With tryouts around the corner, I want to post a question to everyone. If the front of the jersey was blank (had NO name), what are you looking for in a Head Coach, and I am interested in age group specific, sure some needs are same but, it is vastly different in some areas, I want to know what people think they should be getting out of a coach, and keeping in mind this is top tier teams, not NSA or 2nd tier ASA. ex.. 10u teach my kid how to swing the bat, 12u teach my kid footwork around the bag, 14u teach my kid how to pick pitchs, Gold keep my kid motivated. Also, who REALLY does a good job in Norcal in each age group, and im not talking about hitting in and out, im talking teaching kids how to read a ball off the bat, how to field a ground ball properly, who works with catchers on blocking techniques and proper foot work, who does a great job coaching third, all the little things that are the elephant in the room that nobody ever talks about, who does this and at what age group, ANYONE can say they are a coach, but who is REALLY teaching, thanks in advance......
10U- what/who is it?
12U- what/who is it?
14U- what/who is it?
16U- what/who is it?
18U- what/who is it?
18 "real" Gold- what/who is it?
NorCal
Well either no one knows what to look for therefore dont want to say anything, or they dont want to throw names out there thinking they will look like fools.
C'mon people lets get to the root of the coaching, everyone always talks smack about how so and so is so great as a coach, well tell me what age group and why. You have hundreds of parents on the fence for next season, give them a reason to come to your team or a team you know of.
I cant believe i didnt at least get one comedian response, people must be real tired.
Who is a great hitting coach, who is a great infield coach, who is a great catching coach, who is a great thrid base coach, and WHY???
Please dont tell me that "that is why we have paid instructors, we dont need to teach as coachs", well people 30 min a week dont do squat!
C'mon people lets get to the root of the coaching, everyone always talks smack about how so and so is so great as a coach, well tell me what age group and why. You have hundreds of parents on the fence for next season, give them a reason to come to your team or a team you know of.
I cant believe i didnt at least get one comedian response, people must be real tired.
Who is a great hitting coach, who is a great infield coach, who is a great catching coach, who is a great thrid base coach, and WHY???
Please dont tell me that "that is why we have paid instructors, we dont need to teach as coachs", well people 30 min a week dont do squat!
- Kool-Aid
- Posts: 72
- Joined: Mon Dec 10, 2012 5:00 pm
no one knows what to look for
Say no more. After all, look at your audience. Your asking parents about critiquing coaches, as if they have the knowledge to create a valid criteria. The reality is that 99% of parents know so little about how the sport should be played and what makes for good coaching that it is laughable to even ask their opinions. Why do you think these threads never generate any meaningful posts?
What a waste of time!- fairball
- Posts: 27
- Joined: Fri May 17, 2013 11:03 pm
I can only speak for the 12u ranks. Im looking for a coach that will foster a love of the game but start teaching next level play (diving,working pitch counts,ect). Having said that,not every "good" coach will work for every "good" athlete. My daughter likes Earvin from the Grapettes but there is no way she could play for him. Not that he isn't a good coach, you have to be good to have a team play small ball as well as they do, just not her style. As for the teams that will be 12u next season, I think the Spartans coach (Steve Price) is the best fundamentals coach in the area. He teaches the proper way to play the game (every position moving every play, proper fielding technique, ect). Another thing you have to look at is does the coach put them in the tournaments that will push them but not break them. Going down south all the time to score 2 allow 50 is just as bad as staying at DF with your "powerhouse" team to win another trophy. Sounds like there will be a new team or two for next season and only time will tell how those coaches do.
- jbl1465
- Posts: 51
- Joined: Mon May 21, 2012 8:44 am
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.
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.
Last edited by Kool-Aid on Thu Jul 25, 2013 9:38 am, edited 1 time in total.
- Kool-Aid
- Posts: 72
- Joined: Mon Dec 10, 2012 5:00 pm
Having said that,not every "good" coach will work for every "good" athlete. My daughter likes Earvin from the Grapettes but there is no way she could play for him.
I have heard this often from players or their parents. This is normally after they are going off to college and have played for me for 2 or 3 years. They then tell me that they said they could never play for me......... before coming to my tryout:) My kid finished her travel career playing for Don Ford.... she took all of his sarcasm and laughed at him. By the way, many college coaches are far worse than anything a "Rob Earvin" will ever be, so learning to play for different coaches is a way to prepare the kid for when they go off to school and dont have mom or dad soothing their every boo boo.
Seriously, you NEVER know if a kid can play for someone unless you have done it.
I have heard this often from players or their parents. This is normally after they are going off to college and have played for me for 2 or 3 years. They then tell me that they said they could never play for me......... before coming to my tryout:) My kid finished her travel career playing for Don Ford.... she took all of his sarcasm and laughed at him. By the way, many college coaches are far worse than anything a "Rob Earvin" will ever be, so learning to play for different coaches is a way to prepare the kid for when they go off to school and dont have mom or dad soothing their every boo boo.
Seriously, you NEVER know if a kid can play for someone unless you have done it.
- Iluvblue
- Posts: 1525
- Joined: Thu Dec 25, 2008 11:05 pm
Iluvblue wrote:Having said that,not every "good" coach will work for every "good" athlete. My daughter likes Earvin from the Grapettes but there is no way she could play for him.
I have heard this often from players or their parents. This is normally after they are going off to college and have played for me for 2 or 3 years. They then tell me that they said they could never play for me......... before coming to my tryout:) My kid finished her travel career playing for Don Ford.... she took all of his sarcasm and laughed at him. By the way, many college coaches are far worse than anything a "Rob Earvin" will ever be, so learning to play for different coaches is a way to prepare the kid for when they go off to school and dont have mom or dad soothing their every boo boo.
Seriously, you NEVER know if a kid can play for someone unless you have done it.
This is very true and well said. And I get that many parents and even players will fall under that umbrella of complacency with a coach that caters to them with the playing time that they feel their DD should receive versus taking their DD to a coach/team where the DD will be pushed to compete and learn the game not only on the field but mentally as well. That's what'll take them to the next level!
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Bob Uecker - Posts: 39
- Joined: Mon Nov 19, 2012 9:33 am
My kid finished her travel career playing for Don Ford.... she took all of his sarcasm and laughed at him.
Just to clarify the above, before it gets twisted, I meant that my kid let his sarcasm just roll of her back as she thought he was funny. A confident player can play for just about anyone, and if you are not confident, certain coaches could make a player crumble.
Just to clarify the above, before it gets twisted, I meant that my kid let his sarcasm just roll of her back as she thought he was funny. A confident player can play for just about anyone, and if you are not confident, certain coaches could make a player crumble.
- Iluvblue
- Posts: 1525
- Joined: Thu Dec 25, 2008 11:05 pm
Didn't mean to offend anyone just stated that at this point in her travel ball experience she wouldn't do good with an Earvin style of coach. I didn't say "never" I just said "now". Iluvblue I agree that an athlete without a ton of confidence would crumble under certain coaching styles and at 11 and 12 years old not every girl has a ton of confidence. Im sure we have all taken different paths to get our daughters to this level and we will take different paths to get them to the "next level". As long as you get to where you want to go the path you chose was the right one for you is all I am saying. The thread asked what do YOU look for so this is just MY humble opinion of what works for us. I also agree with Iluvblue, We have never been to a Grapettes tryout or practice I was stating that opinion based on playing against them 6 or 7 times. And just for the record we dont soothe boo boos in our house,we rub dirt on them.
- jbl1465
- Posts: 51
- Joined: Mon May 21, 2012 8:44 am
15 posts
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