What coach or organization are you thankful for?

[Ksphenom]

Thankful for an older gentleman (a random grandfather) that noticed my DD playing with his grand-daughter in tee ball. He introduced himself and said "your DD is a softball player", "trust me I know", "she's going to play softball with my grand-daughter" and proceeded to get my phone number. He called us like 6 months later out of the blue. Told us to meet him on a Saturday at a ball park. That Fall on that Saturday we ended up trying out for my DD's first TB team. Totally random act from a stranger that started our softball journey. We now give him credit and blame for the rest of my DD's playing career.

 

[Schmick's Gloves]

Current pitching coach, Coach Wendy, who the kid's gone to for about 5 years now. Wendy has had a slew of her former students who went on to play college and then come back and help her coach. Those young women along with Coach Wendy have been great mentors for the kid, who's mom isn't in the picture.
Coach Ernie. Or grandpa Ernie has shes affectionately called him as well. His mentorship has been of great help to both of us, where to go, when to leave, who to talk to.... Grandpa Ernie has been a great help.

 

[InsidePitch]

Diego Ibarra is a coach that pulls the best out of players. He was DD's coach during 8th grade and again during 10th grade. He expected no less than the best out of his players. He taught DD how to call games as a catcher and taught some Pitchers what they should expect in certain situations. He is now a college coach at a D1 university and I credit him for giving DD the confidence to be the player she is today.

 

[Westwind]

I have posted a few times about DD#2’s 10u coach and his assistants. He was in his 70’s. He was not the “cool guy“ coach. He wore rubber over boots to keep his feet dry if the grass was wet for 8a games. He set up intricate practices with 2-4 pitching machines. You were required to provide a parent to help at practice, even if it was just shagging. He grew up in Kentucky, was an engineer, probably has genius level intelligence and said some of the smartest, practical stuff that we all still quote to this day. That mix of practical intellect just doesn’t happen much. All of DD’s softball success can be traced back to this man.

DD#2 met her boyfriends grandparents last weekend. Out of nowhere, Burnett’s name came up. Turns out he coached one of their daughters in basketball. They said he was the best coach any of their kids ever had and it turns out that the same assistant coaches coached basketball with him. This had to be 30 years before we met him. They all told Burnett stories and I wish I had been there to hear them.

What is funny is despite having ridiculously successful softball teams over the years, a lot of players parents were drawn away from “those old guys” to play on teams coached by cool guy goofs with pretty thin coaching experience. They were drawn away by fancier uniforms and team names. What a shame that was. They missed out on an experience my family and dd will always be thankful for.

 

[Westwind]

Another thing about this coach- he started as a dad coach. He never played sports. He bought coaching books and learned to coach softball by reading books, taking notes and trial and error. Back then there weren’t many softball coaching resources. The books he read were baseball books and he adjusted as he went.

 

[BT3100]

Another thing about this coach- he started as a dad coach. He never played sports. He bought coaching books and learned to coach softball by reading books, taking notes and trial and error. Back then there weren’t many softball coaching resources. The books he read were baseball books and he adjusted as he went.

That's a great story.
Some of the very best coaches are self taught.
Sounds like your DDs coach left a lasting positive on many kids!

 

[radness]

That's a great story.
Some of the very best coaches are self taught.

Its also a great reminder that all coaches could grow to be better coaches IF applied some effort!

 

[bmakj]

the slimeball who ran softball side of our rec league, and also a local travel team. when DD was ready to try TB (first year 10u), we knew next to nothing, just that DD was not getting the experience she wanted in rec. he told us no 10u team that year, no coach. so we look elswhere, after she makes another team over winter after attending a few of her workouts, he says, oh, by the way, we are going to have 10u team, wanted to tell you first. he simply did not want DD competing for PT with his neice. forced us to look outside the little bubble he tried to control of local talent, and really opened our eyes, so we thank him for that!

 

[HunterMO]

First thank you is to DD’s best friends Dad who allowed her to tag along (after a sleep over) to a tryout then encouraged her to also tryout versus instead of just watching her friend. She had played softball through the local Rec Center and showed a natural skill for it. We had contemplated finding something more competitive but hadn’t yet made a decision. The Dad texted me to ask and I said “Sure, why not”. His next text was “Get here with her cleats and gear. She’s out doing girls in just her sandal shoes and some borrowed gear.” DD and her BFF have played on the same team for 3 years now.

Second Thank You is to DD’s HC and AC who she’s been able to stay with since making the team originally. Both are awesome with the girls and have a nice balance of work hard, have fun, and focusing on team cohesiveness. The HC wants each girl to be challenged and learn. Even if it comes at the cost of some losses. They’ve helped DD a lot and she looks up to both of them.

Third (but not least) Thank You is to DD’s PC. He opened up a whole new world to her. And addresses both the mechanical and mental side. She’s learning so much more than she realizes. Her pitching confidence has really grown. He also greatly helped me be able to help her at home and on the field. Which has really allowed her and I to bond more as well. It’s been a real positive experience thus far. Without him it’s tough to say if she’d still be pitching or not.


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[Nimrod]

Teaching a player the game and getting the most out of her are important, obviously. But now that my DD is finished, it doesn't matter whether she knows the game or reached her potential. If she had wanted to know the game better and reach her potential, she would've figured that out on her own. And while softball does have the great potential to teach life's lessons, so do many other things. So the biggest thing that matters to her now is whether a coach cared about her as a person and not just a player. That determines whether she looks back on a coach fondly or harshly.