Why don't teams hustle?

[Amy in AZ.]

I was watching my students games this week and out of 4 teams, no one ran onto the field.

When I played (here we go), the umpire walked around between innings yelling "Hustle in and hustle out!"

These were 6 inning games, so there was no clock.

But these girls need a fire lit under them. They can't be having fun. They can't be keeping their legs warmed up.

Each team wasted a good 3 minutes, every inning.

 

[ASAPAump]

Each team wasted a good 3 minutes, every inning.

I won't go around yelling for the girls to "hustle in and out," but the wasting 3 minutes between innings will not happen. By rule, the defense has 1 minute to hustle out, get their warm-up pitches, throw the infield ball around if they want, and get set for the batter. One minute is not very much time. Remember, that one minute starts as soon as the 3rd out is made in the last half-inning. If they walk onto the field, or if the pitcher gets to the mount after 45 seconds, she gets one pitch and then we start.

 

[SoftSocDad]

In general, kids today don't have to work as hard for ANYTHING, and as such, many aren't developing any sense of pride that comes with the mundane 'accomplishments' of being the first into position, etc.

There's a generalized trained laziness AND helplessness that's being passed by my generation, most of who
seem to feel that our kids shouldn't have to struggle as hard as we did.

There's a lot more, but it's all a part of the same mindset...teaching kids to hustle in all they do forces them to work and, well, that's just 'mean' for parents and coaches to do.

 

[SoCalASABlue]

If it were a timed game, it would be easy to understand. The umpires get paid whether they play 2 innings or 6 innings.

Every time I have been behind the plate and told teams to hustle in and hustle out, I have been scolded by either the league rep or my own association UIC that it's not my job to tell the players to hustle - that's the coach's job.

Heaven help the umpire that starts calling balls for defensive delay or strikes for offensive delay - because then the umpire is scolded for taking the game away from the players.

And God forbid that male coaches should try to light a fire under the girls (like they would if it were boys playing) to hustle because that may hurt the girls' self-esteem to be told to hustle by a man.

 

[sluggers]

The problem is the coach, not the kids. If a coach teaches and expects his/her players to hustle at the first practice, the kids will hustle during the games.

One very simple rule: Once the practice or game starts, players run. No exceptions.

If a coach tells them the rule once, and has the team run one lap one time at the first practice when he/she sees a player walking, then the players will always run. It is a simple world.

 

[Goober]

I'd agree with a lot of this, but truthfully, Ray is right on - it's lazy coaching/parenting.

I have closely followed the high school coaches in my area for the past decade (not just softball, but all sports), and one year, one of the sports teams bought new "travel uniforms." Basically, they were nice track pants and jackets with the school logo and the kids name on them. It was announced at the beginning of the year that the kids were, under no uncertain terms, to wear the travel uniforms to school durring the day, then hop on the bus with those on, and nothing else. No varsity jacket, no caps, etc. Well, a couple weeks into the season, kids started to forget, or decide that they wanted to wear something else. Problem was that the coaches didn't say anything. Then, the last week of the regular season, the coaches decided (after complaining amongst themselvs) that they'd had enough. The next road game, they annouced that if you weren't wearing the travel uniform (and roughly half the team wasn't at that point), you had extra running at practice the next day.

My point? If they had addressed it the first time it happened, it would have stopped right there. Instead, they waited the entire season, quietly sitting at the front of the bus complaining to each other without ever saying anything to the kids, and blew up at the end of the season. The same thing happens with parents. Your kids drive you nuts, but you ignore them, figuring they will stop eventually, but it only gets worse until it's out of control. Simple lazyness...

 

[stephanie]

I have yelled many times "there's no walking on my field!"
Then, last season, I saw one of my players walk out to their position, so they got called back to the dugout to sit that inning out since they were so obviously tired....
It was the last time I had a player do it.

 

[Sweet Pitch 96]

I have yelled many times "there's no walking on my field!"
Then, last season, I saw one of my players walk out to their position, so they got called back to the dugout to sit that inning out since they were so obviously tired....
It was the last time I had a player do it.

Brilliant! Coaches aren't there to be our dd's friends. They are there to teach them the game of softball and a bit about the game of life. You have to follow through or nothing you say holds an validity.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

The reason I am on this soap box is that I have two friends that come to lessons together. Last Thurs. they sat and chatted an extra minute, while everyone else picked up.

I had a friend that used to only let the girls hit the number of balls that they picked up. Now, I understand.

These 2 girls have went from being the best 8,9 and 10 YOs around, to average 11 YOs. The folks agree that we need to light a fire under them or they are going to be washed up.

 

[2 DD Coach]

Brilliant! Coaches aren't there to be our dd's friends. They are there to teach them the game of softball and a bit about the game of life. You have to follow through or nothing you say holds an validity.

Interesting comment because I know when I was playing, I was less worried about the coach seeing me walking then my dad seeing me do it.