Accountability

[cz fastpitch fan]

A question to other coaches and to parents out there.
What level of accountability is acceptable at the 14U travel level?

I'm not talking about the players carrying their own equipment..I'm referring to the girls being accountable for their performance. If and when these players get to the next level, there will no babysitting, no pampering or Mommy to hold your hand and tell you things will be ok if you go 0-6 in a double header and make three errors.
The coach will probably change players until confidence has been restored.

So...what should we be doin at this level?

 

[Bat Dad]

I'm just a parent of an 8U player but your post piqued my interest.

Two things - I may be wrong but isn't accountability built into the system? If these players under-perform as a matter of course I am presuming they won't be asked to return or perhaps be required to try out again come August? And in the short term I would presume the coach changing players to shake things up perhaps could motivate said player?

Lastly in terms of on the field performance it's not an unspoken rule that all players who want to remain on the team and certainly move up that they're expected to train during the week as well? I suppose a sub-topic inherent in this is when girls have multiple sports interests outside of softball that can divide (and conquer?) their attention - soccer, basketball, lacrosse etc.

 

[Ri-domination]

I think the accountability should be something players should be learning regardless of the sport, they should be learning this and other important things like this from parents, grandparents, teachers, ect., in their daily life. It's one of those life lessons that should be learned by all of our youth in order to prepare them for life in general. With that being said, I would feel that good coaches should be trying to incorporate accountability and other life lessons into the broad spectrum of things covered by being part of a team. There is more to playing softball than balls and strikes, outs, ect.. Response-ability, respect, effort, sportsmanship, accountability, and more. For the question at hand though my thought would be at 14u these youngsters should know some accountability and if not maybe get a reality check and start learning some. I will say however if you have a proven player you don't hang them out to dry over one bad weekend or game. Sometimes the only way to get through a slump is to push through and have some support as your doing it. Just my initial thoughts.

 

[CARDS]

Seems like there is more to the story…One bad game or weekend should not be a judge of player performance especially; at the younger ages 14 and below.
There are many factors that contribute to poor performance. Have you found out any specifics other than three errors and no hits in a DH?
Has the player or parents not addressed specific concerns or expectations expressed or implied to them? If so, what are the areas of concern?

Is the player just the weak link on the team?

 

[daboss]

I think the accountability should be something players should be learning regardless of the sport, they should be learning this and other important things like this from parents, grandparents, teachers, ect., in their daily life. It's one of those life lessons that should be learned by all of our youth in order to prepare them for life in general. With that being said, I would feel that good coaches should be trying to incorporate accountability and other life lessons into the broad spectrum of things covered by being part of a team. There is more to playing softball than balls and strikes, outs, ect.. Response-ability, respect, effort, sportsmanship, accountability, and more. For the question at hand though my thought would be at 14u these youngsters should know some accountability and if not maybe get a reality check and start learning some. I will say however if you have a proven player you don't hang them out to dry over one bad weekend or game. Sometimes the only way to get through a slump is to push through and have some support as your doing it. Just my initial thoughts.

I totally agree and would like to point out my experience from coaching. As they get older the girls seem to police themselves in many aspects of competition and team atmoshpere. They have their own way to spark a teammate to either get with it or get out of the dugout. I saw it at 16u but most certainly at 18u. The babysitting gets easier at the older age groups while the teaching never quits.

 

[cz fastpitch fan]

Let it be known that the "multiple errors and 0-fer" were hypotheticals. This topic came up recently amongst coach chats and I thought I would check the OFC community for input. I know at higher levels the accountability is implied. At what age does it become more of a part of the game?
12 & 14 seem to be the formative years in this sport, imo. My belief is that this is probably when those things need to become part of the team culture. They are growing into young women at these ages and should start to have some accountability for their actions, again, in my opinion, at these ages. Rather tough to do at 10, but then again at 10 they are accountable for their equipment, their water bottle, etc.
Good discussion here!!

 

[BulldawgsDirector]

I am confused because I have taught accountability at 10U and reinforced it all the way up through 18U, back down and back again. I guess it depends on your definition. It should be the team culture at any age.

 

[RP22]

A question to other coaches and to parents out there.
What level of accountability is acceptable at the 14U travel level?

I'm not talking about the players carrying their own equipment..I'm referring to the girls being accountable for their performance. If and when these players get to the next level, there will no babysitting, no pampering or Mommy to hold your hand and tell you things will be ok if you go 0-6 in a double header and make three errors.
The coach will probably change players until confidence has been restored.

So...what should we be doin at this level?

I agree with RI....What you are asking for most of the times is already in their DNA! My question is accountability for what? Going 0-6? I know you just threw that out there as an example. The youth athlete went 0-6...SO WHAT. What do you want her/him to do? Write a letter of apology to the team? I guess I really don't understand the question? I personally don't think Mommy holding the youth athletes hand and saying " Its gonna be ok " is a bad idea. If you need to make the move...Make the move, It sounds as if you are struggling with this part of the equation? Maybe not!

The youth athlete should be accountable for her efforts and not her performance in most cases! Some can play, some cant! If the player is not helping the team then of course the coach needs to make the changes! If a coach allows a player to continue to hurt the team over and over, Who's not being accountable? I think the player should be more accountable in her preparation/practice. If she doesn't put the work in and doesn't FOCUS in practice then yes, The youth athlete will be held accountable! Her Coach will then determine what her role is or what he will limit her to! I guess I m not sure what the athlete is supposed to do that shows accountability outside of giving max effort and preparing and practicing to the best of her/his abilities!

 

[Fairman]

Accountability flows both ways.

What is the coach (or parent) going to do to help that player break that O-fer streak or stop making those errors.
If the player won't pay the price then that is a different discussion but if you think your 10U, D-1 prospect doesn't need help to get her there then you are in the wrong game.

 

[Go Blue]

To me accountability is a "Life Lesson" that should be taught from day one with all coaches in all sports as well as just about all aspects of life. Good luck with that if its not reinforced at home...lol

 

[initfor51]

I am confused by this topic. Accountability for what? Actions on and off the field? This seems like there is definitely more to this. I expect my girls to be accountable for thier mistakes. They must own it, learn from it, and then push past it. Usually all this has to happen in between a pitch. I expect that when my girls have an error on the field that they want the ball back right away. Get mad and want a second chance to do better for themselves. They are accountable to know what is going on and if they don't to ask questions.

This accountability question about going 0-6 with three errors needs to be turned around so that us coaches can look at ourselves. Why did this girl have these numbers? Off day? Ok I'm good with that. Attitude? I will get the parents involved. Or is it that her form wasn't right? I put her in a different spot in the lineup? I actually never taught the players that particular play? If I have a girl that continually has those kind of numbers, I'm not looking at if she will make my team at the next try-outs-I, in fact, am looking at me and my coaching staff and asking us what are we doing wrong with this one. WE need to appraoch it differently at this age. WE need to find what makes that girl tick. WE need to get that lightbulb to go off. Don't blame the player since you put her on the team. Look in the mirror first.

 

[coachjwb]

RP22 said it best in my opinion ... players should be accountable for their efforts ... effort during games, effort during practices, and effort in working on their own. O for's, errors and giving up HR's are going to happen ... a player giving effort will want to make sure she is working on those things that will reduce (but not eliminate) the likelihood of them reoccurring.

 

[eagleone]

I think that is the age that we need to increase roster sizes. It is amazing how much better prepared the girls show up at the tournaments on Friday when they know they better play well if they want to be in the lineup. When we were 15U we had 14 on the roster but lost 1 to injury. I told them all at the end of 14U which was my first year coaching that group that we would carry 14 and a couple of the girls made comments about "we better hit better if we want to play". Before that they would tend to show up on Friday and look at pool play as their practice for the week. They would look bad on Friday and by Sunday they looked great after getting some reps for 2 days. 14 players can be managed but may be difficult if you have parents coaching the team. It is also time that they learn to help themselves with recruiting. They need to send e mails, not just parents doing it for them. It also depends on having the right 14 players that understand that the end game is to get better and push themselves.

 

[Hilliarddad3]

Make the move, but remember when the kid you move into the non achiever spot has those bad games, that you make the move consistently. Also is the coach working with the kid as well at the practices to make them better regardless? I read allot and agree that the girls need to work on their own too, but at the end of the day A coach is a teacher as well of the game and the girls are your students.

At the end of the day be consistent with and how you make decisions.....

 

[harley78]

To me accountability is a "Life Lesson" that should be taught from day one with all coaches in all sports as well as just about all aspects of life. Good luck with that if its not reinforced at home...lol

Right on. If you'r not taught to do you'r chores than you are most likely not very accountable this is all on the parents ,Softball is secondary to this , this is about life in general and softball is just a game where 95% will play and go no further after High School.

 

[eagleone]

We had 14 on the team but lost 1 due to a career ending injury prior to the season. We played 2 season with 13 girls and it worked out well. They all went on to play in college. There were some games where we ran out of subs, it gave us the ability to sub in runners at crucial times and pinch hit for someone that was not having a good game against a certain pitcher or just sub someone in who was a better bunter or put a power hitter in for a slapper with the bases loaded or whatever the situation needed. I think it will help them for college because they will usually spend some time on the bench for games or just run some games and they all have their moments when the coach pinch hits for them. The main thing was that I think it forced the girls to push themselves to be better which turned out well for all of them in the long run.

 

[dannyboy]

I think it depends on what you told them on day 1. Many coaches say "you will earn your spot". That can be interpreted in two ways:
1. You are just better than anybody else at that spot. This is the most popular. Earned through skill.
2. You work harder than the other girls fighting for the position. This is what the inferior girls and parents believe. Earned through work ethic.

The wildcard is coach's intuition. Just because a girl is 0fer doesn't mean she can't hit. She may have 6 lineouts to center. She just can't find a hole. Statistics are very useful in softball, but can also be misleading in the short run. In the long haul, OBP and BA usually paint a good picture.

As far as accountability, everyone should be accountable for their actions!!!

 

[FastBat]

A question to other coaches and to parents out there.
What level of accountability is acceptable at the 14U travel level?

I'm not talking about the players carrying their own equipment..I'm referring to the girls being accountable for their performance. If and when these players get to the next level, there will no babysitting, no pampering or Mommy to hold your hand and tell you things will be ok if you go 0-6 in a double header and make three errors.
The coach will probably change players until confidence has been restored.

I would say no positions should ever be a guaranteed, or promised, and athletes should always be earning their positions. Multiple errors? I would look at circumstances like illnesses, sickness coming on or fatigue, if the player is acting like they don't want to be there, simply pull them; if they have been solid all season, I would chalk it up as a bad day, before I started blaming a player for a poor performance. The coach has the option to let them take a break, is it really the players fault? No one is on 100% of the time, not even a child athlete.

 

[FastBat]

I totally agree and would like to point out my experience from coaching. As they get older the girls seem to police themselves in many aspects of competition and team atmoshpere. They have their own way to spark a teammate to either get with it or get out of the dugout. I saw it at 16u but most certainly at 18u. The babysitting gets easier at the older age groups while the teaching never quits.

I was just talking about this today! This is exactly why I really didn't start loving softball until I was 14 and older. I loved the girls boosting each other, the comradery with the other girls in the dugout and between/after games, praying they would have a good game so the team would win. At 14 and up, most players seem to understand it takes a minimum of 10 strong players, all doing their best and being "serious" players. When players are younger, I see alot of little ones playing for their parents, not necessarily because they absolutely love this game.

 

[cz fastpitch fan]

We had 14 on the team but lost 1 due to a career ending injury prior to the season. We played 2 season with 13 girls and it worked out well. They all went on to play in college. There were some games where we ran out of subs, it gave us the ability to sub in runners at crucial times and pinch hit for someone that was not having a good game against a certain pitcher or just sub someone in who was a better bunter or put a power hitter in for a slapper with the bases loaded or whatever the situation needed. I think it will help them for college because they will usually spend some time on the bench for games or just run some games and they all have their moments when the coach pinch hits for them. The main thing was that I think it forced the girls to push themselves to be better which turned out well for all of them in the long run.

I have not been on here in a while and I wanted to check back in.
This response hits the grand slam of all grand slams. Well stated!
They may not like it, but this is a team sport and the entire team must contribute...even when that means your contribution is to step aside when you are having an off day. We all have them.
Very well said!!!