Run a lap !

[Coach Grady]

Join in here, RUN A LAP ! I like it when I hear a coach do this and Yes ! I have. A Player misses two balls in a row RUN A LAP ! ...... Ok maybe they should . Why Not ? Pull them to one side if they missed a throw have a coach Throw fifty balls to them. Miss a Grounder, roll Fifty Grounders at them, Are we building track stars or ball players ?. I just want to be a better coach and have better players not a track team ?. Now it's your turn Tell me to RUN A LAP ! I will if it helps my catching ? and Helps my grounding ?
Have you watched those RUNNED LAPS?. I thought they crawling while cussing . Just Saying.
Thanks Coach Grady

 

[wichita]

I agree,... if your going to have them run at least work on running bases our game is about sprinting short distances not marathons

 

[cmustangsfp]

Instead of running laps we did skill repetition. Miss 2 balls, be prepared to get 100 in practice. Drop a fly, prepare to get 50-100 in practice. Not charging the ball, again prepare to get a lot of reps in practice.

We also ran our practices in this matter. Lots of skill repetitions, including some disguised as games.

I saw a doozie of a coach this weekend at a basketball tourney. Told his girls if he let the other team get another offensive rebound he was going to make them run suicides during halftime in front of everybody. Did it work? No. Had he taught them the correct skill of how to box out to prevent them from getting the rebound? No. So to cover his lack of rebound training he decided to teach them to rebound better by running suicides. Kind of like trying to teach them how to hit better by working on base running.

 

[cmustangsfp]

I will add that there may be a time to use laps/pushups/etc as punishment. If the girls are standing around not listening to the coaches and are talking and generally ignoring what is being said. OK, I can see "Give me a lap". You are punishing the inattentiveness, not lack of skill or a skill not performed properly due to any number of reasons.

We did have a rule on our team. If you said "I can't" at anytime while at practice, you had to drop and give me 5. The girls would call each other out on it too!

 

[ConorMacleod]

I was in the exact same line of Coaching and thinking for the longest time. Then I started coaching my current team. I'm now forced (yes, I said forced) to make the girls run to the fence and back or do jumping jacks as punishment for a poor play in practice. You see, it wasn't that they couldn't get their butts and gloves down to field a grounder, it was their lack of effort or caring that resulted in the poor play. I needed something to motivate them. Of course, I'm also now starting to think that maybe you CAN'T teach everybody how to play softball well.

 

[Carsonsig]

I do this for inattentiveness, talking, or dogging it. a short lap, fence and back or something. Breaks the cycle, gives them a moment to collect themselves. but never for skill errors. as was said, that needs instruction, not punishment. I ask my girls to do THEIR best, and challenge themselves...failure is sometimes the result... but if you dog it on my team... bad news.

 

[KCPRK]

Positive Conditioning at Welcome to Proactive Coaching llc

 

[CoachChristine]

I do this for inattentiveness, talking, or dogging it. a short lap, fence and back or something. Breaks the cycle, gives them a moment to collect themselves. but never for skill errors. as was said, that needs instruction, not punishment. I ask my girls to do THEIR best, and challenge themselves...failure is sometimes the result... but if you dog it on my team... bad news.

I do this. Plus, I add in sassy mouth and repeated inability to keep their body parts to themselves (8u). I don't remember running too many laps myself for skill errors, but I sure remember the ones for rolling my eyes or mouthing off, lol.

 

[CycloneSoftball22]

Having a players run a lap to refocus on their task is not a bad thing.

 

[JJsqueeze]

I give them...I call them "Lippy Laps" get lippy, take a lap. Taking laps as a form of refocusing and keeping players in line is as old as the game itself and does no harm. It helps get those one or two girls to stop disrupting practice when their inability to focus causes a whole team to run a lap.