So, the instructional league that I've been a part of for the past 6 years has a 14U division open to outside teams (not formed within the instructional league itself). We have 10 teams total in the league (which is a lot considering the population of the area), partly drawn from middle-school teams, partly from semi-recruited teams. My team is basically made up of the girls who either didn't want to play for, or got cut from, the middle school teams. We've had 2 practices...
Hooo...boy. We are in trouble.
No real pitcher, no real catcher, very little hitting ability. Several players who have never played before and honestly should be playing in a 12u league (but our league doesn't really have a 12u...we have a "Minors" 8U, "Majors" 11U, and "Juniors" 14U.) The best two players are girls who I had on my team last year who I would generously say were "average" players.
So, what do you do when you coach a team that realistically don't have a chance? For me, it is back to basics. I'm almost treating this like I was coaching an 8u team again.
Here's what I've discovered about myself now that I'm coaching a lower-level team. I think I'm actually a better coach now than I was last year. I'm using a lot more positive re-enforcement because I'm not expecting them to play at a higher level. I'm teaching them more basics because I know several players don't even know the basic rules. I'm even probably getting them more reps at stations, because I"m not spending time over-explaining or working on advanced concepts. Field the ball, throw. Field the ball, throw. Field the ball, throw.
I really don't know if we'll win a single game this year. So much comes down to having a pitcher who can throw an occasional strike and a catcher that can occasionally stop the ball. I have a feeling that I'll be spending a lot more of my time working one-on-one with the pitchers/catchers and having the ACs take over fielding and batting, limited as my knowledge is in those areas. Gunna do my best to make sure they have fun.
Hooo...boy. We are in trouble.
No real pitcher, no real catcher, very little hitting ability. Several players who have never played before and honestly should be playing in a 12u league (but our league doesn't really have a 12u...we have a "Minors" 8U, "Majors" 11U, and "Juniors" 14U.) The best two players are girls who I had on my team last year who I would generously say were "average" players.
So, what do you do when you coach a team that realistically don't have a chance? For me, it is back to basics. I'm almost treating this like I was coaching an 8u team again.
Here's what I've discovered about myself now that I'm coaching a lower-level team. I think I'm actually a better coach now than I was last year. I'm using a lot more positive re-enforcement because I'm not expecting them to play at a higher level. I'm teaching them more basics because I know several players don't even know the basic rules. I'm even probably getting them more reps at stations, because I"m not spending time over-explaining or working on advanced concepts. Field the ball, throw. Field the ball, throw. Field the ball, throw.
I really don't know if we'll win a single game this year. So much comes down to having a pitcher who can throw an occasional strike and a catcher that can occasionally stop the ball. I have a feeling that I'll be spending a lot more of my time working one-on-one with the pitchers/catchers and having the ACs take over fielding and batting, limited as my knowledge is in those areas. Gunna do my best to make sure they have fun.