Karma

[jvb]

Karma is a B....! The Lord gave us Karma to even out wrongs, put people in there place and generally keep the score even in life. This past weekend we played in the 16U tournament in Folsom. We were able to make it the Championship game and were beat 11-1. No problem, this team would beat us 99.5 out of a 100 times. Very good talent and well taught. We had no chance after the first inning. Late in the game with a 8-0 lead, they have a runner on third, batter walks and strides towards second. We throw the batter out at second and the runner on third scores. You would have thought, by their reaction it was a one run game. Next, 10-0 lead, runner on third, my third baseman, who has had line drive shot after line drive shot is playing even with the bag. First base coach notices and call for a bunt. She fouled it off, thankfully. I then moved my player in further back to protect her from further line drives. 11-0 lead, we finally get a couple of hits and have a runner on third, coach calls a pick off at third. Almost hit our runner. Here is my Karma thing, as a coach, you need to recognize who and what you are playing. To pour it on is classless. Sportsmanship? Yeah, right! I played sports and have coached since 1974 and everytime I get one of these coaches I find out that they have never played ANYTHING! Sure, the can put together a good team and they can teach well also. However, they just don't get it. Their egos are so large, they think they can either teach teams a lesson or are so clueless they are oblivious to their deeds. I love the way these coaches say they are for the girls and yet they subject other teams to humiliation for their own ego. Great role model!! If you played, then you know about Karma. If you didn't, be sure to take lessons on this great lady. So here is a toast to Karma, may she continue to do her thing!!!

[Iluvblue]

JVB, we know each other and have had many extensive talks about this game, but I am not with you on this one.

if you play up I say you get what you get. I am against all of this playing up, so when a young team moves up and if we are that much better, I am not slowing down. We have to play 16u teams playing up all the time, and when we get one, we score as many as possible, and then if anyone complains, my answer is predicable.

I just think if all the 14u teams stayed in 14u, you would have one kick arse bracket, so why play up? If all the 16u teams stayed in 16u, same thing. So wehn we were playing in bay area a few weeks back and got a sac 16u team... score wasnt close, and oh well. Played down south and got (I think a 16u team) and we scored 17 runs, oh well.


I just dont see hardly ANY reason to play up..... unless you are just that good, and if you were that good, than none of what you described above would have happened.

Ok... start slamming:)

[Sftball Junkie]

I couldn't agree more with you Blue. If you play up except to get it handed to you here and there. Maybe I am reading something wrong but that is the craziest thing I have ever heard. My 3rd baseman can not handle playing up like we are so I have her playing back so she doesn't get hurt. That coach is an ass he bunted when we played our corners on the bag??? Am I reading this right??? Sounds like you need to stay in 14u. This is the exact reason teams need to play in their own age group. Only the best of the best who can compete and are ready should play up.

My question for you JB would is this maybe Karma coming back already??? When you won 10 2 / 9 2 and 10 3 over the teams you played in the same tourney did you stop stealing bases, stop hitting stop bunting.....

[jvb]

SBJ, without a doubt I stopped and went station to station, no going on passed balls etc. My point is that, no matter, you don't pour it on, regardless of age group. Yes, we played up, I have almost all Freshman and don't think I am Pollyanna with my expectations. I have been there and done that for a long time. This is why I get upset. Enough already, coach. You made your point. Is this what teams do each other in other sports? No. High school softball? No. When I coached High School, I had two different schools, that had very poor teams, tell me they would rather see station to station than stepping off the base early or batting left handed. I take that to heart. Oh, BTW, the team that beat us was a 14U team, if I'm not mistaken. If you don't get it, I was being very sarcastic about my 3B playing up. They never bunted once until the coach noticed us playing back!! The team that beat us is outstanding, no problem with that. No problem with the loss. I still,,don't get humiliating ANY team at anytime in sports is good for either team.

As for moving up, ILB, I agree it is a joke (even as I do it)! I love the way you say it. " Parents and coaches with stars in their eyes." Unless a player is real good, she should stay down. Enjoy success, develop confidence, win. What is wrong with hitting .450 or throwing five shutouts during the season? In my mind, nothing. (disclaimer again, unless you are REAL good). When does that good player, who keeps playing up, really going to enjoy that real great season? I would love to see California follow the leads of Georgia, Texas and others that try and stay age pure. I am sick of seeing coaches over promise and under deliver to girls. This "you have to be seen and we play Gold and I have a college prep program" from too many coaches is hurting the game.

[NumeroUno]

I don't care if you play up play down or whatever you play, I cannot stand any coach that runs up a score. Lay downs bunts up by 10, steals bases when you know they have no chance to beat you. I can't stand it. But their are all kinds of low class clowns out there and people that have never played the game that do this kind of stuff. I just reminds me of all the daddy's in rec

[Iluvblue]

We will disagree. I have a 16u team that has 14 players on it. We are returning, 5 players, we do not practice AT ALL in the Fall once we started playing games. This means we had 3 practices. Since we added 2 and maybe 3 players after we had those practices, some of those kids never even had a practice with us. So, that being said, our games are our practices. If Im paying 425-900 bucks for our team to play in a tourney... we are gonna get our practice in. And if we are up by 12 runs, and I have a kid that is trying to learn to bunt for hits, or put down squeezes, or get the proper jumps when stealing bases, in a game against a team that is playing up..... im sorry, but we are gonna get our practice in.

And JVB knows me personally, and he knows I am not about the win as I am about teaching(during Fall), so it is NEVER about me, or a score, it is about teaching. Teaching on every pitch, of every inning, of every game. If that rubs someone the wrong way.. oh well. I have a responsibility to MY PLAYERS and my parents, and that is to make their kid a better player. It takes game experience to get better, no matter what the score is. I can not get a kid to get really aggressive if every time we are up by 7 or 8 or whatever you think is acceptable im supposed to shut it down. I can not get those kids to where I want them to be, if every time we play some 14u team playing up, we get to play 2-3 innings and then are supposed to stop playing our style of play. So we play our style of play, every inning, every at bat, every game. That's why when we go to showcases, we dont change who we are because we are in a "Showcase."

I try to NEVER worry about what the other team is doing. I dont expect them to shut it down on us ever.. and if we are getting blown out, than I better look at the tourneys i am placing my team in and rethink what I am doing. That is why I kept our 12u out of ASA tourneys for a while. I hadnt been in 12u in so long, that I wasnt sure what they would do, so we played at Rainbow.

Now after playing in ASA for a few weeks, I know they are fine, but had we got crushed, our butts would have been right back at rainbow, not trying to move up to 14u.


We can agree to disagree, but what I do is not because I am someone who never played. I played sports my entire life, my daughter is the all time leading scorer in the history of her HS basketball team boy or girl and was first team all ccaa last year, so I have been around a little while.

We just disagree on the right way of doing things... and that is ok.

[jvb]

ILB, I have played and coached against coaches like yourself. The difference being, you go into the game and I go into the game knowing what to expect. I can see some of your point, I love to teach also and the field is the best classroom. It is coaches who have no clue, no plan, no system no idea, that bother me. I wouldn't necessarily do what you do but I understand your system. I guess, for some people, you had to be there to see what I am talking about.

[Iluvblue]

I guess i should clarify a little, because what I said above is not 100% accurate. On our Gold team, we will stop doing what we normally do at some point, but that is because i am not teaching those kids that much anymore, depending on who they are.


But for the younger teams(12-16u), we dont stop. My 12u team has a TON to learn, and we won games last weekend 10-0, 13-0 and 15-4, and I wouldnt even think of slowing them down for 1 second, as they are just learning this stuff.

[thecloser02]

Iluvblue you probably never played the game in fact you were probably in the band or a cheer leader. Hey blue if you want to practice go rent a field, how do you think the other kids feel when some clown is calling for a bunt up by 12. If you ever played mens fastpitch which I know you haven't you pull that crap up by 5 the next batter gets it in the ear hole. If fact the next two batters might get beaned. You either never played the game or you have no class which one?

[Iluvblue]

You are right, I never played mens fastpitch, and I dont have class either. I learned what little I know from a book, and I subscribe to Jenny Finch's newsletter.

How do the kids feel when a clown calls for a bunt when they are up by 12? Uhhhmmm maybe frustrated, maybe upset, maybe angry.......... angry that they have a coach that doesnt teach them what to do. If I were the parent of said kid, id go find a coach that could actually make my kid better.

We arent talking about pro sports, or mens sports for that matter, where you arent trying to teach during the game.

And as far as our practice field... i did rent a field, for 425 bucks, and it comes with opponents.

This thing called softball is really simple. You do what works for you, and I will do what works for me and my players.