POLL-How many times should a coach have to tell their players the same thing over and over

Welcome to Discuss Fastpitch

Your FREE Account is waiting to the Best Softball Community on the Web.

How many times?

  • 3 times in one day?

    Votes: 1 12.5%
  • 6 times this weekend?

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 15 times this month?

    Votes: 1 12.5%
  • 3 times in one day player should apply.

    Votes: 5 62.5%
  • 6 times this weekend parents need to teach discipline at home

    Votes: 3 37.5%
  • 15 times this month far too long befor parent involvement

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Or no parent involvement just bench the player

    Votes: 2 25.0%

  • Total voters
    8

radness

Possibilities & Opportunities!
Dec 13, 2019
7,270
113
In all these poll answers, the kid was never taught discipline at home. So should a parent step in and teach discipline? Ab, but years before they ever played softball.
Exactly the point at hand!

That is the root of the question~ who and when teaches the young person either discipline or to be disciplined.
Whose responsibility?!

What have noticed
there is (I'll call it🙂)
'a funky blurred line'
of a coach's responsibility.
Should be for coaching a sport not raising someone else's child. Specifically how to be disciplined because they have no discipline.
( at home it is the Parent's Choice if they were going to use a disciplinary action or in a teaching way teach discipline)
When this function is absent it can fall upon a coach and there lies the funky blurred line.

What have noticed is that there are some parents that feel this is the coach's responsibility because it pertains to being on the field. But do believe there's more to it...😉
 
Last edited:
Oct 10, 2018
305
63
Maybe it was mentioned previously in this thread but sometimes people need to hear something from a second source before it sinks in. I used to be very involved in competitive dog training and I'd go to a clinic and come back to my regular trainer and say OMG I learned X. My trainer would roll her eyes at me and say I've been telling you that for the last x years! I've seen it with DD too. Team coach might say X about her hitting but until her hitting coach says it, it didn't sink in, and actually came in to her as new information.
 

radness

Possibilities & Opportunities!
Dec 13, 2019
7,270
113
Parent~ why isn't my child playing today?
Coach~ because for the past two weeks I have been telling her XYZ and she's not applying herself.
Parent~ how is she going to get better if you don't let her play?
Coach~ she won't get better until she applies herself.

Hmmm🤔
Teach to have discipline.
Or
Be disciplined.

Where does that responsibility begin?

GO DFP!
 

radness

Possibilities & Opportunities!
Dec 13, 2019
7,270
113
Maybe it was mentioned previously in this thread but sometimes people need to hear something from a second source before it sinks in. I used to be very involved in competitive dog training and I'd go to a clinic and come back to my regular trainer and say OMG I learned X. My trainer would roll her eyes at me and say I've been telling you that for the last x years! I've seen it with DD too. Team coach might say X about her hitting but until her hitting coach says it, it didn't sink in, and actually came in to her as new information.
Excellent possibility!!!

( therein lies my side comment about some parents not paying attention at private lessons. Because they could have learned XYZ. )

Truly believe communication is super important between coach player and family parents at younger ages. The parents have to be on board to support the coach's feedback.
That may be a gap?
 
Last edited:
Jun 1, 2015
500
43
As someone who's taught MS and HS kids for 10 years, it's honestly sickening how many parents don't feel they have to 'parent' at home; that it's the school's responsibility to do it for them (unless it's something that contradicts their personal beliefs - like sex/religious education - then suddenly they are parents again). The same goes with coaching, I believe, as well. Every parent (usually) feels no issue saying, "I don't need to tell my daughter what to practice, that's [coach's] job to do", but then will be the loudest one from the sideline saying everything the kid is doing "wrong" when she's being trained/coached. Hypocrisy knows no bounds, I guess.

(And before anyone attacks me, this is NOT a knock on all parents. Some parents know when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em, as the song goes - this is for the ones that are the loudest to complain but the quietest to volunteer/help.)
 
Oct 10, 2018
305
63
Parent~ why isn't my child playing today?
Coach~ because for the past two weeks I have been telling her XYZ and she's not applying herself.
Parent~ how is she going to get better if you don't let her play?
Coach~ she won't get better until she applies herself.

Hmmm🤔
Teach to have discipline.
Or
Be disciplined.

Where does that responsibility begin?

GO DFP!

So True! When DD was pitching she was a "leaner". Pitching coach would basically do nothing with her until she stopped leaning. It got very expensive to go to lessons and learn nothing new but hear, stand up, over and over and over. Her dad would work with her in the yard and repeat stand up over and over. DD never really got out of the habit and would slide back into it very easily, and that might be why she never got out of the low/mid 50's and had to give it up. Some bad habits just can't be broken and that's when it's time to re-evaluate. Thankfully for her she can hit/field very well and is still loving the game even if she's no longer a pitcher.
 

radness

Possibilities & Opportunities!
Dec 13, 2019
7,270
113
So True! When DD was pitching she was a "leaner". Pitching coach would basically do nothing with her until she stopped leaning. It got very expensive to go to lessons and learn nothing new but hear, stand up, over and over and over. Her dad would work with her in the yard and repeat stand up over and over. DD never really got out of the habit and would slide back into it very easily, and that might be why she never got out of the low/mid 50's and had to give it up. Some bad habits just can't be broken and that's when it's time to re-evaluate. Thankfully for her she can hit/field very well and is still loving the game even if she's no longer a pitcher.
There is an important thing I remind catcher's to do and that is throw the ball hard back to the pitcher. Not like they're firing to second base but throw it back sharply with authority to their chest location. Don't just lob the throw anywhere and make bad throws.
The pitcher throws the ball to catcher with energy on it throw the ball back to the pitcher with energy on it. Energy in Energy out. Keep the pace of the game going.

Being that I am an instructor that goes and watches my students play their games I'm able to make assessment of what's happening in game situations to help their development. When I see a catcher completely not paying attention to this important detail it's concerning why they are not. Especially when a student has already been doing lessons for a couple years that can be $4,000 worth of cashola. Astonishing to watch a parent not be a helpful reminder to child to apply details as specific.
Even though the player is old enough and clearly been taught repeatedly to be responsible for this (because it works on our transition, snap and accuracy, throughout our games.) Doing this can really help or delay developmental process. Even being prepared to throw Runners out pop times. Seems like a little detail but it's actually critically important.

It is astonishing to bring that up to ask parent why is that still happening the lobbing? The parent just has deer-in-the-headlights look. Then they are surprised when I say well there's not really a reason to keep doing lessons if you're not going to apply the details.
( this is after time of bringing it up)
 
Last edited:
Apr 20, 2018
4,581
113
SoCal
Catching is a special position. An often-overlooked key attribute for a successful catcher the ability to stay focused through ALL 80 or 90 pitches. Can't take a single pitch off. Catcher can have a great arm and be a good receiver of the ball but if she loses focus on just one pitch it can cause disastrous results. Example, Strike 3 CU gets away from catcher so instead of the inning being over, it is now 1st and 3rd with the number 3 hitter up. Teach your kids to focus.
 

radness

Possibilities & Opportunities!
Dec 13, 2019
7,270
113
Catching is a special position. An often-overlooked key attribute for a successful catcher the ability to stay focused through ALL 80 or 90 pitches. Can't take a single pitch off. Catcher can have a great arm and be a good receiver of the ball but if she loses focus on just one pitch it can cause disastrous results. Example, Strike 3 CU gets away from catcher so instead of the inning being over, it is now 1st and 3rd with the number 3 hitter up. Teach your kids to focus.
Brought up the specific detail of transition and throw because that is part of our mechanics efficiency that translates into better pop times.
Working on efficient throwing mechanics, transition, snap and accuracy are critical elements.
At times people will be playing and have success where they are at age and level. But for some reason not recognize that they should continue developing to get even better. Nice to have a pop time that throws out Runners in 12u. However that needs to get improved upon as the speed of the game gets faster.
Goals and purpose.

Should also add when start with catchers at young age like 9 or 10 and they do lessons for a couple few years there can be the time when they get to the point where they need to get out of the nest 🤗 take what they've learned, use it to the best of their abilities.
If they feel as though they need technical advancement they can decide at that time to move forward.
Other times will get new students who are already older 13, 14+ who at that time recognize they do need to work on technical advancement, because they now see what they were doing is not equipped for how fast the speed of the game has become.
 
Feb 15, 2017
920
63
Know wonder parents blame coaches so much.
From some of these replies they apparently dont have much of any responsibility.
Know wonder why parents get upset when a coach doesn't spell out the rules and expectations of the team at the start of the year. And the knowledge of every parent is different. As a other person has said of the parents don't know anything about the sport then you can't expect them to educate their kids.

As a coach do you continue to provide feedback to parents and players after practices and tournaments or just wonder why the parents don't get it?



Sent from my SM-N986U using Tapatalk
 

Forum statistics

Threads
42,830
Messages
679,475
Members
21,445
Latest member
Bmac81802
Top