What is YOUR Biggest Coaching Challenge? - Tons of softball drills, softball tips, and advice on softball hitting, softball pitching, coaching softball, softball training, and more.

StacieM · 08-01-2008, 09:35 AM

What would you say is your number one coaching challenge?

What is it you struggle the most with each season/this season?

If you could get help with just one thing, what would it be?

mksoftball759 · 08-04-2008, 12:42 PM

PARENTS!!!! Especially the ones who think their DD are better than they are. I wish they would open their eyes & be more realistic, instead of complaining about the lack of playing time, work with your DD, it doesn't have to be very long, I have my DD practice pitching in the yard, I try to do it 3-4 times a week, nothing crazy, 15 minutes. Sometimes we go to the park, she'll hit a couple of buckets, then do some fielding, 1/2 hour total. I've been doing this since she is about 6, she is now 11.

The thing that is a challenge on the field is baserunning. Our girls are 12u & I do not believe they are agressive enough on the bases. If they hit a ball in the outfield, it's a single & they are happy with that, I tell them to run hard, round 1st hard & if the outfielder bobbles the ball they have a shot a 2nd, if they jog down to 1st & the ball is bobbled they have no chance or they take a chance & get thrown out.

halskinner · 08-04-2008, 06:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mksoftball759

PARENTS!!!! Especially the ones who think their DD are better than they are. I wish they would open their eyes & be more realistic, instead of complaining about the lack of playing time, work with your DD, it doesn't have to be very long, I have my DD practice pitching in the yard, I try to do it 3-4 times a week, nothing crazy, 15 minutes. Sometimes we go to the park, she'll hit a couple of buckets, then do some fielding, 1/2 hour total. I've been doing this since she is about 6, she is now 11.

The thing that is a challenge on the field is baserunning. Our girls are 12u & I do not believe they are agressive enough on the bases. If they hit a ball in the outfield, it's a single & they are happy with that, I tell them to run hard, round 1st hard & if the outfielder bobbles the ball they have a shot a 2nd, if they jog down to 1st & the ball is bobbled they have no chance or they take a chance & get thrown out.

"I have my DD practice pitching in the yard, I try to do it 3-4 times a week, nothing crazy, 15 minutes."

Ever hear of 'Pitching Stamina'? It's going to work for you something like this; If she practices her pitching for 15 minutes a session, she will pitch well for 15 minutes in any given tournament day. After that point she will tire and not be anywhere near as effective because she is not used to pitching any more than that.

You should, over a few months, extend the time she practices her pitching to an hour or more so she can throw a few games in a tournament day and not risk injury or getting tired.

She owes it to the team to be the best pitcher she can be and only practicing for 15 minutes at a team is NOT fulfilling that obligation.

You should , again over time, raise that amount to 2 timews as many throwa as she would in any given 'Bad Game'. Then, if she does have a bad one, it will not stress her physically.

mksoftball759 · 08-04-2008, 08:39 PM

She's 11, if I push hard too hard it will become a job for her. I don't know many people who look foward to going to work. If she pitches in HS then she will have to step it up. There are many other ways for an 11 yr old kid to build stamina...... basketball, bike riding, swimming, playing tag etc.

halskinner · 08-04-2008, 11:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mksoftball759

She's 11, if I push hard too hard it will become a job for her. I don't know many people who look foward to going to work. If she pitches in HS then she will have to step it up. There are many other ways for an 11 yr old kid to build stamina...... basketball, bike riding, swimming, playing tag etc.

You can step it up now AND have fun doing it.

The ones that are stepping it up right now, those are the ones that will be pitching in high school.

Pitching stamina is different than other sports. Answer this honestly; If you arrived at a tourney and found out that she was the only pitcher for the team, how many games can she pitch in a day? Weekend?

Do the balls start going into the dirt after 4 innings because she loses her grip on the ball? That's one sign of a pitcher that is tired and out of shape.

Is she throwing 50 at the start of a game but struggling to hit 43 at the end. That's another sign.

How about 55 at the start of a game but can barely hit 48 by the 4th inning? That's another sign.

Coach CJ · 08-05-2008, 09:00 PM

My biggest challenge has been attitudes - lack of respect for teammates and sometimes coaches.

I coach an U18 in a small town but 1/2 the team are from the U14 team to make a full roster. When we are winning everything is great. But one bad play seems to snowball into multiple bad plays and they all get down on themselves (usually it is the older girls against the younger girls). Although the older girls makes their share of mental mistakes as well.

Nothing seems to shake them - no speeches get through to them (if they are even listening). They just seem to not let go of a bad play. The older girls just do not demonstrate the right attitude to move on and get the next one.

I get a touch of this with my high school team. But this year's travel experience has been a brutal learning experience.

-cj

fivepotsogold · 08-06-2008, 06:49 PM

I coached a 10/11 All Star team.

All, but one parent, dropped their kid off every day. No questions, no contact with me.
Showed up at the games but were not willing to volunteer at the candy stand or with anything else.

And you wonder why your kid isn't that good. geesh.

I see lots of Mom's with their Cell phone in one hand and expensive coffee in the other ...back to the field while their kids look in the hope they might watch...even for a second or two.

I realize that life is busy....we have 5 kids, both work, etc.
But look in your kids eyes once in a while! Watch them when they get a hit and run smiling around the bases. Take a picture!

KAT · 08-06-2008, 08:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fivepotsogold

I coached a 10/11 All Star team.

All, but one parent, dropped their kid off every day. No questions, no contact with me.
Showed up at the games but were not willing to volunteer at the candy stand or with anything else.

And you wonder why your kid isn't that good. geesh.

I see lots of Mom's with their Cell phone in one hand and expensive coffee in the other ...back to the field while their kids look in the hope they might watch...even for a second or two.

And these are hte parents who complain about playing time. I go observe the practices especially when mine was younger. I don't coach while I am observing because thats the coaches job. I do volunteer to shag, etc. When she was younger and I would see an area she needed to work on we would go home and work on it. How do you know what your kid needs to work on if you don't pay attention. I very seldom dropped off my kid at practice.

fivepotsogold · 08-06-2008, 08:47 PM

MY 12 DD has been playing since she was 5.
I was always one to volunteer, help out ... toss balls, help at clinics ..whatever.
An assistant.

Last year I started getting more into the coaching.

Every now and then I can't be there ... mostly because I'm watching another child doing something. Inevitable with 5!

We spend tons of time in our yard .. head up to the field sometimes too.
My kids aren't superstars ... but they are pretty good.
Mostly...the time with them is what keeps me doing it .....
Amazing what they choose to share having a game of catch.

bgecoach · 08-06-2008, 09:36 PM

our biggest challange this season (and seasons past) is getting the girls to be aggressive at the plate. they have some kind of fear of striking out that keeps them from committing fully to their swing. ironically the this fear of striking out causes them to actually strike out more...

i would love to hear what you all do to make your hitters more aggressive. we told our girls repeatedly that they had the okay to swing the bat and we would never say anything about striking out as long as they swung aggressively. still, half swings and looking at strikes. my team is 18u and i told them at the last tournament that they were running out of chances to swing the bat, the season's almost over.

08-01-2008, 09:35 AM	#1 (permalink)
StacieM Member Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 97	What is YOUR Biggest Coaching Challenge? What would you say is your number one coaching challenge? What is it you struggle the most with each season/this season? If you could get help with just one thing, what would it be? __________________ Stacie Mahoe Coaching Bootcamp now open! Connect with fellow fastpitch fanatics at Fastpitch World.

08-06-2008, 06:49 PM	#7 (permalink)
fivepotsogold Senior Member Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 167	Parental Apathy I coached a 10/11 All Star team. All, but one parent, dropped their kid off every day. No questions, no contact with me. Showed up at the games but were not willing to volunteer at the candy stand or with anything else. And you wonder why your kid isn't that good. geesh. I see lots of Mom's with their Cell phone in one hand and expensive coffee in the other ...back to the field while their kids look in the hope they might watch...even for a second or two. I realize that life is busy....we have 5 kids, both work, etc. But look in your kids eyes once in a while! Watch them when they get a hit and run smiling around the bases. Take a picture!

08-06-2008, 08:47 PM	#9 (permalink)
fivepotsogold Senior Member Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 167	Parental Apathy MY 12 DD has been playing since she was 5. I was always one to volunteer, help out ... toss balls, help at clinics ..whatever. An assistant. Last year I started getting more into the coaching. Every now and then I can't be there ... mostly because I'm watching another child doing something. Inevitable with 5! We spend tons of time in our yard .. head up to the field sometimes too. My kids aren't superstars ... but they are pretty good. Mostly...the time with them is what keeps me doing it ..... Amazing what they choose to share having a game of catch.

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08-04-2008, 12:42 PM	#2 (permalink)
mksoftball759 Junior Member Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 21	PARENTS!!!! Especially the ones who think their DD are better than they are. I wish they would open their eyes & be more realistic, instead of complaining about the lack of playing time, work with your DD, it doesn't have to be very long, I have my DD practice pitching in the yard, I try to do it 3-4 times a week, nothing crazy, 15 minutes. Sometimes we go to the park, she'll hit a couple of buckets, then do some fielding, 1/2 hour total. I've been doing this since she is about 6, she is now 11. The thing that is a challenge on the field is baserunning. Our girls are 12u & I do not believe they are agressive enough on the bases. If they hit a ball in the outfield, it's a single & they are happy with that, I tell them to run hard, round 1st hard & if the outfielder bobbles the ball they have a shot a 2nd, if they jog down to 1st & the ball is bobbled they have no chance or they take a chance & get thrown out.

08-04-2008, 08:39 PM	#4 (permalink)
mksoftball759 Junior Member Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 21	She's 11, if I push hard too hard it will become a job for her. I don't know many people who look foward to going to work. If she pitches in HS then she will have to step it up. There are many other ways for an 11 yr old kid to build stamina...... basketball, bike riding, swimming, playing tag etc.

08-05-2008, 09:00 PM	#6 (permalink)
Coach CJ Junior Member Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 8	My biggest challenge has been attitudes - lack of respect for teammates and sometimes coaches. I coach an U18 in a small town but 1/2 the team are from the U14 team to make a full roster. When we are winning everything is great. But one bad play seems to snowball into multiple bad plays and they all get down on themselves (usually it is the older girls against the younger girls). Although the older girls makes their share of mental mistakes as well. Nothing seems to shake them - no speeches get through to them (if they are even listening). They just seem to not let go of a bad play. The older girls just do not demonstrate the right attitude to move on and get the next one. I get a touch of this with my high school team. But this year's travel experience has been a brutal learning experience. -cj

08-06-2008, 09:36 PM	#10 (permalink)
bgecoach 1st base coach Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: in the dugout Posts: 65	our biggest challange this season (and seasons past) is getting the girls to be aggressive at the plate. they have some kind of fear of striking out that keeps them from committing fully to their swing. ironically the this fear of striking out causes them to actually strike out more... i would love to hear what you all do to make your hitters more aggressive. we told our girls repeatedly that they had the okay to swing the bat and we would never say anything about striking out as long as they swung aggressively. still, half swings and looking at strikes. my team is 18u and i told them at the last tournament that they were running out of chances to swing the bat, the season's almost over.