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iheartbaseball
3 Posts |
 Posted - 07/27/2012 : 13:47:32
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| As a veteran parent of baseball for many seasons I just want to give a heads up to the newbie parents to be wary of coaches' credentials when you are trying out for a new team. Just like in the workforce, many people pad their resume to make themselves sound better. Also, just because someone has experience playing college or pro does not mean they are qualified to coach youth baseball. For comparison, just because a high school honors/AP student has a 5.0 GPA and is 99 percentile in SAT does not mean he/she would make a good teacher. I have seen countless times when a former college/pro player didn't know defensive substitution rules during a game, didn't how to make a lineup based on stats, didn't know how to interact with or teach players during one-on-one instruction time, etc. On the flip side I have seen former high school and travel players who didn't make it to college or pro because of personal circumstances or injuries who turned out to be phenomenal coaches. (One of my son's best coaches ever was a varsity starter in high school but couldn't commit to play in college when he was younger because he had stayed home to care for his grandmother who had cancer.) So bottom line, beware of the recent influx of coaches who are former players and focus more on coaches who have also been successful as coaches of previous school or travel teams. Also take the time to follow up on the credentials. Contact the college staff or pro team to see if the coach you're considering checks out and that they actually played/coached or just sat on the bench for 2 weeks before getting cut from the team. Remember, you're not just letting your son audition for the team but you're also screening and interviewing these men to be your son's coach. Like I said, a lot of people pad their resume so make sure you know what you're getting into. |
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iheartbaseball
3 Posts |
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Canton Chargers
885 Posts |
Posted - 07/28/2012 : 06:45:57
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good advice.
Evaluating who will coach your kid is as hard as evaluating who will fill your roster and who their parents may become in tough times. Especially given the fact that most kids cannot get on whatever team they want to. It is a hard decision, but unfortunately, a lot of parents have to get on with whoever offers their kid a spot. That's if they want to continue in travel and sometimes, that is not a good thing.
Other option is recball, but there you normally have a lot of politics, but a lot less money...
Good luck everyone. Just try your best to make it fun for the kids. It's a lot of pressure for your son when he is battling 30-50 kids at a tryout and dad harping on this and that doesn't help. As much as we like to yak on this site about this and that, it is and should always be about the lil ones. We only get these times once as far as I know and never get them back, so keep thinking like that and try to make it as fun as you possibly can. |
Edited by - Canton Chargers on 07/28/2012 08:05:44 |
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OnDeck
7 Posts |
Posted - 08/05/2012 : 14:54:04
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| All good points. Also just because a coach didn't play in college or higher doesn't mean there not a good coach. A good example is Dave Roberts. His 14U ECB Astros just won the Travelball Select NAtional Championship and ther is no mention of him playing baseball in his bio on the Astros website. He played football instead and was apparently extremely talented and very competitive. Understanding what it is to be an athlete, having good baseball smarts and knowing how to work wiht the kids it what it takes to be a good coach. |
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loveforthegame25
448 Posts |
Posted - 08/05/2012 : 20:53:58
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| On deck. I agree 100%. You don't have to be a 10 year major leaguer to be a good baseball coach... |
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HeadFirst
203 Posts |
Posted - 08/06/2012 : 09:07:43
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Many different elements make a good coach and depending on what level you coach at, certain elements mean more! Here are some elements that make a good travel coach...
1. Experience - (What level you learned the game at) This is your baseball education!
2. Communication Skills - (How you communicate to the players and parents)
3. Trust Worthy - (Are you a person worthy of others trust)
4. Dedication - (How much are you willing to put into it)
5. Salesmanship - (Can you recruit players)(Can you sell players to other coaches and programs)
At the younger ages (8,9,10,11) the three most important are Communication, Trust Worthy and Dedication. I would put them in this order... 3,2,4,5,1 As the players get older this changes!
At ages (12,13,14) maybe this order... 2,1,4,5,3
At ages (15-18) maybe this... 1,4,5,2,3
At the MLB level many of the coaches only have 1 and 4!
Coaches score differently in various areas. People rank the importance of these in different orders.
The ideal coach is A++ in all areas! (Good luck finding that!!!!)
The one thing you want to stay away from, is the coach who lies about their experience. If they say they played MLB and did not... For me they score very poorly in Trustworthy and probably way to high in Salesmanship!
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in_the_know
985 Posts |
Posted - 08/06/2012 : 09:38:56
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Good post and some great traits to measure a coach.
I would put #3 ahead of all others across every age group. He can be communicating like a champ, but if he's lying when his lips are moving, nothing else matters.
As a parent and player, you have to have trust in your coach. |
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LilBigTown
115 Posts |
Posted - 08/06/2012 : 10:28:56
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| In younger ages one great tool to determine good coach or bad coach... How many returning players from year to year, 8 or more he is doing somthing right. I say younger 12 an under because at 13 an up many coaches get new squad every year. Things to consider... watch a practice, game that they loose, sit in stands with parents and listen... |
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743
215 Posts |
Posted - 03/07/2014 : 12:03:27
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| It is also strange that you see some coaches saying they played for a minor league team on one site,(NWGA)but when they are listed on an academy site they make slight changes from playing to only trying out, as their peers (other coaches) know who played and what level, and it takes away from the accomplishments of those other ex players who actually played. I have seen a few on this site as well with owners of teams looking for players saying their coaches played minor league baseball or even college baseball when the fact is they didn't. I would warn these owners selling their teams or academies as well to check it out before you post it. |
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beware of coaching credentials
