Why don't teams hustle?

[StacieM]

Cool - lots of great ideas here!

One of the things I can't stand is seeing players walk on the field. I was never allowed to to it as a player and now that I'm a coach all it looks like is that the player is lazy or uninterested. Either way it's not what you want.

As a coach, I expect hustle. Walking on and off the field is not allowed. Also - if all the players from the field are in at the dugout/huddle, all the players from the bench darn well should be too. They only have about 15-20 feet to go to get from the bench to the huddle - the outfielders should not be beating them there.

It's also a point I've made with my DD. Even if the coach she's playing for doesn't require it, she better be hustling in and out. I don't care if she is the only one on the team doing it!

 

[Greenmonsters]

It's callled respecting the game.

 

[Ken Krause]

I have a simple statement for my team. Let's assume we're playing at a tournament on Sunday. I tell them if you don't want to run on Sunday, that's ok. We'll run on Tuesday. They get it.

 

[PEPPERS]

Always hustle you never know who may be watching!!!!!!

 

[Mclovin07]

I was just reading an article that Cindy Bristow wrote a few months ago about hustling... she has some really good points to share! ...they might not be exactly what has been discussed on this thread but i think that it is still worth the read. here's the link:

Does Your Team Hustle at the Wrong Time? « Softball Excellence

 

[tghorley]

This summer my GD played for a team (including the coaches) who did not know what hustle was. In a game or practice it did not matter. Of course my GD hustled all the time because my son had a rule, no hustle, no softball.

Fortunately, because this team wanted to move from 10u to 14u, my GD was fortunate enough to get on a 12u team that actually had structured practices and hustle was "required".

But I was disappointed playing in tournaments when the team was ahead late in timed games, the coach told the girls to take their time to get to their positions. I understand you are trying to win within the rules but please do not compromise your coaching to win. If you can't beat the team heads up, then maybe you should not win.

I was talking to an umpire about hustling on and off the field and he told me this little story:

A college coach came to a baseball game to scout a shortstop that was an outstanding player. His team was the home team. When the ballgame started he walked to the shortstop position. When the inning was over, he walked back to the dugout. The college coach got up said he had seen enough and left.

So, you never know who is watching. But even if no one is watching, have the integrity to respect the game and hustle all the time.