Conditioning at Practice.

Easton33 said:

Recently on a thread I have come realize that some people think running during practice is not for girls and is actually a sign of poor coaching if done as discipline.

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Easton33 said:

It seems that attitudes about conditioning female athletes vary greatly and some see it as cruel or mistreatment.

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I've never heard anyone say that conditioning female athletes was cruel or mistreatment, or that running during practice was not for girls. I have heard it said that running girls as punishment was poor coaching.

Easton33 said:

... if minds, attitudes, or efforts aren't where they should be, I have no problem working on conditioning.

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Substitute the word bunting for conditioning.

if minds, attitudes, or efforts aren't where they should be, I have no problem working on bunting.

Wouldn't that sound silly?

Conditioning should be something that players enjoy, IMO, just like running, throwing, hitting, catching, fielding and bunting. Why use something that they should enjoy as discipline? If you need to discipline players, why not restrict things that they enjoy - like running, throwing, hitting, catching. In other words, playing time. IMO, your players aren't signing up to be punished. They are signing up to compete. Those that compete the best will be rewarded. The consequence of poor attitude is restriction of rewards, ie, playing time, their spot in the batting order, their place on the field.

That is the argument that has been made. Don't remember anyone saying that conditioning girls is cruel.

DD's coach encourages conditioning but it's not something they do as a team. DD and 2 friends see a trainer once a week and really enjoy it. She also takes hitting/slapping lessons once a week. These are things she does on her own on top of the normal 3 hours a week of practice and Sunday league games.

Most of the girls on her team do some form of conditioning whether it be going to the gym, seeing a trainer or just working out at home. Most teenage girls are more likely to do something like this if it's an option and not a requirement

Conditioning is about improving physical conditioning and not discipline. Do not put a negative connotation on conditioning by using it for discipline.

There is a difference between consequence and discipline as well. If you have a competitive drill and the loser does some reasonable conditioning that's ok. The negative stimuli is on "losing" and not personal behaviors.

Psychological studies show that you subconsciously turn children away from conditioning on their own if it is derived out of a negative stimuli. If this is done at an early age you will have difficulty getting children to be self sufficient off the field (in the gym etc). If you can point children in the right direction by the older ages conditioning takes care of itself off the field as they will hit the gym, weights, nutrition etc on their own in a healthy manner.

Now for discipline-when a child acts our they seek attention positive or negative. Removing them from the situation and denying them the negative attention they seek is a better solution. Then you can use one on one to reinforce a positive attitude and bring them back to standards. This works real well at younger ages.

There's good materials on this at www.proactivecoaching.com. Theres great research out there too.

Obviously exercise is good but specifically including it in practice time is a waste of time. The girls should be conditioning on their own. Practice is for doing things as a team that they can't do on their own as individuals.

The reality is this isn't basketball or soccer. Look at all of the fat major league players.

You can include it in your practice for all the right reasons but it won't help you with winning games.

riseball said:

Always found it interesting the thought and emphasis on physical conditioning when it is mental conditioning that wins ball games. How often do you see players run out of gas or lack the physical ability to make a play versus screwing up due to a brain fart?

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Wonderful advice! There should be practice on the field for this and off the field (classroom setting) for this.

I am all for incorporating it into the practice. Players run everywhere - onto the field, off the field, to pick up balls, etc.

I recently bought a speed ladder and there are many fielding drills that you can run, using it.

KCPRK said:

Wonderful advice! There should be practice on the field for this and off the field (classroom setting) for this.

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I do 1:1 sessions with my players taking them through an AB, pitch sequence other scenario using visualization/hypnosis techniques. By doing such detailed mental rehearsals they quickly adapt a much more disciplined approach during games.

For our team conditioning is not a specific activity but part of every drill. We run a four corners throwing drill that evolves into a follow your throw. We do glove work/footwork drills that help with core conditioning and leg strength. Outfield and base running drills are conducted at full speed. Bunting and bunt defense drills are done with a stopwatch on the hitter and I announce the contact to 1B time. Everything we do we try to do it at full speed. I don't think you need to have running as a separate activity to get your players in shape.

That said, our players are expected to do conditioning on their own. Some do it with a trainer several times a week, whereas others have an in season sport (basketball, swimming, etc) where they have their conditioning. Just because I don't watch my players run in practice doesn't mean that they are not well-conditioned athletes.

Something that i learned in the past few years, was not to do much running in cleats. I am talking a 1/2 - 1 mile. The little league coach put my top pitcher (and his) on the shelf, with shin splints. She was only 10.

CoogansBluff said:

I've never heard anyone say that conditioning female athletes was cruel or mistreatment, or that running during practice was not for girls. I have heard it said that running girls as punishment was poor coaching.



Substitute the word bunting for conditioning.

if minds, attitudes, or efforts aren't where they should be, I have no problem working on bunting.

Wouldn't that sound silly?

Conditioning should be something that players enjoy, IMO, just like running, throwing, hitting, catching, fielding and bunting. Why use something that they should enjoy as discipline? If you need to discipline players, why not restrict things that they enjoy - like running, throwing, hitting, catching. In other words, playing time. IMO, your players aren't signing up to be punished. They are signing up to compete. Those that compete the best will be rewarded. The consequence of poor attitude is restriction of rewards, ie, playing time, their spot in the batting order, their place on the field.

That is the argument that has been made. Don't remember anyone saying that conditioning girls is cruel.

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"Still amazes me how much verbal and physical abuse parents will watch their teenage daughters endure at the hands of an adult bully (male or female).*"
Granted in same post he stated some conditioning was ok but to say or imply having a girl run is a form of abuse, is wrong.
I agree with you that the girls sign up to compete but who is the better competitor, the girl that receives conditioning in practice (Mental and physical) or the girl that receives no physical conditioning?