Here's the situation.

[Pale Rider]

I dont think anyone expects that level of play nor competition...
My biggest whine / gripe/ complain besides your pet peeve of overuse is breaking the first rule of first aid...
First do no harm...
To many reinforced bad habits being taught...

[Sam]

[quote="Pale Rider"]I dont think anyone expects that level of play nor competition...
My biggest whine / gripe/ complain besides your pet peeve of overuse is breaking the first rule of first aid...
First do no harm...
To many reinforced bad habits being taught...[/quote]

This is perhaps the funniest thing to me.....this constant mantra that HS coaches universally teach the wrong mechanics of hitting, fielding, and/or pitching. Hilarious.

NEWSFLASH: The TB coaches are no different, especially the old guard elite Gold coaches who are still teaching 1985 mechanics. Yet not a single one of you posts complaining about that. None. If you are going to complain about the teaching of wrong mechanics, have the balls to do it about all the coaches who do it.....don't give your TB coach a break just because he/she kisses your ass.

This isn't directed at you, PR, but the entirety of the HS Coach Bashing Crowd.

[Pale Rider]

Sam...do you have a Crystal ball that sees what every HS coach does?...no?
Then quit making assinine assumptions that everyone is as perfect as you...

[Sam]

My point, PR, (which you may have missed) is that HS coaches don't have a monopoly on giving bad advice. TB coaches, many of them very well thought of, have their own clan of bad habit promoters. The problem is that they are rarely called out for that transgression.

The mechanics we see of players coming from elite TB programs are atrocious much of the time. Their TB coaches either don't know enough to correct them or they are too afraid to correct them.

[Pale Rider]

I'll concede that all TB coaches aren't perfect, but that's a parents call whether to use them or not...
But HS's are stuck with whatever...with no recourse, besides just not playing...
and again granted there's a myriad of 'what is correct' techniques out there...


I know several folks on here who are HS coaches who do take it seriously and I applaud them and am sympathetic with their parental issues...
http://www.ksla.com/story/28554398/coac ... pe=generic

All I ask is for them is to be serious about the sport and learn the game...treat the girls like athletes and not babies...

[Inthestands]

The HS coach is an English teacher......and played softball when he was 8.....therefore he qualified for the position

[airbear]

In Georgia we're having a problem with high schools holding practice games during the week in the summer months. We play high school ball in the fall and they are ignoring players' travel schedules and playing multiple "practice games" with no concern about the number of innings pitched or weekly lessons, in order to get them ready for the fall. Freshman parents are most impacted by this practice, with reduced playing time threatened and/or punishment for missing these meaningless games. It is totally illegal, but the practice continues.
I won't go into the poor level of coaching as high school serves as the only way most of these athletes get the community recognition they deserve. I don't see bad habits being formed by the poor coaching, just a minor erosion of the skills they develop over the spring and summer. They actually moved the high school season back a week last year so it conflicts with the Disney showcase we had attended since it started. It didn't affect every player, just the ones active in state playoffs.
I hate high school ball, but it is probably necessary to break the pressure and intensity of travel. I try to see as many games as possible to support our players.