Advice for turning a HS program around.

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Oct 1, 2014
2,219
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USA
If you have four decent pitchers, maybe pitch calling is the problem.....who is calling pitches and do they know what they are doing?

This was one of my initial thoughts as well. How much time is being devoted to reading and setting up the batter? Is this the coaches or the catchers job on your team?
 
Oct 1, 2014
2,219
113
USA
Interesting post, canyonjoe. Do I know you?



Of course, there is a real need to "build a program." Of course, you need good coaches. However, playing "the best" players is always the claim, but sometimes not the case. That is, sometimes "the politics" originates from the coaching staff. There can be incurable biases in coaches, particularly when several of the high school coaches are daddy coaches. Rose-colored glasses, anyone? This is especially a concern when these daddy coaches are also the coaches in the high school coach's summer competitive teams (Often results in head coach seeing assistant daddy coaches' daughters in a different light. It's some sort of loyalty payback.).



And what criteria do you use to determine who really wants to play? If a high school player opts to play for a summer team other than the high school coach's summer team, should she be branded as someone who doesn't "want to play?"



I would include that it is vital to see to it that the mentality or biases of the coaches doesn't drive most/all of the older kids away by the time they are seniors. You need more than just a couple seniors on the team. Having only a couple seniors and a lot of starry-eyed freshmen isn't generally going to get you to where you want to be. Retention of good older players is vital!

My main point here is this.... Sometimes the best available coaches for high school ball happen to be daddy coaches, most of which have summer teams. When these coaches are hired to coach high school softball, there should be increased oversight by the AD to ensure the associated biases and such are kept under control. If the AD is passive in this regard, there will most surely be an abuse of power by the coaching staff.

Aaaah, the politics of school ball. This is a tough situation to deal with, and of course no coach will ever admit to being so biased. Checks and balances should be in place before it starts.
 
Jan 18, 2010
4,284
0
In your face
K
Hello. I have been asked to AC a HS team for this year.

Turning a HS program around in a year is going to be next to impossible, unless the past failure is management.

I'm a big fan of HS sports, EVERY powerhouse HS that I've seen who consecutively makes it to state playoffs has feeder type programs in place long before the HS ages. Meaning there is a rec league for the introduction to the sport when young, the best from rec form into 1-2 travel teams with a more localized roster of those who will be attending the HS, and a healthy middle school program preparing them for the differnce in game/playoff schedules between weekend travel and seasonal HS ball.

Everyone jumps on the pitching bandwagon, and yes that's important. But one dominate pitcher is rare, and even then it's more rare she can single handed navigate a whole team through a successful season and deep into playoffs. ( unless the division is a cupcake division ) You'll still need a qualified catcher to handle her heat, a efficient SS to retire runners, an outfield to hold a hit to a single, and bats to get you on the scoreboard. Almost ALL of that must be developed before the HS arena, there just isn't enough time in the season for much improvement beyond the skill level they brought to the table.
 

Cannonball

Ex "Expert"
Feb 25, 2009
4,854
113
Aaaah, the politics of school ball. This is a tough situation to deal with, and of course no coach will ever admit to being so biased. Checks and balances should be in place before it starts.

In the same regard could it be possible that there are numerous parents out there who use "politics" as a scapegoat for their child not being one of the top players? Should there be "checks and balances for them before they run their mouths badmouthing people who are doing the right thing? Oh, the probably won't admit that they are wrong and that their dds don't deserve to play.
 

Cannonball

Ex "Expert"
Feb 25, 2009
4,854
113
Otto,

I'll make a series of posts here but ask you to keep in mind that I am an "Ex Expert." However, I have done a lot of winning as the HC in 4 sports so I have been through the process of turning losing programs into successful programs. Here is what I know about successful coaches. This is a simple list but I stand behind it.

• Admit that they don’t know everything and are always asking other successful coaches how they do things.
• Have the courage to say, “I was wrong.”
• Are not afraid of winning! Yes, some coaches are secretly afraid of winning because winning changes people’s perceptions and raises the bar of expectations.
• Are never “too busy” to … (You fill in the blank. Successful coaches know that they are a community commodity and own up to that responsibility.)
• Attack problems and never pretends they don’t see problems. (This means you might have to kick the “star of the team” off of the team!)
• Know that the commitment for success involves their whole being as well as requiring a substantial commitment from their family.
• Know that once they have achieved a level of success, they have to change their expectations and shoot for higher goals.
• Listen to their staff but also know that they have to read body language and behaviors in order to assess staff recommendations.
• Respect their competition and makes sure that, “every stone has been turned over” prior to any competition.
• Know that the belief in the phrase, “That’s all that has worked in the past and that’s all that will ever work” is a recipe for disaster. In other words, successful coaches keep updated on their sport with regards to changes in rules, drills, philosophies…
 
Last edited:
Jun 18, 2012
3,183
48
Utah
....badmouthing people who are doing the right thing?

"Right" thing? Invoking this is often a "scapegoat" as well. A coach or parent proclaiming they are doing the "right" thing doesn't necessarily mean they are. A great deal of humility and objectivity is required for "right" to prevail. As I see it, the nature of this sport, at least at high school and travelball levels, makes it near impossible for "right" to prevail, as there are too many pissing matches between travelball and HS ball, between coaches and parents, between parents and parents, etc., particularly when you have daddy coaches controlling a high school softball program, along with a passive AD. The problems of "politics" can originate from those in control as much as the parents.
 
Last edited:
Jun 11, 2013
2,619
113
Interesting post, canyonjoe. Do I know you?



Of course, there is a real need to "build a program." Of course, you need good coaches. However, playing "the best" players is always the claim, but sometimes not the case. That is, sometimes "the politics" originates from the coaching staff. There can be incurable biases in coaches, particularly when several of the high school coaches are daddy coaches. Rose-colored glasses, anyone? This is especially a concern when these daddy coaches are also the coaches in the high school coach's summer competitive teams (Often results in head coach seeing assistant daddy coaches' daughters in a different light. It's some sort of loyalty payback.).



And what criteria do you use to determine who really wants to play? If a high school player opts to play for a summer team other than the high school coach's summer team, should she be branded as someone who doesn't "want to play?"



I would include that it is vital to see to it that the mentality or biases of the coaches doesn't drive most/all of the older kids away by the time they are seniors. You need more than just a couple seniors on the team. Having only a couple seniors and a lot of starry-eyed freshmen isn't generally going to get you to where you want to be. Retention of good older players is vital!

My main point here is this.... Sometimes the best available coaches for high school ball happen to be daddy coaches, most of which have summer teams. When these coaches are hired to coach high school softball, there should be increased oversight by the AD to ensure the associated biases and such are kept under control. If the AD is passive in this regard, there will most surely be an abuse of power by the coaching staff.

Doug, I don't think I know you.

When I say the sport kids want to play I mean versus track or soccer or whatever sport is going on at the time. I don't think it's necessary to play on the coaches travel team to be a good player.

I'm not advocating getting rid of older players just saying that often you will get a stud player that comes and and is ready to start as a freshman and if treated correctly will help both this years team and future teams.
 
Feb 17, 2014
7,152
113
Orlando, FL
"Right" thing? Invoking this is often a "scapegoat" as well. A coach or parent proclaiming they are doing the "right" thing doesn't necessarily mean they are....

"The people believe that the time has come to have a conversation about common sense laws to do the right thing and keep our children safe."

Most meaningless cliches I could manage in a single meaningless sentence. :)
 
Oct 1, 2014
2,219
113
USA
In the same regard could it be possible that there are numerous parents out there who use "politics" as a scapegoat for their child not being one of the top players? Should there be "checks and balances for them before they run their mouths badmouthing people who are doing the right thing? Oh, the probably won't admit that they are wrong and that their dds don't deserve to play.

Of course, it's more than possible. In fact I'm quite sure it's fairly common for parents to blame politics for their kids performance (or lack thereof).
 

Cannonball

Ex "Expert"
Feb 25, 2009
4,854
113
"Right" thing? Invoking this is often a "scapegoat" as well. A coach or parent proclaiming they are doing the "right" thing doesn't necessarily mean they are. A great deal of humility and objectivity is required for "right" to prevail. As I see it, the nature of this sport, at least at high school and travelball levels, makes it near impossible for "right" to prevail, as there are too many pissing matches between travelball and HS ball, between coaches and parents, between parents and parents, etc., particularly when you have daddy coaches controlling a high school softball program, along with a passive AD. The problems of "politics" can originate from those in control as much as the parents.

Doug, I missed this. I can't speak for other places. I can tell you that as far as I am concerned, I do the right thing without any influence from others. I would include in this parents, colleagues, TB Programs and my administration. I could give you a dozen examples but why. Those that are going to think one way or the other will not be swayed from their position.
 

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