- Feb 17, 2011
- 201
- 16
(I thought this would be a good thread...)
Softball is worse. The downtime is much longer in softball, and the uncertainty about when, and even "if" you are going to play a game, means that conversations often drift away from the game and into other topics.
You have 9 positions to fill in softball, and it is pretty easy to figure out who the best 4 or 5 girls are on a team of 15. In fact, all the parents and the players can easily see who are the top players.
But, that leaves 3 or 4 positions where the selection of the players is not so obvious. When you get down to your 8th and 9th starters, it becomes tough to justify why Sarah plays over Janey, especially to players, parents and coaches who don't have a clue about the finer points of softball--fielding, relays, bunting and base running.
So, players immediately assume that Sarah is the coach's favorite, and then the players start forming cliques due to the injustice done to Janey. Then, Janey starts kissing the pitcher's feet in order to maybe get the pitcher to intervene in her behalf. The whole thing can get really nasty.
A great line by Kathy Rodolph, head coach of New Mexico State: The players started complaining that "Sarah" was the coaches favorite, and she calls all the players together and tells them to stop whining. She says, "You're d*mn right Sarah is my favorite...she is batting .675 with runners in scoring position. You hit .700 with runners in scoring position, and you'll be my favorite."
I follow Coach Rodolph's philosophy.... if you want to know why who is where we can go look at the book (in private of course)... shuts them up nicely.