Without going in to great detail, I believe the main job of a base coach is to be the eyes for the player when the ball is behind her. When a batter hits the ball she should know where it went and whether it is in the air or on the ground, so she does not need the 1B coach to tell her whether she needs to run through the bag, turn, or go 2. Doubles are made 5 ft from the batter’s box, not by the 1B coach. There are a lot of folks who say finding the ball out of the box slows down a runner. I would ask those which is quicker? The batter deciding 5 ft from the box she’s going 2, or the 1B coach deciding she’s going two, telling her she’s going two, and then her hearing that she’s going two?
When she gets to first, it is then the 1B coach’s job to remind her of the game situation, i.e., how many outs, inning, score, how good the OF arms are, whether or not she needs to be super aggressive, letting line drives get through, is IF fly rule in effect, etc. etc. If the ball is hit toward LF or CF, then it is in front of the 1B runner so she need not rely on the 3B coach to tell her whether or not to proceed to third. If it’s hit toward RF, she needs to let the 3B coach be her eyes.
Runner on second and the ball is hit toward LF, the play is in front of the 2B runner, so it should be her decision whether or not to proceed to third. Ball hit toward CF or RF, she should rely on the 3B coach to be her eyes.
IMO, base coaches who insist that the girls rely on them for every situation create non-aggressive base runners who can’t think for themselves on the paths.
Why do some coaches feel the need to control everything that happens on the bases?
When she gets to first, it is then the 1B coach’s job to remind her of the game situation, i.e., how many outs, inning, score, how good the OF arms are, whether or not she needs to be super aggressive, letting line drives get through, is IF fly rule in effect, etc. etc. If the ball is hit toward LF or CF, then it is in front of the 1B runner so she need not rely on the 3B coach to tell her whether or not to proceed to third. If it’s hit toward RF, she needs to let the 3B coach be her eyes.
Runner on second and the ball is hit toward LF, the play is in front of the 2B runner, so it should be her decision whether or not to proceed to third. Ball hit toward CF or RF, she should rely on the 3B coach to be her eyes.
IMO, base coaches who insist that the girls rely on them for every situation create non-aggressive base runners who can’t think for themselves on the paths.
Why do some coaches feel the need to control everything that happens on the bases?