Etiquette

[Bring'nHeat]

Greetings! I am hoping to get some help with a problem our team is having. ETIQUETTE! Instead of playing as a team, we have a group of individuals. I believe there are certian etiquette rules for softball. Such as: stretching as a team, warming up as a team, showing up prepared to play, not eating in the dugout, etc.
If anyone has some etiquette advice I can pass along to my team, it would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

 

[Softball_2]

"The more you step up and take ownership of yourself, the more that others will also step up. "

Amen. Start with yourself!

 

[FastpitchFan]

Interesting thread. I think how you handle this depending on the age group you are coaching and your philosophy as a coach.

Two key points:

1) warm-up is to get you ready for the game. As long as what you do helps you get ready - it doesn't really matter.

2) In the dugout - the most important thing to do is to get ready to step on the field as a batter or a defensive player.

Now, with a fairly young team 14U or younger, I would probably emphasize the team aspect in a warm-up.

However, since I come from an elite level, I tend to like to let players do their own thing to get themselves ready for game.

For example, I am new coaching a 16U team this year and I let them wear their iPods for warm-up (it helps many of that new millenial generation focus). They take them off when they start throwing to each other. I don't mind if they are not doing everything as a team as long as 1) they are focus on their preparation 2) they are not wasting time

For eating, I totally agree with eating in the dugout but not things like nachos, burgers, fries, chips, etc. But, the young ladies are physically active and if you factor in the warm-up and the length of games, you can easily go 3 hours... so if they ''snack'' on the bench by eating healthy stuff that will help them (without exagerating), I am all in favor of it.

I want the players to be accountable, to take responsability for their preparation and performance and getting ready to perform and making sure they have enough energy to do so, I have no problem with individualized warm-up or eating good stuff on the bench but...

They have to be serious in their effort to be ready and not fool around.

Now this applies more to elite level and older players.

Coaching a younger team, the warm-up thing would be a team thing. The eating, however, would be tolerated as it is actually a ''good thing'' to eat a little during games if you are hungry.

My 2 cents.

Marc

 

[Flash101]

Marc...

Since you are an advocate of active (dynamic) warmup, I presume you are saying that you let your 16s do their own thing for warmup, but within the parameters of what you expect in that regard?

 

[sluggers]

The need for team etiquette rules depends on the skill level and experience of the girls.

E.g., a 16U player on an elite team doesn't need to be told how to warm up. She will arrive and do it. She already knows that "If you show up for practice on time, you're 20 minutes late." On the other hand, a bunch of 12U girls on a rec league team won't have a clue how to warm up. So, those girls have to be taught about running and stretching. A group warm up makes sense simply because it is easier to organize and oversee.

The same goes for "team building". Players on an elite team are going to be polite, helpful and supportive of their teammates without a coach doing much. On the other hand, if you are coaching a bunch of 12U girls who've never played on a team before, then you are going to have establish rules so that you don't end up with "clique wars".

My rules for a 12U elite team were:

(1) Only water and sunflower seeds in the dugout.
(2) Once a tournament starts, girls travel in groups of no less than 3 for the entire weekend.
(3) No player was ever to be alone. If she was, then the whole team ran--because it was her fault as well as the team's fault.
(4) We warm up together.
(5) Coaches and parents don't touch a bat bag, equipment bag, water cooler or rake.
(6) At the end of the game, the dugout was to be cleaner than when we arrived.

One girl come up to me years later when she was an adult and said, "Playing for you was the most fun I ever had playing softball."

 

[Bring'nHeat]

Thanks for all of the advice. As an experienced 'A' ball player, I am trying to politely share my experiences. I believe there are probably 4-5 of us who are truly 'A' ball players, whiile the others are either 'B' or still caught in the Rec ball mentality. I have spent the last 2 years with private pitching, hitting and training coaches to make myself the best I can be. I really just want to see the rest of the team take it as serious as I do. My parents have paid a lot of money for me to be on this travel team, I feel it's only fair that I give ALL of myself.