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Happy to say this describes my DD teams coaching staff this year to a T!!!
Happy to say this describes my DD teams coaching staff this year to a T!!!
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lol---what a load of horse manure
Actually, mom, I prefer your more direct approach. After all, a steaming pile is a steaming pile is a steaming pile.
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Warning...hijack in progress
Here, let me try...
He was merely facilitating the amount of attitudinal adjustment necessary to proactively enhance the elimination of psychological barriers essential for the reclamation of enhanced facilitation of non-impeded communications and strategic offensive tactics as it relates to fastpitch softball.
Gawd I love doublespeak, lol
Here, let me try...
He was merely facilitating the amount of attitudinal adjustment necessary to proactively enhance the elimination of psychological barriers essential for the reclamation of enhanced facilitation of non-impeded communications and strategic offensive tactics as it relates to fastpitch softball.
Gawd I love doublespeak, lol
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"well informed parents" are the source of more drama for a team than anything else.
If parents need to go to the coaches to "teach" them how to be better coaches, dd is playing for the wrong team.
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It should always be the players who get the credit for a win and the coaches for a loss........ its part of the game, Coaches who arnt big enough to take the hit on a bad game or even a season, coach for the wrong reason.
The little ones may be a different story, there the emphasis is on education and repetition, the older you get the less you become an instructor and more a motivator......... its the coaches job to discover at older ages what motivates who....
The little ones may be a different story, there the emphasis is on education and repetition, the older you get the less you become an instructor and more a motivator......... its the coaches job to discover at older ages what motivates who....
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Humiliating a team in front of everyone by making them do push-ups in between innings for errors is NOT motivational. I am a former player and I guarantee you my teammates and I would have absolutely refused to do that. I always listened to my coaches, never questioned anything, played where I was told, but I would NOT submit myself to public humiliation over a bad game. Everyone, even the best players in the world, have bad days.
We have a high school coach who makes everyone buy and keep a votive candle (his dd sells them) in the back pocket of their uniform. When they get up to bat they have to take it out and smell it to relax them. If they refuse, they sit the bench. Can you imagine telling someone you sit the bench on the varsity because of a candle??? Can you imagine sliding with a candle in your back pocket?? Sometimes a person just has to decide for themselves what is motivation and what is just plain crazy.
We have a high school coach who makes everyone buy and keep a votive candle (his dd sells them) in the back pocket of their uniform. When they get up to bat they have to take it out and smell it to relax them. If they refuse, they sit the bench. Can you imagine telling someone you sit the bench on the varsity because of a candle??? Can you imagine sliding with a candle in your back pocket?? Sometimes a person just has to decide for themselves what is motivation and what is just plain crazy.
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"well informed parents" are the source of more drama for a team than anything else.
If parents need to go to the coaches to "teach" them how to be better coaches, dd is playing for the wrong team.
I agree in principle but coaches can have open attitudes towards some parental involvement and still, in the final analysis, stay in control of the team. I don't think being incharge means being too authoritarian (is that a word?). My dd is "playing for the wrong team" and we hope we can move on from a coach who is behind the times and seems more concerned with being CEO than coaching. Any advice from parents is seen as insubordinate. I approached our coach informally and respectfully with information I received from a D-1 shortstop on middle infield ready positions and proper trajectories to sharply hit ground balls and was blown off as the team's potentially talented shortstop struggles making routine plays. I don't get it.
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Parents need to be a mode of transportation, and a cheering section for the team as a whole.............Period!!!!!!!!!!!! If parents are not satisfied after the season ,,,,,,,, or during the season move on .......... if you feel you need to have input on a team, or you know more than the coach does then you need to coach your own team............
Parents are responsible for their child.. A coach is responsible for the team as a whole...... this is one of the reasons why softball as a whole in Ohio has been diluted to the point there are so many sub par teams......... daddy knows best then starts his own team and gets his a$$ handed to him on a weekly basis till his one of his parents get mad and starts his own because the coach dosent know the game according to them..........It seems to be a never ending cycle........ im just glad my dd,s travel ball is starting to wind down and cant wait for her college ball to start in a year or so........ I just wonder do college coaches put up with this?........ I some how doubt it.
Parents are responsible for their child.. A coach is responsible for the team as a whole...... this is one of the reasons why softball as a whole in Ohio has been diluted to the point there are so many sub par teams......... daddy knows best then starts his own team and gets his a$$ handed to him on a weekly basis till his one of his parents get mad and starts his own because the coach dosent know the game according to them..........It seems to be a never ending cycle........ im just glad my dd,s travel ball is starting to wind down and cant wait for her college ball to start in a year or so........ I just wonder do college coaches put up with this?........ I some how doubt it.
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So which is it? Either coaches are the experts and the parents should b*tt out, or coaches are just frustrated parents who long for glory for their dd's and the other 11 girls on the team are just props.
It can't be both.
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Enough said. Couldn't or wouldn't ever dream of doing that to players during a game. That's not instructional or motivational... it's humiliating and doesn't need to be displayed at any game.
Practices, we might do that when splitting the girls into mini-teams and having them compete against each other, but during a game, it serves no purpose other than degradation.
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So which is it? Either coaches are the experts and the parents should b*tt out, or coaches are just frustrated parents who long for glory for their dd's and the other 11 girls on the team are just props.
It can't be both.
I think what Tim is saying has merit. If you read his post closely, he states that parents should be the transportation and cheering section at games, and let the coach do the coaching. He also states that parents are responsible for their child and the coach is responsible for the team as a whole, which means that the coach only has a few hours a week to provide instruction to the team, so if you want a child to truly get better it requires additional individualized instruction away from the team. If the parent knows what they are doing then they can provide the additional instruction themselves, or the parent needs to find an instructor that can help their child with their specific craft, whether it be pitching, catching, fielding, hitting, or a combination of said skills. Also, the coach of a team does not have enough time to give individual instruction to every player on the team. It is up to the parents (and the child) to get better on their own, and it is up to the coach to help bring everyone together to form a cohesive unit. If the parent and child are not holding up their end, the coaches attempts become fruitless. If the parent and the child are not willing to do the additional work needed to get better, then play rec or find something else to do.
There have been too many parents that get miffed about their child's team, its quality, the amount of playing time, and the coaching, so they decide to start their own team, only to get destroyed constantly week in and week out. The problem is that many parents and children do not want to put in the extra time working on their craft to get them on a better team, so they start their own to ensure playing time, and fill their team with anybody they can find to round out their roster....so yeah, I see exactly where Tim is coming from. It makes total sense to me.
Len
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I'm a little confused:
I've been both a parent and a coach, and trust me, players know who the "coaches" are. I originally started out as just a parent, but once the other players, and their parents, saw what DD was doing, and that she was getting that info from me and NOT her coach, I was then asked to coach.
It sounds like your DD is on the wrong team, for many reasons that I agree with you on. But as a coach I'd be very hard pressed to listen to a parent who did not participate all season long in any coaching aspect to all of a sudden have great wisdom on how a player should be playing a position.
Are you the informed parent, or are you relaying information? I think the information may have gone over better if the D-1 player would have approached the coach herself. And if you haven't provided help or information in the past, during the entire season, and have proven yourself to be a reliable source then I can understand why the coach might not listen to your sudden knowledge.
I've been both a parent and a coach, and trust me, players know who the "coaches" are. I originally started out as just a parent, but once the other players, and their parents, saw what DD was doing, and that she was getting that info from me and NOT her coach, I was then asked to coach.
It sounds like your DD is on the wrong team, for many reasons that I agree with you on. But as a coach I'd be very hard pressed to listen to a parent who did not participate all season long in any coaching aspect to all of a sudden have great wisdom on how a player should be playing a position.
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I have always been of the thought that a parent is for transportation and cheering. I have always been just a parent. When you select a team you are selecting a coach to turn your kid over to. I don't say anything unless asked and I'm never asked so I get on OFC and rant. LOL It can be hard to keep quite. Over the years I watched kids on the team we are with stand too far away from the plate, the other team pitches everything outside which our kid can't reach and wonder why I'm the only one seeing it. I've seen kids swing way over or under the ball and get told to choke up, they are swinging to late. Your thinking, it's not their timing, they are not tracking the ball and swinging wildly where they think the ball might be but why am I the only one seeing it. Maybe we have a better angle. Seen kids struggle with balls and strikes and think well they have never been coached on that, pitching machines only throw strikes. Game time is a great time to learn what to swing at. Don't get why coaches here only use pitching machines while in cali they use live pitching. The only things I have ever been asked about is tournaments and practice times so that is all I have ever offered input about.
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At clinics Crystl and I talk about what are practices for? They are to allow the coach to introduce new techniques, plays or skills and finally to evaluate what the player has done since the last practice to improve them self and their skills or as Len says their craft.
In California Crystl said they practiced once a week, all day on Sunday from 9 to 5 and the parents got lunch for the kids and the coaches had a game plan of what they were going to accomplish and demonstrate to assure the day would be productive.
I can tell you most kids DO NOT practice on their own and those of you who know me understand I challenge the kids to work on their own. I had one kid tell me they did not have a tee, so I took a big V8 bottle and filled it 3/4 full with gravel and stuff a rag in it and put the cap on it and added duct tape to hold it on and drilled a 7/8 " diameter hole in the cap to position the ball. I said place it on top of a 5 gallon bucket and PRACTICE and then find 2.5 gallon house bucket and PRACTICE! No excuses and the dad hung his head and commented there are no excuses for not practicing.
Finally I have attached an article for the coaches from the net
It is not the entire article however you may want to read it over...
It?s Not What They Do, It?s How They Do It:
Athlete Experiences of Great Coaching
Andrea J. Becker
Department of Kinesiology, California State University, Fullerton,
P.O. Box 6870, Fullerton, CA 92834-6870, USA
E-mail: anbecker@fullerton.edu
Teach
One of the most basic actions that these great coaches engaged in was teaching. Athletes discussed how their coaches taught sport skills that were cognitive (strategies, tactics, and systems of play), physical (fitness, performance techniques, and fundamental game skills), and mental(focus, imagery, anticipation, and mindset). However, these athletes alsoexpressed how ?great coaches actually teach you about life? (p16) [44]. The category of lifeskills included values, attitudes, and beliefs. Some of the skills that these athletes learned were how to deal with pressure, handle adversity, and work with others. They also learned respect, patience, and self-reliance. Their coaches didn?t just teach these skills, they modeled them: ?We learned to have a good attitude because coach had a good attitude? (p2). In addition to modeling behaviors, these great coaches adopted a multi-dimensional approach to teaching their athletes. Athletes discussed how their coaches used a combination of verbal, visual, and physical methods: ?Some people get it from reading it, some people get it from the visual, and some people get it from actually doing it, but those are the three ways [that these coaches] presented it? (p1). Verbal methodsincluded basic instruction, feed back, and questioning. The coach encouraged athletes to be active rather than passive learners. ?He would question you and make you think about what you were doing and why it was wrongand what you needed to do next time? (p11); ?Then he would tell you what he saw? (p1).Some of the visual methods that these coaches implemented to teach skills were physicaldemonstrations, chalk talks, scouting reports, and video clips: ?I?m a visual learner so shedidn?t just talk to me. She kind of got in there and showed me, held my hand, and we video-International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching Volume 4 ? Number 1 ? 2009 107 taped? (p13); ?A lot of coaches teach you how to study film, how to study a different player,how to study your opponent? (p16). As a result, these athletes also developed the ability toidentify their own strengths and weaknesses. Some athletes got to the point where they couldcoach themselves.
Physical teaching methodsincluded manual manipulation and repetition. Manual manipulation represented instances in which the ?coach physically moved [players] to certain places? (p17). However, most of these athletes focused on how their coaches emphasized repetition: ?It was just making you do it over and over and over again until you got it right? (p5). Repetition did not mean going through the motions. It meant performing with precision: ?I think we ran 80 something perfect plays one day after practice. If you do it perfect in practice, it carries over to the game? (p1). It appears that great coaching involves utilizing a combination of teaching methods, which maximize athlete learning.
The athletes also spoke about the quality of their coaches? teaching methods. Specifically, they emphasized how their coaches paid ?great attention to the little details? (p13). These coaches had the ability to ?pull out the finer things when teaching a player? (p14), and instructions were specific. They did not tell their players to ?just get it done? (p1). Instead, they explained exactly how to get it done [2, 3, 8]. The athletes also mentioned how their coaches simplified the process. One athlete explained how his coach ?always found a way to break things down to the most simplistic sense? (p15).
Another athlete said that his coach sometimes had players practice their skills in slow motion. In general, training sessions were designed so that there was a progression from simple to complex: ?You would start out small and go big and he would build on his teachings. When we moved from simple to complex,the purpose of the drill was not lost. The same theme ran through each progression? (p12).These athletes? comments suggest that great coaches pace their instruction according to eachathlete?s learning curve.
Note: This is just a part of the study and not the complete article!
In California Crystl said they practiced once a week, all day on Sunday from 9 to 5 and the parents got lunch for the kids and the coaches had a game plan of what they were going to accomplish and demonstrate to assure the day would be productive.
I can tell you most kids DO NOT practice on their own and those of you who know me understand I challenge the kids to work on their own. I had one kid tell me they did not have a tee, so I took a big V8 bottle and filled it 3/4 full with gravel and stuff a rag in it and put the cap on it and added duct tape to hold it on and drilled a 7/8 " diameter hole in the cap to position the ball. I said place it on top of a 5 gallon bucket and PRACTICE and then find 2.5 gallon house bucket and PRACTICE! No excuses and the dad hung his head and commented there are no excuses for not practicing.
Finally I have attached an article for the coaches from the net
It is not the entire article however you may want to read it over...
It?s Not What They Do, It?s How They Do It:
Athlete Experiences of Great Coaching
Andrea J. Becker
Department of Kinesiology, California State University, Fullerton,
P.O. Box 6870, Fullerton, CA 92834-6870, USA
E-mail: anbecker@fullerton.edu
Teach
One of the most basic actions that these great coaches engaged in was teaching. Athletes discussed how their coaches taught sport skills that were cognitive (strategies, tactics, and systems of play), physical (fitness, performance techniques, and fundamental game skills), and mental(focus, imagery, anticipation, and mindset). However, these athletes alsoexpressed how ?great coaches actually teach you about life? (p16) [44]. The category of lifeskills included values, attitudes, and beliefs. Some of the skills that these athletes learned were how to deal with pressure, handle adversity, and work with others. They also learned respect, patience, and self-reliance. Their coaches didn?t just teach these skills, they modeled them: ?We learned to have a good attitude because coach had a good attitude? (p2). In addition to modeling behaviors, these great coaches adopted a multi-dimensional approach to teaching their athletes. Athletes discussed how their coaches used a combination of verbal, visual, and physical methods: ?Some people get it from reading it, some people get it from the visual, and some people get it from actually doing it, but those are the three ways [that these coaches] presented it? (p1). Verbal methodsincluded basic instruction, feed back, and questioning. The coach encouraged athletes to be active rather than passive learners. ?He would question you and make you think about what you were doing and why it was wrongand what you needed to do next time? (p11); ?Then he would tell you what he saw? (p1).Some of the visual methods that these coaches implemented to teach skills were physicaldemonstrations, chalk talks, scouting reports, and video clips: ?I?m a visual learner so shedidn?t just talk to me. She kind of got in there and showed me, held my hand, and we video-International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching Volume 4 ? Number 1 ? 2009 107 taped? (p13); ?A lot of coaches teach you how to study film, how to study a different player,how to study your opponent? (p16). As a result, these athletes also developed the ability toidentify their own strengths and weaknesses. Some athletes got to the point where they couldcoach themselves.
Physical teaching methodsincluded manual manipulation and repetition. Manual manipulation represented instances in which the ?coach physically moved [players] to certain places? (p17). However, most of these athletes focused on how their coaches emphasized repetition: ?It was just making you do it over and over and over again until you got it right? (p5). Repetition did not mean going through the motions. It meant performing with precision: ?I think we ran 80 something perfect plays one day after practice. If you do it perfect in practice, it carries over to the game? (p1). It appears that great coaching involves utilizing a combination of teaching methods, which maximize athlete learning.
The athletes also spoke about the quality of their coaches? teaching methods. Specifically, they emphasized how their coaches paid ?great attention to the little details? (p13). These coaches had the ability to ?pull out the finer things when teaching a player? (p14), and instructions were specific. They did not tell their players to ?just get it done? (p1). Instead, they explained exactly how to get it done [2, 3, 8]. The athletes also mentioned how their coaches simplified the process. One athlete explained how his coach ?always found a way to break things down to the most simplistic sense? (p15).
Another athlete said that his coach sometimes had players practice their skills in slow motion. In general, training sessions were designed so that there was a progression from simple to complex: ?You would start out small and go big and he would build on his teachings. When we moved from simple to complex,the purpose of the drill was not lost. The same theme ran through each progression? (p12).These athletes? comments suggest that great coaches pace their instruction according to eachathlete?s learning curve.
Note: This is just a part of the study and not the complete article!
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I get to live in both worlds.... I coach my older daughter's team, while my younger daughter plays for a different organization.
When I'm with the younger daughter at her practices, her coach has complete control because I trust in what he's doing with her. I also realize that he doesn't have the luxury of micro-managing one player... he has an entire team to deal with. If I work with her outside of practice, it's to reinforce what she is learning with her team, and not working against her coach. If I didn't have faith in the coach that she has now, I would be looking for a different team.
One thing that parents have to realize is that it takes the better part of a season to learn 12 players mental state in order to effectively get the most out of them, and to get them to improve. You're literally taking 12 different approaches with 12 very different personalities to try to produce 1 outcome...which is to be the best they can be as a group. This takes time, and goes both ways between the player and coaching staff...which is why teams that stay together over the years tend to win more.
If parents feel that their daughter is lacking in one or more areas as an individual player, private instruction is always encouraged. I always keep an open line of communication with the parents to let them know where I stand and so that they can either ask for or offer guidance on an individual basis.
When I'm with the younger daughter at her practices, her coach has complete control because I trust in what he's doing with her. I also realize that he doesn't have the luxury of micro-managing one player... he has an entire team to deal with. If I work with her outside of practice, it's to reinforce what she is learning with her team, and not working against her coach. If I didn't have faith in the coach that she has now, I would be looking for a different team.
One thing that parents have to realize is that it takes the better part of a season to learn 12 players mental state in order to effectively get the most out of them, and to get them to improve. You're literally taking 12 different approaches with 12 very different personalities to try to produce 1 outcome...which is to be the best they can be as a group. This takes time, and goes both ways between the player and coaching staff...which is why teams that stay together over the years tend to win more.
If parents feel that their daughter is lacking in one or more areas as an individual player, private instruction is always encouraged. I always keep an open line of communication with the parents to let them know where I stand and so that they can either ask for or offer guidance on an individual basis.
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We lost a 9 inning heart breaker in our last tourney. In the 5th inning I made a sub for our left fielder. In the bottom of the 7th with two outs the other team got on with a harmless single. The next girl hit a routine single to left field. The (sub) left fielder went over to field the ball and she missed it. The ball went to the fence and the runner on first scored to tie the game. That put the game into ITB
On my way home driving 3 hours away, i started questioning myself as to should I have made that sub. My conclusion was yes. This girl is a good player and had just pitched a shut out with 14 strike outs.
At this point, I had realized that we had not worked on outfielders blocking the ball all season. With all this crazy rain, it has really hampered our schedule. After a couple of days, I talked to this player and asked her what happened on that play. She said it just got by me and I felt so bad.
I told her not to worry, that it was just as much my fault for not teaching blocking and not to worry. That we would work on it first chance we get at practice.
Coaches need to be accountable for themselves. I can't stand when a coach sits there and says, "hit the ball" I say teach them how to hit the ball. When ever some thing goes wrong, I always think what could I do to make it better. Did I prepare my player for that situation.
Coaches need to evaluate themselves daily before they go pointing the finger at some one else. It is up to the coach to teach as much as possible to prepare these girls to play this game.
On my way home driving 3 hours away, i started questioning myself as to should I have made that sub. My conclusion was yes. This girl is a good player and had just pitched a shut out with 14 strike outs.
At this point, I had realized that we had not worked on outfielders blocking the ball all season. With all this crazy rain, it has really hampered our schedule. After a couple of days, I talked to this player and asked her what happened on that play. She said it just got by me and I felt so bad.
I told her not to worry, that it was just as much my fault for not teaching blocking and not to worry. That we would work on it first chance we get at practice.
Coaches need to be accountable for themselves. I can't stand when a coach sits there and says, "hit the ball" I say teach them how to hit the ball. When ever some thing goes wrong, I always think what could I do to make it better. Did I prepare my player for that situation.
Coaches need to evaluate themselves daily before they go pointing the finger at some one else. It is up to the coach to teach as much as possible to prepare these girls to play this game.
