What should a team do?

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At a jv game on Saturday a local team was leading 15 - 0 against a team that was obviously out manned. ? This team continued to steal base, ?even stealing home a couple of times making the score 17 -0, ? my dd team would stop the aggresive base running once the game is so obviously in hand, ?no sense in rubbing the score in. ? What would most teams do?

 

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I'm not sure what most teams would do, but we would stop stealing and doing things that serve no purpose other than rubbing it in.

 

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Timac4
The purpose of the JV is to prepare the girls to play Varsity. With that said, the team you are referring to did not even pitch their JV pitcher that game. They brought up the freshman pitcher to pitch the game. Several freshmen who had never seen any time in a JV game this year played as well. I do not believe the coach was rubbing it in as you say, but teaching his girls to play at the next level.

 

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Perhaps this is one of the lessons of real life where if a team doesn't like getting it handed to them, it serves as motivation to work hard and improve.

 

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My team would never rub it in like that. After 13 or 14 runs and it is obvious of the outcome, My team will "call off the dogs". To me a coach should not let this happen, be it Varsity, or J.V. ?I have been on the other end of that score and it crushes the losing team bad and serves no purpose to the winning team at all because you don't "Learn" to play Varsity by playing a team who is out manned by a mile. You get better by playing first rate talent, not running up the score on a team who can't compete with you. JMO. ? :-X

 

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I have to say that I do not support rubbing-in or running up a score, BUT I will never teach my girls that there is any level less than 100%. Nobody likes to have the score run-up on them, me included, but if you start teaching that you can lay back when you feel the game is in hand who's to say the girls don't get that mindset when it is not appropriate.

 

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I have to agree with "the3dm".
If you were to ask one of my players what should the winning team do.
they would say the other team should have practiced more.
But I also do not like to run the score up if ahead by that margin.

 

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I would never ask my girls what they want to do as far as game strategy. I am the coach, not them. If you beat someone 70 to 0 you really didn't do anything now did you. As coaches, we should teach our girls to be good sports. Destroying a bunch of girls just because you can is poor sportsmanship and terrible coaching.

 

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I was at a tournament over the weekend with my DD. There was a team there that ran up the score on the other team 27-0 then bragged about it. The coaches showed no class and taught their team nothing about sportsmanship. I also observed the girls from that team making fun of the coaches from the opposing team. Their parents were just as rude. I really wonder about the message we are sending young ladies that will grow up and be our future when coaches and parents act that way. We have our DD in this to learn discipline, repesct, and to have fun. Playing a team like that really destroys that lesson.

 

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Most travel ball players are taught in order to win a tournament you must give 110% each and every game you play during that tournament - regardless of the competition. You are not to give 50% your first game and 70% your second or third game, but 110% each and every game. Running up the score - how do you tell these girls that have been practicing since August of 2005 that you no longer are to steal when the ball gets past the catcher or don't worry about trying so hard to catch the fly ball - it's okay this game if it drops, don't swing your bat so hard because the other girls may not be able to catch the ball? Most travel ball players are taught that if they do not give 110% each and every game, they can sit the bench and watch the other girls who are willing to give 110% every game of every tournament. I feel bad for the teams that have not put in the time to be competitive at the travel ball level (maybe at 12U many teams are still young or new to travel ball), but you teach the kids to continue to work hard each and every day to become a better individual player which will in turn make them a better player on a team. When you come from a year of not being as competitive, you either work harder to become a stronger team or you go back to playing community ball.

Good Luck in 2006 to All Teams Playing Travel Ball!

 

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There is nothing about giving 100% that means players and coaches cannot think and make adjustments based on the situation at hand, ?otherwise we would see basket ball teams shooting three pointers when they have a lead with a small amount of time. ? Giving 100% means with the brain too. ? ?

 

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Timac4 - you are right !

So coaches try a drag bunt from a kid who is unsure of how to drag - and it works, move a kid to the outfield that is used to playing infield - and it works, give a kid more playing time and rest another for a more competitive game and these kids play outstanding. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't and looks bad. That is why many communities or tournaments have a mercy rule - it's not fun to be lose by so much. I'm sure that many teams have been on both ends of the coin with winning or losing games.

Good luck with your future games.

 

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HITTER23
I don't mean it to sound so terrible or as hardnosed as you believe - I am not like that in the least. Yes, my DD team has been on both sides (winning by a lot and losing by a lot). I enjoy watching good games - winning by a lot or losing by a lot is not a good game for anyone. I feel sorry for the kids that are trying and it seems that no matter what they do, it's not working today. I'm not a coach, so I cannot "Call Off the Dogs", but I did see the coach do some of the things you mentioned. Really, what else can be done? You want the other team to do better, but what else can you do? It's a lose-lose situation for everyone.

 

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Here's what we did this past weekend when it was obvious in the top of the 1st that it could get ugly. When my top of the order came up for the second time we bunted, and we continued to bunt on 2 strikes and 2 outs. I let the girls bunt or slap from the left side. We didn't steal. I put my #3 pitcher in and switched players positions in the field. We won by 8 runs in 5 innings. I felt better about that win than any other over the weekend. The other team was very appreciative about our actions and my girls learned something and had fun.

A coach knows after a few batters how the game is usually going to go. Its up to him to decide which road to take.

 

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Great post Coachdad, as coaches we do have a responsibility to teach our young ladies sportsmanship along with their fastpitch skills. Skills can be taught in practice but need games to be fine tuned, and games like the one you mentioned help the girls to gain confidence in the things that they are struggling with. It shouldn't be anyones goal to just destroy other teams and thier players.

 

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Hitter23? Guess that post got deleted before I read it.

Anyway, I have to strongly agree with those who say that some steps should be taken to stop the bleeding. And no, this isn't equivalent to telling your kids as a general matter not to give 110%. It's equivalent to telling your kids that IN SOME LIMITED SITUATIONS, giving 110% is inconsistent with the softball culture. Our girls are smart enough to understand if you tell them directly that this is one of the few situations where you don't want them going all out.

Phrased differently, there is an easy answer to 3dm's question ("but if you start teaching that you can lay back when you feel the game is in hand who's to say the girls don't get that mindset when it is not appropriate&quot: the COACH is responsible for making sure that the girls understand the limited situations for laying back and the importance of giving 110% in other situations.

And I also think that our girls are smart enough to respect a coach who doesn't feel the need to totally embarrass a clearly inferior team.

 

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Fastpitch123,

I understand your approach in this topic since you are with I believe the ********** team that defeated ******** 26-0 this past weekend at 12U. Honestly this serves nothing more than to show arrogance. My DD has played for several teams that could have mercied teams 30 or 40-0 but they didnt, they stopped stealing, they left bases early only to possibly end the game quicker.

Team Names removed - TheBearMay

 

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Whenever we talk about this topic here or on the Huddle, some people like to shift the focus to the losing team. As coaches we can control only our own team. Stating that the losing team simply needs to get better avoids taking responsibility for the actions of our own team.

A coach on the winning side of one of these games can do things that serve to not humiliate the losing team. It isn't that hard, and the girls on the winning side will not be softened by not going all out to run up the score as much as they can. The attitude that the girls will never be the same players again if they don't give 100% all the time after the score is 20-0 is an insult to the intelligence of the girls. In fact, any ballplayer with any brains at all can distinguish between playing in a 20-0 game and a 2-1 game, and can transition easily between the two.

 

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Fred - Yes, my DD plays for the ********. They are a very good group of girls (on and off the field). They play the game and go back to the hotel with the hopes that the swimming pool is still open or wondering if their mom/day will let them rent a movie from their hotel room - they just enjoy being young girls. They don't strategize or dwell on a player's mistake in the game. That's the coaches job.

JoeA1010 - You are correct that coaches more or less set the tone of how the kids are going to play. Unfortunately, the team that was not strong Saturday morning was to be followed by a rival team that we have never won a game against in our 5 years of playing fastpitch, it's tough. Yes, I know our girls are smart enough to know that the first team was not a team to be too concerned about, but they had better play strong because the next game was most likely going to be the hardest game of the tournament. They are 12 years old and sometimes when they get lazy and unfocused, it takes a good couple of games to get them back in the game. We did not have the time to get them back in the game if they felt like they could just breeze through game #1.

No one likes to loose by so much. No one likes to win by so much. We all like a good competitive game.

Team name removed - TheBearMay

 

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If we can keep the team names out of this I think the thread may have a better chance of staying open.

Thanks.