Ole Ball Coach posted:I was not a big fan of coaches calling pitches when I was still coaching, but it is just a fact of life now.
Beyond the mechanics of calling the pitches, make sure that you use that as a teaching opportunity to let the catcher know the "why" of what your calling between innings, teach the infielders to make their adjustment based on the catcher's or coach's signals, the outfielders to look for their cues from the infielders, etc. It always is, but especially early in player development, teaching them the "why" of defense is extremely important and its good to get them thinking and talking baseball throughout the game.
Like HR04 said, it's a great thing your doing; be patient and I hope you enjoy it every step of the way!
OBC
I'm with you.
Only thing that I might like to call is a pick off, or pitchout, if I smell something about to happen. In general, I like the boys to call their own game. The catcher has the best seat in the house for gauging the pitcher's stuff and making calls, IMO. If he can use a bit of coaching regarding strategy then you do it in between innings, at practice, or if there is an emergency at a mound meeting.
I used to love calling games as a catcher...to me, it's part of the position.