Working on technique during a game or positive "peptalk"

[Yappi]

Recently saw a game where coaches from two different teams had different approaches. Which do you support or prefer? When batters are up to bat during a game, which do you prefer to see from a coach?

Technique - coach telling most batters that they are doing something wrong with her eyes, shoulder, head, legs, hips, etc. and gives corrective advice

Peptalk - coach says hit it hard, line shot here, nobody better, find a gap, etc.

 

[NewOldBlood]

I prefer the peptalk. I've never been a big proponent of coaching technique during the games, especially during high school. There is plenty of time for that at practice and a lot of kids in high school are really novice level hitters who do very little outside of the season so I feel coaching technique gets in their head a little bit and has them thinking too much. With that being said, if you see a kid pulling their head or dropping their bat on a bunt something simple or minor I don't see anything wrong with giving them a little coaching advice to go along with the peptalk.

It's funny you mention this because one of the things I see in softball a lot of times is coaches trying to over-coach. I see a lot of coaches who want to impact the game with their coaching rather than just letting the game play out. They steal in dumb situations. Bunt when it's unnecessary. Call trick defensive plays. In the sectional final one time, my daughter's team was tied up in the bottom of the 7th with two outs. We had runners on first and third with our best hitter up (a scholarship level player, currently starting as a freshman in college). The winning run is at a third, the runner at first means nothing. On the first pitch the coach steals second. It worked out, they didn't catch her, we get a hit and win but it was still a dumb move. Just an example of trying too hard to impact the outcome rather than letting your best players do what they do.

 

[Thavoice]

Recently saw a game where coaches from two different teams had different approaches. Which do you support or prefer? When batters are up to bat during a game, which do you prefer to see from a coach?

Technique - coach telling most batters that they are doing something wrong with her eyes, shoulder, head, legs, hips, etc. and gives corrective advice

Peptalk - coach says hit it hard, line shot here, nobody better, find a gap, etc.

First person sounds like a coach.
Second person sounds like just a parent. Most times ya just hear the same ole tired phrases, most of which are incorrect anyways.

However......I prefer to do most of that sort of coaching between innings/in the dugout or after/between games and not necessarily during the AB. At that point you almost need the hitter to just react and play instead of thinking.

 

[Auggie]

I was told by a great coach that at most you can only remember 2 points of emphasis while doing an athletic play like hitting or pitching so that was my point of emphasis when I coached. In softball 1 was always the situation and what was the smart play; the other was usually a mental image to focus on that will help them succeed in making the smart play. I always cringed when I would hear 3 or 4 different points being shouted from a dugout to a single player and then you would have coach mom or dad chip in from the stands too. My head would explode.

 

[Gbulldog]

I was told by a great coach that at most you can only remember 2 points of emphasis while doing an athletic play like hitting or pitching so that was my point of emphasis when I coached. In softball 1 was always the situation and what was the smart play; the other was usually a mental image to focus on that will help them succeed in making the smart play. I always cringed when I would hear 3 or 4 different points being shouted from a dugout to a single player and then you would have coach mom or dad chip in from the stands too. My head would explode.

Like golf...have several swings thoughts during round...practice on the range

 

[Yappi]

I was told by a great coach that at most you can only remember 2 points of emphasis while doing an athletic play like hitting or pitching so that was my point of emphasis when I coached. In softball 1 was always the situation and what was the smart play; the other was usually a mental image to focus on that will help them succeed in making the smart play. I always cringed when I would hear 3 or 4 different points being shouted from a dugout to a single player and then you would have coach mom or dad chip in from the stands too. My head would explode.

Agreed. What makes it worse is when a parent yells the opposite of the smart play.

 

[Thavoice]

Agreed. What makes it worse is when a parent yells the opposite of the smart play.

Parents are the worst.
In baseball, and softball I suppose, it is worse because the players generally can hear their parents yelling 'what to do'.

 

[Thavoice]

I was told by a great coach that at most you can only remember 2 points of emphasis while doing an athletic play like hitting or pitching so that was my point of emphasis when I coached. In softball 1 was always the situation and what was the smart play; the other was usually a mental image to focus on that will help them succeed in making the smart play. I always cringed when I would hear 3 or 4 different points being shouted from a dugout to a single player and then you would have coach mom or dad chip in from the stands too. My head would explode.

Two words:

Muscle Memory.



So much of sports is muscle memory resulting from reps, and more reps, and more reps, and more reps.
You dont get those reps in the games, you get them in practice and on your own.

That is why I am absolutely hating how youth baseball and softball has evolved. They are playing more games, but getting much less practice.
Less practice = less reps.
Less reps = less muscle memory.
Less muscle memory = less ability.

There is a reason why our HoF coach would have 2 hour practices before games often times in the summers. He would say playing games is great, but that also takes away from practice time and without practice we lose that edge of working on the little things that make us better ball players.


Kid can play 4-8 games in a 3 day period nowadays. BP? Just soft toss, or those dead balls they use. INF/OF? Those garbage ground balls in foul territory often times on turf that makes it so easy their grandma's could field it.

With time limits 2-3 AB a game. How many legit pitches are to hit per game? Swings per game? Ground balls per game?

Kids would be MUCH, MUCH, MUCH better off if they cut their games in HALF (or more), and dedicate more time to practice either with the team or individually.

Off my soapbox now....

 

[NewOldBlood]

Two words:

Muscle Memory.



So much of sports is muscle memory resulting from reps, and more reps, and more reps, and more reps.
You dont get those reps in the games, you get them in practice and on your own.

That is why I am absolutely hating how youth baseball and softball has evolved. They are playing more games, but getting much less practice.
Less practice = less reps.
Less reps = less muscle memory.
Less muscle memory = less ability.

There is a reason why our HoF coach would have 2 hour practices before games often times in the summers. He would say playing games is great, but that also takes away from practice time and without practice we lose that edge of working on the little things that make us better ball players.


Kid can play 4-8 games in a 3 day period nowadays. BP? Just soft toss, or those dead balls they use. INF/OF? Those garbage ground balls in foul territory often times on turf that makes it so easy their grandma's could field it.

With time limits 2-3 AB a game. How many legit pitches are to hit per game? Swings per game? Ground balls per game?

Kids would be MUCH, MUCH, MUCH better off if they cut their games in HALF (or more), and dedicate more time to practice either with the team or individually.

Off my soapbox now....

Good points and I believe this is why the industry of softball and baseball training has evolved into what it is and what has turned baseball and softball in to something of country club sports, where for the most part the only one's who can truly excel at the highest levels are the ones who can afford a hitting instructor or a pitching coach who they see on their own time. My daughter played on a travel softball team with kids from all over Ohio and a few from Indiana, KY, and W. Virginia. They would practice maybe 3 or 4 times a year but play 80-100 games between the summer and fall. You were expected to practice on your own time and it always became pretty evident who was not putting the time in as the season wore on.

 

[Thavoice]

Good points and I believe this is why the industry of softball and baseball training has evolved into what it is and what has turned baseball and softball in to something of country club sports, where for the most part the only one's who can truly excel at the highest levels are the ones who can afford a hitting instructor or a pitching coach who they see on their own time. My daughter played on a travel softball team with kids from all over Ohio and a few from Indiana, KY, and W. Virginia. They would practice maybe 3 or 4 times a year but play 80-100 games between the summer and fall. You were expected to practice on your own time and it always became pretty evident who was not putting the time in as the season wore on.

Here comes the rub, especially for baseball. Play 4-8 games in a 3-4 day period, often times hours away.
Coaches overuse the pitchers by stopping at the limit so they can come back and throw in multiple games.
That leaves Mon-Wed/Thur for practice. Hell, monday many are washed out from so many games (and sore if you are a pitcher) and by the time you can legit get work in it isnt enough.

These extended seasons of travel are not doing most of the kids any good.
Those teams are all about the BACK of the jersey's, and not about the programs they will represent,

 

[Yappi]

Here comes the rub, especially for baseball. Play 4-8 games in a 3-4 day period, often times hours away.
Coaches overuse the pitchers by stopping at the limit so they can come back and throw in multiple games.
That leaves Mon-Wed/Thur for practice. Hell, monday many are washed out from so many games (and sore if you are a pitcher) and by the time you can legit get work in it isnt enough.

These extended seasons of travel are not doing most of the kids any good.
Those teams are all about the BACK of the jersey's, and not about the programs they will represent,

I wish we could go back to the good ole days when baseball and softball was a community game. Play and practice in your community and then at the end of the season, put some of the better players together and go play other communities. I believe this builds better players. I personally don't understand how/why teams have players that live 2-3 hours apart. That just doesn't make sense to me. Some of these teams don't even practice together because it's too much of a time commitment to dive 4-6 hours in one day for one practice.

Back to the original topic, maybe this is why some coaches try to coach during games because it is their only opportunity. IMO, coaches should only correct glaring mistakes of technique during a game. Telling the kids they are failing seems like a recipe for failure. I remember one coach in particular who would say something to every batter on every pitch about what they were doing wrong (many times, it was different on every pitch). Not sure any of those players ever got better from that instruction...but they sure were frustrated.

 

[CedarBuck92]

Recently saw a game where coaches from two different teams had different approaches. Which do you support or prefer? When batters are up to bat during a game, which do you prefer to see from a coach?

Technique - coach telling most batters that they are doing something wrong with her eyes, shoulder, head, legs, hips, etc. and gives corrective advice

Peptalk - coach says hit it hard, line shot here, nobody better, find a gap, etc.

I think a bit of both is good. As long as your Critiques can be given in a constructive fashion (and they are small things) I think it can be good. Good positive energy is great but if a kid is doing something wrong they need to be coached on it.

 

[BASESWIMPARENT]

Coach between games and try to be positive during the game. Make notes as a coach and take the time to correct the mistakes between the games. Games should be the TEST and practices should be the studying. But it has been my experience that most coaches simply don't know how to practice and honestly are not willing to practice enough. There is a select program down here in SWO which has younger teams that are virtually unbeatable because they simply don't make mistakes. Their pitchers throw strikes and they make the routine plays routinely. They practice or play virtually every day during the season. When it rains they go indoors. They drill and drill and run some of the best practices that I have seen at any level. They are very, very expensive and interestingly enough do not produce a lot of high, high level players. To be good in baseball and softball, you have to practice a lot. You have to dry swing, do hands drills, do pitching drills almost everyday, especially in season. If you don't practice a play, it won't be made. Games have taken the place of practice and the seasons start to early and end to early. Softball and baseball are really hard games to master. You can't just athlete yourself into being good.