Me_and_my_big_mouth
witty softball quote
I did watch a lot on WatchESPN, but it is nice to DVR for December viewing.
Softball IQ....
- Thread starter JAD
- Start date
Welcome to Discuss Fastpitch
Your FREE Account is waiting to the Best Softball Community on the Web.
While I agree with the sentiment, I strongly disagree with the content. Yes, there is some natural talent as far as learning is concerned and natural athletic ability that is needed. However, if you give me and any other true coach that properly teaches what needs to be taught to a kid that wants to learn the game and is willing to work there a$$ off at it, I or another good coach will give you one hell of a softball player. It's a learned skill that needs to be taught properly. For those that don't know how to do it...well... they just recruit their team from the other well coached teams that do by promising them everything under the moon and never following through. I would strongly recommend reading the book "The Talent Code" by Daniel Coyle. It will show you how this softball IQ is a learned behavior taught by extremely knowledgeable coaches.
- Feb 12, 2014
- 648
- 43
I did watch a lot on WatchESPN, but it is nice to DVR for December viewing.
Look up Adela Dazeem's YouTube channels. They will get you through many a long, cold winter evening. She (or he) is a HUGE resource for our sport!
Thanks for the heads up! The HDD in my DVR crashed, and I lost all of my recordings from last years softball season.
Me_and_my_big_mouth
witty softball quote
Thank you! I am also trying to increase MY softball IQ. I never played and I have trouble following sometimes. Watching the games with the commentary really helps me.
- Dec 27, 2014
- 311
- 18
I love to see the girls taking ownership of the game. A few weeks ago our 12u team played a double header. In the first game one of our back ups started at 2b. In the very first inning she told DD, who was playing 1b for the first time at 12u, that she had 1b on bunts. Not to worry, just go for the ball. We play a basic corners charge in bunt situation. No big deal, but it re-enforced to dd what to do and also a reminder to herself on one of the most basic plays in the game.
2nd game of the double header we have our other back up player at 2b. 4th inning, first batter. Bunt is laid down, C easily gets it and goes to make the throw to 1b. Nobody there.
2nd game of the double header we have our other back up player at 2b. 4th inning, first batter. Bunt is laid down, C easily gets it and goes to make the throw to 1b. Nobody there.
- Apr 8, 2013
- 192
- 0
I guess where I was going with that is that there are people out there born with certain dispositions that are strong with them. And some who develop them over time through hard work and sweat. Most sports are split-second sports, meaning you have a fraction of a second to decide to do something. There are players in MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL, etc. who are extremely talented and work really really really hard, but never get to that next level because of what's between their ears. Likewise, there are players who might be a bit smaller, slower, weaker, etc., but because of what they bring to the table between their ears, they can compete at the highest level.
Softball IQ is something you can observe, but can't quantify. Think about this - let's say there's one out, runner on third, tied game bottom of the seventh. Batter hits a fly ball to left field. It's foul, but catchable. It's deep enough that if the LF catches the ball, runner on third tags and scores easily, game over. How many players would let the ball drop foul, knowing that even if they get the out their team will lose? And how many players will catch the ball thinking it's their job and not realize that they just loss?
And using something we see all the time what about when a girl hits a swinging bunt and you have no chance of throwing her out. The ball is rolling, spinning, etc and is about to go foul and someone touches it in fair territory. I see that situation happen at least once a tournament.
While there are always unique situations that require that split-second decision-making, and some players are obviously better than others, I think the key is to remove as much of that split-second decision-making as possible by teaching them to think about what they're going to do before the pitch is even thrown. If a player has a plan for all (or at least most) possibilities, it's going to be a lot easier to react when the time comes.
If you're a center fielder with a runner on 2nd, less than 2 outs, you should be thinking about what you're gonna do if it's a lazy fly ball (set up for a potential throw to 2nd). You should be thinking about what to do if it's a weak single (probably just get the ball in if the runner is fast and going to score easily; don't waste a throw home). What about a sharp single? Is it to your left or right? How fast are the runners? How strong is your arm?
There are some players who get a lot of this naturally, I'm sure. I think a lot of it comes from experience (watching and playing). It certainly can be coached, though there are so many possible situations that there's no way to cover everything in limited practice time. But if you can get players to develop a little plan for each pitch, I think they're far less likely to make mental mistakes. I'm not sure of the best way to teach this other than to convince them to fully immerse themselves in the sport. They have to want to think about the game in this way, otherwise you're just programming a robot.
I would love any thoughts on how to proactively teach them to think the game better. It might just be one of those things that requires some mistakes for most players to figure out what to do.
Greenmonsters
Wannabe Duck Boat Owner
I would argue that the reverse is true more often. Or at least that talent gets the opportunity before IQ.
Last edited:
And again, I agree with the sentiment and agree with you on most points. However, CoachJD made the very points I tried to make in shorthand. In music, it has been scientifically proven that either most people are pitch perfect or tone deaf. It does not mean that the tone deaf can't be taught how to play piano or any other musical instrument. The movie " MR. Holland's Opus" was made from a true story and has proven that the musically challenged can not only be taught to play, but to play very well.
Mathematically, many students grasp the theorems from the outset. Yet many others struggle. Those that struggle can still be taught to complete those very same complicated equations. It's been proven time and time again with the no child left behind exit exams.
After a hundred years of painting under lessons you may not be a Monet, but then again, there's only been one Monet in the history books. That doesn't mean that you wouldn't become a famous painter remembered for centuries for your own style of painting
The same holds true for softball. If you coach most common eventualities, and as they get older, coach the, for lack of better words, not so common eventualities, you have a high level player with a high softball knowledge that will make the right play time and time again. It just takes repetition and some mistakes in games for them to rectify it. It's no different than teaching music, art, math or any of the other subjects you mentioned in your previous post.
One other thought to leave you with. Everything is subjective. What many of us might think is the right play in certain softball situations such as the fly foul ball to Left you pointed out, the players may not have been coached to let it drop. They may have been coached by a sub-par coach to catch it at all costs. Thus, it may not be on the player, but on their past coaches.
Last edited:
