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during tournaments, how long should post game team meetings be ?
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Short. Kids only absorb 25% of what is said in a meeting anyway. The longer it drags out the lower this number goes. Hit the important points of emphasis and don't belabor anything. Time to get pumped up for the next game!
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Quick hits with positive-neg-positive comments, next game time, meeting place, reminders to HYDRATE, if no game reminder of practice times. Typically no more than 5 minutes and break with a final cheer.
I also inquire has to who has to use the bathroom. . .sounds stupid, but it lets me know who's drinking enough and who isn't hydrating during the games. With this crazy heat/humidity this summer gotta stay on top of possible issues before they happen.
I also inquire has to who has to use the bathroom. . .sounds stupid, but it lets me know who's drinking enough and who isn't hydrating during the games. With this crazy heat/humidity this summer gotta stay on top of possible issues before they happen.
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5 minutes at the most.
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I typically try to keep it short unless it's the last game of the tournament, then I take a little more time to go over what went well and what didn't. I always try to start with the negatives and things we need to work on first and end up on the positives so the last thing there leave with is a positive vibe. For some reason though, post game meetings after a win always seem shorter.
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I think we do a better job recapping tournament performance a few days later at the next practice or game. Often after the last tournament game we pack it up and say good-bye without a meeting. Let the 24 hour rule take effect, go through the book. I am always surprised to re-remember something about a player's performance (good or bad) after going through every at-bat / play in the book. Then I feel I can talk more intelligently with hard numbers.
I also know the parents on my team have some tough discussions with their dd on the ride home. Sometimes I don't have to say a word depending on the kid.
I also know the parents on my team have some tough discussions with their dd on the ride home. Sometimes I don't have to say a word depending on the kid.
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Mad Hornet:
That tough discussion on the ride home thing is why I think it is good to have SOME discussion before sending the players home. Usually our parents listen in from the fringes and we try to set a positive tone and let everyone know that if we lost, it wasn't the end of the world.
That tough discussion on the ride home thing is why I think it is good to have SOME discussion before sending the players home. Usually our parents listen in from the fringes and we try to set a positive tone and let everyone know that if we lost, it wasn't the end of the world.
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Meetings should be somewhat short. A quick debriefing. Ask the girls to think of an area that they need work on. If your dugout coach has done her/his job, there is no need to bring-up individual events (dugout coach talks to a girl right after she has had a bad at-bat or a bad fielding incident--do it then, not an hour later in the team meeting. By then, they have forgotten a lot of the details).
As for those talks on the drive home. I never initiated any of the talks pertaining to softball. DD has had a long day and the last thing she needs is her parents harping on her about her, or the team's, performance. If she initiates the talk, then by all means go with the flow.
As for those talks on the drive home. I never initiated any of the talks pertaining to softball. DD has had a long day and the last thing she needs is her parents harping on her about her, or the team's, performance. If she initiates the talk, then by all means go with the flow.
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Have something to say or don't have a meeting. If there is praise you should have given in the game, but you didn't. Give it. If there is a team point of emphasis, go over it. Individual instruction, do individually, not in front of the team. Otherwise announce when and where to meet next, remind them to hydrate and eat if appropriate, stay cool or out of the sun as necessary. I've been trying to get these under 2 minutes and have been skipping in between game meetings unless really really necessary.
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I always ask my parents/players not to discuss the game for an hour afterwards. Many times the girls already are beating themselves up, and have been corrected by the coaches. Far to many times I have walked by parents racking their kids over the coals for poor performance or errors and you can see the look of devastation in the childs eyes. Cool down then talk, and remember for an hour after the game,you just need to be mom and dad. . .JMHO
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Good point. Usually try to hold out for a while before discussing with my DD, good or bad. Sometimes I don't make it a hour hour before asking but when we do review, I ask for her thoughts on the overall game, then talk about her performance, good or bad. Basically, I listen before I add my two cents. Then we battle it out on the Wii.....she usually beats me!!!
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we have identical thoughts.
Yeah, if not needing to go to take a relief break in the ladies room...that's a sign for us.
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I've actually had to teach my girls how to handle mom/dad in the car. Not that we have parents that are tough or excessive, just know how those car rides can be in this competitive environment. Had some thank me at the next practice. Funny how that is... now my DD... she's on her own
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This year my DD and her team have been seriously "raked over the coals" during our half hour to 45 minute team meeting. So as a parent, I am praising her for what I saw. This weekend she got an MVP ribbon for her diving catch in Center. I brought it home, hung it up, and kept talking about my pride. Something I would do at 12u, but at 16u she thought I was strange. I kept doing doing it and she started smiling and getting excited again about softball.
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1/2 hour to 45 minute team meeting? Whoa.
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That's almost as long as the game!
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probably because the spouse wont listen to him/her. captive audience..
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30-45 minutes... was this Sunday Mass or a soap box... omg
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After an ugly loss our girls ask us to sit there for at least 30 mins with them 'acting' like we are chewing them out - all to give their parents time to cool down... :lmao: and make the ride home easier...
We have tried both ways ... the more successful teams I have seen sit down, let the girls relax and talk thru the game's key situations while they are still in the kids memory.
Several times we have sit them down and replayed a particularly bad inning to show them how easy it is to let one blow up, but also to understand how a quick correct 'read', play or throw can end it. We also try to point out places in the game where a situation that was impacted by our practice or 'lack' of practice on that area occurred. At Stingray's two weeks ago, we had been working on a 'play' and we messed it up twice in 1 game. Afterwords, we walked thru both instances and where all the girls were supposed to be. The very next game, they pulled it over to perfection, getting a double play and 5 girls in on the play flawlessly - with the CF making the final out at second.
This weekend we executed a similar throw-out, return throw DP with a 3 toss run-down that sealed off an inning in the championship game. We had just talked about it after our last game as we only got the lead out that time.
It probably varies according to situation, your teams maturity and how early in the weekend it is. If you are rolling along, a quick, "Great job - let's keep it going" is all it takes!
We have tried both ways ... the more successful teams I have seen sit down, let the girls relax and talk thru the game's key situations while they are still in the kids memory.
Several times we have sit them down and replayed a particularly bad inning to show them how easy it is to let one blow up, but also to understand how a quick correct 'read', play or throw can end it. We also try to point out places in the game where a situation that was impacted by our practice or 'lack' of practice on that area occurred. At Stingray's two weeks ago, we had been working on a 'play' and we messed it up twice in 1 game. Afterwords, we walked thru both instances and where all the girls were supposed to be. The very next game, they pulled it over to perfection, getting a double play and 5 girls in on the play flawlessly - with the CF making the final out at second.
This weekend we executed a similar throw-out, return throw DP with a 3 toss run-down that sealed off an inning in the championship game. We had just talked about it after our last game as we only got the lead out that time.
It probably varies according to situation, your teams maturity and how early in the weekend it is. If you are rolling along, a quick, "Great job - let's keep it going" is all it takes!
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As a parent, I like to only discuss the positives on the way home. I am really sensitive to my kid getting discouraged because of my own experiences. My daugher knows when I am not happy about her performance if I am silent on the way home.
