the official “our High School Coach doesn’t have a clue about coaching” thread

[Eric F]

Not pitching what the coach asks for sounds like it won't end well. Sad it's come to this. Are these HS coaches qualified to coach, or just the one teacher who didn't have a sport and got the assignment?

This assumes the coach can recognize what pitch was actually thrown. If P is getting strikes, he might assume they (him and her) and doing a great job.

 

[Hawkeyes]

It's simple.

Sit back and enjoy it. Its going to go by super fast. You have absolutely zero control.

Look at it from the big picture. This will help prepare our dd for life after softball. its crucial in a childs development to work with different styles of coaches and teachers

 

[Bob516]

You have absolutely zero control.

True.

Doesn't mean I can't enjoy the absurdity of the situation.

 

[Rambler34]

We are lucky that our HS coach actually spent 15 years coaching travel taking two of his DD's through their careers. He has a top 3 ASA finish and a top 3 PGF Premier finish so he does have some knowledge.

It is still HS ball though and I can tell you a lot of the head scratching decisions are not just coaching inexperience. HS coaches do not have the luxury of having 30 A class kids come to tryouts or having kids call and want to play for you. DD's very first JV game as a 7th grader as the lineups were announced she was playing short. A little shocking since DD is left handed and had never played on the left side of the infield at least since 6U. He had to make due with what he had since DD caught also and the other catcher played short as well. The second game of the night she caught and the following day at a varsity round robin she started in RF. Her 8th grade year she played 6 positions for varsity and then 6 again last year. He had to make do with what he had to work with. This season DD will start in the OF but will back up 2nd, 1st, and SS. We have 4 quality defensive outfielders but less depth around the IF.

 

[RichK]

HS ball can be frustrating, especially for Pitcher Daddies. You have to step and back and look at what is really happening on the field.

1) Don't make excuses for your DD. It is really easy to blame the coach, the weather, the umpire, the catcher, whoever. (True story: At a game last year, a batter hit a line drive off the RF wall. Pitcher Daddy blamed RF for not knowing a proper drop step.) Your DD has to adapt and learn how to win games. Saying, "Oh, honey, it is not your fault" is not helpful.

2) HS ball presents a different set of challenges than TB. Your DD hasn't adapted yet. HS ball isn't easy, especially in Texas.

3) The whole "pitch sequence" thing is a myth for TB and HS ball. Most TB and HS pitchers don't have any breaking pitches in the first place.

A kid with decent speed throwing over the black part of the plate and hitting her corners 10/10 times, will do great.

4) The use of "drop ball/rise ball/curve ball/screwball" is done to humor most pitchers.

Hall of Fame post.

I coached travel my whole life. Thus, never sat with parents -- in travel was in the dugout and in high school typically went to find a nice quiet place.

Teams go as far as their best players take them. In high school, that may mean just one or two players. They need to be studs AND leaders -- no excuses.

If a DD is THAT good, let her figure out how to elevate her team and if she has to take her coach along with her. It may not happen, but the effort she puts in to try is priceless.

 

[cmccombs]

If you are playing Small school High school ball in Texas its a different animal. Most coaches are football or Basketball coaches that coach softball. Most are doing the best they can While teaching, driving bus, coaching track at the same time and trying to coach softball. They usually also are responsible for taking care of field, Prom duties, Class Sponsor of Father-Daughter dance on Valentines, and securing game schedule. Also, must teach kids, that sometimes have never played before they are in high school. Travel Ball is easy to coach. High School ball is a challenge. Also, we get girls in mid February that played Volleyball, Cross-Country, and Basketball all fall. Many do not pick up a glove since last April. Thats if they didn't make basketball playoffs. I will not get my entire outfield until March. They Monday before first district game. Pretty sure 6A and bigger school do not face those same problems.

 

[FP26]

I readily admit that I am not a fan of high school softball. DD's program was extremely weak, making the entire process painful for the entire family. By "weak" I mean that her team had exactly one travel ball player on the roster (DD) and was consistently playing against other schools that had travel ball players at every position. That said, we tried to cope with it as best as we could. DD enjoyed playing with her friends but did get frustrated with the lack of effort exhibited by some of them (skipping practices with no good reason and no consequences). My biggest issue with the coaching staff was about what I would consider basic fundamentals. As an example, I remember one play when the team had a runner on third with less than 2 outs. Deep fly ball was hit. Runner went halfway home and stood waiting to see if the ball would be caught. When it was, she retreated to 3rd base. Meanwhile, HC was standing at 3rd base the entire time providing no direction at all. After the game she asked me for some input (as she often did -- she knew i was an experienced coach). I tried to be positive, but mentioned that particular play. Her response was that the players should know better. I don't disagree, but these are players with virtually no experience. The 3rd base coach needs to take that into consideration, and help the players along. A few games later, the same thing happened. Again, no direction from the coach. Extremely frustrating, but I knew at that point that there was not going to be much improvement. Thankfully high school softball is behind us now. We had all hoped for a positive experience, but it just wasn't there.

 

[coach james]

How disappointing so far. My DD makes varsity and is the main pitcher as a freshman. Now after 3 games it has become obvious that the HC has no clue how to call pitches much less coach the girls on offense or defense. He has continued to call curveballs over and over though my daughter has told him twice that it is her weakest pitch. He avoids her best pitches, he doesn’t know how to set up batters then strike them out. In last nights game my DD’s last two inning, it looked like he had started to figure it out and was striking girls out in 3 or 4 pitches. I mentioned it to my daughter after the game and she said that’s when she started throwing what was needed and not what he was calling.
I keep telling her she needs to go talk to him about this and try to convince him to try calling her using the pitches that she knows will work in the correct sequences. Then if he still doesn’t listen to either start shaking him off or just throw what’s needed.

Someone tell me things will get better.

Sounds like a good opportunity to become a volunteer assistant!

 

[Tatonka]

I can honestly see both sides of the HS coin (as well as good and bad Travel programs). Some of the responses that come out every year when anyone posts their dissatisfaction though are really naive....face it, there are bad coaches, horrible people posing as coaches and very poorly supported programs out there where many kids go to school. They don't always have the option of relocating to a different school. Mom or Dad isn't always welcome to help out regardless of their knowledge or capabilities. It's not always the Pitcher/Catcher Dad who complains either (they just seem to have more opportunity). Trying to affect change in some school programs is next to impossible and usually will only result in more frustration (or happen too late for DD too benefit).

Is that a life lesson? Sure. Suck it up kid, keep your nose to the grindstone because life ain't fair...it's a short season (times 4). Work hard and change the world, be a positive force in the world and don't let a dumbass keep you down. Or, just put up with it cause "you can't fight City Hall". And a wide variety of other lessons also.

Some school programs are fantastic and are models to which other programs should aspire. Those schools, Athletic Directors and Coaches should be applauded for what they do especially considering many of the hurdles to success which have been brought up in earlier posts. It's not always the most well funded districts that produce these programs either, it can and is being done by many smaller, less affluent schools.

But again, keep an open mind and be humble if you've got (or had) it good and try to be objective about your own program and the folks involved. A forum such as DFP is a logical place to tell your story.... Surely many of the complaints we hear of are only one side of the coin.

 

[spleen1015]

How disappointing so far. My DD makes varsity and is the main pitcher as a freshman. Now after 3 games it has become obvious that the HC has no clue how to call pitches much less coach the girls on offense or defense. He has continued to call curveballs over and over though my daughter has told him twice that it is her weakest pitch. He avoids her best pitches, he doesn’t know how to set up batters then strike them out. In last nights game my DD’s last two inning, it looked like he had started to figure it out and was striking girls out in 3 or 4 pitches. I mentioned it to my daughter after the game and she said that’s when she started throwing what was needed and not what he was calling.
I keep telling her she needs to go talk to him about this and try to convince him to try calling her using the pitches that she knows will work in the correct sequences. Then if he still doesn’t listen to either start shaking him off or just throw what’s needed.

Someone tell me things will get better.

Things will get better.

My DD went through the same thing last year. Through the first 8 games of the season her confidence was shot and I was certain the HC had ruined her. By the end of the year she was a better pitcher. Like your DD, her CB was her worst pitch. 3 months later it was her best pitch after throwing it so much.

You can either complain and wait for it to be over or use it as an opportunity to get better.