A tough place to coach.

[wild man]

I have not been on the forum for quite a long time, though I have spent time reading it. I got out of coaching because of a HS coach that was just more than I could handle, And I am very thick skinned. Well I got asked to be an assistant to the Varsity program this year and I decided to do it. We are geographically isolated and have no Travel Ball at all, However the teams in our league are TB dominated. we have horrid weather for SB. we rarely see a field until mid April, BUT our opponets Are on fields outside from the first day of practice. 80% of our players have never played as freshmen. The former Coach nearly destroyed the program, I wont get into it he just was a negative thing.

Now myself and the New Head Coach have been tasked with trying to fix a broken program. I really hope I can help, But it is going to be an uphill battle.

 

[1bucketmom]

It will be tough but remember......the program can only get better from where it's starting. It's all upward bound.

Good thing you know what your up against going in - make your plan, celebrate small victories and crush it!!!

 

[maksoftball]

That sounds tough! It will work out. Glad they got rid of the bad coach, and hope that the program is reparable.

But just remember to "have fun! dammit!". Try to keep eye on prize and weather through it.

 

[Ken Krause]

Wild man, good luck with a difficult task. But remember, if you can succeed it will be so much more personally rewarding than stepping into the job where everything is already set. You have an opportunity to change some lives.

First thing I would do in your situation is figure out how to develop two or three pitchers as quickly as possible. May not happen this year, but maybe for next year. A good pitcher can help you at least stay in games while you're trying to get the rest of the team up to par. And given the team's history, you might be able to catch a couple of teams napping because they consider you a walkover.

Maybe you can create a summer program to get the kids more experience, even if they don't play in tournament. If you can pull two teams together they could at least play each other! And they may fun it's fun too.

 

[djcarter1966]

I have not been on the forum for quite a long time, though I have spent time reading it. I got out of coaching because of a HS coach that was just more than I could handle, And I am very thick skinned. Well I got asked to be an assistant to the Varsity program this year and I decided to do it. We are geographically isolated and have no Travel Ball at all, However the teams in our league are TB dominated. we have horrid weather for SB. we rarely see a field until mid April, BUT our opponets Are on fields outside from the first day of practice. 80% of our players have never played as freshmen. The former Coach nearly destroyed the program, I wont get into it he just was a negative thing.

Now myself and the New Head Coach have been tasked with trying to fix a broken program. I really hope I can help, But it is going to be an uphill battle.

Just seems weird that the High Schools around you have better weather than you, even if you are commuting an hour for games (if you're really rural). Although I do feel your pain last year here in NE I'm not sure exactly how they evaluated girls for varsity positions when you don't see the field until a few days before first scrimmage and all tryouts were basically in the gym, so seniority was it.

I would try and get some kind of feeder program going MS or even lower level rec...that is the only you can build a program if 80% of players have never played obviously the focus on pitching is key need to find a couple softball hunger 10 yr olds out there....Good Luck

 

[wild man]

Just seems weird that the High Schools around you have better weather than you, even if you are commuting an hour for games (if you're really rural). Although I do feel your pain last year here in NE I'm not sure exactly how they evaluated girls for varsity positions when you don't see the field until a few days before first scrimmage and all tryouts were basically in the gym, so seniority was it.

I would try and get some kind of feeder program going MS or even lower level rec...that is the only you can build a program if 80% of players have never played obviously the focus on pitching is key need to find a couple softball hunger 10 yr olds out there....Good Luck

Its because we travel 2-3 hours for league games. And the climate here is much harsher just a mere 30 miles away. 30 miles away they have bare ground we have two feet of snow.

 

[BuckeyeGuy]

Keep telling yourself it's a process. Tell the kids they're in at the ground floor for building something good. Stay positive. Have fun. And good luck!

 

[sluggers]

It is great to volunteer to help with something like that. Your kids should be proud of you.