Softball IQ....

[Rocketech1]

Another thing to think about is many times that "gifted and talented athlete" has put in countless hours behind the scenes that nobody sees until they get on the field and are head and shoulders above everyone else. You look at someone like Bill Hillhouse (DFP member and USA nationals pitcher) who frequently says that when he was growing up there wasn't a day that he didn't have a softball in his hands, spinning the ball while he was watching TV, playing outside, riding in the car, and spinning that ball, etc. How many kids are that passionate and dedicated that they would do something like that? Not many. He also had some great mentors and learned from the older men pitchers he pitched against at a young age that helped him perfect his craft and helped him develop that "Softball IQ" (what pitches to throw and when, how to hide the grip in his glove until the very last second, how to make every pitch look the same out of the hand, when to get the lead runner on a come backer and when to know its too late, so get the easy out, etc.).

 

[idahosportsacademy]

It's all a part of kids being coached by people who haven't played at an equivalent level before or people haven't had the opportunity to really play for a great coach. Most HS teams are coached by whatever teacher volunteers. TV and the internet will not prepare a coach for higher level training

I like your most simple observation with the biggest impact! This hits it on the head in the most fundamental way. I want to see what you think of this. What if we reversed our thinking and spent 80% of our time teaching Softball IQ to our 10-12U players and split the other 20% on throwing, fielding, and hitting. Go to your personal/private coach for the other 20%.

I truly believe softball intelligence can be taught. I DO NOT BELIEVE it is for some and not others. It's for the one's who want to have it, or learn it. When a ball player has softball or baseball intelligence and understand how their brain processes information for reactionary muscle activity, then we can plant "pre-pitch planning" activities into the memory portion of their brain that can be brought out when their vision collects it and brings it out.

When we teach this first, the mechanics of fielding and hitting will improve faster and more naturally. I have experienced this repetitively with kids I have coached and with my children. One with not such a high baseball IQ and one with a high softball IQ. When they know what to do with the ball from pre-pitch planning, their mechanics seem to catch up to their knowledge. We need coaches to stop living for trophies and begin living to teach the game. I would really appreciate your feedback to see if it makes sense to someone other than myself.

 

[Cannonball]

Wow. A "Mr Holland's Opus" reference. IMPRESSIVE!

 

[CoachJD]

Go to your personal/private coach for the other 20%.

I know a lot of people who post here are involved with high-level suburban travel ball where private coaches are the norm, but what you suggest just isn't possible for many (probably most) kids whose families simply can't afford private instructors. They rely on the coaches of the teams they play on to teach them the sport, and in many cases, coaches have to put up with the occasional mental gaffe because the alternative is a group of kids who really know the game but don't actually know how to throw, field, or hit.

 

[imsportsidaho]

I know a lot of people who post here are involved with high-level suburban travel ball where private coaches are the norm, but what you suggest just isn't possible for many (probably most) kids whose families simply can't afford private instructors. They rely on the coaches of the teams they play on to teach them the sport, and in many cases, coaches have to put up with the occasional mental gaffe because the alternative is a group of kids who really know the game but don't actually know how to throw, field, or hit.

Then that team coach should commit to that 20% as well. I am sorry, but I don't buy into that sort of thinking. But, that doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Success is not for everybody. CoachJD, does that mean you are a coach?

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[imsportsidaho]

Then that team coach should commit to that 20% as well. I am sorry, but I don't buy into that sort of thinking. But, that doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Success is not for everybody. CoachJD, does that mean you are a coach? It doesn't cost much money to teach sports intelligence. The problem is the quality of some coaches is so low, they depend on finding naturally gifted kids so they can win their trophies that college coaches never ask to see. We need too many coaches with more knowledge of this game at anything greater than rec league and understand how the human brain processes information. Spend more time teaching how the game is played mentally with razor sharp and quick response actions. Intelligent teams are tough to beat and doesn't cost player/parents anymore than having a qualified coach.

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[CoachJD]

Then that team coach should commit to that 20% as well. I am sorry, but I don't buy into that sort of thinking. But, that doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Success is not for everybody. CoachJD, does that mean you are a coach?

You don't buy into what sort of thinking. Sorry, I didn't follow you there.

 

[imsportsidaho]

What I mean is that I can't afford tons of private coaching either. But, I have found coaches with the knowledge to include it in their normal practices. I don't buy into parents can't afford there son/daughter to be successful. Winners find ways to succeed. Once again, success isn't for everyone. Just those who seek to understand. This isn't complicated; its a mentality. Yogi Berra says, "Baseball is 90% mental, the other half physical." There is nothing truer. Learn the game first, the physical will come along.

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[imsportsidaho]

Why do coaches teach the physical more than the mental during the early development years?

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[grcsftbll]

Why do coaches teach the physical more than the mental during the early development years?

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I think coaches often underestimate what girls can learn. Our spring team last year had a very experienced coach. He taught our 9 year old girls LOTS of mental things. The girls still made their share of physical errors (and then some, sometimes) but it was so cool to see the entire field shift, for example, when a leftie came up to bat, or a really big girl, or a really small girl. Playing the odds of where they thought the ball was likely to go based on the mental stuff the coach taught them in practice. It was definitely one of the most important things we got out of being on that team. Our new HC was hesitant to start teaching some of it to our new team this year, thinking it was too advanced. But DH had seen that it wasn't and now our new team is learning this too. They're only 10 but they're picking it up quickly. I see no reason why young girls can't pick up on the mental side, the game smarts.