I've certainly said it a couple times, and the reason I did so was because the pitcher I said it to was trying to use pitches that she doesn't always throw well and was struggling. I wanted her to just get the ball in the zone. Logically, a pitcher than can generally/sometimes get spins over the plate should be able to put a fastball down the middle with consistency.

Even if she just has a case of the yips and even the fastball isn't working, I would see no reason to have her trying anything BUT that fastball.

If I have a kid out there that can't even consistently put a fastball over the plate, all I have are basic mechanical tips to toss out there--not that I expect the to work when she's already at the PONR.

It is a little redundant and probably obvious she is trying to throw strikes. Who is calling the pitches? If you want her to throw just FBs over the plate then call time out and tell her and the catcher the game plan. And maybe a little give her a little boost of confidence with a "I know you can do this." Barking commands from the bench rarely work well.

 

[PJR202]

It is a little redundant and probably obvious she is trying to throw strikes. Who is calling the pitches? If you want her to throw just FBs over the plate then call time out and tell her and the catcher the game plan. And maybe a little give her a little boost of confidence with a "I know you can do this." Barking commands from the bench rarely work well.

I would only say that one on one. We don't call out things like that from the bench. I try to say as little as possible to a pitcher from the dugout, aside from a few pre-arranged key words to remind her of flaws to be conscious of when I see patterns developing. I don't want the other team to hear me say things that have them thinking we've lost confidence in our pitcher, or that she's struggling more than it would seem to them. Nor do I want her to think she's in worse shape than she actually is (even if she actually is...lol).

If the hatred for saying to just call strikes mostly only applies to when being yelled from the dugout, then I'm fully in agreement.

edit: I somehow managed to type "we call out things like that from the bench" as opposed to "we DONT call out things like that from the bench"

 

[Cannonball]

What exactly is wrong with telling a pitcher to just throw strikes?

I've certainly said it a couple times, and the reason I did so was because the pitcher I said it to was trying to use pitches that she doesn't always throw well and was struggling. I wanted her to just get the ball in the zone. Logically, a pitcher than can generally/sometimes get spins over the plate should be able to put a fastball down the middle with consistency.

Even if she just has a case of the yips and even the fastball isn't working, I would see no reason to have her trying anything BUT that fastball.

If I have a kid out there that can't even consistently put a fastball over the plate, all I have are basic mechanical tips to toss out there--not that I expect the to work when she's already at the PONR.

My take on this is that the assumption then is that the pitcher is not trying hard enough to throw strikes. It is a statement that doesn't give some type of correction, instruction, or support for the pitcher. I went to watch a young coach in basketball coach a game last week. During a timeout, he said few things that resembled coaching. He said things like "we have to get the ball across half-court and set up the offense." His team was being pressed. Afterward, he asked me about what I observed. I told him that he had time to coach and should coach at those moments because his players were working hard but didn't know how to break the press.

In the scenario of the pitcher, there are countless mechanical flaws that might be corrected by a simple suggestion. Perhaps the pitcher is standing on one side or the other of the rubber and missing over the plate due to their setup. I hope you get the point. I think that what you posted about the pitches your pitcher is throwing is something along the lines I suggest.

 

[GunnerShotgun]

There is little you can say during a softball game as a coach that will impact the outcome. Make a note of what you were going to say and address it at practice.

 

[CoachJD]

What exactly is wrong with telling a pitcher to just throw strikes?

I agree with you, but only in a certain circumstance. I think people can often be wrong when they say "Why say 'just throw strikes'? Of course she's trying to throw strikes!" Is she? I don't think it's inherently obvious that a pitcher is always trying to throw strikes. I don't think a pitcher should always be trying to throw strikes, especially as you get to higher levels of play.

Pitchers sometimes try to be too perfect. They try to nibble around the edges. Maybe she's technically trying to throw a strike that just clips the corner, but "just throw strikes" doesn't mean "graze the low outside corner." It means fire the ball in there.

I have told my pitchers something along these lines when it looks like they're trying too hard to hit the corners or get hitters to chase bad balls and I know the hitters can't handle them if they just throw strikes.

If you're saying it to your 10u pitcher who is still learning how to control the ball, it's useless and probably frustrating. When I say it to my high school pitcher who usually can reliably "throw a strike" (maybe not "hit a spot"), I'm sending a specific message. It's strategic, not mechanical.

 

[Bullseye]

What exactly is wrong with telling a pitcher to just throw strikes?

The coach saying that is usually the coach who's calling pitches. They should know if they called a signal for the pitcher to purposely miss. Otherwise rubbing it in that a pitcher has missed is adding insult.

 

[PJR202]

The coach saying that is usually the coach who's calling pitches. They should know if they called a signal for the pitcher to purposely miss. Otherwise rubbing it in that a pitcher has missed is adding insult.

I can't imagine why any coach with common sense would do that.

Not that common sense is required for the job.

I guess part of my disconnect here is that we don't call pitches. We don't have a pitcher yet who is capable of carrying out that kind of request more than maybe 30% of the time. When I've said that phrase it's directed at (off the field) a pitcher who is trying to throw pitches they aren't capable of hitting with any consistency, having decided to do so without our approval.

I've never once said anything negative or non-supportive to a pitcher. The last thing I need is to contribute to her collapsing and taking the whole team with her. That one happens easily enough without my help.