Mental errors

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Jan 20, 2016
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Do you guys agree that mental errors falls on the coaches for not preparing them better? Would love to hear your feedback


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Jun 11, 2013
2,619
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There are some situations that every coach will say they could have prepared better, but when you see a 16 year old player not run with 2 outs after playing for 8 years it's hard for me to blame a coach for that.
 
Nov 29, 2009
2,975
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There are some players out there who are brain dead on the field no matter how much training they have. There are others who have next to nothing for game flow or game sense. As a coach you can only work on things until you feel the players have it. Once it gets to the games a player's game IQ will show itself.

I've had a couple of girls who were absolute academic monsters but played the game 2 levels below their teammates. I don't know if it's how their brains are wired or exactly what it is.
 

TMD

Feb 18, 2016
433
43
Agree with canyonjoe. It really depends on the mental error in question (and age of the girls). An infield pop-up that falls harmlessly to the ground between 2 players is a mental error that could fall on either the coach or the players. Did the team practice (not just talk about, but actually practice) that scenario? Do the girls know which positions have priority to take charge in those situations? If not, that's on the coach. If the team (and we've been in this situation) routinely practices those situations and in fact just practiced it they day before (!!), then it falls squarely on the girls.
 

marriard

Not lost - just no idea where I am
Oct 2, 2011
4,312
113
Florida
Do you guys agree that mental errors falls on the coaches for not preparing them better? Would love to hear your feedback

Short answer: No, probably not.

As a coach I can provide them tools and the practice of the use of the tools so I can do some things - but when it comes to execution, I am not the one making the snap on-field decision.

Some players have great SoftballIQ. Others not so much. Sometimes players make dumb decisions - and sometimes they are way smarter than you thought.

I have seen SEC teams make plays like it is 8U. I once saw an ACC team make 4 errors on the same play.

Sometimes the moon is just in the wrong phase.


Another thing to add is expecting players to make plays above their experience level. I have seen parents who wanted to know why little Susie didn't make the play on the lead runner on a bunt in 10U. Well, because little Susie is 9 and even if she knew to make the play, she probably can't. Get the easy out and move on. Sometimes learning how something like Dropped Third Strike works is through game experience - I have better things to work on in practice and yeah, we might lose a game because they don't understand it at that moment, but they will learn how it works under pressure in that moment much better than they would if I spent 30 minutes of practice boring them with it (and there is always another game)....


Last thing: As a coach I have limited time with the players. Most teams less than 4 hours per week. Mental preparation is not high on my list over improving skills and fundamentals. It just isn't.
 
Last edited:
May 4, 2016
70
18
East Coast
Another thing to add is expecting players to make plays above their experience level. I have seen parents who wanted to know why little Susie didn't make the play on the lead runner on a bunt in 10U.

100% agree with this. In interviews with professional players of sports like basketball and football, the old heads all talk about a point when the "game slows down for them." A 15 year old girl usually isn't sitting in Math class game planning every possible bunt scenario in her head; instead she's wondering whether Johnny noticed how softball ruined her nail polish yet again last night...

Personal pet peeve is actually Coaches that expect a kid to play above their experience level. Parents are supposed to be stupid, so I forgive them... We were on a 10U team and the Coach wanted the girls to purposefully get into pickle situations because he knew the opponents would make an error 98% of the time and then he'd get mad when the girls didn't do it aggressively enough. Holy crap dude, they're NINE. (Plus, I really hate playing for errors though I do understand that it's quite an effective winning strategy at the lower levels.)
 
Jun 29, 2013
589
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It depends. Two examples of plays that I saw recently and in one I think it's coaching, the other it's on the player. Situation: 10U team protecting a lead late in games, A) one out, winning run at second base, ground ball on turf up the middle and CF throws the ball to the cutoff at 2B, winning run scores. This one is on the coaches because the team never once practiced outfield throws to the plate, do or die plays, nor instructed OF to go home. CF did exactly what she had been taught to do by throwing ball to cut. B) One our, bases load, foul ball on third base side that 3B ignores as she goes to cover her base. This one is on the player who has been taught to play ball first but apparently forgot in the moment. C) runners on first and second, team protecting a 3 run lead, ground ball that 3B fields while running to her left but rather than throw to first, she tries to tag lead runner. This one is on the player again who didn't recognize that the lead run was impossible.
 

sluggers

Super Moderator
Staff member
May 26, 2008
7,132
113
Dallas, Texas
I have to go against the flow on this.

Coaches can do a lot to eliminate mental mistakes.

a) If a kid makes a mistake in practice or a game, a coach needs to correct her immediately. (That does not mean the coach berates the kid. But, the player has to understand that the coach is helping her become a better player.)
b) Coaches should insist on perfect execution in practice. If it not done right, do it again.
c) Coaches need to make sure that the players know the game status...how many outs, how many runs, etc.
d) Coaches should teach the kids the game. E.g., rather than the coach saying, "There are 2 outs. Run on anything." Ask the player, "How many outs? So...what does that mean?"
e) Coaches should explain *why* the game is played the way it is.
f) Coaches should know the game, but most don't.


Of course, players will still make mental errors. MLB pros make mental errors, so you have to expect a bunch of 14YOA kids to make a few too.
 
Last edited:
Jun 12, 2015
3,848
83
IMO some kids just have no aptitude for the mental game and that's not the coach's fault. When you see a whole team of kids who have no idea what to do with the ball, that's probably a coaching issue.

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