14U How much do you coach from the bench..........

[Greenmonsters]

Well, it looks like I am in the minority here. I coach 10-U and am very vocal on both sides of the game, offense and defense. I find when I keep their heads in the game they are much more prepared to execute the proper play. I always am positioning my defense and am right much more often than wrong. I make sure that they know the situation and their options. I tell my catcher to squeeze on two strike situation. I tell my batters when they swing out of the strike zone, when their lunging, when they’re dropping their hands, what the count is. I tell the base runners how many outs, freeze or run dependent on situation, watch for pass ball, take your lead, pick me up around the base, etc. etc.
I don’t suppose I will have to keep doing this as they get older and more experienced. But currently I think it’s a great deal of help to keep their heads in the game. I have seen strong positive results in doing so.

If your mother always picked up your dirty laundry for you, why would you ever start doing it yourself? If you let someone always calculate what 17.5% of the lunch bill was for a tip, would you ever learn to do it yourself? I'm glad that you're right more often then not, but how do you know if you're teaching them something unless you slowly back off and give them the chance to do their own thinking and implement what they've hopefully been learning. Let them try it and you can help them more or less, as needed, based on how they succeed/struggle/fail. A journey begins with a single step and its actually their trip not yours!

 

[rowdy]

I think the amount you coach depends on the amount of information you have that the players don't have. An example would be where to align your defense. You have the scouting report and the scorebook so you should be giving information for them to use. As far as situations I really let them decide what to do there. We have stressed communication for several years but with new faces come new challenges so we still have some teaching.

Hitting is totally different. I only cheer for them while they are batting unless they miss a sign because that usually leaves one of their teammates hanging.