Overcoached at C?

Just want to get an opinion from other coaches.

DD is starting catcher on 16u B team. Has only been catching for 2 years, but has learned well on the job and in clinics. She works very well with her pitcher to the point where the 2 of them could probably call their own game. My issue is this: HC, when he calls the pitches, micromanages every single pitch to be thrown. He will give the signal, then proceed to tell DD where to hold the glove, where to set up, etc. When AC calls the game, he just gives the signal and that's it. Even when there's a correction to be made, he lets it be, trusting both girls to make the adjustment. Both girls love when AC calls the pitches, but I think get annoyed by HC (well I know DD gets annoyed). Is this typical coaching?

Thanks for your input.

Yes it is micromanaging. I would do it differently...heck, I wouldn't even call the pitches. But, so what?

The HC is putting in a bunch of hours of his free time for your DD's benefit.

But, this is an opportunity to teach a life lesson to your DD...namely, "you have to work with people who are not perfect."

If the team is well run and your DD likes her teammates, the best response to your DD is simply, "Build a bridge and get over it."

sluggers said:

Yes it is micromanaging. I would do it differently...heck, I wouldn't even call the pitches. But, so what?

The HC is putting in a bunch of hours of his free time for your DD's benefit.

But, this is an opportunity to teach a life lesson to your DD...namely, "you have to work with people who are not perfect."

If the team is well run and your DD likes her teammates, the best response to your DD is simply, "Build a bridge and get over it."

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I'd encourage your daughter to talk to her coach and just ask him or her if he needs to make technical suggestions to wait in between innings or after the game because there's so much other stuff going on that I just can't absorb all of that information. I think she should also be encouraged to sit with the assistant coach between innings (if he or she is not coaching a base) to see how they want to attack different hitters. It will empower her and it may elevate the assistant coach to a position of knowledge and relationship with your daughter that could possibly allow the coach to turn over that portion of the game to your daughter and his or her assistant.

Our HS catcher blindly accepted pitch calls. We had a girl in the box whose heels were literally on the back side chalk. Guess where coach kept calling pitches. Yep inside. Guess where the pitch landed. She couldn't have touched a ball on the outside half of the plate

Not that I think micromanaging any player is a good thing. But with that said, catchers usually are the most overlooked valuable player on the team. I don't have the data to support this, but I would say that most coaches who played have a higher probability of being a short stop or pitcher. Most don't have a clue how to lead a good catcher because they didn't catch. So as was mentioned above, listening to direction and sorting out the drivel is a good life lesson; and a far better one than being overlooked and expected to achieve excellence on her own.

There are a lot of HC who always think they are the smartest person in the room...

JAD said:

There are a lot of HC who always think they are the smartest person in the room...

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Not just in rec, HS, or TB....

Greenmonsters said:

Not just in rec, HS, or TB....

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REC, TB, HS, D1, D2, D3, NAIA, JUCO, NPF..there are arrogant coaches at all levels.

sluggers said:

Yes it is micromanaging. I would do it differently...heck, I wouldn't even call the pitches. But, so what?

The HC is putting in a bunch of hours of his free time for your DD's benefit.

But, this is an opportunity to teach a life lesson to your DD...namely, "you have to work with people who are not perfect."

If the team is well run and your DD likes her teammates, the best response to your DD is simply, "Build a bridge and get over it."

Click to expand...

Told DD almost the same think life is full of people who are difficult to deal with, learning to deal with them is a good life lesson.

Is the HC giving contradictory instructions for the same pitches? Please don't take this as accusatory (too late in the day for me for word-smithing!) - but if the coach is needing to constantly correct the position your daughter is taking, maybe it's on her? If she's being told to be in position X for pitch Y, and pitch Y is called again the next batter, or later in the game, does she remember to assume position X?

Regarding the set-up - how does a coach even communicate this w/o alerting the batter? Whether or not it's verbal, how early is she supposed to set up that the HC is still trying to correct it before the pitch? I would expect (but have no experience with, still doing younger rec ball) HS-age C's would be trying to set up as late as possible, such as not moving sideways for an outside pitch until the P is in her windup.

Lastly - and flipper briefly touched on this above - has she tried asking the coach ahead of time where she should be on each pitch? IMO opinion, your daughter's first attempt at building bridges shouldn't be to help her "get over it", but to let her cross the existing knowledge-gap (i.e. what she does vs. what HC wants) and try to get on the same page as the HC.

That said - if the HC is giving different instructions for the same type of hitter in identical situations, then I agree with everyone else - that's just micro-managing, and may even be a sign the HC is second-guessing himself.