You be the coach

[Momo'sDad]

No, because you think it's acceptable to take a player out mid-inning. Excluding pitcher (and that's because pitcher affects everything. I've had games where I've indicated to my coaches that I need to come out) there is never any reason for a player to come out mid-inning. It is humiliating. The example I used was in a major semi-final for senior women. You are talking about a TEN year old, in a game that was already lost, in a tournament you were already out of contention for. I have no issues with her being benched after that dig. I probably would do it myself. But there was nothing to gain for benching her mid-inning.

She wasn't removed after the inning either. I don't agree that kids need to be coddled.

 

[Lozza]

She wasn't removed after the inning either. I don't agree that kids need to be coddled.

Kids don't need to be coddled. She should have been pulled after that inning. What I don't agree with is humilating the kids to prove that you are a man and am a good coach. I don't look kindly on grown men needing to show that they have little girls under their control as coaches.

You also don't feel she should have been benched in the next dig. You clearly state she should have been benched immeaditly.

I'll go back to the example I provided. This girl came off crying. She's 15. I have never seen her cry before that (she cried the next time we played this team, we came back from 5 down to win the GF. She was the last batter of tha game and was struck out looking. She got abused by her wonderful team-mates after the game. Me and the other pitcher found her hysterical in the parking lot and had to calm her down. She won't be at that club next year) Most girls at that age, already feel like crying after making a mistake. Pull them mid-inning? They'll lose that control they have and they will come off crying.

 

[Momo'sDad]

I agree that at that age, especially in the outfield, especially if batters are being walked, that kids lose focus real quick! (Hell, the parents get bored, let alone the kids!)

Also, never yank a player during the inning just because she screwed up! (The Coach should) teach her to shake it off, dust herself off, hit the reset button and get back to play. Like Lozza said, don't pull a player mid inning.

On the other hand, if that player is there because of political/family reasons only, there is no reason a better player should be sitting. Those political appointments should be the ones who see the least action and should be glad to be there. now if the coach is rotating everyone thru in an effort to even-out the playing time, and it's her turn to play, the coach should teach her. let her know what she did wrong and let her know what to do at her position. So many kids get turfed to the OF with no explanation on what to do.

In all honesty I can say that even though we tell our U12s what to do, many of them still cannot catch a flyball in the OF. yesterday one got on her horse and chased one down, stopping just short so she could reach her arm out and let the ball hit her glove on it's way by.
In the previous game a girl who has improved a LOT, tracked one down, got under it and missed it, the ball hitting her opposite shoulder.

One season isn't enough time to teach them everything they need to know.

I agree that one season isn't enough. That's why I'm seeking information now to help build what I hope could be a strong team 2 years from now. It won't be enough to just assemble the team, though, we also want to be able to COACH the team to the best of our abilities. This is as much a learning experience for us coaches as it is for the players and make no mistake about it, we future A-S coaches have learned a LOT from Coach throughout the spring and especially since the summer practices began. He's earned the right to get a pass on this and I can say to a 100% certainty that not a single one of us who has criticized anything we've observed could come close to doing the job he has with these girls.

One big advantage I have over everyone else is that I'm not from this town, so I'm not at all susceptible to some of the pressures other coaches who actually are human will face.

 

[Momo'sDad]

Kids don't need to be coddled. She should have been pulled after that inning. What I don't agree with is humilating the kids to prove that you are a man and am a good coach. I don't look kindly on grown men needing to show that they have little girls under their control as coaches.

You also don't feel she should have been benched in the next dig. You clearly state she should have been benched immeaditly.

I'll go back to the example I provided. This girl came off crying. She's 15. I have never seen her cry before that (she cried the next time we played this team, we came back from 5 down to win the GF. She was the last batter of tha game and was struck out looking. She got abused by her wonderful team-mates after the game. Me and the other pitcher found her hysterical in the parking lot and had to calm her down. She won't be at that club next year) Most girls at that age, already feel like crying after making a mistake. Pull them mid-inning? They'll lose that control they have and they will come off crying.

I'm here to learn. You're saying making an immediate switch would've been humiliating to the player and you haven't heard me argue against that position. Yet, you've made that same point 5 times, called me a scumbag coach and a crazy daddy.

You keep talking mid-inning, mid-inning. Can we get beyond that point? Or do you need me to declare to you that for the rest of my life, any player sleeping in the field would be left in the game no matter what?

I cannot promise it forever, but if will help move the conversation forward for now, I will concede that point.

 

[Lozza]

What are you asking then? I've gone back to the original post and the 'mid-inning' thing is a 'no-brainer' for you. That's what I'm arguing against. I'm not seeing what else you're asking for, other than to validate that the coach was wrong in not pulling her immeaditly.

I do have a question though. Why has the All-Star team picked a team full of infielders? Were the outfielders in the rec league no good?

 

[Bucketrider]

I do have a question though. Why has the All-Star team picked a team full of infielders? Were the outfielders in the rec league no good?

I think that so many people really believe that the OF is for those not talented enough for the infield by have big bats. My DD literally played every position within a season in TB. If you ask her where she would rather play when she is not pitching, she will quickly answer, OUTFIELD. She loves the running/flying/shoestring catches then throwing out the girl at home plate from right field. She eats it up! I have seen the infield only players try to play outfield and understand that the OF must also be taught how to read a ball and what angle to take. They come away with a little more understanding and hopefully some new found humility.

The other thing she understands and has been coached to further understand is as a possible recruit for college ball, you better be able to play more than one position, well. I believe that coaches are doing a severe disservice to the girls to pigeon hole anyone to one position.

 

[Momo'sDad]

What are you asking then? I've gone back to the original post and the 'mid-inning' thing is a 'no-brainer' for you. That's what I'm arguing against. I'm not seeing what else you're asking for, other than to validate that the coach was wrong in not pulling her immeaditly.

I do have a question though. Why has the All-Star team picked a team full of infielders? Were the outfielders in the rec league no good?

Just looking for some insight. Unless she was a great hitter, I'm wondering why she was left in.

We're a medium-sized league. The way the talent is divided, the 4-5 best players on any team pitch and/or get the majority of the infield time. Because they are the best players, that's the group our All-Star team comes from. We've got 5 girls of 14 who can really catch the big fly balls, then another 3-4 who'd be ok out there.

Provided we're able to keep our teams (still hasn't been voted on yet), I'm returning 2 right-fielders to my spring team who know the position.

 

[Momo'sDad]

I think that so many people really believe that the OF is for those not talented enough for the infield by have big bats. My DD literally played every position within a season in TB. If you ask her where she would rather play when she is not pitching, she will quickly answer, OUTFIELD. She loves the running/flying/shoestring catches then throwing out the girl at home plate from right field. She eats it up! I have seen the infield only players try to play outfield and understand that the OF must also be taught how to read a ball and what angle to take. They come away with a little more understanding and hopefully some new found humility.

The other thing she understands and has been coached to further understand is as a possible recruit for college ball, you better be able to play more than one position, well. I believe that coaches are doing a severe disservice to the girls to pigeon hole anyone to one position.

I taught mine to catch fly balls from a very early age. I'm still surprised that some girls who are aces at playing catch really struggle mightily with high fly balls. Does your DD have a preferred spot out there? I love seeing kids who know what to do out there.

My DD was miffed when she realized she wasn't going to be a starting infielder on this team. She knows her skill set and sees herself as being the equal of all the 10-11yo girls. She knows that in regular season rec play, the weaker players spend most of their time in the outfield. We had a few conversations about it, though, and she gained a rapid understanding of how it works at this level. Her mom still isn't happy, but when Mojo was subbed in for our 2nd-best player at 2B, that did quiet Mom for a bit. Meanwhile, kiddo wants that starting OF job.

I'm desperate for a catcher, though!

 

[SoCalDad]

Balls were batted into play, and our infield got the outs.

I'll repeat what I said earlier - our league has no catchers.

The two quotes above says it all. You are looking at the problem from the end result and not the root cause. The RF did not start the error chain but merely perpetuated it. The error started with the catcher. For some reason you have justified the catcher's error by framing in your own mind that the root cause is because your "league has no catchers". You need to make a similar analysis with your outfielders. Based upon your posts I can tell you your league also has no outfielders. From my perspective you have a coach and player development issue. Your league has focused player development on 1 and 3 - 6 positions and ignored 2 and 7 - 9. This is not uncommon especially at the 10U rec level. Deciding the middle of inning is an appropriate time to implement a player development program is not a good idea. After the inning the coach should explain to the player what happened, why she is being sat and then focus on correcting the problem in the following week's practices.

 

[PA SB Dad]

I see the problem now. You say:

the

other dad was right to wonder why his kid has been benched almost the entire weekend when she's a better player, especially when you see another player being rewarded for apathy at the plate.

Better player? In whose eyes? Yours and the other dad's? Your opinion about other players on the team does not count (nor should it). It makes no difference what "the other dad" thought about the situation, right or wrong, at least from a coaches perspective. If you were looking at this from a coaches perspective, you would see that it makes no difference who is is RF when your team is being outplayed by a better team. Your kid, his kid, another kid - they are all the same kid with respect to the outcome of the game! They will all make errors, mental and physical, and the big picture is it doesn't matter to anyone except the parents on the sidelines that need something to complain about.

You are looking at it from the perspective of a parent who wants as much playing time for your DD and finds fault for the coach not immediately punishing a player for a "bad play" that your or someone else's DD "wouldn't have made". You want "fairness". It's not fair - he is the one giving his time to coach the team, he gets to decide, not you or the other dad complaining that his DD is on the bench. I promise you that next year when you coach you will have just as many parents on the sideline complaining under their collective breaths why you are playing so-and-so ahead of their DD, just the same as you are complaining now. You can't please everyone, and you shouldn't try to.