by rbi » Fri Oct 09, 2015 12:56 pm
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.