Oh, the things they could know!

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Point taken, LUV2. I DO have two daughters who play. I'm not speaking to one of them currently because of a bonehead play she made recently. Inexcuseable mental error. I will have to walk around the community with a brown paper bag over my head for at least a week due to embarrassment. As for my credentials, LUV, they go well beyond having "watched" a lot of games. You could play every day until you're in a nursing home and never play in as many fastpitch games as I have (and at the very highest level).

wow how stupid are you?!?!!?!? not talking to your daughter b/c she made a bonehead mistake?! wow.....and yeah right by the time i die your still going to have watch more games than will ever have played inn....sure you do love yourself seeing as i've always watched my sister play even at the college level...and i have been playing for ever and i will be playing forever...but by the time I die you will never have watch as many games as i have and yes playing in does count as watching....and i refuse to believe that ur an expert in softball...only softball god is...and your nothing like him....your a mean mean mean mean person (father)

 

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Played...
I must say that when I began reading your post I thought you were just someone who was just being mean, but as I continued to read, I realized that you were making many good points. It made me think of something I learned a few years ago, I read it somewhere and now I always think of it if one of my players doesn't do what they are supposed to; I'm paraphrasing here, but this is now one of the coaching mantras I live by: If your players aren't doing something right or the way you want them to, you're probably not spending enough time coaching them on it.

 

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Bear,
I originally put a post on this thread. Where did it go? I didn't delete it, and I know it wasn't offensive at all.

If you posted it after 6:25pm on Sunday, 8/4 on the old forum, then it did not get transfered when the switch to the new forum happened. Hope this helps.

 

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Thanks, it does help. I was bummed when I saw it was gone. I felt like I had made some good points.

 

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Almost NO pitchers take a leadership role with regard to the positioning of their infielders or outfielders. The pitcher, more than anyone, should have the best idea of where a hitter is most likely to hit the ball. She should remember what happened the last time a girl was up-- and she should know where she's going to pitch the girl this time. Allowing a left fielder to play deep on a left-handed slapper who's short and skinny and more likely to hit a blooper than anything else is just plain dumb. You would think a coach would holler at the left fielder to move in, or that the left fielder would be smart enough to move in by herself--- but neither happens with regularity.

I don't want my pitcher concerning herself with positioning of players. Yes she should remember what the player did last time but it up to the coaching staff to position the defense, possibly via the catcher. I want the pitcher to worry about executing to the batter and not running the team.

* Almost ALL players run half way or all the way to first base after hitting an obvious FOUL BALL. I've seen girls hit line drives over the third base dugout and run half way to first. Don't they know it's a foul ball? They hit hard one-hopper's to the third base COACH and they run to first. They hit balls straight back over the backstop and they run to first base. Don't they know when they hit a foul ball? Or is the same knucklehead coach who tells them not to watch the ball after hitting it --- screaming at them to "RUN NO MATTER WHERE IT IS!!!!"? The answer is, "yes." I've seen these guys actually YELL at hitters for NOT RUNNING OUT AN OBVIOUS FOUL BALL. The hitters look at them like, "Are you for real? The freaking ball landed in the parking lot! It was NEVER going to be a fair ball. It's 90 degrees. You want to run sprints on foul balls? Go for it, moron."

As soon at you start telling the players to not run out obvious foul balls they are not going to run out marginal foul balls and that causes trouble. Don't start to run down the line and stare at the ball. You hit the ball and run like hell and if you can peek at the ball then do so but otherwise a first base coach will help you out.

 

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Point taken, LUV2. I DO have two daughters who play. I'm not speaking to one of them currently because of a bonehead play she made recently. Inexcuseable mental error. I will have to walk around the community with a brown paper bag over my head for at least a week due to embarrassment. As for my credentials, LUV, they go well beyond having "watched" a lot of games. You could play every day until you're in a nursing home and never play in as many fastpitch games as I have (and at the very highest level).

Hopefully when your kids are able to move away from home they do it as fast as possible and don't let their future kids around you. Please stay away from interacting with any children.

Your credentials are outweighed by the fact you are a horrible parent.

 

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Really enjoyed the posts on this. Although I totally believe theres alot of horrific coaches out there and I seldom defend their quality I do think some have a hard time with the hand they are dealt. I think a big contributer to the lack of understanding and fundamentals is that these girls are playing many sports and other activities. I am used to all year working on the game and learning but many of these girls are focused on other things until the last minute. The more athletic they are the more sports they play and the less time perfecting softball is spent. Some of these coaches are like - where do I start they should have learned that stuff by now. The younger they are the tougher it is. I have a very promising catcher that at U10 could be a force but due to basketball and soocer and other stuff havent got to teach her much of anything about the position and that cascades to the pitchers being comfortable and how the team covers steals everything because she isnt there. Even with poor skills she is still better than the others so is a frustrating position. I think alot of coaches are stuck with teaching what should have been taught off-season being taught on the job in-season. If however these stupid things dont curtail by the end of the year the coach either had no clue or has given up and is just riding it out which is poor either way.

 

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I don't understand why everyone is so mad. Reading this thread was almost comical.

But seriously, played makes good points. And he/she isn't the only one on a high horse here. Everyone who posted thinks THEY are the one that is right. The fact is were talking about mistakes that shouldn't be made. Yes, the girls are human and are going to make them, but to make them enough that its noticable is unexcusable. If I have a girl who lets a ball roll between her legs because she lifted the glove at the last second I'm going to be ok. If she does it 4 more times, I'm not going to be.

Mistakes happen. And I think some of you are focusing too much on that. You can say mistakes happen all you want, but if they keep happening something has to be done. It can't just be blown off with a "well it happens." I think most posts have been taken to both extremes. Too mean or too nice. Girls will make mistakes, but sometimes it is unexcusable to do so.