Coaching Philosophies

[Arm and Hammer]

So I just finished up my 10-U Rec Ball season. This was the first time in two years that I took the assistant Coach role rather then Head Coach. This allowed me to take a secondary role and observe our team and the other team’s players and Coaches in a way that had not been afforded me as Head Coach. I found the perspective very interesting, challenging, and sometimes quite frustrating for a variety of reasons, but that’s another post altogether.
I noted many differing styles, personalities, temperaments, knowledge, demeanors, etc. Some Coaches say very little, some are timid, some are very loud, some are bold, some are explosive, some are patient, and some are not. I always try to study others; I find that in most cases I can take something of value, whether that is something to do or not to do. I am always learning.
I try to model my own Coaching style much like that of a Tony Dungee or John Wooden, cool temperament but extremely competitive. Trying to figure out personalities and how to motivate and inspire players. I never yell, but I am demanding and set goals and expectations for the players. It seems this style has worked well for me so far.
While I can appreciate the many varying styles of Coaching, there is one particular style that gets waaaayyy under my skin. This is the must win Coach. The type that uses the team for his own purpose and own platform. This is the type that will yell at a 10 year old girl for making a base running mistake in an important game; the kind of Coach that will grab their daughters arm and shake it when they enter the dugout after having done something unsatisfactory or displeasing. I know a Coach like this and this behavior is tolerated in the name of wins and development because he has had success, that is if success is measured by wins and losses. In my mind it doesn’t make it right and I would never let my daughter play for such a Coach.
This is why I Coach, so I can save my daughter from experiencing this kind of Coach. I may not be the best Coach, but I will always respect the game and respect the players. I also expect them to do likewise.
Please provide your own insights on what has worked for you, what hasn’t worked, what you have witnessed and experienced. If there is a win at all cost Coach out there, help me understand your own philosophy. Are there any Wooden disciples, or Dungee fans. I know it take all kinds. Please feel free to post your own philosophy, whatever that may be.

 

[sluggers]

The common thread between all successful coaches is that the coach wants *THE PLAYER* to succeed. A "win at all costs" coach won't win many games unless he makes his players better. And, to a lot of kids, getting better at a game they love is very important to them.

A lot of times, kids will put up with a coach with less than perfect interpersonal skills if the coach is working hard to make the players better.

In my experience, successful coaches are the ones who (1) have a great knowledge of the game, (2) teach well, (3) find playerss responsive to their coaching style and (4) hold players accountable for their performance.

Tony Dungee and John Wooden did measure their success by wins and losses. If they had won 50% of their games, no one would have heard of them. All college coaches and pro coaches are measured by their wins and losses. Many HS coaches, especially boy's basketball and boy's football coaches, are measurd the same way. If they don't win, they get fired.

This is the type that will yell at a 10 year old girl for making a base running mistake in an important game; the kind of Coach that will grab their daughters arm and shake it when they enter the dugout after having done something unsatisfactory or displeasing.

"Yelling" is subjective. I've yelled at kids lots of times...I'm not sure the RF is going to hear me. A person grabbing his DD in anger at a softball game is pretty stupid.

This is why I Coach, so I can save my daughter from experiencing this kind of Coach.

Why?

 

[CycloneSoftball22]

I just dont understand why parents want to keep their kids from being "yelled" at. Do they think this will never happen to them later in life? When it does happen , will the kid know how to handle it? Also , WINNING IS IMPORTANT in a TB situation. There is a ton of time and money dedicated to making a winning team. In rec ball , the winning can be secondary to player development and "fun".

 

[rachelsdad]

I like to focus on (when younger) the fundamentals and winning will start happening. I measure my success in if every girl (the ones that come to practice) get better in all the foundational stuff. I'll yell at the girls but only in the format of instructions "go three, go three, dig dig!! etc." Some coaches that have coached boys will yell a lot more
And really keep in mind what Coach Candrea once said about the difference between boys and girls.
"Boys have to perform well to feel good; Girls have to feel good to perform well".

 

[D.G. OutLaws 16u]

Be it be a kid or a team....getting her/them to 'buy in' to your direction is what its all about!
Kids are ldividual people with thier own views and 'wacknesses' (quirks)...just like you and me. Since each of us react differently to just about everything. Knowing a way that works better for Suzy is way different to what works for Mary. Coaching has to posses flexibility. IMO there is no 'blanket' coaching style that encompasses everyone.
I preffer the 'Zen" style of coaching Phil Jackson has proven.

 

[NVfishing]

I think if anyone makes rec ball about winning they are a bad coach. Rec ball is developmental. If your a good coach on a rec team you shouldn't be helping just your team but the other team as well. I like the coaches that encourage good play from all the little rec players. Our TB coaches help girls from other rec teams with bat position, stance, where to line up to field. It's not just about our girls it's about all the girls. #1 thing I can't stand is a coach that yells at a player in youth sports.

 

[quincy]

Treat players as individuals. Have different expectations for the various players and interact with the players based on their, and your, personality.

Especially Rec. ball, if you are moving players all around the field, the coaching staff probably needs to take responsibility for the Team’s mental errors. Just one of those things you need to deal with. Games are different then practice and the players probably do not get enough reps at specific positions.

 

[lvtwft]

I can tell you that yelling in isolated situations (and never so loud the other team hears you so they know they have your number) is fine, but that over time yelling breeds tentativeness and girls quitting. It is more a measure of the coach not being able to handle his or her own behavior than the kids' skills.

I am against yelling. It serves absolutely no purpose on a quiet field where individual players are clearly seen for their performance. These yellers yell because they assume the player does not know what mistake she made when in fact she knows quite clearly. THey also yell because they are presuming the player does NOT care about doing well, when in fact, that is the core of her being.
Not always true, they might not know, hence the reason why they made the mistake. Also giving feedback at the point of them doing something wrong re-enforces it to them and helps them remember it for future events, other wise its just another play. Yelling to just yell is wrong, but projecting your voice so a fielder can hear you is something people tend to consider yelling at their DD, which it is not.
Only players who love the game and have fun will stay in it. That is NOT preclusive to being dominant and pushing to win every game. Our HS runner up in state had a team of fun-loving loose girls that performed when it counted. They just lost a very close final. I would comment on the other team but I don't know them and was not sitting next to them. Lots of people there.

I saw a team of boys mimicking their yelling coach and laughing how they ignore him totally. Never listen to a word.. SO that's the other option.

..............................

 

[Momo'sDad]

I think if anyone makes rec ball about winning they are a bad coach. Rec ball is developmental. If your a good coach on a rec team you shouldn't be helping just your team but the other team as well. I like the coaches that encourage good play from all the little rec players. Our TB coaches help girls from other rec teams with bat position, stance, where to line up to field. It's not just about our girls it's about all the girls. #1 thing I can't stand is a coach that yells at a player in youth sports.

The parents of the 2 best players in our division decided to team up to coach this season. They wanted to create a rec ball superpower with a strong chance to go undefeated and perhaps even unchallenged during the spring. They achieved that goal.

While it's clear that the league mismanaged the situation, I wasn't mad at the coaches at all. In fact, I love them! I loved getting the opportunity to compete against such a strong team, but that was just me. Many parents of the other teams weren't happy with the league, but thankfully, the rest of the coaches were so terrific that we should be able to get many if not most of the players back next spring.

These coaches are all about winning, but they're also the BEST coaches, and they succeeded in teaching the game the newer girls as well. Their #3 and #4 pitchers got very little work compared to other teams', but those girls on their team learned that they'll have to fight and work hard to earn playing time in the circle, whereas girls on the rest of our teams got innings, because we were a little more focused on different things.

We (other coaches) were invited to come watch them practice whenever we wanted and they would also occasionally ask if they could give us an observation or two that might help our players or team. On the evening before our last meeting of the season, their head coach invited my DD to come onto the field to work out with his 2 best players.

When it was time to select the All-Star coach and manager, the rest of us wanted it to be them, hands-down.

As a 10u rec coach, it's my job to teach the girls the game, but also to teach them how to compete. Not everyone is going to buy in, but for those who do, the benefits will exponential. If my left-fielder is zoned out, then she is going to hear about it. And if we've got the 1st-base dugout at the time, then the entire field is going to hear. If yelling at a player to get them re-focused on the task at hand is unacceptable, then there are probably a lot of coaches you'll want to avoid. While being sensitive to the fact that all players are at different levels, I will never apologize for demanding an honest effort from each of them. In 10u, the ball is a lot harder and travels a lot faster than it did in t-ball and 8u. A player is unlikely to get belted in left field, but the spacer is also the one most likely to venture outside the dugout during an at-bat without a helmet on or to swing a bat without first making sure the area is clear.

Safety is and should be an even greater priority than teaching.

 

[BB875]

I have little respect for coaches that scream at kids. If you are yelling at your RF to move in a little, that is not "screaming". If your RF drops a ball and you berate her, that IS "screaming". It is of no benefit to anyone. You overreacted during the heat of the game and it helps no one. If your RF drops a ball, then make a note we need to practice OF with her more. If your SS pulls up on a hot grounder, work with her in practice to keep her butt down. If your 1st baseman can't get the tag on the pick-off throw, work with her in practice. If no one gan get a freaking bunt down, then work on it. How can a coach justify yelling at a kid if they have not practiced it till they're blue in the face? I give "feedback" to my players between innings and I do it alone. I take the kid aside and explain what just happened in my opinion. Most of the time they already know because we practice it and they had a brain fart.

TB is all about winning. NOthing wrong with that philosophy. How you get there is the question. Do you work hard with your kids? Do you practice, practice, practice & let their hard work create a win? Or do you pull some crap as a coach during a game to get a hollow victory where you are the only one that cares?