by rbi » Wed Mar 18, 2009 9:54 am
Every coach has a different coaching philosophy, every coach has a different level of coaching ability (notice i didn't say experience), every coach has a different personality, every coach has a different level of professionalism. One thing that MUST remain constant is professionalism, once you lose your kids respect, then you will lose your parents, once that happens its over regardless of age group. With that said, I feel it is important to remember as coach's especially in younger kids 10's 12's 14's , your kids are a reflection of YOU, how YOU act is how they feel they can act, how YOU teach is how they will play, how YOU hold yourself together is how they will hold themselves together when the water gets a little rough, or even when you just thumped somebody by 15 runs. Kids in the younger age groups are human sponges and see EVERYTHING that YOU as a coach does, and they do NOT forget anything you say to them as a individual or as a team, whereas YOU as a coach in the heat of a moment will forget half of what YOU said, so as a coach think before your lips move. Kids play better with POSITIVE CONSTRUCTIVE coaching, talking to kids about the mistake in between innings and after a game is a good thing, asking them what they did wrong and them telling them how to correct it next time, in a calm firm voice goes a long way. Now yelling at the top of your lungs at a kid in the MIDDLE of an inning after making a physical or mental error is a joke, all it does is make a kid nut up and feel like a p.o.s.., as a coach you have accomplished nothing other than making yourself look like an ahole. Now as a kid gets 16 17 18 there level of tolerance is greater and expectations are higher BUT, as a coach your professionalism still should remain the same.
Younger kids do NOT play better in fear, they play better with good constant instruction at practice, and positive constructive coaching during a game.
I am a true believer in firm coaching, a guy who allows no grab a**ing, a guy who can truly teach the game, a guy who holds himself and his players up to a high standard of sportsmanship and level of play, and a guy who knows how to correct mistakes in a positive professional way. As kids get older the level of coaching should be better and more about the mental part of the game as well as being a great motivator, still in a positive professional manner. Practice is like building a race car, you spend all week putting a race car together, testing it on the track and then on the weekend it is all up to the driver. The same goes for softball, once the game starts its all about how you prepared and the little things that you talk about between innings and after game that help the kids develop into better players, its not about about getting into a kids head while they are in the batters box, telling them every little thing they need to do to get on, that should have been done already in practice, all that does is make them think more, and when your thinking in the box instead of just using muscle memory your in trouble more often than not. Sure a coach who is into the game and is excited is a good thing, telling his kids the situation what to do on the bases is a good thing, moving his OF on each batter is a good thing, yelling to get down when they are going to the base is a good thing, having the F4 cheat towards the middle because she hits that way is a good thing BUT, for example yelling at your IF during the inning when they did not line up right for a relay tells me one thing, like my college coach used to say, LACK OF PREPARATION EQUALS PISS POOR PERFORANCE. Remember as a coach if your having to OVER coach during the game you have not prepared your kids to play the game.
Bottom line is a parent you better research your DD's coach like you would a daycare, TALK to ex parents/players, not just one but several before you make a decision, because for the most part coach's dont change, their uniform may but they do not, GOOD LUCK!!
Last edited by
rbi on Wed Mar 18, 2009 12:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.
