Priorities in (struuuuuggling) HS ball?

[taylormeyer77]

Hey all, last season was my first at the helm (with a 6 week shortened COVID season).

We…struggled. Strengths: built awesome culture, traditions. Didn’t lose a single player despite losing all games but one. Wasserman’s program led to great gains in team throwing fundamentals Weaknesses: damn near everything else. Haha. Volleyball is king in my area, and girls play that year round, and so I don’t get many who have even played middle school ball.

So, I’m a current culture that means I really will only get them for our three month season and that’s it, what would you prioritize? Last year, I really tried to emphasize outfield/infield dailies to build mechanics (and so I could work with pitchers while assistants led those). Then, either team D/situations, or hitting stations with as much live pitching as we could. Admittedly, we did way less hitting than we should have.

if this were your program, and you’d anticipate 18-20 girls with two coaches, how would you think about
Structuring practices? (A.K.A., fix my program, y’all! )

 

[John 800]

Sounds like you are in a simalor situation as me, except I have a 10u team. Volleyball town here as well, I am trying to get a fall softball team going amd will be scheduling around volleyball. If not, we may just continue batting practice on Sundays after softball season is over to get them a little farther along. One other thing a few parents and coaches in our town did a few years ago was to work with another town/organization to get the interested girls in fall or winter ball together. We had 5 or 6 girls that were all in on softball with no place to play outside school season. They ended up going to another town and having them placed on the same team together for fall.

 

[taylormeyer77]

I feel your pain. I’m also stuck by HS with pretty limited off-season pieces, too. We did Saturday BP and will again. That was pretty important, for sure. Wishing you luck and solidarity in the struggle!!

 

[sluggers]

Follow the 80-20 rule. Devote your practice time to the problems that result in 80% of the mistakes. Forget the other 20%.

GROUND BALLS--Mammoth numbers of ground balls. Get two buckets, one full of balls. You stand in the circle, with girls in two lines, one line at SS and one line at 2B. Hit the ball to SS, she tosses to 2B. 2B puts ball in bucket. When you run out of balls, switch buckets, and hit to 2B with SS covering second base. Do this as fast as you can, and make sure the girls don't cheat.



SITUATIONAL WORK -- For a team at your level, it is wasted. Yes, it drives the coaches crazy during a game...but, count how many runs you gave up due to situational mistakes vs. how many runs you gave up due to missed grounders and pop ups. I suspect the ratio will be something like 20-1.

BACKING UP-- You want to really reduce the runs scored? Teach the correct way to back up *correctly*, and then make sure they do it in the games.

HITTING: You should throw batting practice, not your pitchers. (use a screen, of course). While it is difficult to learn how to pitch, it is reasy to learn how to throw batting practice. (I can give you some tips if you need some help.)

 

[bmakj]

Follow the 80-20 rule. Devote your practice time to the problems that result in 80% of the mistakes. Forget the other 20%.

GROUND BALLS--Mammoth numbers of ground balls. Get two buckets, one full of balls. You stand in the circle, with girls in two lines, one line at SS and one line at 2B. Hit the ball to SS, she tosses to 2B. 2B puts ball in bucket. When you run out of balls, switch buckets, and hit to 2B with SS covering second base. Do this as fast as you can, and make sure the girls don't cheat.



SITUATIONAL WORK -- For a team at your level, it is wasted. Yes, it drives the coaches crazy during a game...but, count how many runs you gave up due to situational mistakes vs. how many runs you gave up due to missed grounders and pop ups. I suspect the ratio will be something like 20-1.

BACKING UP-- You want to really reduce the runs scored? Teach the correct way to back up *correctly*, and then make sure they do it in the games.

HITTING: You should throw batting practice, not your pitchers. (use a screen, of course). While it is difficult to learn how to pitch, it is reasy to learn how to throw batting practice. (I can give you some tips if you need some help.)

While one coach hits grounders or fly balls to rest of team, other can be doing soft toss or tee work to work on swing mechanics

Also assign YouTube h homework to watch hitting and throwing videos you assign.

Keep fighting the good fight

 

[kennykozman!!]

I am coaching a 10U developmental team......we put the D in developmental. LOL

Seriously I would spend time, hire, whatever to be the BEST pitching and catching team possible. If you don't pitch and catch forget it.


We took players that were all cut from travel programs last fall. Pitching and catching happens in EVERY practice.

Well we are currently 8-10 and the only reason we have 8 is because of the pitching and catching. I will manufacture runs.

***extra bonus BUNTING....every player in your line up should be able to get it down and sprint.

 

[taylormeyer77]

Follow the 80-20 rule. Devote your practice time to the problems that result in 80% of the mistakes. Forget the other 20%.

GROUND BALLS--Mammoth numbers of ground balls. Get two buckets, one full of balls. You stand in the circle, with girls in two lines, one line at SS and one line at 2B. Hit the ball to SS, she tosses to 2B. 2B puts ball in bucket. When you run out of balls, switch buckets, and hit to 2B with SS covering second base. Do this as fast as you can, and make sure the girls don't cheat.



SITUATIONAL WORK -- For a team at your level, it is wasted. Yes, it drives the coaches crazy during a game...but, count how many runs you gave up due to situational mistakes vs. how many runs you gave up due to missed grounders and pop ups. I suspect the ratio will be something like 20-1.

BACKING UP-- You want to really reduce the runs scored? Teach the correct way to back up *correctly*, and then make sure they do it in the games.

HITTING: You should throw batting practice, not your pitchers. (use a screen, of course). While it is difficult to learn how to pitch, it is reasy to learn how to throw batting practice. (I can give you some tips if you need some help.)

You’ve done this a little, haven’t you? Thank you. Awesome tips. And yes! I’ve been taking pitching lessons myself the last two years or so until I can find a pitching coach. It’s addicting/karma for yelling from the outfield my whole career about how “easy” it is. Do you advocate for a structure that has p’s/c’s throw after everyone else goes home?

 

[The Man In Blue]

@taylormeyer77 … I remember when you first announced this journey to us, and I am glad to see you have really taken to it!

One thing I might suggest for this level is recording some of your games and watching them as a team. You asked about situational work, and I believe this is a good opportunity to talk through things and see a bigger picture than working on the field. It also provides “something different” for the girls (and a good alternative to cancelling practice on a rainy day). If not your games, watch a random college game and talk through it.

Other than that … quit coaching and join the Dark Side as an umpire!

 

[taylormeyer77]

Thanks so much!! It’s been a blast. All of it. Your idea about watching games makes me think about something I saw our school’s football Coach do this season in an inaugural girls’ flag football team: a before-school morning meeting watching tape/learning plays, so he didn’t have to waste time explaining that at practice. Thin turnout, but getting even a couple kids is better than nothing, right? Thanks for encouragement and ideas!

 

[whiporee]

MiB is absolutely right. I'd make it a weekly thing -- you get the girls able to laugh at themselves and each other but also starting to hold each other and themselves accountable. Make specific, achievable goals for every player week-to-week -- make them with the players, so they are a part of it.

And then focus on hitting. Hitting and hitting and hitting. Do whatever you can (besides use your own pitchers) to get them as many live at-bats as you can. Hit one of the parents up for an Occulus to practice recognizing pitches. I don't know nearly as much about this game as others here do, but I know that not being able to consistently hit demoralizes teams faster than anything. So I would dedicate as much practice time -- and then some -- to hitting as much as you can. Because losing 14-10 is a lot more fun than losing 4-0. And once girls believe they can hit, their confidence rises everywhere else.