Bizarre Coaching Situation - Could use some advice

[Momo'sDad]

Your situation isn't as bizarre as you might think. In fact, are you sure you're not me??

A lot of softball people have varying definitions of what 'manager' means. Some define it like they do in MLB, where the manager is the field general, while others define it as the person who is in charge of more of the off-field stuff, though not necessarily a Team Mom/Team Dad, which is usually the person who sets the snack schedule and orders the socks and banner, etc.

In our rec league, a member of each team's staff must be an adult female. She could be the head coach, the manager, assistant manager, Team Mom, whatever. She just has to be there. But like your league, the 'manager' has different roles on different teams.

In response to her direct complaints, if there is time and space available, suggest that she run a supplemental defense-only practice for the girls. If she has other good ideas, work them into your practice plans. There's nothing wrong with her wanting to be heard in an effort to influence some things the team is doing.

There is some merit to the continuous batter order concept - seen more often in 8u around here - and I'd even thought of using it with my 10u team this year. But then my best hitter got hurt and 2 of my players demonstrated that they were going to do the exact same thing each time they reached the plate, regardless of whether they were batting 1-2 or 9-10.

Without knowing anything at all about the personnel on your team, I know that you're right not to rotate every player through every position. Safety is the primary concern, but beyond that, you want to allow players to learn and become proficient at their own pace.

One hard-and-fast rule that I have is that I won't play anyone at 1B who cannot catch. I'm only a 10u coach, but would hold the same rule for 8u on up.

You're also correct in not over-coaching during in-game situations. Some people - like the person you're describing - feel that coaches need to be saying something every single moment of every single game. I think those people are nuts. You're giving them as much as you feel they need when they need it.

I'm puzzled that you guys have had 7 games, but only 4 field practices. I'm also puzzled by the fact that your manager thinks that now is the time to make wholesale changes in how your program is run. I think you should let her know that you appreciate all her support with the team, but while you'll gladly entertain her feedback and suggestions, you will be the one making all the final decisions about who plays and bats where. There is no doubt that the person who spends the most time with the team and doing stuff for the team should be the one making those calls.

Be firm and be direct. Communicate clearly with her and then go lead your team to a fun remainder of this season.

 

[CoyoteCoach]

"non-competitive"

is the exact wording used to describe the first 18 games of the season. I appreciate all of the feedback. I read the league by-laws and the positions of Coach and Manager are listed together with identical responsibilities. I agree that it needs to be clarified who is in charge of what.

I went through my lineups and did some analysis, and quite frankly I have spread positions around better than I thought:

On average, each girl has played 6 different positions.

Of the 12 players on the team:
5 have played in 7 different spots.
4 have played in 6 different spots.
Each girls plays 2.6 different positions per game.

Position/Players Played
P - 7
C - 4
1B - 8
2B - 6
3B - 9
SS - 9
LF - 9
CF - 9
RF - 10

 

[GOINGDEEP]

Please, no more quotes on "non-competitive". My hands are shaking so bad I can't dial #911 for help.

 

[sluggers]

And I don't know how long it's been since you coached a 10u rec team, but your batting lineup can play a major part in winning and losing

12U Rec leagues generally require: (1) you bat all your players and (2) there is a maximum number of batters per inning. So, if you are a *GOOD* coach, your weak players will be able to hit rec ball pitching about midway through the season. When they start hitting, you start batting the max number every inning. At that point, your batting order doesn't matter.

Every 12U or 10U rec league team has three or four good players, and several weak players.
Winning coaches are the ones who develop those weak players, not the ones who "hide" their weak players at the bottom of the order and put them in right field. But...for some reason, coaches don't figure this out.

Everyone who has coached very long knows that your weakest player is the one who wins the game...not your best player. The ball/situation will find her every time the game is close. She makes the catch or gets the hit, you win. She doesn't, you lose. It really is that simple.

 

[2 DD Coach]

JAD,
Okay, so I somewhat agree with you, we just consider "coaching to win" two different things. I consider coaching to win as coaching the girls to play the game the correct way. By taking your weakest players and improving them, while not expecting your best players to just sit around and do the same basic drills over and over, you coach a team to win. By 10u, at least in our league, there isnt a spot to "hide" your worst players, so the coaches that do that start to realize they should have been helping these girls rather then manipulating the game to win. I dont consider that coaching.

Every 12U or 10U rec league team has three or four good players, and several weak players.
Winning coaches are the ones who develop those weak players, not the ones who "hide" their weak players at the bottom of the order and put them in right field. But...for some reason, coaches don't figure this out.

Turns out we agree on this. Who knew?

 

[Cannonball]

IMO, run and do not walk into the stands. Get a nice lawn chair and watch your daughter play. Let the manager carry out her agenda. You are the one set up to take the fall for any child that does not develop while she is set up to take all of the credit for any success. Work with your child on the side. In watching the practices and games, your child can benefit from any instruction from this manager/coach and all the parents can seee just what she brings to the table.

 

[BB875]

My only comment on the original post is "What the heck is that organization doing?" Is there a huge abundance of qualified coaches in your area? So many that they can run off good ones?

I coached and was a board member of our rec league for a few years before TB and our biggest problem was getting good/level headed coaches. As a rec coach, you coach within the rules of the league. Batting order is fair game, as long as you meet the rules. However, I usually rotated the line-up. Its your choice.

Non-competitive? in my experience it only "appears" to be non-competitive. In my first year of coach pitch a parent asked me what the final score of a game was & I replied "we are not supposed to keep score in this league." He said, "then you are the only one!" Outside of the dugout it was very competitive.

Seriously, its a bad situation and you need to get clarification from the league on your role & her role. As coach, as long as you are within the rules, you can run the team however you want. If you are not permitted to do that, then its time to get out. Its insane for this "manager" to belittle someone of your qualifications. Unreal.

 

[chinamigarden]

The first team I coached was 8 year old boys. These are 2 things I did to maximize everyone's playing time and to get the most out of the team.

After the first game I set the line up for the year. I staggered the lineup based on what the kids did in the first game and what I saw in practices. Player who got a hit, player that hit the ball but was out, player who struck out, player who got a hit, player who hit the ball but was out, player who struck out...repeated through out the 12 boys. Each game I stuck with the exact same order, except I moved the 3 kids who batted at the bottom of the order and moved them to the top, shifting everyone else down, and continued rotating the kids through out the season. This way they always batted after the same kid, and before the same kid, so after a couple of games they always knew when they are on deck, while also getting a chance to hit at the top middle and bottom of the line up. At the end of the year all the kids who played all the games were within 2 plate appearances as each other.

I promised the parents that their kid would play both outfield and infield, and anyone who wanted to try catcher would have a chance. Some kids might have played the majority of the time in right field but they did get infield time...

At the end of the year I only heard one minor complaint, and as it turned out we won the league championship. You can make accommodations for every kid at varying levels without compromising the competitive nature of the game.

 

[JAD]

Since Sluggers has given you some batting order advice I will give you my $0.02. Most rec leagues require you to bat everyone. They also usually have an allowable number of runs per inning. The secret is to make sure you score the maximum number of runs every inning and you do that by spreading out your weak hitters. It you lump them together at the bottom of the batting order the probably of scoring no runs that inning increases dramatically! If you are able to 'coach up' your weakest hitters your chances of winning go up exponentially!

 

[CoyoteCoach]

The batting order is continuous within the game and no player can sit twice until everyone sits once. I am just protecting the players who are scared of the ball and batting them last. I was one of those kids myself and remember the anxiety of the on deck circle. Obviously, it's my hope that by season's end this won't be the case.