Teaching skill vs. teaching the game

[Rolling Hard]

Help them keep their heads in the game. Each player on defense should know, on every pitch, this ball will be hit to me. Every time. Remind them, that if by some strange quirk of magic, the ball is not hit to them, they know where to go to get in the play and get outs.

If you can accomplish this the errors would diminish and the stellar plays would sky rocket! I often can be heard telling the girls "anticipate -anticipate - its coming to you!" A pitcher that can throw strikes helps a lot too! LOL

 

[RichK]

If you haven't coached it you can't expect it to happen (especially happen exactly as you'd like to see it happen). Always be coaching skills and at each age group be adding the level-appropriate game skills they need, IMO A simple example: first and third strategies (and the skills necessary to execute or stop such plays) are different at every level, and thus can be taught and upgraded continually (and in tandem). Same goes for most other game situations I can think of. Players won't really need to understand how to execute a strong go/cut to home option until outfielders can make quality throws through the cut. They learn that along the way then when they get to upper levels you can start talking about the cut-home play in terms of game and out situations, knowing the speed of runners and the aggressiveness of coaches, angles and timing when cutting balls off and throwing home, etc. etc