| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| HITANDRUN |
Posted - 12/02/2008 : 13:34:46
What should we as parents be looking for in a good coach at these ages?
1. Knowledge of the game and skills
2. Being able to transfer that knowledge and teach it to younger kids.
3. Positive Attitude
Feel free to chime in
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| 25 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| baseballwizkid |
Posted - 12/09/2008 : 16:25:50
Ouch! Is that article talking about youth baseball or high school on up?!?!?!? If you scream and give a “verbal beat down” to 80% of kids ages 5-12(which in my opinion is youth sports in general) they will shut down and not want to give a 100% or in turn will eventually leave or quit your team....Screaming, yelling, demoralizing, “calling out”, embarrassing a player in front of teammates/parents/other teams/umpires shows lack of discipline and coaching ability on the coaches part. If the coach has to scream and rant and rave to a player than he hasn’t done his job coaching, if he coached the kid the proper way to do it in the 1st place, he wouldn’t get so upset, kind of like that old trick…......put out your hand and act like your pointing at somebody with your pointer finger out, ya know, giving them a “verbal beat down”….....turn your hand over and see how many fingers are pointing back at you……That’s reality at its finest.
Kids will make mistakes, that’s why they play, to try and minimize them, which will allow them to become a better player..
It’s amazing the # of coaches every year that are “kicked out” of parks due to lack of discipline on their own part when in turn that’s what we as parents are expecting coaches to help instill in our own children. But eventually those coaches true colors will shine and they will end up with nobody wanting to play for them, except of course for their own son who doesn’t have a choice.
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| bmoser |
Posted - 12/09/2008 : 12:32:12
CoachDan06
I could not agree with you more about the impact of municipal park politics. There are great Coaches and players who get trapped there until the boys are old enough to escape, then they're history.
Usually, because they were not good at, or didn't care to, play politics,and they saw how that was holding them back. The park-based politician-coaches then demonize the mavericks for leaving the park and taking talent with them. What really happened is the not-as-good Coaches squatted on the fields w/ the not-as-good players and drove the rest off!
I see the maverick coaches' players generally progressing faster than the politician-coaches players who remain in the nest. Occasionally, a muni-based team will succeed in top level tourneys, but its unusual.
I was lucky, one coach-maverick showed me the light in T-Ball by taking my sons' muni park all-star team to a real tourney. The rest was history, and my son's a better player for it.
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| coachdan06 |
Posted - 12/09/2008 : 08:20:22
Great topic .
Good coaches indeed are difficult to find as the age groups get older: on a relative basis at minimum.
I have observed many of the Park or Municipal Recreation Association coaches to be towards the lower end of coaching when compared to the independent teams.
It may be , if I am correct , that this is due to politics , due to being voted in year after year by the "Board " no matter how well the team performs or most importantly who else is in the wings that could do much better. Once youre in youre in !!!
As the field becomes larger and strategy becomes more a part of the game , knowledgeable coaching is absolute key to team success and individual growth.
Puberty is a factor also this is when the boys really CAN take off.
I see also that around 11 and 12 is when many of your qualified coaches decide to stand down , back out , and let someone else coach their son. You see this most frequently for the most talented boys whos parents seem to understand the boys if reaching their potential must learn to do it without Dad on the sidelines either criticizing or favoring him on the field.
All of this leads to the glaring differences in coaches at 11 to 12s and absolutely again at higher ages.
JHMO  |
| 743 |
Posted - 12/08/2008 : 07:42:47
Some great posts on this topic. Like real life there are good coaches, great coaches and terrible coaches even at the high school and college level.
I know times have changed but think about coaches you might have had in high school for any sport. The best were the one's that could get the most of of their players, had knowledge of the sport, put up some wins, and really cared about the players on and off the field. |
| bballman |
Posted - 12/07/2008 : 15:27:58
Pronate, that makes sense. Infielders should take all kinds of ground balls, not just the hot ones. I misinterpreted what you said on that point. On the same note, outfielders should take all kinds of hits as well. Pop ups, line drives, grounders, left, right, whatever. Practice for all the situations you can think of in a game. Throw to different bases, without runners, with runners. The more you work on game situations, the better. |
| mechanicsplus |
Posted - 12/07/2008 : 11:46:59
Great Posts from what appear to be both Coaches and Parent perspectives. There just isn't anything to disagree with thus far. One perspective to consider, for this 8-12 age group, is that skill development is more important than game competition. Young players enhance skills more thru practice than games! Glomax's advice about field time is right on. Look for a team that has regular field time and at least twice weekly practices. All the forementioned Coaching traits are well stated. Emphasizing tournament play with 60-75 game schedules won't improve bad technique but will entrench bad habits and lead to over-use injuries.
That being said, the act of practicing and playing the game is what developing players need MOST. Being on the ECB 12yr. Astros, but spending most of your time on the bench, won't make your 12yr. son a better player or enhance his chances of playing at higher levels (no matter how well reputed the Coach may be). He would be better off experiencing play at multiples positions in a rec-league or lesser travel team he can start on thru to about age 14-15!
The best players, no matter what their youth experience levels, are determined after puberty, pre-determined by genetics then allowed to blossom through well coached skill development! Ensure your players have the opportunity to be the best they can be by just playing and enjoying the game! If you as a parent, or the Coach isn't equiped to teach the skills, find another Coach (by the way, with 12-15 players on the team, they don't have time to adequately develop player skills!) and or, get good private coaching!
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| bmoser |
Posted - 12/06/2008 : 18:29:38
Sometimes parents cant Coach due to having to travel in their job, or other commitments. That does NOT mean that those parents are not entitled to an opinion, are not as baseball savvy as Coaches, and can't spot poor (and good) Coaching when they see it. I appreciate ALL Coaches, and the fact that they are volunteering their time. The best Coaches know who their baseball savvy parents are and will listen their opinions so long as they are offered in good spirit and make sense. Especially, if these parents help out in every way possible outside the lines. I just don't see Coaching as a dictatorship. I see the Coach as the leader of the team (players and parents). The best Coaches delegate, and take input from their Assistants, and at times...parents. I don't agree with the position that just because you don't/cant Coach, you have zero say. Its what you say, how you say it, and when you say it that matters most. I've been a parent on 13 teams, and my son had 9 offers for Spring, most from past Coaches, which proves parents can have input without alienating the Coach. I've only had 1 bad ending, and I was in the majority that season.
quote:
Originally posted by mtumlin
I think the post should read {Good parents are hard-to-find} it's so easy to criticize in today's society. These guys are volunteers that don't get paid. If you think you can do a better job put on the hat! One of the post criticize coaches for hitting grounders to players. It sure is funny that most major leagues teams still take infield and outfield practice before games. They also do batting practice before games. If you had a bad experience with a certain coach move on. That's what makes travel baseball so great. You get to decide who you play for. Here's an article I read about two months back, look at it and see what you think.
How many parents out there think they know more than their high school coaches? We witnessed a group of parents that sat in the stands and complained that the coaches didn’t know what the heck they were doing this past school year. They thought that they were much more qualified to make the decisions on whom should have started, who should have played and when and what situation may have warranted a better choice in the field than the one that was executed.
This isn't new to youth baseball. Parent involvement in their kids sports teams has been a hot topic on message boards forever. But before you newer parents of high school players become vocal, just realize the following...
Have you spent time with the players three or more hours a day, 6 days a week, for five months every season? Because the coaches have. That’s over 360 hours of observation and analysis of each player. They have situational practices, inter-squad scrimmages and countless hours of time in the cage to help them decide who the better players are.
Have you even seen your own kid play that much? If so, where and what was the level of competition? How much time have you spent in the cage with your own son and what credentials do you have to critique his hitting mechanics? How many ground balls or fly balls have you hit him this week? Can you teach him the proper way to field a ground ball? When do you use the back hand? Do you know the different ways to throw a double play ball to second, based on how far away from the bag the ball is hit? Have you worked with him on that for countless hours each week?
Do you work with him on how to react to the hundreds of situations that occur when runners are on base? Do you work on hitting the cut-offs everyday? How about the double cut? Do you watch him run the bases and work with him on that? At what point in the pitchers delivery should a base runner take that first step towards a steal?
How many times each week do you work on bunting with your son? When do you bunt towards third base and when should you bunt down first. Do you teach him the push bunt? When would you ever use that? Do you work with him on hit and run plays, going opposite field on off-speed, or hitting to the right side with a runner on third with one out or less?
Do you work with your son’s on covering first base if he is a pitcher? How about bunt coverage? Do you parents ever talk to your sons about the upcoming game and their hitters and what they have done in their past at bats? Are you discussing what your son should be thinking before each pitch? How about how to hit based on the count? What might the other team attempt?
Do you help him visualize situations like how to cover a steal, hit and run or bunt? Where do they need to be in each situation? Did your family dinner time conversations talk about what your MIF son should do if there is a runner on first, ball is hit back to the pitcher, and the ball is fielded and an errant throw is made to second?
Do you do any of this for three hours a day, 6 days a week? If you don't, then HOW CAN YOU POSSIBLY KNOW if your son can adequately handle all of the skills well enough to earn a starting position? If you do, then you don’t have a job…because that’s exactly what coaching a team is…a full time job!
And much like in your own job, mistakes will be made, It's a crazy, unpredictable game...There will be mistakes...but not on purpose. There’s not a coach alive that wants to maliciously make it a horrible experience for your son. Oh yes, he will be tough on your son, maybe even in his face...screaming...giving him a little verbal beat down...because he wants to make him tougher...We have seen that strategy work many times...Hey, if your son can’t handle a little tough talk, how the heck is he ever going to handle a tough game situation? Heck, forget about baseball for a second...how will he handle a game of LIFE situation? Listen, good coaches take a statement like “there’s no crying in baseball” very seriously.
As I sit in some stands, I hear more often than not how horrible the coaches are. These are usually the parents whose sons are NOT playing. As if the kids that are playing are given some special privilege that somehow, some way their kid didn’t get. Parents, did you ever think that maybe the players that start have proven time and time again in practice that they deserve to be on the field? OK, we get it. Sometimes a starter doesn’t always deliver in a game…but maybe he impresses them so much in practice that they are pinning their hopes that he will someday break out and therefore, give him a few more chances that our armchair observations can’t see. In baseball, as it has been for the past 125 years, only 9 play on a team and if it is a close game, only 9 will play period.
Be a good sport...support your team...set an example for your own children and please, have respect for the other parents that are in the stands enjoying their sons season. Sorry for the tough talk folks...High school and college ball isn’t tee ball where everyone plays and the losers get a trophy.
RT Staff
Getting It Off Our Chest Rant
Mark
|
| loveforthegame25 |
Posted - 12/06/2008 : 18:11:44
I have to agree with Lomax on the ground ball thing. If you played in college or have observed a college practice or the pregame of a minor or major league game, they are hitting regular routine grounders. Some to the right, some to the left, slow rollers and yes maybe some with a little pace on it. If you watch a game count how many grounders are ripped. I would say 90 % are regular paced or slow. Most of your more athletic infielders will be able to adjust to the hot shot/bad hopper. An infielder needs to be able to judge the bounce as it approaches them. They need thousands hit to them. My college coach used to have the pitchers soft tossing to outfielders so the infielders could get a the reps seeing the ball of the bat not the fungo. They were told not to smash it but to hit down on the ball. I thought this was a good practice tool. |
| greglomax |
Posted - 12/06/2008 : 16:42:50
Ok, I have to go to Pronate's defense on the reference of hitting grounders in practice. I don't believe he meant the general process of hitting grounders, but the "Art" of smoking grounders to players in practice with the philosophy of "If they can catch the hard ones, they can catch the easier ones." This philosophy usually results in making more players skiddish of the ball than better fielders. I used to coach with a guy that did this and I saw more kids get hit in the face with the ball and get skiddish about field balls from that point on. |
| Pronate |
Posted - 12/06/2008 : 14:21:34
Greg:
While I love catchers, there can be only one king on the field and that is the young man on the bump. The pitcher should call the game. I want to develop athletic arrogance in pitchers. The best way to do that at the 8-12 year old level is to let the pitchers pitch what they want to pitch. In an ideal work you would have the catchers and pitchers work in concert. Obviously coaches should review the kids coming up between innings, etc. If a signal does come out of the dugout it should be viewed as a "suggestion" to quote Leo.
Have fun,
e |
| Pronate |
Posted - 12/06/2008 : 14:08:19
I can't see how this....:
"6. If you take the good advice to go watch a practice of the team you are thinking of joining and the coach is drilling kids with ground blls (under the belief that it makes kids better in games) stay far away."
got interpreted as Coaches should not do ground ball "drills". Lesson learned.
What I meant was that parents should should avouid coaches that think hitting extreme ground balls to kids in practice in the mistaken impression that if they get harder ground balls in practice they will be able to handle the easier balls in game situations. Make the ground balls easy in practice and they will field much better in games.
I would also recommend that instead of hitting a grounder to the third baseman then a grounder to the ss, then a grounder to the 2nd baseman you instead, hit 4-5 in a row to the third baseman , then 4-5 to the SS, etc.
e
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| BBall123 |
Posted - 12/06/2008 : 12:35:03
Great Post! ! Ive been saying this for weeks on here but you have said it much better here than I did, Excellent Job!quote:
Originally posted by mtumlin
I think the post should read {Good parents are hard-to-find} it's so easy to criticize in today's society. These guys are volunteers that don't get paid. If you think you can do a better job put on the hat! One of the post criticize coaches for hitting grounders to players. It sure is funny that most major leagues teams still take infield and outfield practice before games. They also do batting practice before games. If you had a bad experience with a certain coach move on. That's what makes travel baseball so great. You get to decide who you play for. Here's an article I read about two months back, look at it and see what you think.
How many parents out there think they know more than their high school coaches? We witnessed a group of parents that sat in the stands and complained that the coaches didn�t know what the heck they were doing this past school year. They thought that they were much more qualified to make the decisions on whom should have started, who should have played and when and what situation may have warranted a better choice in the field than the one that was executed.
This isn't new to youth baseball. Parent involvement in their kids sports teams has been a hot topic on message boards forever. But before you newer parents of high school players become vocal, just realize the following...
Have you spent time with the players three or more hours a day, 6 days a week, for five months every season? Because the coaches have. That�s over 360 hours of observation and analysis of each player. They have situational practices, inter-squad scrimmages and countless hours of time in the cage to help them decide who the better players are.
Have you even seen your own kid play that much? If so, where and what was the level of competition? How much time have you spent in the cage with your own son and what credentials do you have to critique his hitting mechanics? How many ground balls or fly balls have you hit him this week? Can you teach him the proper way to field a ground ball? When do you use the back hand? Do you know the different ways to throw a double play ball to second, based on how far away from the bag the ball is hit? Have you worked with him on that for countless hours each week?
Do you work with him on how to react to the hundreds of situations that occur when runners are on base? Do you work on hitting the cut-offs everyday? How about the double cut? Do you watch him run the bases and work with him on that? At what point in the pitchers delivery should a base runner take that first step towards a steal?
How many times each week do you work on bunting with your son? When do you bunt towards third base and when should you bunt down first. Do you teach him the push bunt? When would you ever use that? Do you work with him on hit and run plays, going opposite field on off-speed, or hitting to the right side with a runner on third with one out or less?
Do you work with your son�s on covering first base if he is a pitcher? How about bunt coverage? Do you parents ever talk to your sons about the upcoming game and their hitters and what they have done in their past at bats? Are you discussing what your son should be thinking before each pitch? How about how to hit based on the count? What might the other team attempt?
Do you help him visualize situations like how to cover a steal, hit and run or bunt? Where do they need to be in each situation? Did your family dinner time conversations talk about what your MIF son should do if there is a runner on first, ball is hit back to the pitcher, and the ball is fielded and an errant throw is made to second?
Do you do any of this for three hours a day, 6 days a week? If you don't, then HOW CAN YOU POSSIBLY KNOW if your son can adequately handle all of the skills well enough to earn a starting position? If you do, then you don�t have a job�because that�s exactly what coaching a team is�a full time job!
And much like in your own job, mistakes will be made, It's a crazy, unpredictable game...There will be mistakes...but not on purpose. There�s not a coach alive that wants to maliciously make it a horrible experience for your son. Oh yes, he will be tough on your son, maybe even in his face...screaming...giving him a little verbal beat down...because he wants to make him tougher...We have seen that strategy work many times...Hey, if your son can�t handle a little tough talk, how the heck is he ever going to handle a tough game situation? Heck, forget about baseball for a second...how will he handle a game of LIFE situation? Listen, good coaches take a statement like �there�s no crying in baseball� very seriously.
As I sit in some stands, I hear more often than not how horrible the coaches are. These are usually the parents whose sons are NOT playing. As if the kids that are playing are given some special privilege that somehow, some way their kid didn�t get. Parents, did you ever think that maybe the players that start have proven time and time again in practice that they deserve to be on the field? OK, we get it. Sometimes a starter doesn�t always deliver in a game�but maybe he impresses them so much in practice that they are pinning their hopes that he will someday break out and therefore, give him a few more chances that our armchair observations can�t see. In baseball, as it has been for the past 125 years, only 9 play on a team and if it is a close game, only 9 will play period.
Be a good sport...support your team...set an example for your own children and please, have respect for the other parents that are in the stands enjoying their sons season. Sorry for the tough talk folks...High school and college ball isn�t tee ball where everyone plays and the losers get a trophy.
RT Staff
Getting It Off Our Chest Rant
Mark
|
| behindtheball |
Posted - 12/06/2008 : 11:54:59
Great topic and nice list of what should be sought in a coach. I'm familiar with two names that have been thrown out - Vogel and Pralgo - and concur. Good coaches and better people. I know folks are concerned about the ability to handle pitchers, run a practice, manage a game, communicate, etc. Those are all hugely important. What surprises me is there's no mention of character. Maybe the assumption is, and it's thankfully true in most cases, that this is a given. But you better get a feel for it, because eventually it's going to come into play. This coach is going to have an influence on your son as a player and a person for the next 6 months. The kind of person he is - whether he played pro ball or never picked up a glove beyond high school - indirectly influences everything from how he handles umpires, a close call, a tough loss, a kid blowing a play. Does his enthusiasm wane halfway into the season? Does show up on time for practices and games? Does he pass stuff off to his assistants? Do practices start to get cancelled, often at the last minute? Don't mean to preach here, but don't go by first impressions or necessarily just credentials. Dig a little deeper and know the person. |
| mtumlin |
Posted - 12/06/2008 : 09:19:00
I think the post should read {Good parents are hard-to-find} it's so easy to criticize in today's society. These guys are volunteers that don't get paid. If you think you can do a better job put on the hat! One of the post criticize coaches for hitting grounders to players. It sure is funny that most major leagues teams still take infield and outfield practice before games. They also do batting practice before games. If you had a bad experience with a certain coach move on. That's what makes travel baseball so great. You get to decide who you play for. Here's an article I read about two months back, look at it and see what you think.
How many parents out there think they know more than their high school coaches? We witnessed a group of parents that sat in the stands and complained that the coaches didn’t know what the heck they were doing this past school year. They thought that they were much more qualified to make the decisions on whom should have started, who should have played and when and what situation may have warranted a better choice in the field than the one that was executed.
This isn't new to youth baseball. Parent involvement in their kids sports teams has been a hot topic on message boards forever. But before you newer parents of high school players become vocal, just realize the following...
Have you spent time with the players three or more hours a day, 6 days a week, for five months every season? Because the coaches have. That’s over 360 hours of observation and analysis of each player. They have situational practices, inter-squad scrimmages and countless hours of time in the cage to help them decide who the better players are.
Have you even seen your own kid play that much? If so, where and what was the level of competition? How much time have you spent in the cage with your own son and what credentials do you have to critique his hitting mechanics? How many ground balls or fly balls have you hit him this week? Can you teach him the proper way to field a ground ball? When do you use the back hand? Do you know the different ways to throw a double play ball to second, based on how far away from the bag the ball is hit? Have you worked with him on that for countless hours each week?
Do you work with him on how to react to the hundreds of situations that occur when runners are on base? Do you work on hitting the cut-offs everyday? How about the double cut? Do you watch him run the bases and work with him on that? At what point in the pitchers delivery should a base runner take that first step towards a steal?
How many times each week do you work on bunting with your son? When do you bunt towards third base and when should you bunt down first. Do you teach him the push bunt? When would you ever use that? Do you work with him on hit and run plays, going opposite field on off-speed, or hitting to the right side with a runner on third with one out or less?
Do you work with your son’s on covering first base if he is a pitcher? How about bunt coverage? Do you parents ever talk to your sons about the upcoming game and their hitters and what they have done in their past at bats? Are you discussing what your son should be thinking before each pitch? How about how to hit based on the count? What might the other team attempt?
Do you help him visualize situations like how to cover a steal, hit and run or bunt? Where do they need to be in each situation? Did your family dinner time conversations talk about what your MIF son should do if there is a runner on first, ball is hit back to the pitcher, and the ball is fielded and an errant throw is made to second?
Do you do any of this for three hours a day, 6 days a week? If you don't, then HOW CAN YOU POSSIBLY KNOW if your son can adequately handle all of the skills well enough to earn a starting position? If you do, then you don’t have a job…because that’s exactly what coaching a team is…a full time job!
And much like in your own job, mistakes will be made, It's a crazy, unpredictable game...There will be mistakes...but not on purpose. There’s not a coach alive that wants to maliciously make it a horrible experience for your son. Oh yes, he will be tough on your son, maybe even in his face...screaming...giving him a little verbal beat down...because he wants to make him tougher...We have seen that strategy work many times...Hey, if your son can’t handle a little tough talk, how the heck is he ever going to handle a tough game situation? Heck, forget about baseball for a second...how will he handle a game of LIFE situation? Listen, good coaches take a statement like “there’s no crying in baseball” very seriously.
As I sit in some stands, I hear more often than not how horrible the coaches are. These are usually the parents whose sons are NOT playing. As if the kids that are playing are given some special privilege that somehow, some way their kid didn’t get. Parents, did you ever think that maybe the players that start have proven time and time again in practice that they deserve to be on the field? OK, we get it. Sometimes a starter doesn’t always deliver in a game…but maybe he impresses them so much in practice that they are pinning their hopes that he will someday break out and therefore, give him a few more chances that our armchair observations can’t see. In baseball, as it has been for the past 125 years, only 9 play on a team and if it is a close game, only 9 will play period.
Be a good sport...support your team...set an example for your own children and please, have respect for the other parents that are in the stands enjoying their sons season. Sorry for the tough talk folks...High school and college ball isn’t tee ball where everyone plays and the losers get a trophy.
RT Staff
Getting It Off Our Chest Rant
Mark |
| bmoser |
Posted - 12/05/2008 : 19:23:58
Pronate,
I could not agree with you more on point 6 (coaches pounding grounder after grounder). If the Coach doesn't use live runners while pounding these grounders, its counterproductive. Why? It lulls the infielders into thinking they have more time than they really do. They don't learn to charge the ball aggressively enough, pop into the proper throwing position, and throw the ball hard. I've seen so many teams look like pro's in pre-game warm ups, then look like the keystone cops when the game starts. The infielders lift their heads to see where the runner is, bobble the ball, double clutch, rush the throw, ect..
Nobody can convince me otherwise. I've seen it way too much on my sons' teams.
|
| bballman |
Posted - 12/05/2008 : 12:35:37
Also pronate:
point 6 - what is the problem with taking ground balls. Baseball is a skill sport and the more reps you take, the better and more comfortable you will become. I say if you go to a practice and you don't see the coach drilling the kids with ground balls and fly balls, stay away.
point 5 - 2 innings? That's pretty stingy. I'm all for monitoring a pitcher for fatigue and making sure mechanics stay sound, but two innings is pretty rediculous. If a kid has two good innings and throws 20 pitches he should be done? I don't think so. |
| greglomax |
Posted - 12/05/2008 : 10:06:12
Pronate,
One question, what is your alternative to point 8? Are you suggesting that in you should let the catcher call the game all the time? That does not even happen all the time in the pros. Maybe I just misunderstood your comment with this one. There are some very smart catchers out there that I would have confidence in letting them call the game, for some pitchers they are familiar with, but it is a lot to ask, at the younger ages, of a catcher to understand the details of the game and every pitcher to the point of being able to call a game by himself all the time.
Maybe you have a better suggestion than I have not thought about. |
| Pronate |
Posted - 12/05/2008 : 01:39:08
quote:
Originally posted by HITANDRUN
What should we as parents be looking for in a good coach at these ages?
1. Knowledge of the game and skills
2. Being able to transfer that knowledge and teach it to younger kids.
3. Positive Attitude
Feel free to chime in
Hit and Run:
1. Look for a coach who tells you that he is doing you a favor coaching your son not the other way around
2. If the coach teaches players to take the baseball out of the glove with the hand on top of the ball...move on. Better yet, have the coach move on.
3. While I hear the traditional gurus are now catching on to pronating the release of curve balls, I would stay away from coaches that let kids throw curves.
4. Other things being equal, I would go with a team that carries 11 players
5. If the coach lets the kids pitch more than 2 innings, you might want to join the team but do not let your son pitch.
6. If you take the good advice to go watch a practice of the team you are thinking of joining and the coach is drilling kids with ground blls (under the belief that it makes kids better in games) stay far away.
7. If you son is a catcher in this age group, look for a team that has more than one catcher.
8. If your son is a pitcher, find a coach that does not signal in the pitches.
9. If you can find a coach that let's the kids coach the bases, I would strongly consider that team.
10. Lots of pizza parties is obviously a good thing.
Good luck,
e
|
| HITANDRUN |
Posted - 12/04/2008 : 10:51:15
Prallgo is one of the best I have seen out there with his deameanor and ability to relay this information to kids. |
| shadrach |
Posted - 12/03/2008 : 22:52:12
I second Steve Vogel. Knows the foundation of the game, knows how to teach the same, works kids hard but in a positive manner. His approach to teaching has given my 12 year old loads of confidence with a bat in his hand. First class guy and kids that are willing to do what he asks will be better players for their effort. |
| bmoser |
Posted - 12/03/2008 : 15:52:58
HITANDRUN:
GregLomax's answer below is on the money. If possible, go watch 1 practice and 1 game before committing. Coaches Coach in practice, and Manage in games. You want to see both. I did so to find my sons current team, and it worked out well. He's returning for his 2nd season with them even though he had some excellent opportunities elsewhere (1 with the best team and Coaching staff around in his age group). I dont much about EC Coaches, but make sure the team you're considering has ample field time for field practices. 2 times/week minimum. Once a week on a field isnt enough. You can also go to usssa team roster to see how many players have stuck by the Coach you're considering season to season. If there's 5+ returning, that's a good sign. Whatever team you choose, observe the other EC teams you play against in case it doesnt work out. Scout the Coaching staffs in your area.
quote:
Originally posted by greglomax
Look for a coach that knows how to run a practice. Knowledge of the game and being able to relay that in a manageable timeline don't always co-exist.
How does the coach manage the players. Do the players seem to relate to him? Is he stern when he needs to be, but complimentary as well?
How does he manage a game? Does he want to micro-manage the players or does he do most of his work in practice, and let the players play the game once it starts?
How does he handle a pitcher that are struggling on the mound?
The ultimate question is "What will this coach do to make my son a better baseball player?"
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| HITANDRUN |
Posted - 12/03/2008 : 13:11:19
Someone brought up a good idea to me the other day. Younger Travel Baseball teams should not be allowed to hold tryouts until around Feb or March or not pick their teams until a certain date. Fall season should be a no committment season where parents, players and coaches can tryout each other to find the right fit for them. There is no obligation to play for the coach in the spring and no obligation to keep a player come spring. I guess that would hurt budgets though. |
| greglomax |
Posted - 12/03/2008 : 09:19:58
My unbiased favorite would be Steve Vogel with the 11U EC Titans. I like the way he approaches practices and the developement of fundamentals.
I think Art Evans with the 12U Astros has done a great job of developing his players.
I am sure there are others out there as well. |
| carlwinslow |
Posted - 12/02/2008 : 23:18:05
Who are some of the better coaches to play for in the younger age groups(8-12)at East Cobb? |
| greglomax |
Posted - 12/02/2008 : 17:41:40
Look for a coach that knows how to run a practice. Knowledge of the game and being able to relay that in a manageable timeline don't always co-exist.
How does the coach manage the players. Do the players seem to relate to him? Is he stern when he needs to be, but complimentary as well?
How does he manage a game? Does he want to micro-manage the players or does he do most of his work in practice, and let the players play the game once it starts?
How does he handle a pitcher that are struggling on the mound?
The ultimate question is "What will this coach do to make my son a better baseball player?" |
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