Why would a coach do this?

[obbay]

I think the feedback provided by the coach should be tailored to the age group and individual. Less experienced players (or players on a new team) will benefit from appropriately delivered feedback. I remember a sled dog driver saying how he needed to know his team. On some dogs he needed to use the whip, others just needed to hear it. Some players require more criticism to understand, some do better with less.

Last night DD made a couple mistakes and I didn't hear her coach say anything.

one was when she did not charge a slow grounder and the batter beat it out for a hit. Another was when she ran in from 3B for a pop up and booted it She's made this catch a million times.
Fortunately she has a good coach and he doesn't panic. he knows her and he knows that she knows when she screws up.

the good news is that on the pop-up that she missed she recovered it and they turned a DP. (Infield Fly should have been called but wasn't)

on the previous night, another game, DD is playing 1B for the first time. coach is gabbing with another coach about another game. throw to first pulls DD off the bag and she loses the race to the bag. Coach immediately barks at her to stay on the bag. fortunately I was there and told him "No, she has to stop the ball first, the throw was wide" Coach said oh, he hadn't seen the play.

The coach isn't watching the game but still criticizes players for doing the right thing?

 

[starsnuffer]

This is really the gist of my complaint. This particular coach rewards bad plays with praise and nit picks ones that not only have a good result, but were in fact very good plays.

You only gave one example, of a girl dropping a pop fly. What coaching point would you deem appropriate at this time? You can't just say "you should have caught the ball" (she knows that) any more then you should say "you should not have struck out" (she knows that too). If the player that dropped the ball made a technical error or did something incorrectly, then you coach that. You do not coach the outcome, successful or not.

-W

 

[chinamigarden]

You only gave one example, of a girl dropping a pop fly. What coaching point would you deem appropriate at this time? You can't just say "you should have caught the ball" (she knows that) any more then you should say "you should not have struck out" (she knows that too). If the player that dropped the ball made a technical error or did something incorrectly, then you coach that. You do not coach the outcome, successful or not.

-W

How about not say anything. At 8 a girl moves 3 steps and the ball hits her glove, thats a great try. At 10 you might tell her it was bad luck. At 12 and older, its an error and you probably say nothing. But you certainly don't congratulate her for her great effort.

 

[starsnuffer]

How about not say anything. At 8 a girl moves 3 steps and the ball hits her glove, thats a great try. At 10 you might tell her it was bad luck. At 12 and older, its an error and you probably say nothing. But you certainly don't congratulate her for her great effort.

True. However, don't forget that every kid needs to be coached differently. There is no one "cookie cutter" coaching philosophy that is going to work for all the kids. 2b might be more sensitive and prone to crashing in self-loathing after an error and an "atta-girl" might be needed to get her through the inning. 3b might be one of those determined athletes that is able to absorb constructive criticism and execute on it without ever having her own self confidence effected. I'm not saying this is the case, but it's a possibility for consideration.

-W

 

[chinamigarden]

while its true that there is no cookie cutter approach, he does it both ways with the same kid.

As for those who think pitchers should always field a bunt with a bare hand. A right handed pitcher going to cover a drag bunt down first baseline would have to back hand the ball with her bare hand. Or she fields it cleanly with her glove and makes the play. I don't know why anyone would want her to reach accross her body and use her bare hand on a bouncing ball.

 

[rowdy]

You should always be teaching as a coach. Maybe not yelling across the field but when a player comes in from the field it is okay to discuss the options. The way someone does something may not be wrong and may work but maybe it isn't the most efficient way of doing it.

I like to discuss the at bats right after a girl comes back to the dugout. Not too much during the at bat but as soon as it is over so everything is fresh in their minds. Pitch selection is one of the keys to success in an at bat but you need to explain why one pitch is better than another when both are strikes.