Stupid Things Coaches Say...

[Country Boy]

I say a lot of these 'Stupid Things'. Does anyone realize I say these stupid things in the hope that the player is listening to me instead of the hurtful things many of their parents say to them?

 

[Anthony Vertuccio]

so in this thread it looks like prudent silence is wise

 

[coach james]

Its a MAJOR pet peeve of mine when my girls let meatballs go right down main street! I will never say now you've seen it. This implies its okay to let good pitches go past you.

But it is okay to let good pitches go past you. That's why they give you three of them. Sooner or later, a hitter has to learn her limitations. If she knows she doesn't hit the inner half well, do you want her to swing at that pitch just because it's a strike, and hit it poorly, or would you rather she let it go and wait for a pitch she knows she can drive?

The inside river may be called for a strike, and your right in saying if she's not comfortable with that location to let it go...but that is hardly a meatball! With no strikes she can be a little picky and selective on her locations but if she gets two on her, then she'd had better be looking to hit anything that halfway resembles a strike....and that absolutely includes the river, chest, and shins!

 

[guero_gordo]

I say a lot of these 'Stupid Things'. Does anyone realize I say these stupid things in the hope that the player is listening to me instead of the hurtful things many of their parents say to them?

There's a whole other thread for that. ;-)

If you've got the time, check out the older absurd parent threads, there are some classics in there.

 

[guero_gordo]

I use "squeeze it and freeze it" frequently with my catchers.

IMHO, you squeeze a ball is when you're catching a tennis ball in your fingers, but not when catching a hard ball in the pocket.
I could be making too much of this one by being too literal, it has happened before. ;-)

 

[Eric F]

IMHO, you squeeze a ball is when you're catching a tennis ball in your fingers, but not when catching a hard ball in the pocket.
I could be making too much of this one by being too literal, it has happened before. ;-)

"Squeeze it" = Squeeze the mitt around the ball as hard as you can to keep the damn thing from dropping out because our pitcher is tired of having to strike out 5+ batters per inning.

"Freeze it" = When you catch the ball, hold the location of the catch, because you keep pulling the ball WAY out of the zone and are talking the ump out of calling it a strike (aka - Keep strikes looking like strikes).

 

[parrot]

My opinion here.... Its a MAJOR pet peeve of mine when my girls let meatballs go right down main street! I will never say now you've seen it. This implies its okay to let good pitches go past you. Its okay to not be aggressive. Its okay to not do your best. Complete BS!!!! Get in the box looking to hit, every pitch, be in position to crush one. Be moving with rhythm, balance, and timing. Always ready!!!! To stand there straight legged and watch the first one go past is again in my option pure stupidity. To just stand there and simply observe the pitchers premotion, mechanics, and delivery, you should have been doing this in the dugout and when on deck. When your in the box on my team you, are there for one reason. Get on base!

Like I said, I think you're assuming an awful lot. I'm all for aggression at the plate too, and I've never instructed a batter to take the first pitch every at bat. When I say "Now you've seen it" they understand that I mean "you just stood there looking at a good pitch you probably should have been swinging at".

 

[ConorMacleod]

Neither, I want the coach to say to her in a private conversation "Sally why didn't u you swing at that strike it was in middle of the plate? NO yelling or belittling the player. Let the player tell you why she didnt swing. Find out the cause not the drama of the result.

"I don't know" isn't much of an answer.

 

[MsDinosaur]

Like I said, I think you're assuming an awful lot. I'm all for aggression at the plate too, and I've never instructed a batter to take the first pitch every at bat. When I say "Now you've seen it" they understand that I mean "you just stood there looking at a good pitch you probably should have been swinging at". You say "This implies" when what you really mean is "I infer", and maybe you're not inferring what the coach is really implying.

I'm just a parent, but for me, "now you've seen it" is a positive, encouraging way of saying, "hey, that was a strike."

 

[CoogansBluff]

When I say "Now you've seen it" they understand that I mean "you just stood there looking at a good pitch you probably should have been swinging at".

How does it help the batter in between pitches of an at-bat to be told that she should've swung at the last pitch?

If it helps, I'm all for it, but my belief is that the batter needs to be focusing on the pitcher and not relying on help from the outside, which I view as a distraction, unless it's basic encouragement, which doesn't need to be processed like a critique of each pitch does. I'd rather analyze her pitch selection after the at-bat is over. The situation changes after each pitch and with every new count. Doesn't matter what she should've done on the last pitch. It's about the next pitch.