What is the most rewarding thing in coaching?

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What is the most rewarding thing that you had happen to you coaching this last season?

I think mine was the countless times we worked with one lady on her hitting. ?We went over technique with her before every game and at any practice we had. ?She got better and started hitting. ?In one of the last tournaments she got a game winning hit and won the medal for the game. ?This was icing on the cake!! ?

 

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I think the obvious answer for most would be to see the players improve on the field. Clearly, that is a major focus, but what we're really doing is grooming these ladies for the rest of their lives....how they will handle themselves in good & bad situations, and how they will handle others. What is most rewarding for me as a coach is when the team truly becomes a family....when you can see them taking care of each other & working together off the field in things not related to softball. Through the course of a summer, a team really spends quite a bit of time with each other. It is obvious when girls are having issues with each other, especially now that everyone communicates non-stop with texting, email, and myspace. For me, the real challenge is getting them to put all that crap aside for the betterment of the group.


Like PBSfan, the single most rewarding moment came when a young lady that had spent all winter working extra on the tee before & after practice ripped a triple during a close game. Throughout the year, this particular player had not been able to gauge the strides she had been making, and because she wasn't one of the 'studs' many of her own teammates had not noticed either (12yr olds can be so self-involved ;D). It was great to see the change in the way she carried herself after that hit, and the difference in the way her teammates responded to everything she did from that point on.

 

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Bar none...

I take the most enjoyment out of seeing the players take what we work on in practice and take it to the field.

I beam when the girls come off of the field and say to me..."We did it coach" or "OMG, it worked".

I live for their smiles and laughter when they realized that they have advanced to a level they above where they were before. Is there any other reason to coach?

 

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OK. So most of you don't find coaching to be a rewarding job. :

Then what is your favorite moment that you remember from coaching?

 

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Favorite moment, maybe not, but this is definately my most memorable moment.
My team was all pumped up after taking 1st place in Loudonville. ?The following weekend we played in Pickerington and I and my asst. coach made a deal with them, if you take 1st place again this week, WE'LL SHAVE OUR HEADS BALD!
Well, that must have been all the motivation they needed because they did take 1st place in Pickerington! ?Those girls sat me in a chair in the hotel parking lot and took turns removing each and every hair from my never-before-seen head! ?They didn't just shave it off though, oh no, that would have been too easy. ?They shaved letters and designs in my head, gave me a mohawk and embarrassed me every way they could imagine before finally swiping my scalp clean! ?They had a blast and they have pictures to torment me with for years to come! :-[
Turns out, I actually like the bald-look and kept it all summer. ?To keep my head from getting sun-burned, I started wearing a do-rag, hence, the "Thunder-Rags" were born and became something we all did the rest of the year! ?Good times!

 

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When I coached, a hundred years ago....

I loved watching the team execute something we worked hard on in our practice. Especially in their younger ages, 10-12. I can remember working on run downs until I couldn't take it anymore. In the SpanoDome against one of our rivals, we caught a girl off third and executed the run down perfectly. I heard a girl in the field say, " We own her now" . I loved that.

Watching a kid work hard in practice so they could succeed on the field in game battle. Hitting, bunting, drag bunt and executing in the game. I loved that.

I loved watching the team win against a tough team... seeing each of them step their game up when their team needed them.

I loved watching my team throw the ball in the infield. So many time you hear a coach yell: Stop throwing the ball around. Our team worked hard on those throws and we executed that on the field to get outs. Especially the out at home, after going for the runner on first trying to steal second. (Runners on the corners.) I loved watching that.

I have many memories of my two daughters succeeding on the field that I will forever cherish. Wonderful memories, great summers, lots of travel and loads of fun.

 

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Every girl on my team will still say hi to me in public! even the DD. Considering that at 18U they have all aged out and don't "need" me any more I guess thats the best I can hope for.

 

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grs that is a pretty good accomplishment. I have explayers say hi all the time, 16U and 18U. Getting any response from the DD is a chore, 16U! She just turned 16 I guess she is trying to spread her wings. That is unless she wants me to pitch the whiffle balls to her in the backyard. Then I am good enough. ;D ;D I guess I will take whatever she gives me.

 

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Leaving the office early all the time. ;D

Actually, I most enjoy just seeing the girls have fun playing a sport I love.

 

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I think the most rewarding thing that has ever been said to me by one of my girls was "Thanks for putting up with us, even when we su@k." Just one of those things that I will never forget.

 

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I just love coaching. I get my rewards when I take an occasional moment and just sit for a minute and watch our girls interact with each other. Knowing that I had a hand in getting all these kids together and then seeing them form relationships that could last a lifetime or at the very least be in their memories forever.

I don't know if any of this is going to make any sense to you but, the other thing I always think about is that at some point in each of our girls lives they will realize that everything we are teaching them now is going to apply to their everyday lives as adults. They will know their coaches had a big hand in helping them develop into mentally,physically and spiritually strong, good charactered, hard working adults. There is an old gospel song that asks "what will I leave behind?". Well I hope there are many things, and this will become one of them. The real reward will come later on.

 

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The best thing is to get 10-12 girls together in early September who do not know each other and be able to have practices with nice, quiet girls then come tournament time you cannot get them to stop talking enough to start practice! For me, coaching and playing, the most rewarding thing is to see the friendship between the girls as teammates, the coach to the girls and the respect that is built between player and coach. The girls become 'my girls' and its rewarding to see them learn from what you have taught them.