Poker face vs. rah-rah coaches

[CoogansBluff]

Had a parent say that our dugout was too quiet (both coaches & players) in an elimination game that we lost.
He said we looked tired and that the coaches could've done a better job at getting the fired up, that our dugout is always the most quiet at every tournament. Our coaches' personalities are calm and analytical. I'm also not convinced that effort was a factor in the game in question, although we probably were a bit tired - it was our 5th game, and we only have 10 players, only 2 of which were pitchers. We'd played 3 straight games from noon to 4:30. This was a 6 p.m. start. But the main reason we lost IMO (to a team that probably wasn't as good as us) is that the other team played well - 0 errors, 0 walks, 4 well-executed slap hits that came around to score. We made only 1 error that allowed a batter to reach in 5 innings.

Obviously, no one here was there and can comment on this particular game. But my question is this: How valuable are loud dugouts and high-energy, 'get-em-fired-up' coaches?

 

[InsidePitch]

It sounds like your team was out of gas. Cheering may have helped in the short term and maybe that's all you needed to get the win or it may have taken a little more out of them.

I prefer the quiter dugout. DD's current coach does not like the canned cheers but does encourage the indivdual cheering, "Come on 4...get a hit" type of cheering. Our DO is often whisper quiet while getting the job done. Cheers for hits and plays. Seems to work for him.

LOL, I was scoring a 10U game by the backstop. The opposing team was relentless in their cheering. You know the scene. All of them at the fence, fingers gripping the openings, little faces an inch from the fence. They were from Staten Island collectively they sounded like Alvin and the Chipmunks. I was at the end of my patience and so was the Blue. He turns to them and says "Ladies...take a breath". Immediately they all stopped. About 5 seconds of complete silence and as if on queue the went right back to into it with even more enthusiasm. It generated enough levity to get through me the last two innings. After that afternoon I was no longer a fan of the endless cheering.

I do hear some College teams doing canned cheers so I guess it's not something you just outgrow.

 

[ScottBev]

Tournament weekends I live on pain killers. You can tell a lot about how our weekend is going but the noise level in our dugout. I still haven't figured out if we play well because of the cheering, or we cheer louder because we are playing well.

Either way it works that way for us.

 

[DOG310]

I don't mind the cheering, but what I find annoying are the teams that literally scream just as the pitcher releases the ball. It doesn't seem to bother the pitchers, I just find it extremely immature and annoying.

 

[GTRH8R]

Your girls should be the ones that are picking each other up from the dugout...they should not be quiet. I've seen stoic coaches and I have seen more emotional coaches - I don't think matter if the girls are keeping each other going.

 

[Bucketrider]

I'm fine with the cheering from the girls, I just cannot STAND IT when it is a parent doing the yelling to get the girls going.

 

[mosftballdad]

We have put a stop to almost all of the canned cheers. They were concentrating too much on the cheer and not on the game. If I have to tell you twice in the same game that you are on deck it's too much. We encourage the cheers for individual players and our focus as a team has gone up. We have played against other teams that do the non stop cheering and they play fine. I too have the scream as the pitcher is about to release the ball. It does nothing to the pitcher and show bad sportsmanship. Personally I think the umpires should say something but most times they don't even pay attention to it.

 

[11smom]

We parents have debated this on our 12u travel team. Our girls are not too loud or overboard with the cheering, although they are expected to be at the fence and into the game. We face many teams with the girls' cheering so loud that we all leave with a headache. I don't think our girls want to be "that team". As far as coaches, our head coach is generally a quiet type, very well respected by other teams, umpires, our girls and families. But in some "big" games, he does get fired up, and a bit animated (never out of line). We all think this works well for our girls and they play better because of it. Wish he would do it more often!

 

[3sDad]

Cheerleader...

Softball player...


See the difference...I like for our kids to cheer for each other...but not hysterical cheering...our EX HS Coach had her BFF starter snitch take names in the dugout that she felt weren't cheering enough...day after game the girls on the list ran their guts out...emphasis on EX coach...

 

[Ken Krause]

A lot of people get all wrapped up in how much the girls cheer. I never did. In fact, I had an assistant who used to yell at the girls all the time to get on the fence and cheer. I'd just roll my eyes.

Personally, I'd rather they be quieter and actually think through what's happening. If every kid was watching the pitcher and trying to figure out her patterns and how to hit her instead of just running their mouths I think the team would be better off.

Blaming a loss on a lack of cheering, especially from bench players when your team is a lame excuse. Instead of that, coach, teach your players better.