10U coaching etiquette

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last night my little 9U squad played a team that had coaches that constantly poked my little pet peeves.

It did not help that both of my pitchers had innings where the ball and the strike zone did not meet so well. And the umpire had a roving zone......

#1 - constantly telling girls a walk is as good as a hit, only swing if it is perfect......

#2 - commenting when my hitters are up " this girls is not hitter, she won't swing, ....ect"

Since this is our developmental team we only preach hitting. Swing at decent pitches (not over head or in dirt) and attack the ball when at the plate. And I NEVER comment about the other players. It is just in poor form. We have them swing at 3-0 balls. It is all about them getting ready to be hitters at the next level. Not watchers............

We ended up losing so I kind of felt like approaching them about the comments would just be preceived as sour grapes. To top it all off we were up against the time limit to get the last inning in and they took forever to even send one girl out into the field and the ump was like "this is silly, they have no interest in playing another inning..." So he called the game. No biggie other than we missed out on some more softball.


Why is it that coches feel the need to try to coach a win at low level 10U? This team is mostly 1st year girls trying to learn the game. Coach the girls to play the right way.

 

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I believe Howard says it best," Softball is a game for kids, ran by adults who don't like to lose to other adults and kids." I think that's how it goes and that goes for any age level.

 

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I believe Howard says it best," Softball is a game for kids, ran by adults who don't like to lose to other adults and kids." I think that's how it goes and that goes for any age level.

This is a great quote.

I thankfully have great parents who keep it very casual and fun for the girls. I like to think part of it is that myself and the other coaches keep it cool. We have not had to have a parent talk yet. Everyone is on board. We are going to play hard, play the right way, and not focus on the scores. Of course that was our first loss so I think they are all giving me a pass...........lets see what happens if we lose again.;&;&

 

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That is about the most accurate quote I have heard in quite a while.

 

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10U and 12U should be about development, NOT winning. All should play and all should bat.

 

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10U and 12U should be about development, NOT winning. All should play and all should bat.

I agree with you at the 10u level,but I think that at the 12u level maybe do that during pool play,but once bracket play starts it has to be about playing your best.

 

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10U and 12U should be about development, NOT winning. All should play and all should bat.

This is what I am saying.

I think the problem is that you need to go through the cycle once to understand how important the development at this age is for the girls. My girls usually do not even know if we won or lost at the end of the game.

 

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This is what I am saying.

I think the problem is that you need to go through the cycle once to understand how important the development at this age is for the girls. My girls usually do not even know if we won or lost at the end of the game.

Forget the age old question of did we win or lose.

You forgot " Are we going for ice cream, Coach ?" :yahoo:

 

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My most hated quote from any parent or coach is "All day long" whether it's in regards to stealing on the catcher, taking a walk from the pitcher, or striking out a batter. You rarely hear something like that from the kids and in most cases, my daughter has so much respect for the teams she plays against, she would be the first to hug them for a job well done. She's only 11 and we have friends on probably about 6 different teams and we hope that number continues to grow. Just ignore the idiots that forget this is a kid's sport!

 

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I couldn't agree more. I had a coach tonight pushing my buttons. I'll just leave it at that. We are 10U also and try to keep everything positive about my team and the one we are playing. It really irks me when an opposing coach make comments about my girls and they are negative. It really gets me when they see a pitcher struggling and they keep it up.

 

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I agree with almost all quotes, however I don't believe you shouldn't play to win. Why do we keep score? Why do we practice so much? Why do we pay for lessons? All done to improve your game so you can win! Stop pretending, we all play to win, we just have to teach the girls to win with integrity and lose with integrity. I heard a quote once that went like this, "winning isn't everything, but preparing to win is" I really like that quote. We practice hard to try and win but it is not everthing! I would say that mentality is more like a rec league mentality but I try to get the girls to win in rec ball too! I don't ever think a coach should say negative things to opposing players, rather say nice play or nice catch, something in that nature. The only time I say to look for a walk is when the game dictates it. Need one run to tie or take the lead. I don't know about everyone else , but winning has always been alot more fun than losing, at least the girls sure seem to act that way.

 

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I was umping a 12U rec league game this week. In our pre-game meeting, the home coach said and I quote "open up the strike zone blue, these girls are just learning how to pitch." My partner, who was behind the plate, called a borderline high strike on the first batter and the same coach said, "come on blue, that wasn't even close!" Second inning, I called an infield fly and he proceeded to tell me that this was rec ball and we shouldn't be worrying about cr** like that. Third inning, he wanted to know why I missed a girl leaving early. (She didn't) I could go on but you get the picture. Later on I overheard him tell his team that they shouldn't let the umpires decide the game for them!!

The vast majority of the lower age level rec coaches have been fantastic. This one...not so much.

 

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i was umping a 12u rec league game this week. In our pre-game meeting, the home coach said and i quote "open up the strike zone blue, these girls are just learning how to pitch." my partner, who was behind the plate, called a borderline high strike on the first batter and the same coach said, "come on blue, that wasn't even close!" second inning, i called an infield fly and he proceeded to tell me that this was rec ball and we shouldn't be worrying about cr** like that. Third inning, he wanted to know why i missed a girl leaving early. (she didn't) i could go on but you get the picture. Later on i overheard him tell his team that they shouldn't let the umpires decide the game for them!!

The vast majority of the lower age level rec coaches have been fantastic. This one...not so much.

come on blue, finish your story!!!!!

 

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Kids is the reason this game is played. Keep that in mind and we will all do fine. It is not an adult competition.