I'm a Guy. . .

[CoachKevin]

Had a conversation with an umpire last weekend, he made a good point about differences between softball and baseball. Batter hits a foul ball into the next county, the batter knows it's foul, the umpire knows it's foul, the spectators know it's foul, but yet the LF and SS run as hard as they can to the fence.... baseball players will just watch it hahahaha.

 

[schwabach]

It just seems to be the nature of women's Fastpitch, particularly as they get older. Once they get into college, the noise is non-stop.

That's one of the things I like about the softball I see on T.V.

 

[quincy]

Had a conversation with an umpire last weekend, he made a good point about differences between softball and baseball. Batter hits a foul ball into the next county, the batter knows it's foul, the umpire knows it's foul, the spectators know it's foul, but yet the LF and SS run as hard as they can to the fence.... baseball players will just watch it hahahaha.

I like little observations like this, you are going to have me watching now. ��

 

[BB875]

Yeah, I completely disagree with a lot said here. I'm not trying to be disrespectful as I know many people do not like the loud cheering/yelling from the players. However, its part of the game. Its also about momentum. The constant cheering not only pumps up your team, it puts pressure on the other team.

As related to college football, I just watched the Clemson vs Louisville game Saturday night. The Clemson fanbase cause 3 false starts in a row for Louisville to begin the game. The noise is part of the game in college football.

As a coach, I like my dugout to be loud. I mean REAL loud! It means the players are engaged in the game & were trying to pull/keep the mysterious "Momentum" creature back into our dugout. As you know, Momentum can bail on you in an instant! Experience tells me Momentum likes loud dugouts. Also, since "walk-up" music is not done in TB, many teams have specific cheers for each player stepping up to the plate. I do like that too...

And yes, I do like to remind the defense often then number of outs & where the play is too. I remind my base runners all the time too. My favorite phrase I yell to to a runner on 2nd base is, " Hey, we're scoring on a ground ball through the infield!" Just as a reminder & I like putting the defense on notice... you can count on it!

Finally, how many mental mistakes have been caused by a team's excessive cheering & pressure. I would say many. It's part of the game at every level.

 

[quincy]

DD and a quiet dugout are mutual exclusive.

 

[JAD]

Good college coaches can discern between players who are leaders and those that just make a lot of noise...

 

[wjdempkowski]

Communication is incredibly important in a softball game. Often times, we may look at it as unnecessary noise or chatter. I hope to give you a few examples to the contrary.

As pointed out, they are girls who need to "feel". Cheers, chatter, and/or talk all contribute to how a girl feels. Motivated, relaxed, and focused girls play at their best. When they all play at their best, they tend to win.

When we repeat the same things over and over, it has nothing to do with short memory. It is about what is important now. They last play is over, what is important now. Runners have moved, what is important now.

After an error, chatter, reminders, talking can help the player "move-on" and worry less about what happened, and more on what might happen. Players tend to have a hard time being angry with themselves or others when they are cheering. Helps to enforce a positive attitude and hinder a negative one.

Girls tend to over-think situations and results. Chatter, talk, cheering, and noise tends to reinforce the process and prevent excessive thoughts on results.

Positive communication, not just substance, is important to help the girls "feel" better about what they are doing. The dividends out perform the distractions and should be encouraged, rather than discouraged.

 

[Me_and_my_big_mouth]

My girl is pretty quiet, and in her adolescent years we had to really work on her confidence. Her coaches took her aside in 14u and said, "If you wanna play, kid, ya gotta talk." Yikes. I think she had to really choke that down.

She plays 3b, and in the last 2 years, we've seen real improvement in the way she communicates on the field. She's talking to her SS, making sure OF is aware of the outs, and talking up her Pitcher and teammates. And couldn't agree more about the momentum it generates. When everyone is engaged and supporting each other, there is an energy from the team that is contagious. We always know that the tide has turned and the team has gone off the rails when it's suddenly quiet. DD feels a level of comfort now that she never thought she would, and she knows her voice has become part of her team culture.

She was terrified the first few times she consciously spoke up - but (and I know it's really cheesy but oh well) this demand from coaches helped her find her voice OFF the field, too. She's more confident now, as a 15 year old. She lends her voice to group projects in school, and she speaks easier in school and when meeting new people. Ultimately, this is why we want her playing ball. She's learning life skills that will help her in every arena - not just sports.

What's happening out there isn't always just "chatter," and some noise-making/talking IS communicating, even if it seems pointless or without purpose at the moment. It's a way for a girl to announce to her teammates, "Hey - I GOT YOU."

 

[mudrunner]

I think to a lot of people and coaches correlate the loudness of a player to confidence, and confidence translates to leadership. I don't necessarily think this is entirely true, as the leaders don't have to be the loudest girls on the team. Sometimes loud just means obnoxious lol. I love hearing the communication on the field and cheering from the dug out, but some of the songs and chants wear on me a little bit.

 

[quincy]

We had a player in MS, always losing her mitt bat what not.

She just wanted to be part of team and in dugout. Nice girl.

(Could not play SB worth a damn.)