What are YOU looking for in a coach

[FullCount]

[lovesoftball22]

Taught my kid in 10's to never let a coach take her game that she loves away from her. Coaches are human and have different styles, in the end its the player on the dirt who's game it is. If you let a coach make you crumble-"get in your head" its a wrap. Ive taught her, coaches arent trying to "hurt your feelings", it isnt personal, its just a style of coaching. Take what they are teaching and let go of the rest. It always amazed me how this ten year old ...looked coaches in the eye...while they are 10 inches from her face with raised voice because they are upset with something she did or didnt do...next rep, she learned and adjusted. no tears no drama...It was then I knew she was a player.

[TooOldToCare]

C'mon now fairball dont cut the entire norcal softball public short, there are quite a few moms/dads that have played the game at a high level, and know what they want and need from a coach at a certain age group. These are the parents who CHILL at games (not fence grabbers), and dont get caught up in the drama, usually find them hanging out far away from the backstop just enjoying their kids game for what it is. Its just a matter of getting them on here and voicing their opinions.
Full count, I understand PGF is going on, but its only a very small group of teams involved from NorCal, and ASA next week same thing.

Anyhow, i could tackle each age group but due to my j o b , I will only tackle Gold. And to be honest I dont expect each post to tackle all age groups, just the one that is important to you NOW!

18G- I want 4 coach's all of which have NO kid on team. I want coachs that continue to teach the game, at practice and games, and at this level the little things matter most ( i could give 50 examples) but just to give an idea where does a 3rd basemen set up on a tag play at 3rd, or where does catcher set up on a tag play at plate, where does a 2nd basemen field a throw from 3rd basemen on double play ball. THE mental game at this level is also HUGE! Dont ASSUME your kids know what to do on every play, sure you cant cover everything all the time but, the important game situations that are bound to come up better be drilled into the ground, and when the possible play is in front of you, simple 5 sec reminders go along way, same thing on the bases talk to your runners, dont stand their like a statue/church mouse and/or stand there and talk to opposing cronies in the dugout and, wait for your kid to run into an out, TALK!. Do I expect my kid to be baby sat on every play, hell no but it doesnt hurt to COACH instead of talking on cell phone. Great coachs dont ever stop, they see a play, they are tallking to bench players about the play, teaching them! I dont want the coach to assume that these kids know everything or dont have mental lapses, because they dont know everything and they do have lapses, and need to be reminded, when on defense and running the bases, YOU CANT STOP COACHING just because you have a bunch of studs, now if your over your head, you need to get OUT! I want coachs that have different roles, one that can motivate, one that can stay on the kids about academics and monitor it and sets standards for gpa and taking SAT's, one that can relate to the girls, and can juggle different personalities and know how to manage them, (usually female ex high level college young adult with high energy), One that knows the game like the back of his/her hand, and one that has every top 25 school on speed dial, and they trust him/her! I understand that the recruiting game is changing every year, now days you have a feeding frenzy at 14's, college coachs walking up to dugouts making 125k offers without blinking an eye but, you still will have 3-4-5 kids that need a home when they get to a good gold team. Gold is a whole different animal than all other age groups and can be very challenging if you dont have a quality staff. Is this the perfect world, sure but this is what I would be looking for. I could go on and on.

Who- Well to be honest in NorCal 18G, there is no such team and I have seen them all over and over.

Have you seen them all? Some may not have ALL you stated, but pretty darn close right here in N. CA!!

[Kool-Aid]

C'mon now fairball dont cut the entire norcal softball public short, there are quite a few moms/dads that have played the game at a high level, and know what they want and need from a coach at a certain age group. These are the parents who CHILL at games (not fence grabbers), and dont get caught up in the drama, usually find them hanging out far away from the backstop just enjoying their kids game for what it is. Its just a matter of getting them on here and voicing their opinions.
Full count, I understand PGF is going on, but its only a very small group of teams involved from NorCal, and ASA next week same thing.

Anyhow, i could tackle each age group but due to my j o b , I will only tackle Gold. And to be honest I dont expect each post to tackle all age groups, just the one that is important to you NOW!

18G- I want 4 coach's all of which have NO kid on team. I want coachs that continue to teach the game, at practice and games, and at this level the little things matter most ( i could give 50 examples) but just to give an idea where does a 3rd basemen set up on a tag play at 3rd, or where does catcher set up on a tag play at plate, where does a 2nd basemen field a throw from 3rd basemen on double play ball. THE mental game at this level is also HUGE! Dont ASSUME your kids know what to do on every play, sure you cant cover everything all the time but, the important game situations that are bound to come up better be drilled into the ground, and when the possible play is in front of you, simple 5 sec reminders go along way, same thing on the bases talk to your runners, dont stand their like a statue/church mouse and/or stand there and talk to opposing cronies in the dugout and, wait for your kid to run into an out, TALK!. Do I expect my kid to be baby sat on every play, hell no but it doesnt hurt to COACH instead of talking on cell phone. Great coachs dont ever stop, they see a play, they are tallking to bench players about the play, teaching them! I dont want the coach to assume that these kids know everything or dont have mental lapses, because they dont know everything and they do have lapses, and need to be reminded, when on defense and running the bases, YOU CANT STOP COACHING just because you have a bunch of studs, now if your over your head, you need to get OUT! I want coachs that have different roles, one that can motivate, one that can stay on the kids about academics and monitor it and sets standards for gpa and taking SAT's, one that can relate to the girls, and can juggle different personalities and know how to manage them, (usually female ex high level college young adult with high energy), One that knows the game like the back of his/her hand, and one that has every top 25 school on speed dial, and they trust him/her! I understand that the recruiting game is changing every year, now days you have a feeding frenzy at 14's, college coachs walking up to dugouts making 125k offers without blinking an eye but, you still will have 3-4-5 kids that need a home when they get to a good gold team. Gold is a whole different animal than all other age groups and can be very challenging if you dont have a quality staff. Is this the perfect world, sure but this is what I would be looking for. I could go on and on.

Who- Well to be honest in NorCal 18G, there is no such team and I have seen them all over and over.

Have you seen them all? Some may not have ALL you stated, but pretty darn close right here in N. CA!!

If you feel differently, who is "close" and why?

[TooOldToCare]

Sorry! Been around too long and know how the bucket works. If I start talking positive about organizations or teams, someone is going to come along and start a pissing match. Not gonna play along with that game. You know the old saying everyone has an opinion and... I will say there are teams at the 18 level in Nor Cal that meet most if not all your criteria. Do your research. Good luck to all!