How do you define success on the field.

[riseball]

Not sure how to answer. You begin by saying that success runs much deeper than batting averages, but if you are successful, then you should be able to quantify it in some way. OPS is my favorite offense stat. Then probably slugging pct.

But then again, stats are relative and dependent on the level of competition. Your daughter is a much better pitcher today than she was five years ago, but her college stats are probably not as good as her high school/travel stats. So another way to quantify success on the field is to measure the level of competition against which you are competent. I coached DD's travel teams for four years, and my goal was to go around .500 each season, but to measure success based on the level at which we went .500. Year One was basically entry-level, all-star+ travel ball. Year Four we played entirely A-ball. If you reach a point where ou're willing to travel far and wide and there aren't enough good teams to keep you at .500, I guess you've become pretty successful.

Absolutely. But to your point you don't go into a game trying to hit .400 or generate other quantifiable stats. So what do you as a coach use to focus your players on the specific task at hand?

BTW - You are dead on about my DD. Stats are not transitive! Although she is a much better pitcher after only 1 college season the stats took a dip. Her K's per game went from 14+ in HS and 10+ in TB to 8.5 in college. It is a very different world when 1 - 9 can hit rockets and you throw upwards of 200 innings in just 4 months.

 

[chinamigarden]

I always thought it was a successful year if at the beginning of the next season she wanted to play again. The rest of it is for the parents. If she didn't enjoy it enough to want to do it all over again, it was a unsuccessful season.

 

[riseball]

Simple. winning.

Winning is the result of the cumulative successful efforts of the individuals that comprise the team. Before you can realize success as a team the individual players must be successful in their respective roles. So how do you define the success and motivate the individual to do their job for every pitch of every inning of every game?

 

[riseball]

I always thought it was a successful year if at the beginning of the next season she wanted to play again. The rest of it is for the parents. If she didn't enjoy it enough to want to do it all over again, it was a unsuccessful season.

Assume she does want to play. How do you motivate her to excel at every opportunity?

 

[riseball]

Working the pitcher is overrated, IMO. But you've been more consistently front and center to a higher-level of play than I have.

I do value pitch selection very much, though. My daughter went 2-for-10 last week, and one of those hits was a popop that got lost in the sun. Pretty unsuccessful. But I can't remember a bad choice at the plate on whether to swing or take. And there have been times where she's made 3 bad ones in one at-bat. So I while I can't spin 2-for-10 as a successful weekend at the plate, she is being successful in the goal of finding a good pitch to hit. If there were an objective way to define 'bad pitch-selection decision,' that would be a great stat worth keeping.

I agree that working the pitcher is not the end all. But in the first inning I want the top 3 to work the pitcher. It sets a tone of discipline and many pitchers are not prepared as well as they should be, and like most every team we do well if we can put a couple on the board in the first inning. Of course if it is tubed then by all means, but if my first 3 hitters pull the trigger on the first pitch they had better paste it. Otherwise get ahead into a hitters count.

 

[CoogansBluff]

Winning is the result of the cumulative successful efforts of the individuals that comprise the team.

Plus, it's easy to win for most teams in travel ball. Only play against teams you should beat. W-L record by itself doesn't tell me how successful that a travel team is.

 

[riseball]

Plus, it's easy to win for most teams in travel ball. Only play against teams you should beat. W-L record by itself doesn't tell me how successful that a travel team is.

Ain't that the truth!

 

[chinamigarden]

Assume she does want to play. How do you motivate her to excel at every opportunity?

My dd is self motivated. To pretend I do something to make her better other then help her practice, ie. hit balls to her and catch for her would be a lie. So the best I do is encourage her, tell her how much I like to watch her play (sports) or listen to her play (saxophone) or how proud I am of the school work she does (1st in her class going into 12th grade) she really takes responsibility for everything she does and does it the best she can.

 

[SoCal_Dad]

Simple. winning.

Winning ugly and/or against a weak team doesn't mean you were successful. Prior to the end-of-season championship, top coaches are more concerned about how their team played than whether they won or lost. Don't get me wrong - they want to win. However, they want to win by playing well. They want their team challenged by strong teams so they can find out how good they really are, identify areas for improvement and learn how to compete - and win - against strong competition.

 

[SoCal_Dad]

Winning is the result of the cumulative successful efforts of the individuals that comprise the team. Before you can realize success as a team the individual players must be successful in their respective roles. So how do you define the success and motivate the individual to do their job for every pitch of every inning of every game?

Things like attitude and effort are the only ones you can define across the board for the team. Beyond that, you have to make sure every player knows their role and what is expected of them in their role. Motivating them is simply a combination of acknowledging, congratulating and/or praising them whenever they meet expectations and coaching/counseling them when they don't. You should have some patience with them if they're trying to do what you want, but don't tolerate it if they're not - give them some time on the bench to contemplate it.