When I first was hired as a JV AC years ago , the JV HC (and my soon to be mentor) would tell the team we want you to have fun playing softball. And winning is fun. So I don't know what you've been taught or by whom but we are going to teach you the correct way. He would then point to the conference championship banners, the state tournament appearances and victories. That it was an honor to play for school and continue the winning tradition. He was the guy who knew things and how to teach skills including pitching. After 22 yrs (8 wth me) he died of a heart attack. I dont pretend to know everything he did but I use most of the same speech.
High School coach
- Thread starter nixxy311
- Start date
Welcome to Discuss Fastpitch
Your FREE Account is waiting to the Best Softball Community on the Web.
- Oct 26, 2019
- 1,389
- 113
I took over a very successful program that had big league alumni including 3 first round draft picks, an MLB batting champion, and 2 all-stars. Taking over a program like that had its challenges and expectations, but I have found it easier to maintain a culture of winning than to start it from the ground up at a school that doesn’t have one.
Yeah... That’s just not correct. If winning is not the goal in HS then when is it? Most kids don’t play competitively after HS.
I know for my DD’s HS team every year the goal is league title.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
- Oct 26, 2019
- 1,389
- 113
People who are saying winning isn’t important are speaking like winning and teaching the game, development, and treating players fairly are mutually exclusive. I believe they go hand in hand. In my experience when you do it the right way, the winning takes care of itself.
Does it bother anyone else that stats are thrown around with such matter of factness? Or that parents know so many stats? We use GC for our program and with some work you could find our stats but at no point during the season do we point out stats to our players let alone our parents. As coaches we do look at them and use them as a tool. Man to think my parents would come to me with stats to ask why DD isn't playing would leave me dumbfounded. (At least once I am sure I would have to say, "Well little Susie has only batted 3 times for that .333 BA.")
I was once confronted by an angry TB parent of a freshman after our first game of the season about my coaching style.
And one more observation: Why would a player be mad about where she batted in the lineup? When I was playing I just wanted to see my name in the lineup. The rest takes care of itself. Like the parent very well pointed out. Coaches have a reason for they way they adjust their lineup.
I guess moral of the stories is everyone has a story good, bad, or indifferent.
I was once confronted by an angry TB parent of a freshman after our first game of the season about my coaching style.
And one more observation: Why would a player be mad about where she batted in the lineup? When I was playing I just wanted to see my name in the lineup. The rest takes care of itself. Like the parent very well pointed out. Coaches have a reason for they way they adjust their lineup.
I guess moral of the stories is everyone has a story good, bad, or indifferent.
- Jun 8, 2016
- 16,118
- 113
Player on DD's team was missing TB practices for school ball this Fall. One of the other kids on the team (*cough* HC's kid *cough*) told her that "You should be going to TB practice, your stats are not as good as other people's...."
If the team is competitive, then it really is the coaches duty to put the best product on the field to win games, no exceptions. If the team isn't very good, then I would think a HS coach would be more apt to share playing time beyond a set 7-9 players. I know hs coaches can be brutal but playing time at this point is mostly up to your DD. Be so good that she cant be ignored..
Did not say it was not A goal, but if it is sole goal, needed should just can school sports altogether, much better use of education dollars than satisfying ego of some adults and very small % of students. If it is not teaching a lot more than win at all costs, it is detrimental to education system.
In youth sports, coaches should teach players to win, different from coaching solely to win, nevermind coaching mainly to please a certain clique, which it seems is more the case than not
I really don't have a problem at all with playing the same 9 to win. But then you shouldn't really have a 16 player roster, should be 12 at the most. Really, what would your DD do if the Varsity coach said "sure, you can be on the team, but you're #16 and you'll never play"?....Would your DD sign up for that?....My DD wouldn't, she wants to play, and not sit on the bench every game.
Similar threads
