Final thoughts for now...
As my oldest begins her final high school softball season, I am once again amazed at her team. Oh sorry, not in a good way. They cannot catch a pop-fly and do not know where to go with the ball. Granted there are a few that do, but not enough of them. I do not except them to beat the religious based schools, that have psycho coaches that except them to practice 24/7, but I do expect them to have some basic ability. This really bums me out for the few good players on the team.
So, in the future how can one pick a team like this and make it presentable? It will be 2-4 years before I can attempt coaching again with a little luck - T-Ball does not count as coachable.
Here are a few note to myself, in hopes to improve what I call the "Random Team Effect". First the "Random Team Effect" is defined as a league (whether it be Little League or a Public HS) that tends to have new/different players of different abilities each year.
Batting:
- Train even numbered players the correct form to always hit to left field.
- Train odd numbered players to always hit to right field.
- Players with two digits to bunt or smack between pitcher and third base.
My thought is two fold - focus & consistency. By hitting in the same place and by using the same form, it will help them focus on batting. When your putting together the line up, you will also have some idea where that batter may hit.
Pitching:
- You must have 4 pitchers, two fast, two slow. The slow pitcher throws off talented players that are use to hitting fast balls. Make sure the arc is high, yet still crosses the plate correctly.
- Spend 30 minutes after practice with them. Remind them that if they walk players they will never get them out, so if things are going bad forget about striking them out, let them hit so the rest of your team and make the play and you can get out of a bad inning.
Pitchers are made in the off season. This rarely happens for a RTE. You need to practice as much as possible.
Fielding:
- Short Stop is by far the most important, followed by a flexible catcher on first.
- Think before the ball is pitched - where am I going to throw the ball.
- Throw the ball!
- Aim for the chest!
- If you don't catch it, at least stop it.
Plays:
- Everyone to first base.
- Catcher to Second base. This is important, however, it is usually hard to find a catcher with an arm.
- Catcher to First, Catcher to Third.
- Maybe the pickle.
Don't Forget:
- Have fun
- Cheer
- Positive attitude goes a long way.
Good luck and I hope these ideas help.