Ideas to keep a team sharp through a whole weekend

[Little Angels Softball]

This is awesome Little Angels!

What do you do with pitchers? Would I be nuts in having them in the circle at the end of a practice with the rest of the team cheering against them or playing loud music and telling them it's 3-2 and a walk loses the game?

My #1 struggles in elimination games. She went into a funk herself yesterday and I had to pull her for #2 in the second inning.

It is almost impossible to create a situation in a practice scenario that mirrors what pitchers face in a tight game. That is all about vision and what they can imagine and no "created" scene can replicate the real thing. I actually have my pitchers go in the circle when I'm hitting infield and put them under the type of defensive pressure that the rest of the team is under. Pressure can certainly be created in practice for your defense and the pitchers seem to thrive on being a part of it.

Pitchers are a different animal. They either can handle the spotlight or they can't. If your current #1 can't and your #2 can, I'd say you have their numbers wrong and need to reverse them.

In this case, how much of this had to do w/ the fact that you played the eventual tournament champ?

For example, fielders are far more likely to make bad decisions and come unglued when runners are on base, especially good base-runners. Good teams put more runners on base. They hit the ball harder. They put the ball in play much much harder and more frequently. They give us fewer routine-play opportunities. They shake our confidence. I've heard coaches win games after a bad loss and comment on how improved the defense was, when in reality the other team struck out 10 times and hit 5 popups and 5 weak grounders. Every play was to first base.

Coogan is right.

This is why I say you have to create the pressure in practice. It isn't the fact that they are losing focus for one game or getting tired or that they ate too much in between games. They are folding because a good team is putting more pressure on them than they can handle.

Once the season is rolling, you need to train them to handle the pressure as much as you train them in the fundamentals. That is what high-level TB is all about.

 

[crystlemc]

Key point - lunch. I know I'm ready for a nap after I eat. I give the parents a hard time if I see the kids eating a lot of junk between games.

We do what we call "team cooler". A rotating list is put out of who has what category for each tournament. Main dish, side dish, fruit, etc. The parents have been excellent about keeping the food pretty healthy and on the light side. We go through tons of fruit since that is what the girls gravitate most toward. Team cooler feeds all the players, coaches, family members for the weekend and saves everyone o ton of money in eating out. So the girls eat their food under our "tent city" and bond and recharge. Works for us.

 

[vcackerman]

A coach that I worked with before told me at this point in the year to start charging the kids 10 cents (since we are 10U) for each called strike they do not swing at. And then spend the money on ice cream at some point. It goes to OILF point of sitting them in BP.

 

[CoogansBluff]

A coach that I worked with before told me at this point in the year to start charging the kids 10 cents (since we are 10U) for each called strike they do not swing at.

Would not recommend that. I've been working w/ my daughter to take more strikes. Not for the sake of seeing more pitches, but for the sake of understanding that you're looking for a good pitch to hit, and that a first-pitch strike at the knees is a good pitch to take. But I also understand you're coaching 10U, where a bigger problem is being passive. I just wouldn't want them to get the message that it's always wrong to take a strike. It depends.

 

[RetiredCoach]

As a long term plan, teaching kids to swing at every strike is a very bad idea. While ahead in the count a batter should be looking for a pitch that she can hit hard. Until you have 2 strikes let those marginal pitches go by.

 

[canyonjoe]

Just my 2 cents, but since it's a 10U team I wouldn't lose too much sleep over being inconsistent.

While the kids shouldn't swim 3 hours on Saturday night, if they go and have a little fun Saturday after the games it helps
make it much more of a fun atmosphere and build team chemistry. I think you actually save more energy by having each kids
have a little break on Saturday versus killing your top 5 all weekend and being surprised when they are tired on Sunday.

At that age, keep working on fundamentals. If you can make them automatic, you will make the plays every game. Also I noticed on our 12U team that it was the coaches that got tense on Sunday and you could see the kids just tense up as the coached did.

 

[vcackerman]

I have to first say thanks for all the inputs in here. This is great and why I posted it.

We have a great group of girls who have exceeded my expectations all year. Going into the season, I thought 10 wins would be a great year (we are on the young side of 10U with mostly 8/9 yos) and we're at 12 now halfway in. So I started to set the bar higher mentally because they appeared up to the challenge. It's hard to always remember their age in the heat of battle.

 

[Cobb_of_Fury]

We do what we call "team cooler". A rotating list is put out of who has what category for each tournament. Main dish, side dish, fruit, etc. The parents have been excellent about keeping the food pretty healthy and on the light side. We go through tons of fruit since that is what the girls gravitate most toward. Team cooler feeds all the players, coaches, family members for the weekend and saves everyone o ton of money in eating out. So the girls eat their food under our "tent city" and bond and recharge. Works for us.

Definitly do this ^^^^^^

 

[Turtle]

Our 7-8 year olds face losing focus as well. We've been in two tournaments so far and the difference between the two was great. I'd agree that at this young age, there is just going to be a lot of inconsistency. I can say, however, that I see a steady progression in attention span as our girls have moved from rec to travel. I started my girls early at 5 with t-ball, which I'm just leaving with my younger DD. The difference is vast between those girls and the 8 year olds now. A lot is just maturity, of course. I think as well, the structure of the select environment really helps them move from just having fun with their friends, to adding performing at a higher level and deriving additional enjoyment from a job well done. The more experience they get keeping it together after getting shaken, the more consistent they will be in not letting down.

I'd recommend a meeting on the mound when things start getting ugly. Ours seem a bit young for that, but our coach does it and it seems to help the team get their focus back.