Practice criticism

[OsDad]

... Coach is watching the players, but gives advice such as "You have to want it!", "Give 110%!", and "Dig deep!"

@pattar, sound familiar?


@sluggers, you could have just titled that one "Oklahoma TB coaches"

 

[Ksphenom]

Haven't witnessed these girls but I can tell you that I've had many older girls come to the team or tryouts who think they know Softball that still don't have the fundamentals down after years of TB experience.

Everything is fine until you need to correct just about every facet of the game. Players and parents get upset when they finally realize all the money they've spent up to this point wasn't well spent. Sometimes they figure out that the DD couldn't make a HS team if they tried and only have a year left to fix all the issues they kicked down the road.

Can't throw, can't field, or hit well. Mostly kids from large club teams have these issues. Can't always blame the clubs though as kids need to put in work outside of practice. Parents could help here by regulating the phone a little more.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

 

[_MIA_]

@pattar, sound familiar?


@sluggers, you could have just titled that one "Oklahoma TB coaches"

Pretty much par for the course during the 20 minute postgame breakdown after 9,10 and 11 YO girls have just played 5 games in 95 degree heat. Meanwhile the coach has run into 7 outs, 5 of which were the first or third out at third base and the other 2 were girls being thrown out at home by 10 feet down by 4 runs. Also the coach forgets to bring the infield in 3 times with a girl on third with less than 2 outs late in the game down by 3 or more runs...but hey the girls need to want it more!!

 

[_MIA_]

The difference between rec level, semi-pro and pro-level is the attention to detail. Let's use the "rolling the ball drill".

REC LEVEL: Coach is rolling the ball but spends most of his time trying to figure out where to pick up a six pack on the way home.
SEMI-PRO: Coach is watching the players, but gives advice such as "You have to want it!", "Give 110%!", and "Dig deep!" Likes discussing how he "could have been contender" had the coach just let him play SS.
PRO: Coach is watching each and and every move the player makes, from the time the player gets into position to the time the player releases the ball. Gives advise on specifics such as feet position, glove position and hand position.

For example:

I do the Pro thing with my DD which causes mucho headaches since she just turned 10 and so half the time you end up seeing like 20 things wrong...

 

[The Man In Blue]

Haven't witnessed these girls but I can tell you that I've had many older girls come to the team or tryouts who think they know Softball that still don't have the fundamentals down after years of TB experience.

When are people going to come to the realization that “Travel Ball” doesn’t mean anything more than “I spent a lot of money”.

I was talking to our local high school and middle school coach and she was shocked at the quality of the players who told her they played travel ball all summer. “I just don’t see how that is possible.”

Of course, this isn’t a coach who bothers to go watch games and players over the summer. I informed her playing travel ball just means their parents overpaid for rec ball in a bigger format.

 

[grcsftbll]

[Stops conversation right there] “Great! We have a coaching vacancy and I think I found my new volunteer!”

The only risk here is that he might actually take them up on it. Give these guys some power and sometimes it gets a million times worse.

 

[joe720]

REC LEVEL: Coach is rolling the ball but spends most of his time trying to figure out where to pick up a six pack on the way home.

I can multitask thank you very much.

 

[Cagman]

When are people going to come to the realization that “Travel Ball” doesn’t mean anything more than “I spent a lot of money”.

No kidding. The idea that people are spending thousands for 10 and even 12 yr olds to play ball is mind boggling to me. We need more parents like my old man who back in the 80s bitched out the local rec league I was in when yearly fees went up $10 for the year.

Kids these days are growing up with a warped mindset. I actually had a 12-year-old in practice the other day who is struggling with fielding. She came off the field and told her parents she needed to have a fielding lesson. I thought, maybe all those lessons you’re taking are the reason why you’re struggling?

Maybe she’s worrying about so many other things other than fielding the damn ball and making the throw?

Less lessons, less travel, more sandlot.

I guess it’s just the way I am, I’m in my 40s, and played high school ball and was successful. I never took a private lesson in my life. Or played travel ball. But I was a little before it’s time.

But I get it, keeping up with the Jones’ can be a lot of work. My wife sees other girls taking lessons all the time and she feels we have to do that too. Not just with sports but with everything, tutors, etc. I guess it’s just the way things are these days. My parents just told me to work harder and study harder, they weren’t handing out 40 bucks an hour for someone to teach me outside of practice or school.

 

[_MIA_]

No kidding. The idea that people are spending thousands for 10 and even 12 yr olds to play ball is mind boggling to me. We need more parents like my old man who back in the 80s bitched out the local rec league I was in when yearly fees went up $10 for the year.

Kids these days are growing up with a warped mindset. I actually had a 12-year-old in practice the other day who is struggling with fielding. She came off the field and told her parents she needed to have a fielding lesson. I thought, maybe all those lessons you’re taking are the reason why you’re struggling?

Maybe she’s worrying about so many other things other than fielding the damn ball and making the throw?

Less lessons, less travel, more sandlot.

I guess it’s just the way I am, I’m in my 40s, and played high school ball and was successful. I never took a private lesson in my life. Or played travel ball. But I was a little before it’s time.

a) Girls never really played sandlot ball..at least where I grew up b) nothing wrong with lessons (my 10 YO DD doesn't take them) but going to a fielding/hitting lesson once a week and not doing any other work on the side isn't going to turn somebody in Ozzie Smith/Ted Williams. That is the biggest problem parents have with lessons..they think they are a substitute for hard work.

 

[Rick M]

I coached DD's rec teams for 6 years, and the drills she's doing now in 14U travel aren't all that different. It's the speed, intensity, and focus that has changed.

In 8U, you roll a kid a ball and just work on getting the glove down and lining up the ball between your shoes. At 14U, they're moving so fast that six kids in a line field grounders three or four times a minute. The focus is on footwork and speed to release point.

In 8U the girls play catch and the focus is on catching a ball with your glove fingers up, and making the throw across your body. At 14U they play catch and focus on hitting their partner's throwing shoulder and making the most efficient throw based on distance.

The biggest difference between rec drills and travel drills is the speed and the goals.