Public service announcement for AZ

[STRIKE3]

Only had it on in the background while I was arm deep in fish poop. I yelled at the TV but nobody heard me. LOL.

I had an interesting conversation with a D1 coach today about the JMU pitcher. The coach acknowledged how great she is doing aU nd how fantastic this is for the game but, also said she is pitching over her head at the moment. She's in the zone. Prior to this year, her numbers, complete games, and her attitude were completely different than what is on TV now. I haven't watched her at all, I wanna try tomorrow to see her to see what the fuss is about. But this coach was pretty emphatic that what we're seeing is someone who's simply hot and on a roll.

I agree @Hillhouse I won't take anything away from that kid and I know you aren't either. She is on FIRE!

But as I told some friends of mine, JMU won't win another game.

I said IF OU gets past Georgia, then they will face a very tired UCLA and Garcia which they will win.

Then, they will beat JMU in 2 games tomorrow.

UCLA stands in the way but if OU wins tonight and a BIG if....JMU will not beat OU again and maybe ever.

Yes, a OU homer here but just don't see JMU to make it any further than they have. Love what they have done so far and it is awesome but OU got their groove back today against Georgia and they will be in the finals. Can they beat Bama? ..............

S3

 

[CoachJD]

Agreed. But if a kid is allowed to make mistakes on bad pitching calling when she's 12, she's going to learn what to do, what do throw in situations, how to think for herself, and devise a game plan. The catcher is going to make mistakes and bad calls!! So will a coach on a bucket!! But, as I said, youth coaches act like they are winning the WCWS at 12 yr old tournaments instead of letting the kids actually develop and learn. It'd be fantastic if a coach understood things and worked with a young catcher on what to look for, what to call, situational awareness, etc. There is a Facebook meme going around which is so true: no college coach is going to ask about someone's record in the 12U division! Coaches in 12U (for example) act like they are coaching to win at all costs, as if they are coaching in a profession like a college coach instead of letting the kids learn. Winning the trophy is more important than development. I don't understand that.

I agree that the development is important, but I also don't know that just telling a catcher to go out there and call the game is developing her. That's throwing her into the deep end and seeing if she'll sink or swim.

This is why I focused more on the teaching aspect of it. It's incredibly difficult to teach because you just can't simulate all the game situations.

I think one good way to do it is to have your catcher not in the game, assuming she's not playing a secondary position, right there on a bucket with the coach. As the coach calls pitches, explain to her what you're doing and why. And if since we're talking 12u where one girl shouldn't be catching every inning, you can rotate your catchers so they all get game time and bucket time.

I guess what I'm saying is I believe coaches calling pitches can be part of developing catchers, but only if there's more to it. Look at it this way: A math teacher doesn't just give the kid a math book and say "figure it out." The teacher explains the rules, solves a few problems, guides the student to correct answers, and then has the student do the problems on her own. The problem isn't coaches calling pitches. It's that coaches only call pitches. And you hit the nail on the head why: Most of them don't know what they're doing, so they certainly aren't going to be able to teach it.

 

[Hillhouse]

I agree that the development is important, but I also don't know that just telling a catcher to go out there and call the game is developing her. That's throwing her into the deep end and seeing if she'll sink or swim.

This is why I focused more on the teaching aspect of it. It's incredibly difficult to teach because you just can't simulate all the game situations.

I think one good way to do it is to have your catcher not in the game, assuming she's not playing a secondary position, right there on a bucket with the coach. As the coach calls pitches, explain to her what you're doing and why. And if since we're talking 12u where one girl shouldn't be catching every inning, you can rotate your catchers so they all get game time and bucket time.

I guess what I'm saying is I believe coaches calling pitches can be part of developing catchers, but only if there's more to it. Look at it this way: A math teacher doesn't just give the kid a math book and say "figure it out." The teacher explains the rules, solves a few problems, guides the student to correct answers, and then has the student do the problems on her own. The problem isn't coaches calling pitches. It's that coaches only call pitches. And you hit the nail on the head why: Most of them don't know what they're doing, so they certainly aren't going to be able to teach it.

Most travel teams I know practice year round, maybe a month off here and there. Or a few weeks. In the course of that, game scenarios, pitch calling, situational awareness can be worked on. OF COURSE, coaches will need to talk to catchers during games. BEFORE games. Identify the game strategy, identify the 1 hitter that you won't let beat you in a game winning situation, discuss the strategy you wanna use. Sometimes instruction is needed in the middle of an inning, things can be yelled from the dugout, etc.

All these things can be taught but learning them in experience is when it counts. As I said, mistakes will be made but mistakes are usually when the best lessons are learned.

 

[uncdrew]

I find that teaching it is incredibly difficult for a whole bunch of reasons.

I have 30+ experience watching/playing/coaching baseball and softball. All of that goes into my decisions. How am I supposed to teach 30+ years of what I've learned in a way that's easily digested by a pitcher/catcher who only have a few years experience?

When is there even time to practice this? I certainly can't dedicate team practice time to it (others may be able to, but I'm too busy teaching our girls how to play).

I always try to explain how we're going to attack certain hitters, usually after 1-2 times through the order and I start to figure out some tendencies. I also know my own pitcher's weaknesses, so I'll talk to the catcher about how to avoid those. And probably most importantly, I'll give her batters and sometimes entire innings. But the truth is there isn't a lot of time to then go over what she called, why, how it worked, etc.

Calling a game well requires knowing your pitchers, learning other hitters quickly (and HP umpires, too!), knowing the game situation, understanding a little bit about psychology/game theory. It's a lot. And most of it requires experience the kids don't have yet. So I understand coaches calling games, but they should do their best to explain why they attacked hitters in certain ways.

With my DD being a pitcher, we talk about these things driving to and from tournaments. Hoping after 5 years of that she knows more than the average bear.

 

[schwabach]

I had an interesting conversation with a D1 coach today about the JMU pitcher. The coach acknowledged how great she is doing and how fantastic this is for the game but, also said she is pitching over her head at the moment. She's in the zone. Prior to this year, her numbers, complete games, and her attitude were completely different than what is on TV now. I haven't watched her at all, I wanna try tomorrow to see her to see what the fuss is about. But this coach was pretty emphatic that what we're seeing is someone who's simply hot and on a roll.

I have noticed that coaches and team chemistry have something to do with elevating players to the next level. We have all seen teams that were much less than or much greater than the sum of the individual players due to team chemistry or a particular coach.

So, could we not turn this observation around and ask why Odicci hasn't been this good for a longer time?

 

[JayW]

Fouts just threw a high fastball v FSU with runners on 1st and 2nd, 0-2 count. 3 run homer.

 

[Hillhouse]

Fouts just threw a high fastball v FSU with runners on 1st and 2nd, 0-2 count. 3 run homer.

I've been saying in on a few Facebook discussions that not pitching Fouts yesterday was crazy, Alabama deserves to lose for that. Yes, I know they didn't score but still, you don't lose with your ace on the bench. Not when you're playing a game per day. In a SINGLE game, anything can happen. But, I highly doubt FSU could beat Fouts twice. ANYTHING can happen in a single, solo game. Not pitching your ace is hard to understand. And I'm not taking ANYTHING away from the kid they pitched, apparently she did great. This isn't about her. This is about not using your ace and keeping the foot on the jugular to end it.

 

[JayW]

I've been saying in on a few Facebook discussions that not pitching Fouts yesterday was crazy, Alabama deserves to lose for that. Yes, I know they didn't score but still, you don't lose with your ace on the bench. Not when you're playing a game per day. In a SINGLE game, anything can happen. But, I highly doubt FSU could beat Fouts twice. ANYTHING can happen in a single, solo game. Not pitching your ace is hard to understand. And I'm not taking ANYTHING away from the kid they pitched, apparently she did great. This isn't about her. This is about not using your ace and keeping the foot on the jugular to end it.

a mix of arrogance and sentimentality. saving your ace never works at any level.

 

[radness]

I've been saying in on a few Facebook discussions that not pitching Fouts yesterday was crazy, Alabama deserves to lose for that. Yes, I know they didn't score but still, you don't lose with your ace on the bench. Not when you're playing a game per day. In a SINGLE game, anything can happen. But, I highly doubt FSU could beat Fouts twice. ANYTHING can happen in a single, solo game. Not pitching your ace is hard to understand. And I'm not taking ANYTHING away from the kid they pitched, apparently she did great. This isn't about her. This is about not using your ace and keeping the foot on the jugular to end it.

Why do you think they did that?

 

[Hillhouse]

Why do you think they did that?

No clue, I can't wrap my head around it. I just clicked over from Netflix and saw Fouts get out of the bases loaded, 1 out jam while down 4-0. I hadn't seen her throw before but, in that inning she was struggling with going around her hip, pushing everything inside on a RHB. Obviously not having her best game ever, which leads to my point before: FSU isn't likely to beat her twice, she's not likely to have 2 bad games in a row. But in a SINGLE game, anything can happen and so far it seems like it is. I'm former teammates both here and New Zealand with FSU coach Travis Wilson so, this doesn't break my heart to see FSU doing well. Hopefully they hold on.

You know RAD, the question isn't why did they do this. The real question is, why don't these coaches and pitch callers call or text me before every pitch or every situation? ha ha ha.

Back to Netflix.