Season Stats

[SwingMan]

Coaches, what is your preference with sharing stats with families? To be transparent and share all stats to everyone, provide only their child's stats, or allow them to keep their own stats if they're interested?

Appreciate the feedback.

[NumeroUno]

I have been on teams that have done both individual and team. Not sure what the best way to go. Their are pro and cons on both. sorry, I'm no help

[bigballer]

N1 is absolutely correct! There are downsides to both ways. But, I prefer to keep the stats to myself during the season and field questions regarding them throughout the season. Then at the end of the season post the team stats for all to see. With that said, I always feel the book is somewhat subjective unless I'm keeping it myself and that rarely happens. Usually it's a team parent that instead of scoring an ROE scores a hit fudging the numbers a little.

[binary]

As has been suggested, statistics can be as well used as they are misused. Stats can be informative, and they can be misleading. They are nothing more than a tool, that when used as intended, are to provide some small input into coaching decisions. They should never be the only input, but certainly are helpful when they provide insight to a situation that would otherwise go unnoticed. You also have to rely upon them to be accurate, and trust the judgment of the statistician to ensure that the game is being documented without bias. True, unbiased, play by play, movement by movement stats are difficult to come by unless you have a dedicated individual to perform that task on behalf of your team.

Your original question -- should team season stats be shared with parents? No. I may take some flame for that -- but the first question I have when faced with the parent request is "Why do you want them?" Asking a coach for stats is usually not the root issue that the parent is looking to solve or comment upon. They will not solve any playing time discussions, they will not solve player position or rotation discussions, etc.

Should stats be used to qualify individual discussion points with parent and players? Sure -- it provides a little feedback regarding the personal performance of a player. You can direct the conversation on how the player THEMSELVES improved from one time frame to another (3 months ago versus current, or last tournament versus this tournament). I never use them to discuss how one player performs against another player on the same team. That is asking for trouble. I can show you the stats of two pitchers, for example, and one will look "better" than another with regards to something simple like WHIP score. Unless you have exceptionally detailed stats about the types of batters faced, you would not be able to discern that one pitcher faced poorly performing teams and that elevated her stats and lowered her WHIP, versus the other pitcher working her a*** off against top talent and did a reasonable job keeping them at bay and kept a reasonable WHIP score any coach would be happy with.

So... no I would not post them for all team members to see. Yes, I would share individual stats with individual players during individual meetings or at end-of-season coach/player evals.

[genbender69]

I use GameChanger keeps all the stats, spray charts. If parents want there players stat i send them to them. Sharing the book is a slippery slop. What happens and plays made are not reflected in an book.

[rbi]

Stats can be very misleading for various reasons. I am a firm believer it should be a coach entering game by game stats. This coach should be a coach who doesn't have a kid on the team (for various reasons need not be discussed)… Stats are only one tool for a coach to make out his/her lineup, it is not the be all end all to making a lineup. Stats also can be misleading depending upon the level of play each week. If Suzy its .400 on a weekend she playing weak opponents, and Sally plays instead of Suzy the following week against superior pitching and hits .333,, the coach really needs to weigh this out and make a decision based upon what he/she sees in each of those at bats. You could have a kid hit .250 for the weekend and hit the ball hard every at bat, and you could have a kid hit .375 all weekend and have four or five bloop singles or weak ground balls that had eyes. A kid could have a 12 pitch at bat that ended in a strikeout, but was a quality at bat, and if you don't have notes, it just looks like a strikeout. I could go on and on but in reality it comes down to the coaches keeping notes as to each at bat and where ball was hit and how hard. Stats are just a tool, keeping notes and not just spray charts are a great idea, as what we are really looking for are quality at bats and nothing more.

As far as sharing stats with parents, i guess if they want them and they done by the right person its ok but, 9 times out 10, its not done by right person. You start sharing stats with parents and Suzy's mom does stats, that just causes problems.. Same as Bob the asst coach who does stats and has a DD playing, just causes unneeded headaches. I a amazed at how many parents keep their own books, i guess for some it keeps them into the game but, for others its just amunition to call coach on…

Lastly, i think its crazy that a 10yr old knows her batting avg,It really just tells me the parent sticks it in her head, cuz 10 yr olds are not keeping stats. That same parent walks around a complex or anywhere for that matter and tells people his kids avg., happens to me all the time, i just say thats great keep it up, all the while I'm just thinking, why, why?? That goes for older age's as well, i just think stats are the kiss of death in a young kid. High stats can lead to complacency and arrogance, and low stats can lead to lack of confidence. Trust me kids young or old know if they are hitting well or not, and don't need to know stats to help them know.I used to ask my kid what her avg was, all the time i knew what it was and she would say, dad i have no clue, and that probably holds true still today… Love that about her, keeps her even keel thru a long grind of a season. Have your kid try it, it might surprise you.

[leftymom17]

First of all, I am not a coach but I am a huge fan of keeping stats. I do have a daughter on the team, and I have been scorekeeper for every single team my daughter and her older brother have ever played on. I am an avid (some say rabid) baseball fan, so I feel like I have a better grasp on overall stats/score keeping than the average softball mom.

I use GameChanger and another mom keeps a book. The coach doesn't look at either. Ever. I feel like he should, because there are girls consistently making errors in positions that they probably shouldn't be playing. There are girls batting in positions they probably shouldn't. I charge errors when they are deserved. They are playing at a high level and shouldn't be coddled into thinking they are doing better than they actually are. Recently I made the offer to the parents that if they wanted their girls stats I would happily share. A couple parents jumped at the chance, but the coach chimed in and said the girls shouldn't see them because it will "make them feel bad". I'm sorry that their .143 season average makes them sad, maybe they should console themselves with a bucket of balls and some side toss.

I understand it is a difference of opinon between the coach and I, but I feel strongly there is a place for stats in softball especially when making position and/or lineup changes. My kid enjoys analyzing her stats- not to brag but to improve both her batting and her position play. I think with the way I see recruiting going girls are going to be forced to have their abilities quantified and analyzed and should get used to seeing the numbers and how they compare to their teammates and competition.

[MC3sMom]

Great post leftymom! Our Gamechanger score keeper recently hid other player stats so we can't see them, except our daughters. My daughter, like yours, likes to analyze and see how she compares with others so she can figure out how to improve her game.

[lovethegame_ltg]

Good info MC3sMom and leftymom17.
Thank u.
Question: Do the stats matter to the girls and the parents if u r 12u or 10u teams?

[SwingMan]

So, the season is over. I agreed to provide the stats - and made it known "any issues, second guessing, proposed lineups" and it would stop. Didn't have one issue.

Stats are provided after every tournament. Some parents like them, other don't care. We were liberal with the stats - unless there was an obvious fielding error.

As a coach - I can see who's getting on base and who's not or striking out too much. At this age, that's all I care about.