Coach, or Alpha Male????

[TheRogue]

A parent came to me yesterday with a question about her 10U TB player daughter. She's been seeing a pitching coach for a couple of years now, the last year has been with a local small college coach who pitched in college herself. Been really dedicated about it, also.

So, her daughter is warming up for her TB team, and she's doing "walk-throughs", or starting behind the rubber to get a run at it. My DD does them regularly as part of her warmup as well.

So, the girls TB coach says, "you don't pitch with that motion during the game, you're not going to do that anymore". Just like that. He has been coaching softball for a long time, and the told the parent he did not approve of that warmup motion for his pitchers. There are other small things he is trying to change with the way she pitches as well. The parent asked me, and I told her that as a coach, I don't question anything the pitching coaches are doing with the kids as long as they are producing or obviously not getting hurt, and I felt that most good coaches were the same way.

The parent went on to tell me that this TB coach is very strict about when/how much the girls can throw or even just play catch, and he doesn't want them doing it outside his practice times; he has a system and wants them to stick to it. He also said absolutely no being a pickup player with other teams, even though this team will only play about 7 tournaments total between April 1 and first of August.

The parent is upset, apparently a lot of this never came out over the winter. The player is upset, because the direction from her pitching coach and her TB is different, and she's upset because she doesn't get to play as much as she wants to. Neither of them are willing to quit the team because they committed to it.

I counseled the parent to ask the TB coach why he has issues with the directions the pitching coach is giving, and to ask for an honest answer. Beyond that, I don't see that there's much else to do, I commended her for staying committed, and that next year in tryouts she'll try and get more things in writing, I'm sure!

Thoughts?

 

[chinamigarden]

I took my girl to a college pitching camp this past winter. On the last day of the camp each girl from the pitching staff of this top 10 D2 college talked about her warm up routine. Of the 3 pitchers who presented, non of them warmed up the same way. All the coach cared about was that when they were done, they were warmed up and ready to pitch. Why a 10 U coach wants to micro manage each detail is beyond me. Its not coaching, its control.

Of my daughter's warm up, only the last little bit resembles what she does in a game. Its a warm up, not a simulated game.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

You have to let the little girls have fun. They love walk throughs. Walk throughs are to warm up the legs and to get that drive, on the last step. How does the coach want the legs warmed up?

Actually, having been with this sport as long as I have and if my DD was 10U, I would run from this guy.

 

[starsnuffer]

Coach seems anal on the pitcher warmup thing. Pitchers need to be confident and messing with their routine isn't a good way to do that.

I'm really freaked that you think 7 tournaments is not enough for a 10 year old over the summer though. That's every other week, don't forget to let her actually have a summer, she's a kid, not a gateway drug to euphoria to forget about insecurities caused by mom/dads own sports failures.

-W

 

[sluggers]

Neither of them are willing to quit the team because they committed to it.

???

OK...so, "Let's be totally miserable for 6 months playing softball for this wing nut! We're committed!"

If we were talking problems in a marriage or a serious illness, then this statement makes sense. But, we aren't. Life is too short to drink bad coffee, warm beer or put up with stupid TB coaches.

 

[druer]

So, the girls TB coach says, "you don't pitch with that motion during the game, you're not going to do that anymore". Just like that.

WOW! Not sure I've ever heard of a coach telling girls not to practice. How interesting.

We should also ban all hitting of tees, soft toss for warmups as well after all they don't do that in the game.

 

[Momo'sDad]

I don't even watch pitchers warm up. They know their job.

At 10u, the parent has license to approach the coach directly and to state just how ridiculous this is. And the player has license to practice as much as she wants and to play with other teams from time-to-time.

Coach is in charge once warmups begin, but should be advised to stay out of his pitchers' heads. He should be nowhere near their space unless he's their PC.

 

[NWO Valkyrie Fastpitch]

I can see as a coach wanting to establish your own routine and structure. My approach is a little different 1. I find out who is taking lessons ( Pitching, hitting etc.) 2. If not familiar with the instructor I will offer to sit in on a lesson or 2. 3. If it's working and the player is productive with what they have learned , I don't feel the need to try a wholesale change. A little tweeking here and there of course. The other thing to remember is that there is alot of time and money invested in lessons so to tell the player and parents they wasted there time is touchy at best. As said above if your not happy now that's not going to change as the season goes on, so you might want to rethink your stand.

 

[EP Dad]

I might have a similar issue. If I were these parents I would not only be upset but I would be following the conflict resolution guidelines provided by our association and bringing this up the chain. Not sure if that is an option here but it is what I would do.

We just met our coach and I talked with her privately and mentioned that my daughter has a full time pitching coach and if there are any conflicts of styles we would be willing to get them together to communicate and resolve differences. Her (the coach) first question was whether my daughter was a step style or leap and drag pitcher and she made a negative comment about step style. Well, she's step style. That's what her pitching coach teaches and she has an impeccable reputation.

Nothings happened yet and I have my fingers crossed that nothing will.

As far as the walk through warm up. I went to a Minnesota Gopher college game last year against I think Ohio State and the Ohio State pitcher did all her between inning warm-ups with walk through. Obviously not what she was doing in games (lol) but it seems to me that if a college pitcher is warming up that way why is it an issue with a 10-year old???

 

[TheRogue]

Really the pitching part was my only concern. The rest of it is their fault for not finding stuff out during the tryout process. If a coach who admittedly was NOT a pitching coach tried to tell my daughter how to warmup and change other pitching related things that would be grounds for a face to face meeting to figure out what the future was going to be.

As for the number of tourneys I just said she wanted to play more than that. I would say most 10u teams around here play 8-12 tourneys over 4 months, some more.