replacing players?

[sprat22]

for younger ages this may be true ages 8 thru 14. Everyone here is in for a rude awakening and a shock as their dd hits the 16 on up range playing at a higher level. At 18 and second year 16 it is almost impossible to find, keep and coach/train a core of kids that can be there week in week out, make all the away tournaments, due to financial reasons, work or school reasons.


Every year i pick 12 and by the last tournament of the season i am scrounging for players. Every coach i know at this level is in the same boat. Try and be proactive on this try out players and subs early so you are able to attend those last tournaments and you are a bad coach.

No where is it written in select ball at the upper level that equal playing time will be allotted to players. Your skill, attitude and ability comes into play. If you are a guaranteed out at the plate cannot catch a ball
or spectate instead of moving and covering your position on a play, after constant practice and training then one of two things have happened either your coach dosent know squat if the rest of the team is struggling then its on your coach. If you are being left behind its on the player in question.

The coach has the right and the responsibility to ensure that the team has what it needs to survive and be successful as possible. At this level it is a contractual agreement between player and coach ( notice i did not mention mom and dad ) that say i will give you all the teaching, training and motivation i can possibly give, when it comes game time if you do not preform its on you and i reserve the right to replace you if i can see no other option. If this seems to harsh a wording for some then i recommend you seriously considering a leggo league scholarship for your dd, because i am a push over compared to what a college softball coach is going to be.

church, the man speaking at the pulpet knows what he speaks of.

 

[Pacerdad57]

And I think bouldersdad.is missing the main context of this thread. There is.a huge difference between having 12.players that are always there and very capable, and bringing in subs to be able to have enough to play. I don't think anyone else is arguing that point. If you don't have enough to field a.team it is a non issue.
If you have the regulars always there, working hard, and actually good players, why bring in subs to replace.them? 5 he subs won no more than the regs were capable of. All it is is a slap in the face to good players, by a coach who isn't sure of what he wants and changes purely for the sake of changing.
As stated earlier in this thread the commitment runs both ways.

 

[BouldersDad]

If the players are good enough to play every inning be productive be there week in week out then there would be no reason to bring in subs. There is a reason subs are brought in. The coach sees that a kid who was a tryout queen in tryouts and practices just cant keep up with the core. Kids works schedule changes . Kids vacation schedule changes. Kids get hurt off the ball field and throw a wrench into the works. School commitments change. None of these things a coach can see while selecting kids at tryouts

What parents see is only whats in front of them not what happens behind the scenes. The coaches first Loyalty is to the team as a whole. The Loyalty of the parents is to their kids as it should be. That is were the conflict of interest comes in. It is difficult at best for a parent to see the entire picture when their main concern is their dd. The coaches main concern is everyone's dd. And the Function of the team.

I think the biggest difference here is age. Most of the posters have younger kids and my comments have been about older age groups

 

[Pacerdad57]

I completely agree with the players being good enough and putting in the work.
this is exactly how those kids were. There were no problems keeping up with or even ahead of 2 hat became the "core" players. Some 99 the benched players were WAY ahead of the girls who got the playing time. There were no Injuries, no concilcts.with schedules, only an organization of coa hes that was inept and incapable of molding a team and working with a core that could have become a cohesive winning unit.
the record was no better with his subs, nor with the subs that replaced the subs that benched the regulars.
he was grasping at straws trying g to figure out how to win before he ever bothered trying to build a team.
needless to say, he is a black eye on his org, will not be coaching for them next season and has no girls left anyway, even the core of his favorites left....
there is no problem at all playing the best you have, you just need to be able to recognize who they are.

 

[momdadmrg]

The coach picked his team and gave his commitment to that team. I agree to bring in sub's because he now thinks what he chose isn't good enough is a slap in the face. It's plain WRONG. You deal with what you have and not extend an offer to the less talented at Tue end the f the season. Any coach who brings in players/pitchers at the end of the season to "win" shouldn't be a coach. It's unethica. Not to mention what it does to a child's self esteem. My DD will not play for someone who treats his players with such disrespect.

 

[momdadmrg]

If the players are good enough to play every inning be productive be there week in week out then there would be no reason to bring in subs. There is a reason subs are brought in. The coach sees that a kid who was a tryout queen in tryouts and practices just cant keep up with the core. Kids works schedule changes . Kids vacation schedule changes. Kids get hurt off the ball field and throw a wrench into the works. School commitments change. None of these things a coach can see while selecting kids at tryouts

What parents see is only whats in front of them not what happens behind the scenes. The coaches first Loyalty is to the team as a whole. The Loyalty of the parents is to their kids as it should be. That is were the conflict of interest comes in. It is difficult at best for a parent to see the entire picture when their main concern is their dd. The coaches main concern is everyone's dd. And the Function of the team.

I think the biggest difference here is age. Most of the posters have younger kids and my comments have been about older age groups

Not every parent has the blinders when it comes to their DD! If my DD isn't doing her job or holding her own, then she should be pulled from that position. However, it's a coaches job to work with kids that need their skills improved. If she didn't make the cut, then don't put her on the team in the first place. You just don't decide at the mid-to-end of the season that you have a handful of players you don't want anymoreand bring in replacements. Be a coach and work with what you have. I think coaches have totally forgotten about the fundamentals and think they shouldn't be worked on. IMHO - fundamentals I should be worked on at ALL age groups. This is a coach who doesn't need to be there

 

[Pacerdad57]

Momdadmrg. You have hit that nail on the head! If you don't like what the girl has don't pick her for your team.
work with 2 hat you wanted to have in the first place and build your core! Be a coach!

 

[mike_dyer]

With all due respect, work with your kids.

I don't know their coaches, but I promise you they didn't bring in players who are worse than your kids are just to make you mad at them. Seriously, who would do that? And yeah, a coach should develop their players, fair enough. But unless the team is a community team that can meet up 3+ nights a week you're going to need to work on things on your own. Most teams have at least an 8 week stretch right through the middle of the "season" where the coach sees their whole team right before they play a game. If your kids don't know how to play when they show up to play there isn't much their coach is going to be able to do to "develop" them.

 

[Pacerdad57]

I guarantee you these kids worked, and I will also guarantee you some of the kids were definitely a step down in performance, one also was the 5th assistant coaches kid. Averaged 3 errors per game. They never went any further in bracket play after these changes than before any changes. This coach has apparently been let go from that organization. There were a lot of angry parents and a pathetic record well below 500. I know for a fact my dd and i worked 3-4 days every week on skillets in addition to what time she got in the field.
I'm sure she must have progressed and learned a few things on her own, she was picked up by another team right before tryouts even began. As a matter of fact i believe almost everyone of them has been picked up, some had multiple.offers. suffice to say these girls know how to play softball and how to work to get there.
the situation on the team this summer was atrocious. The team had 5 coaches with 5 different agendas with no commonality in approach to hitting, fielding etc. It was a trainwreck. And obviously the organization has realized that this coach had no idea of what he was doing.
all in all a black eye on that org just for this one coach.

 

[mike_dyer]

An assistant's kid? I thought we were talking about pick up players or subs or whatever?

Does anyone even know what they are mad about anymore?

 

[BouldersDad]

5 assistant coaches ? How the hell does a team survive with that many coaches to begin with. Sounds like coaching by committee happened. Maybe thats where the issue started.

 

[Pacerdad57]

Could very well be it. Started at 2 went to 3 at first tourney 4 at 3rd 5 by end of mid Juneor so.
Ended up being a giant cluster needless to say.....

 

[FastBat]

That's alot of coaches. Your player starting is basically worse than basketball team odds!

 

[momdadmrg]

With all due respect, work with your kids.
I don't know their coaches, but I promise you they didn't bring in players who are worse than your kids are just to make you mad at them. Seriously, who would do that? And yeah, a coach should develop their players, fair enough. But unless the team is a community team that can meet up 3+ nights a week you're going to need to work on things on your own. Most teams have at least an 8 week stretch right through the middle of the "season" where the coach sees their whole team right before they play a game. If your kids don't know how to play when they show up to play there isn't much their coach is going to be able to do to "develop" them.

This team won 5+ ASA tourneys and received several berths with their own players. So what's the reasoning you have now in picking up extra players?

 

[mike_dyer]

So what's the reasoning you have now in picking up extra players?

Mistaken identity. I didn't pick up any extra players.

 

[brownsfan]

And I think bouldersdad.is missing the main context of this thread. There is.a huge difference between having 12.players that are always there and very capable, and bringing in subs to be able to have enough to play. I don't think anyone else is arguing that point. If you don't have enough to field a.team it is a non issue.
If you have the regulars always there, working hard, and actually good players, why bring in subs to replace.them? 5 he subs won no more than the regs were capable of. All it is is a slap in the face to good players, by a coach who isn't sure of what he wants and changes purely for the sake of changing.
As stated earlier in this thread the commitment runs both ways.

Not always true. A few years a go, my oldest subbed with a Buckeye Heat team for the Dayton Metro. At the time, my youngest was 10U or 11U with my oldest being 14U or 15U. One of the pitchers on the team she was subbing for lined a single. With myself being of young mind, questioned why my dd went in and not a regular as this was elimination. One of the parents told me because she's the fastest on the team right now and we need runs.

Now fast forward to my youngest playing 14U. We were at nationals. My dd lined a single. We had brought a sub. She comes in for my dd. Now my dd is a smart and aggressive base runner. But she was our pitcher for this game and in the desert heat. One of the parents questioned why and I told them, because our coach wants to keep her out of the sun. The next batter battled their pitcher for around 15 pitches. That was 15 pitches she stayed in the cool and not in the sun.

Younger ages need to realize this, if your going to any nationals and there are subs, understand there is a role for them. By then, the coach realizes what he needs to attempt to win it all ESPECIALLY in the losers bracket.

 

[Pacerdad57]

I see your point, but realize that sub was going in as a courtesy runner, not starting over a regular player and not causing a regular to sit the entire tourney. Not really a straight comparison with the main gist of the thread..
there is a definite time and place for a sub, and your situation was certainly a legitimate use of a sub, not a total replacement of a regular.player.

 

[Vipernation21]

In only practicing once to twice a week it is vital that our workouts are used to the max. I strongly believe in working in hitting stations and individualized instruction for defense. A head coach can simply not do this by himself or having just one assistant coach. We have four assistant coaches to help develop this practice atmosphere. We create five hitting stations and divide the players into groups of two. Each station has a coach that works on a specific drill. In two hours our players go home with 250 to 300 swings. Defensively, we have a coach work with pitchers, one with catchers, one on the corners, one with middle infield, and one with outfielders. We are all on the same page and have a plan before each and every workout. I totally understand having multiple coaches to get maximum production in each and every practice. It's what works for us. I hate stagnant practices, or practices where players spend most of their time standing around waiting their turn to do something.

 

[Pacerdad57]

I would suppose this methodology would work if a team actually had practices and worked with their core players.
Definitely not the case in the situations I am alluding to.
just 5 assistant coaches, only 3 actually running hitting, each with different instructing for the same drill.
they had the girls so screwed up mentally that no one was hitting. The other 2 just showed up at games and one sat the bench the other ran the scorebook. Still got them their desired assistant status though.....the whole season. Ended up horrendously. Luckily we have found a.much better org for next season.
We learned to do much more research and not just buy into the coaches banter.
first year, learned a lot. Learned one org to avoid.....

 

[Vipernation21]

Man, that stinks. I'm glad you found better pastures. It is so hard to find the right fit when one first starts out. A family is basically putting faith into an organization (team) for one whole year hoping to get the best progression possible for their player. Research is best as you alluded to. Seeing a team practice (if possible) is also a tell tale sign. It is definitely a buyer's market. Best of luck!