GatewayRedbirds.com

So my son's team is 18-0 against all teams except the 1st place team, and they are 0-5 against them. Three of those losses were by 1 run. The last loss was the most frustrating to watch. They lost 3-2. The ump cost us a run, but that will happen. The thing that had me frustrated was the coaching, or lack thereof. The other team's pitcher threw hard and everyone was swinging late. The coaches did not even try to help the kids adjust. No advice to choke up. No strategy to maybe lay down a bunt, or heck, even fake a bunt to draw in the fielders. Do something to get the fielder's moving, get the pitcher out of rhythm, whatever. Nope.

They actually had a 2-1 lead going to the bottom of the last inning. Then the coach changed pitchers. This was asking for a loss. He put the kid in a situation to fail. The kid he brought in is like our 4th best pitcher, and he was facing the top of the order. I could not grasp why he brought that kid in. The kid that pitched the first 5 innings was doing great and pitch count was not a concern. Our second best pitcher is the coach's son. If we were going to change, that's who I would have brought in. But again, it was a situation where they could only fail, so maybe that's why he didn't bring in his own kid? They got a single, then moved the runner to 3rd on a groundout and a passed ball. So 1 out, man on 3rd. The best player in the league was at the plate. I know you don't put the winning run on base, but in this case, I would have. It would set up a double play, and avoid the best hitter in the league. Make someone else beat you. Nope, he hit a walk off HR.

The general attitude of these coaches is that it is every kid for himself. Their kids are on the travel teams and play constantly are so they are really good. Their kids know stuff pretty well, so I giess their work is done. Very little effort to teach the other kids anything. Also, there is zero teamwork on this team. Even when they win, it is joyless because nobody cares about their teammates. They are just a collection of individual players. When one of the coach's kids hits a home run for the umpteenth time, the kids and parents barely cheer any more. Its the least fun I've had watching a team that has such a good record. Also, the fact that the league is so lopsided does not help. You have these two teams that are stacked, then 3 mediocre teams, then one team that we routinely beat by 20 runs. It's painful to watch, and I feel awful for them. My own son has gotten a lot better at hitting and fielding over the course of the season but he still lacks fundamentals, like where to throw the ball when it's hit to him, when to run on the bases, etc. Because the coaches simply expect him to know that I guess. No teaching. I know, they are volunteers and maybe I should have stepped up to coach myself. Sure, that's fair. The coaches we've had in previous years were all excellent. So whatever. But I can totally see now how a lot of players get to the minor leagues (or even the majors) and suck at fundamentals, or lack instincts for the game.

I watch a lot of high school baseball and see it there as well. Someone with more knowledge of scouting players can tell me if I'm wrong, but it seems like they want kids to check the boxes on certain tools and they'll work on cleaning up the other aspects of their game later. I'm amazed at how many kids don't understand how to put themselves in hitters' counts; to be more aggressive on a 2-0 pitch; shortening their swings with two strikes; trailing off the bag on a fly ball in case it drops and throwing to the cut-off. Those are the big ones I notice.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/01/spor ... ricky.html

In modern youth baseball, where the culture has been transformed by the pursuit of the holy grail, a college athletic scholarship, the fundamentals are falling by the wayside in favor of flashier skills like big-league-style hitting and pitching.

Private coaching and specialized camps are proliferating along with travel teams whose primary goal is putting players in a position to display their batting and pitching skills at college recruiting showcases. These events are cattle calls, with everyone trying to impress.

As a result, in the last decade or so, a generation of top ballplayers has, in most cases, spent little time learning how to accurately throw across the diamond; catch a fly ball; field a ground ball and turn a double play; run the bases effectively; make a tag at a base; or, God forbid, bunt.

There's a guy at my work who coaches his daughters softball team, but I can guarantee you he hasn't stepped on a field to do anything but "coach" in his life.

Hard to coach people on something you don't know how to do yourself.

I was aware of people talking about the lack of fundamentals at higher levels. This is really the first real solid glimpse I've gotten of it firsthand for any extended amount of time. It's not something you'd notice by just watching 1 or 2 games. But over the course of the season it really starts to add up. The most jarring thing to me is the "collection of individuals" feel to this team. This is not something I've really heard people talk about much. But it does seem like a natural outgrowth of this focus on skills. Stuff like shortening your swing with 2 strikes, bunting, hitting the cut off man, etc are all things you'd do to benefit the team, but don't do much for your own stats. So I guess it's no surprise that this "collection of individuals" feeling is the result. Like I said, it is a joyless endeavor. At times it feels like a group of individuals doing a job rather than playing a game. If you never change your approach based on the situation, then it does feel monotonous. Like the kids are on autopilot.

Somebody needs to plan a team building event for the kids! It might be a bit late this year but next year maybe schedule a picnic/bbq for the kids before the season starts or very early on. Doesn't have to be anything fancy or anything, just get them all together for an afternoon at a park with some yard games and let them get to know each other outside of baseball. If their only interaction is at games and maybe a few practices over the course of the season then I can definitely understand the 'team of individuals' feel and that is no fun for anybody.

How old are the kids? I guess the picnic/bbq idea and just letting them run around is only good if they are younger.

I mean, you're lucky in our little league to get two volunteers per team who know what they're talking about. I assistant coached this year, but mostly managed the dugout, kept score, and helped with some very basic things. I played a very minimal amount, and wouldn't know the first thing about teaching footwork or pitching mechanics. But I was willing to help. Luckily we had 2 other competent coaches.

Not enough volunteers, basically. It's a pretty significant time commitment.

I don't know anything about teaching baseball, but I imagine if someone had the time, they could teach the Tom Emanski system.

Farewell Friends wrote:I don't know anything about teaching baseball, but I imagine if someone had the time, they could teach the Tom Emanski system.

The time, and also a trash can.

I thought I read an article a few years ago that said it was actually good?