Congrats on the big W coaches !!!

[Chardon Storm]

Lol- preach it brother!

don't know any of the teams or players on this thread. But i can state that if someone is this wound up about 10u games in the winter, you're gonna have global thermo nuclear war type melt down in about 5 years when she gets to high school ball.

 

[wow]

Relax Stewie. Pass the popcorn.. If you can make through a weekend at the SPANO HS will be a breeze. 10U is awesome! I hate it when I miss all the drama...

 

[Mdfio]

Thru my short time (10years) I have learned that things change when the:

I (meaning coaches and parents) want to win mentality - changes to I want to develop and maintain the love of the game for the players.

You will find the right players, parents and coaches. And the WINS come

IMO ecspecially in 10u why wouldn't you at least bat everyone in pool play, a player can not get better or more experienced without doing it! They are 10 years old, please keep that in mind. Also keep in mind the impact every coach and parent has on these young players not just for this season but maybe for the rest of their softball career.

JMO

It's funny this came up today because I was talking to a college coach and his first question was -- So what was your 10u record. ---- LMAO.

 

[coachjwb]

My opinions on your questions, Bat Dad ...

Question #1 - A poster who was talking about varying coaching philosophies is somebody I respect immensely. And as for say a philosophy that you play your top nine, all the time, regardless of who you play, regardless of whether it's pool play or otherwise - is this something that is commonplace? Is this something that exists primarily at certain age levels? "Playing the best 9 only is commonplace in bracket play and high school/college ball, but even many of those coaches find a way to get bench players time and occasional starts, sometimes depending on the level of the opponent. It is more common for coaches to play all of their players in pool play, though not necessarily evenly."

Question #2 Is it incumbent upon any coach of younger players to develop them along with their assistants or is it the job of the kids on their own and through their parents who are spending hard earned money - as I'm guessing most of us do - to develop them through private lessons? "It is absolutely incumbent on coaches of younger players to work to develop all of their players. It's good for them and it's good for the team. If the parents want to take them to the next level, then yes they will likely need to spend and sacrifice to make it happen as well."

Question #3 - So if #2 is true it implies that coaches are not responsible to work with girls on an individual level to mentor them to become better players. "The coaches ARE responsible. If the coach says they're not, find a new coach for your DD."

Question #4 - Has 10u become far too competitive (cutthroat)? It is true that in some cases, the number of runs scored and/or margin of victory does count into the eventual seeding in bracket play correct? So going back to philosophy, if it's a philosophy where a coach is going to go after that number one seed for every single tournament Winter spring summer or fall, or is it better to have a philosophy where pool play will be used to develop players that may not see as much playing time as others? Has it always been this way if this is the way it is or have times changed? And what does 12u look like in comparison? Or Showcases? (unless for Showcases you only dress 9) "While the level of talent and play is up, I actually think that, generally speaking, coaches today are more balanced in this regard than in the past. Those of us who are older were brought up in an environment that we knew the coaches were playing to win, and that if they didn't think we were the best players to do this, that we wouldn't play, and our parents didn't complain about it either to the coaches or in front of us ... so more of us coached that way too. I think today's coaches are better about that, though of course there are exceptions and the most common exceptions tend to be at the lower age levels where first time coaches haven't figured that out yet."

 

[Captain_Thunder]

My opinions on your questions, Bat Dad ...

Question #1 - A poster who was talking about varying coaching philosophies is somebody I respect immensely. And as for say a philosophy that you play your top nine, all the time, regardless of who you play, regardless of whether it's pool play or otherwise - is this something that is commonplace? Is this something that exists primarily at certain age levels? "Playing the best 9 only is commonplace in bracket play and high school/college ball, but even many of those coaches find a way to get bench players time and occasional starts, sometimes depending on the level of the opponent. It is more common for coaches to play all of their players in pool play, though not necessarily evenly."

Question #2 Is it incumbent upon any coach of younger players to develop them along with their assistants or is it the job of the kids on their own and through their parents who are spending hard earned money - as I'm guessing most of us do - to develop them through private lessons? "It is absolutely incumbent on coaches of younger players to work to develop all of their players. It's good for them and it's good for the team. If the parents want to take them to the next level, then yes they will likely need to spend and sacrifice to make it happen as well."

Question #3 - So if #2 is true it implies that coaches are not responsible to work with girls on an individual level to mentor them to become better players. "The coaches ARE responsible. If the coach says they're not, find a new coach for your DD."

Question #4 - Has 10u become far too competitive (cutthroat)? It is true that in some cases, the number of runs scored and/or margin of victory does count into the eventual seeding in bracket play correct? So going back to philosophy, if it's a philosophy where a coach is going to go after that number one seed for every single tournament Winter spring summer or fall, or is it better to have a philosophy where pool play will be used to develop players that may not see as much playing time as others? Has it always been this way if this is the way it is or have times changed? And what does 12u look like in comparison? Or Showcases? (unless for Showcases you only dress 9) "While the level of talent and play is up, I actually think that, generally speaking, coaches today are more balanced in this regard than in the past. Those of us who are older were brought up in an environment that we knew the coaches were playing to win, and that if they didn't think we were the best players to do this, that we wouldn't play, and our parents didn't complain about it either to the coaches or in front of us ... so more of us coached that way too. I think today's coaches are better about that, though of course there are exceptions and the most common exceptions tend to be at the lower age levels where first time coaches haven't figured that out yet."

Jeff, next time - separate your Answer a little better from the question. Not sure where question ends & your response begins........

 

[coachjwb]

I had put my answers in quotes to distinguish them.

 

[Laser05]

I have no dog in the fight! I will only say this about coaching/ teaching/ instructing vs the parent/ players responsibility!!

A coach is a mentor and a teacher. They are responsible to instruct the team, provide fundamental drills, and improve the softball IQ of the members on the team. A team is only as strong as the weakest link so pushing the kids to improve is a must. That being said a coach will work with a kid 2-3 times a month on average. They can only provide the foundation so it is the Parent/ Players responsibility to put this instruction into a 2-3 times per week training regiment that will help the player grow. It is that extra work that will show on the field, and no player will ever hit their potential by simply expecting the coach to provide all the needed training and instruction. I am not using this to justify anything or to defend anyone either. I am simply saying that success will only be found from the coaches/ teacher and the parents both knowing their responsibly and rolls in a players success. Too many times blame is passed to one or the other that is not warranted, and yet many times a coach or parent will hide their mistakes behind false claims. In the end we are here to build these players up for success in life, but a larger majority of that success will always be based on what the parents do with the majority of time they are with the kid.


Just my opinion!

 

[coachtomv]

I have no dog in the fight! I will only say this about coaching/ teaching/ instructing vs the parent/ players responsibility!!

A coach is a mentor and a teacher. They are responsible to instruct the team, provide fundamental drills, and improve the softball IQ of the members on the team. A team is only as strong as the weakest link so pushing the kids to improve is a must. That being said a coach will work with a kid 2-3 times a month on average. They can only provide the foundation so it is the Parent/ Players responsibility to put this instruction into a 2-3 times per week training regiment that will help the player grow. It is that extra work that will show on the field, and no player will ever hit their potential by simply expecting the coach to provide all the needed training and instruction. I am not using this to justify anything or to defend anyone either. I am simply saying that success will only be found from the coaches/ teacher and the parents both knowing their responsibly and rolls in a players success. Too many times blame is passed to one or the other that is not warranted, and yet many times a coach or parent will hide their mistakes behind false claims. In the end we are here to build these players up for success in life, but a larger majority of that success will always be based on what the parents do with the majority of time they are with the kid.


Just my opinion!

Good players are made at practice, great players are made at home!

 

[BCsoftballDad]

I have no dog in the fight! I will only say this about coaching/ teaching/ instructing vs the parent/ players responsibility!!

A coach is a mentor and a teacher. They are responsible to instruct the team, provide fundamental drills, and improve the softball IQ of the members on the team. A team is only as strong as the weakest link so pushing the kids to improve is a must. That being said a coach will work with a kid 2-3 times a month on average. They can only provide the foundation so it is the Parent/ Players responsibility to put this instruction into a 2-3 times per week training regiment that will help the player grow. It is that extra work that will show on the field, and no player will ever hit their potential by simply expecting the coach to provide all the needed training and instruction. I am not using this to justify anything or to defend anyone either. I am simply saying that success will only be found from the coaches/ teacher and the parents both knowing their responsibly and rolls in a players success. Too many times blame is passed to one or the other that is not warranted, and yet many times a coach or parent will hide their mistakes behind false claims. In the end we are here to build these players up for success in life, but a larger majority of that success will always be based on what the parents do with the majority of time they are with the kid.


Just my opinion!

Very well said