Do Rewards and Punishments Work ?

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I agree mostly with what people have mentioned so far. But we also need to consider our definition of 'punishment'. As someone mentioned earlier, conditioning should not be used as punishment. However, it can be quite effective to get the team's attention (especially at 12U & 14U) & keep them focused. There are a few different threads going already about the mental aspect of the game. You can incorporate conditioning into drills that will accustom your players to performing in pressure situations. For example, a bunting drill that we use often does this very thing. I split the team in half & the halves are competing against each other. A grid is drawn in front of home plate & the boxes have 'scores' in them, from 1 point to 3 points. The teams alternate turns until everyone has bunted twice. Each team adds their bunt 'scores' together. The team with the highest points 'wins'. The team that loses runs a few sprints, while the winning team cheers them on. I do not see this as punishment, but I'm sure some parents out there would. It is also important to practice your fundamentals while you are tired.

 

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As a coach ......I always preach that we will play how we practice......we only have the girls together a few hours during the week and we are pretty demanding of their attention while at practice....if on rare occassion the team is in one of their rather chit chat than listen modes ....we do in fact let them chitchat while they run pole to poles........once the attention is regained we go on with practice and utilize our time to our advantage...however, with that being said.....we also state what we expect at games in terms of behavior and win, lose, or draw do it with class and like you have been there before. If we have a bad tourney well we know who and what we need to work on at practice...I do not believe any girl tries to strikeout or tries to make an error.....and punishment for that is in all liklihood not a good idea.....just something else to work on at practice.

 

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I coach a 16U team and my girls feel bad enough when they make a mistake and they don't need myself or a parent in the stands scolding them.
Hopefully we keep the mistakes to a minimum and if we do make a mistake or two, then after the game I just tell them Hey.. you know what happened and now you know what we need to work on next week in practice. No big deal.
Yes some teams are very, very high caliber and they expect 0 mistakes on Sunday.
We though are looking to improve week by week, keep mistakes to a minimum and most of all come away smiling and hopefully winning the game.

 

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I always thought the best rewards was the approval of my coach.

The worst punishment is when I thought I disappointed him.

Isn't that the way it should be?

 

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I agree.

 

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I'm anxious to see the track coach make the girls get out their ball gloves and throw. Maybe we can sneak a peek and find a ballplayer.

Don't get me wrong in my above posts, nobody agrees more with the silliness of running sprints for punishment or after a game than me. In fact, I don't even let my players chase overthrown balls on throwing drills in practice. Many coaches love to make girls go get a ball they just overthrew. I say that's a waste of practice time. My girls, especially my 12-U ones, know that "we don't chase balls" like some 3-year-old. We just pick up another ball from the bucket and continue to throw.

I think the distinction that others here have pointed out that should be made is for coaches who purposely punish for poor play and coaches who might do something ill-advised out of frustration. The former are just bad coaches and the latter are the overwhelming majority of us.

 

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With my 16U team, when we win we get ice cream ;D, ?and when we lose............we get ice cream.

 

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I'm anxious to see the track coach make the girls get out their ball gloves and throw. ?Maybe we can sneak a peek and find a ballplayer.

Don't get me wrong in my above posts, nobody agrees more with the silliness of running sprints for punishment or after a game than me. ?In fact, I don't even let my players chase overthrown balls on throwing drills in practice. ?Many coaches love to make girls go get a ball they just overthrew. ?I say that's a waste of practice time. ?My girls, especially my 12-U ones, know that "we don't chase balls" like some 3-year-old. ?We just pick up another ball from the bucket and continue to throw. ?

I think the distinction that others here have pointed out that should be made is for coaches who purposely punish for poor play and coaches who might do something ill-advised out of frustration. ?The former are just bad coaches and the latter are the overwhelming majority of us. ?

Joe, I don't let my High School girls chase overthrown balls either. It usually lasts for about 5-10 minutes then they have to chase them cause we run out. ;D ;D

 

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Great post....Thanks. Posts like that are the reason OFC is great.

 

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Well, I may be the "odd guy out" here, but I'm not totally against a few laps for screwing off during practice or a game. ?I think incentives work, most of the time and I believe that coaching is a lot like parenting. ?I don't, however, think punishing a team or a player for poor performance during a game is necessary, but I do think there are situations where repercussions, whatever they may be, are quite necessary. ?This is a case by case situation, each one needing to be evaulated and dealt with in whatever way necessary. ?We need to trust our coaches. ?If we don't, then we need to find a team where we do. ?

 

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I always thought the best rewards was the approval of my coach.

The worst punishment is when I thought I disappointed him.

Isn't that the way it should be?

I feel really bad when I make an error and don[ch8217]t want to disappoint the coach or team, I feel like I let them down. I know when I mess up and get angry at myself. So if it looks like I have an attitude..I probably do! lol..just know that it is not aimed at anyone but myself. We get just as frustrated if not more than our coaches.

With my 16U team, when we win we get ice cream ;D, ?and when we lose............we get ice cream.

That[ch8217]s the way it should be!

First, girls are different than boys! Thank goodness! Punishing me for an error does NOT help me. Running laps only helps keep my legs strong for other sports..lol ?I actually like to run so that is not a punishment to me. My high school coach (assistant) threatened me with sit ups for every time that I popped out. How about just showing me what I am doing wrong to help me not pop out? I do not think he knew how to help me. Please do not scream and cuss at me if I make an error. You would not like to be treated that way and neither do I. It only makes me feel worse than I already do and it is embarrassing and makes you look bad as well as the team. Some girls will get angry and play better but not all of us.

One coach on here says that the coaches should be cut some slack. Well what about us players? WE ARE GIRLS! We have mood swings. We have No control over that. Boys don[ch8217]t. At least my brothers don[ch8217]t! One mood=mean to me all the time! Lol Maybe I have some things on my mind when I come to a game, like a relative in the family that is dying, maybe my parents are fighting, and maybe I am worried about a school project or what grade I got on my last test. Maybe I am wondering where my boyfriend is, maybe a girl on the team has said something really bad to me cause she has an attitude and is in a MOOD! lol Maybe I am at the age where I am trying to figure out what I want to major in in college or what college I should go to. Maybe I have a girlfriend who is in trouble and needs her her only girlfriend with her now.

I am not trying to make excuses for anything and I know adults as well as us girls have all kinds of serious things going on in their lives all the time. I know when I hit the field running that I need to be focused and forget all the other stuff. Sometimes that is easier said than done. I am still a teenager and I know I have a lot to learn and a long way to go. Maybe I don[ch8217]t handle things as well yet, but I am growing and learning every day. I play because it is FUN to play. I love the tough competition. It only makes me a better player. Sure, I am going to mess up but when I watch MLB, they are adult men getting paid lots of money and they mess up too.

Please try to see things thru my eyes, whether I am 11, 12, 13, 14. 15. or 16 years old. I am doing my best out there. I would not be there if this was not the game that I love with my heart and soul! I play year round and playing late on Sunday is my goal even if it is in 90 degree heat, playing 5-6 games to come back out of the losers bracket, covered in dust and dirt, sweaty and smelly, bruised, banged up and sometimes even broken. It is all worth it! Just cut me some slack because I am here to play because I love it. TEACH me the game, please don[ch8217]t punish me. I am doing the best I can!

I agree with everything said here, but let me ask one question: ?Why do the boys who grew up playing sandlot ball 30-40 years ago understand the game far better than the girls who have been receiving adult coaching the last 15 years? ?Certainly none of the other boys was the least bit worried about each other's feelings when one of them made a mistake.

My grandpa told me before he passed away that I understood the game and played ALMOST as good as he did! Lol

I also want to thank all the coaches who have coached me (except for 2 lol) over the last 11 years. I know you are trying to do your best and so am I.

 

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highones,

Good post and do not be afraid to post your point of view. I, for one, value the player's point of view. We need more like you sharing your thoughts.


As for your "disability". I respect your wishes not to disclose that information. I just want you to know that there are few people in this world that do not have a disability to some degree. It is my view that having a disabilty and allow it to "disable" you is two entirely different things.

I have a disability. I am legally deaf and wear two very powerful hearing aids. It took years of speech therapy and work (which never stops) but I think I function pretty well. To me - a disability is something that can strengthen you by working to overcome obstacles. Those obstacles are nothing more than training excercises to success. If you are determined - there are very few obstacles that you cannot overcome. I do realize my boundaries. For example, I can never be a telephone operator, police officer, fireman or any profession that requires excellent hearing. However, for every uncrossable boundaries there are many, many more you can leap over. I have a BA and a MED. I have a good career and I coach softball. I really pretty much have met all of my life's goals. (I still have not hit the lottery though)

Now for another way to look at disability. With my hearing impairment - I can "turn off" anyone I do not want to listen to. That has been a major plus for me... ;D

 

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If you know sign language - there goes all of my secret signs from the 3rd base coaches box. :'(

 

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ilikethehighones, I wanted to say thank you for your post(s) too! You're obviously an intelligent and caring person and I appreciate you taking the time to share your point of view.

I wish more players would add their thoughts to this forum because, believe it or not, us coaches can and do learn a lot from our players if we keep an open mind and listen to what you have to say.

 

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I agree with what has been said. I can only hope that the coaches who feel that punishment TEACHES, read the above posts. Maybe the coaches should run the laps with the girls, since apparently they did not adequately prepare the girls for the game and should be punished. Ha Ha I'd like to see that.
Like it was said before, running does not help a girl field a ball, throw a ball, or bat a ball. Other than conditioning or supplying the means of helping the coach deal with his/her anger, running serves no purpose. All this does is take valuable time away from the fundamental skills that should be practiced. All punishment does for those making mental or physical errors is to make a girl more conscentious about making an error and then she makes more. The game of softball is supposed to be fun. Constant worry is NOT fun and does NOT make a a better player. Practice, positive attitude, and good fundamentals make a good player.

 

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We had a coach last year that did not get it.
At the beginning of the year we had a lot of wins so he thought we could be one of the best team out there.
As we progressed in the session the harder he got on the
girls and the worse they played. Bye the end of the session we
could not win a game. The girls were so down on them self and
did not enjoy the game anymore. The girls play to have fun and win
they do not get paid for this. If they are in travel ball they give up a lot.
Do not stay up late, No moves it will be to late. No swimming you have a
game, you can?t spend the night we have to leave early for a game, No football
game you have hitting lessons tonight, I COULD GO ON AND ON
TEACH THEM AND ECURAGE THEM DON?T DESTROY THEM

 

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high ones ---great insight --I hope you continue to post frequently here. The view from players is one thing we are alittle short on around here. MD

 

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Great Post Howard. With a young dd with a learning disability, I agree everything is different on how you teach. I have learned tons from my wife of many years that teaches children with learning problems. Young ladies are different and I seen the impact of Men coaching like they do football and baseball and they wonder why kids quit playing for them!

 

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im on a 16u team, we run alot. it doesnt really bother us that much, yea we hate it and complain sometimes..but once its all over we feel good bout ourselves and it really gets us to be aggressive and do whatever it takes to make the play. =] we still have fun, practice hard, and get better each and every practice/game. its total team effort, win as a team.. lose as a team.. run as a team, stay postitive as a team.

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