A Coach's Diary- Year One

One thing you'll learn quickly is that you have to be in control of your emotions as a coach. You seem like an emotional guy which isn't necessarily a bad thing in life but players tend to mimic the coaches behavior and emotions.

Entry 3... Game Time

Well... it has finally arrived. That time to put the uniform on and get into game mode. It was just like old times again. The excitement. The anticipation. The energy. It was all there...

I looked down the beach and realized, I'm going to have to teach these kids how to not only play, but how to be baseball players. Almost no chatter from the bench. Having to tell guys to get up on the rail. Told a kid that he was on foul balls today and he looked at me like I was speaking Greek. He had no clue what I meant. Same when I told another player to go protect the bullpen.

This could be a long year if we have to hold their hands through everything. But... that's what I am here for.

Coach,

How does your team stack up in your conference, based on talent alone?

(not including quality of coaching, intangibles, etc.)

Im not sure... if we go by record alone, DFL

Coach,

  First off let me say I look forward to your posts.  It allows me to go back in time and remember the excitement that is involved in being a younger coach before all of the BS starts to build up.  Let me offer a suggestion that I have always used to get them to understand what needs to be done.  During the game on the back side of my lineup cards I track mental errors.  At the start of the next practice we runs a sprint for every mental error.  Prior to the sprint I will explain to them why it is a mental error.  They truly don't know why it is important to have life in the dugout, get foul balls, and get a pitcher warmed up because they have never had to do it at the youth level.  Just a thought.

I agree with you... it seems that none of the freshman have any idea of how to do things at the high school level. I guess I need to do a better job at explaining what they need to be doing and why they need to do it.

This happened yesterday... About the 3rd day of practice I had a kid come up to me and ask, What do I need to do to get better?. My simple answer was, Work harder. If you are doing a drill, do it more and do it correctly. So yesterday's JV game gets cancelled, we advised everyone of who needed to stay to work out with the varsity and for everyone else, it was an optional. First person out the door to go home was the kid who "wants to get better". He is now on my list.

Just saying, but perhaps you should inquire as to why the kid had to go home as opposed to jumping to your predefined conclusion.

It’s natural to view life through the prism of our own experiences, but we miss a
great deal if we adhere to that exclusively.

I agree with mds1 in finding out why he left.  There may be an actual legitimate reason why he left.  Now the learning objective is to get him to learn to be responsible to inform you.  In this is the case then he needs to learn.  If he left because he wanted a day off then he can be on your list.  But still need to tell him why.  Sadly, he won't (probably) figure it out and blame you for not "getting his chance" although you told him why.

 

One thing you'll learn as you get older, and most of us are still guilty of it after all the time we've been in it, is that you are going to have knowledge and skills of the game that come so naturally to you from doing it right so long that you overlook it with them.  The thing to remember is at one point you didn't know either but luckily it was taught to you at a much younger age.  They haven't had this chance to learn it because nobody has taught it to them.  While it gets frustrating it's also counterproductive to try and hold these kids accountable for things they don't know how to to do.  Some will get right away and that part of coaching is over.  While some needs a few reminders and there are those who just will never get it.  The thing is you never know when it will click for them.  

 

Keep trying and try to keep your cool.  It will take some time but as you guys establish "your program" it will get easier because the doing things over and over the same way will become the norm.  This group of freshmen will be your best teachers of the program when they become seniors because they've been through it so much.  Just takes time.

 

Love this thread

I don't understand how a school could keep a head coach who allows his team to fall apart like you describe Sounds to me like you are the only one that knows anything, maybe they will fire him and hire you.

 

This is the first year of the head coach as well.  Sounds like to me none of the guys on this staff were around when things went down hill.  Coach Sampson is the only one of the group who's posting about the season / team.  

Coach Sampson - don't let people get you down.  I think you have a desire to do well. and I hope my earlier comment doesn't serve as a launching point for harsh criticism  of you.  One of the life lessons I have learned is to try and soak things in as much as you can before you start to react and make decisions.

 

Good luck !

 

 

I get your point but I think since there was a JV game scheduled and cancelled, there was no reason for that player not to be there if he really wanted to follow the coach's suggestion.  He would have otherwise been there anyway.

Why would you tell only a couple JV to stay around and the other JV is optional? Then... get mad at a kid who A. just had his game canceled, and B. Just been told that his stay is optional, then he left (while a few of his team mates were told to definitely stay with V)? These kids are quick to read the writings on the wall. Here is my suggestion, talk with HC and come up with a plan for ALL things you mentioned-- Team meeting on foul ball duty (which we have kids rotate each inning so no one feels like a glorified ball shagger. They are already on the bench and now they have just been told, after game started, they have to run all over the parking lot.) How to put a helmet on and be eyes for pitchers warming up. Who is expected to clean up, drag, etc. after home games. What is the backup plan after games/practices get canceled? ALL these things must be expressed in meetings to teams. If not, they realize VERY quickly that "coach" is not on top of everything. Trust factors may start to deteriorate. I print out and post pre/post practice and game duties of each kid. Tape it to the dugout wall. 

They didn't... We are a first year staff so there is a lot of overhauling that we have to do. Establishing the procedures we want done and how they are to be done. I'm the varsity assistant. 

I understand completely where you came from with your last post. It is just the fact that there was supposed to be a game that day that got canceled 20 minutes before the JV team was supposed to leave school... then all of the sudden he couldn't stay to work out. I'll never get angry or upset at a player for not being talented, I will if they refuse to work hard and hustle as that takes zero talent.

 

I appreciate all feedback, positive or not. I can't get better as a coach if I don't get some sort of critisim. Seeing things through other coach's eyes helps me get better.

That is actually a very good idea for the foul ball duty. We have our DH do the outfield warm-up between innings and re-distribute the warm-up balls after our defensive half inning.

 

The reason we did the optional for some is because the area we have to work with inside is very small. If we have all of the kids from both teams in there we quickly run out of functional room and end up with a lot of standing around. The standing around part is also on the coaching staff as we need to figure out what we can do to keep them active in our small area. It is also on the players, because if we don't tell them EXACTLY what they need to be/should be doing, some of them will do nothing.

 

It should also be noted that he was the only one of the optional guys that did not stay. 

As we all know, not everything on the coaching side is black and white, cut and dry. Every situation needs to be looked at and handled on an individual basis in some instances. With this particular kid, since he was the only one who did not stay, I feel you and/or HC need to have a sit down talk with him. Ask him why he left (albeit optional). Maybe get him talking and he will reveal something interesting you may not have previously known? Home problems? GF problems? Health issues? No food to eat? Seriously! In having an honest heart-to-heart with him may completely change everything. Then again, it may reveal true character as well. 

 

A couple of years ago I had a player, a very talented player at that, who should have been on the V but made JV both his Soph and Jr years. He would maybe/maybe not show up to practices. During games, he would maybe/maybe not have his cap, spikes, etc... Dad was so gung ho about him playing and always told us coaches that we need to find more motivational factors for kid (as that was what dad said he was trying to do as well). One day, after many motivational speeches from all the coaches, me and another coach decided to have an honest heart-to-heart. We told the player that nothing that was being said would leave the dugout. We made an emotional break through with him and he finally told us that playing baseball wasn't his dream, yet it was his father's dream for him. He and his father's relationship was fractured due to this reality. He understood that he was good, and admitted that he could have actually been better if his heart was in it. I suggested that he found a time to express these exact feeling to his father, and they could process it together and hopefully come to an honest, peaceful conclusion. Player reluctantly finished his Jr. season and had that talk with father. He did not play his Sr. season. He and father came to an agreement to where son would work on academics. 

 

With all that being said, these type stories are a dime a dozen. Find out directly from your player what exactly is going on in his world...

I was thinking about the kid who asked what he needed to do to improve and then skipped out on an optional practice.  I maybe taking an unpopular position on this but I don’t think the kid should be on any type of sh** list….At least not at this point.

 

I am guessing that this coach is an educator as well; though I am guessing from the sounds of things he is a younger teacher.  I am not an educator ( but my wife is (administrator) and I have lots of discussions with her over the years about youths, personal responsibility and growth.

 

******I am about to go off on a tangent here but stick with me, it will help to demonstrate my point later on********

Many people (especially outside the education community) will tell you how much kids look forward to and love Winter/Spring/Summer breaks.  What they do not realize is that there is a percentage of kids who detest these times.  School is their safety zone and during breaks they are going to go home to an alcoholic mother, or a father who beats them, or have no heat or food to eat.  Its sad but this is the reality of their lives. 

 

So what does this have to do with this situation?  Maybe the kid is currently in a reverse form of this.  Maybe his mom is dying of cancer, or maybe his brother just returned from Afghanistan or maybe his grandparents are in town and he has not seen them in 5 years.   In this case the kids safe harbor is what is going on at home and what is happening at school is secondary to real life.  Is the kid a three-sport athlete?  If so maybe he was just looking for a break.  My son is and he has had a total of 3 weeks all year that he has not had a practice or game 6 days a week.  Or maybe he was burdened with homework.  As they say in our school the word student is the first word in student-athlete.  Before you just go throwing a kid on a list and labeling him as not being dedicated you need to try to understand what is happening with him.

 

Now lets say he just skipped the optional practice.  You may have to lay some blame on the coaches for not clearly defining expectations.  Did the coaches say Tom, Bill and John stay if your not one of them you can go home if you want and we will hold it against you?”  Or did they say ”Tom, Bill and John stay and the rest of you its up to you if you want to stay”.  If it was the first one then yes you can hold the kid accountable.  If it was the former you need to sit the kid down and layout the expectations that an optional practice means you still need to be there.  Many kids know this but some do not at that age.   Don’t forget they are only 15 (I think he said frosh level) and do not have the life experiences we do as adults to  help them figure out that optional may not really mean optional.

I don't like optional practices.  Too much potential for bad chemistry.

 

It's the same with optional chores at home.  "While I'm at work tomorrow it would be nice if you guys get up early and help your mom move all the tag sale stuff."  You get home and find out that they slept late. Now you're ticked off at them.  Bad chemistry. Or, son #1 helped, but son #2 didn't.  Bad chemistry.

 

 

 

 

 

Entry #4... The Tin Man

The varsity season is not off to a great start at 0-2 with losses of 15-3 and 8-3. It appears that what I thought before the season is coming true. Offense will be at a premium for us this season.

After the first game we were having the post game coach's meeting and we felt that the boys folded in the 2nd after back to back errors opened up the flood gates. No fight was left in them after that. Heads went down and so did the shoulders. They lacked heart.

The start of game 2 didn't go much better,  hitting 3 batters and giving up 6 quick runs. But this time something happened that, quite frankly, surprised me. The Tin Men found a heart. In the next 6 innings they actually won the game 3-2. I don't believe in moral victories but this was an encouraging sign. Showing fight and heart against the #6 class 3 team in the state in preseason polls gives me a ray of hope and something to work with.

There will be a "Come to Jesus" talk with one kid this week. Talent is there, effort and want is seriously lacking. He will have to be put on notice that his effort/hustle just isn't acceptable in this program any longer.

Coach, I appreciate the intent of this thread.  I would give a word of caution, if you tell these players that they lack heart or that they don't have drive/motivation, etc. they will believe it.  Instead, lead by example.  Be excited to be in practice.  Give 8 (not 4) positives to every negative.  Give them a reason to achieve.  Oh, I know you might think that winning should be their reason.  People/players "win" in a lot of different ways and in your case, perhaps that small step forward is a victory.  Per the "not in this for moral victories," you might want to rethink that if you want to change the climate.  Moral victories might be all you have for a while.  JMHO!

CoachB... I come to practice everyday with excitement and energy because everyday is a new day to win. I've started putting a different motivational saying on the board in the locker room everyday and we talk about what it means to the players before we start practice after warm-up. It gets the mindset that we want in place before we really get to work. Listening to your peers talk about what a phrase means to them carries more weight than just having a coach spout off about it.

Progress is being made. Slowly but surely.

Coach S,
Thanks for sharing your story. Several years ago, a similar story happened at our son's school. After the game, going thru the handshake line of both teams, one of our players dropped dead, with an unknown heart condition. His mother was there alone that day, celebrating her 40th birthday. This kid lived & breathed baseball. To this day, the team's ball caps have the lettering:  T.N.F.G. & their practice jerseys have the words spelled out on the backs ~ Take Nothing For Granted.
Football & Basketball rule most schools, as was the case at our school, when our now legend / Coach of the year(s) H.C. came on board. Winning State 3 times in the last 10 year's of his coaching, including back to back title wins. Somehow, he was able to instill the things you hope to, and under similar circumstances too. The kids love playing for him. They respect him and the game. He isn't a touchy feely kind of guy. He keeps his emotions intact, for the most part at games. Practices, I wouldn't know. He demands a respect for the game, including how one wears their uniform, cap, the length of a player's hair, and no chanting from the dugout,  cheering is ok. The team's actually practice timing sprints from the field to the dugout, because they will always be doing that kind of hustling during a game.
So now, our school is known for its baseball. Families intentionally move within our district, for the opportunity to play for this school.
So, it may take time to turn things around, but it can be done. It's got to start somewhere!

Best of luck!

Freddy, never thought of that before.  Thanks for the insight.

Instead of questioning their heart motivation and drive, ask them how much they have in them. Ask them how far they can dig down and bring it to the top. When you question the heart of a team that had a bad day they fight back. When you question the heart of a team that has questionable heart, they may roll over and die.

 

Challenge them to show heart. Sometimes telling them you know it's in their somewhere works better than questioning if it's there at all.

They have shown heart... it is showing it on back to back days is what the problem is. I don't think they were pushed last year by the coach that was there. I think he saw a bunch of "untalented" kids and never pushed them to be better. It seems like he thought that good enough  was good enough. 

 

I, as most of you can tell, don't see it that way. You as a coach shouldn't settle for being "good enough" as a coach and I don't want my players to settle for "good enough". In the short time I've been coaching baseball I've done so much studying, watching of videos, and learning from you guys on here. 

 

Thursday, we had a "Come to Jesus" talk with the boys. We let them know that it is in there, I know it is in there... find it. Show it. Believe it. 

 

Friday we had to have indoor practice due to 4" of rain falling Thursday and Friday. Our lone senior came and got my keys from me and I told him to readjust the tarps and then head over to the small gym and we would be there to get things going. Some background here... We have had to lead everything by hand. Besides 3-4 kids, if the coaching staff didn't explicitly tell them to do something, nothing would get done besides standing around. 

 

Well as the head coach and I enter the common's area we hear the ping of bats. We both stopped, looked at each other and smiled. We walked in to the gym... cage was down, bunting, soft toss, and tee stations going. Everyone working. No one standing around doing nothing. I looked at the head coach and said to him, "I think it might have gone off. Let's wait until tomorrow and see if it has." But it was a step in the right direction.

Entry #5 (I think) "I can hear you knocking..."

 

Well since my last post we finally got our first win. I was very, very ugly but right now a win is a win. We also have lost 3 games. The first lost was the day after my last post in this thread. It was a 1 run loss. The kids fought back in the top of the 7th to tie it up and I was really happy about it. We lost the game on a throwing error by our 3rd baseman with 2 outs in the bottom of the 7th that allowed the winning run to score. At least that is how the kids saw it. I saw it as a booted ball by our 2nd baseman in the 4th that would have ended the inning, run scored. Our lead off hitter trying to steal home on his own in the 1st, sac fly on the next pitch would have scored him. That is what lost us the game.

 

I had to miss this weekend's double header due to my brother getting married. I know, great planning bro. The reports that I got were not good. Had a batter strike out looking to end the 2nd game with the bases loaded and winning run on 2nd. The looking strike outs have become our problem. I'm not sure if it is a lack of confidence, if it is a lack of understanding the strike zone, if it is a lack of understanding how to hit with two strikes, or a combination of all 3. I can tell the kids are getting frustrated and the staff is as well. It always seems to be 1 little thing that is keeping them from kicking the door in... I just need to find that key.

 "Our lead off hitter trying to steal home on his own in the 1st, sac fly on the next pitch would have scored him."

 

Tried to straight-steal home on his own?

I'm at a loss for words.

It was a delayed steal but I too was at a loss for words.

Well since I went to my brother's wedding this weekend, the rest of the staff decided to mess with me. We actually won one of the games 20-8. So we are now 2-7 which equals last year's win total. Also a bit of good news, our lead off hitter is leading the area in average by 23 points. I feel like the kids are getting it more and more.

Coach Sampson With your energy, passion and desire for your kids to succeed I really wish my son could have a HS coach like you.  His attitude is the total opposite of yours, everything is the kids fault never his.  Yesterday he puts a freshman pinch hitter in for my son with the tying run at 3b because he said he didn't like my sons approach the AB before. He had hit a long fly out to the warning track with two outs and a runner at 1B.  The freshman looks at 3 pitches go by and walks back to the dugout.  Who knows if my kid would have done better but it seems as a senior that has played every game for the past two years he's earned the right to try.

 

Keep up the hard work and the kids will either buy in or you will weed them out and you will be left with kids that want to work hard.  The lack of hustle on my sons team drives me nuts.  

Dave, thank you for the kind words.  There were very few "rules" from our coaches when I played at the school and it is what I hope to re-establish.

1) We will out work everyone.
2) We will out hustle everyone.
3) Between the lines, you sprint everywhere.

That is it. We prided ourselves on defense and base running. Never hit a lot of home runs but we would bunt and force the issue offensively on the defense. Apply pressure at all times. It is a simple philosophy and when kids buy in it is very effective.

Today it is hard to get kids to want to work on defense and bunting. The "non sexy" part of the game turns kids off it seems. Still today I would take 100 ground balls a day if I could. I have found a new satisfying feeling though,  a well hit fungo makes me smile ear to ear.

If you mean that it's hard to get kids motivated to work on defense and bunting at HS practices, then I have to disagree.

 

Coach, when I read your words here--and read in an earlier post that your catchers aren't dedicated to blocking-- it makes me wonder if you're coaching in a low-income district, in which case I can understand how your players could have bad work habits.

 

I haven't had to deal with that challenge, and don't know how well I'd deal with it.

 

Today it is hard to get kids to want to work on defense and bunting. The "non sexy" part of the game turns kids off it seems.

  I disagree with this as well.  I see defense as a priority thing and what is taught.  We preach and work on this DAILY and with the same passion as hitting.  I think the bunting thing has become a lost art do to it not being taught and the little guy level

Coach, when I read your words here--and read in an earlier post that your catchers aren't dedicated to blocking-- it makes me wonder if you're coaching in a low-income district, in which case I can understand how your players could have bad work habits.

Freddy, I take a little offense to this.  My entire coaching career has been spent at schools that would be considered lower income and I do not have any of these issues.  Is there a work ethic that has to be taught sometimes, yes.  But to say it is a low-income school thing I disagree.

IEBSL,

I should have said, 'players from challenging home environments.'   My heart goes out to those kinds of kids. I wasn't knocking them.  Just trying to understand why Coach Sampson's players seem behind the curve on player traits that I take for granted.

If he coached my players he'd probably say 'I can't believe how easy you have it,' and he'd be right.   Not talking talent. Talking work ethic, etc.

 

 

Freddy I believe it is more of they haven't been pushed before. I don't believe any of these kids have played anything besides rec ball in grade school and I know of only one who plays summer ball for a legion team. I believe the coach last year was a coddler and didn't push the kids out of their comfort zone. I've also heard stories of him actually apologizing to the kids for making them run as punishment.  It sounds like to me that the Varsity HC last year would be a great instructor but not a good coach.

The kids never had to work hard before high school because they knew that everyone had to play no matter what and that was fine for them. I still have one parent wondering why her son isn't playing. We've had to tell her that it is a safety issue to put him on the field because he is absolutely terrified of the baseball. I've seen him on several occasions actively get out of the way of a hump back liner. In the program there are about 5 kids that are there, not because they want to play baseball,  but because they want to be on a team/wear a uniform. We barely have enough bodies for a V and JV teams this year so the AD said we couldn't cut anyone.

Freddy,

 Completely understandable

Entry #6-- Enter the Gauntlet

 

Well it is that time in everyone's schedules that I like to call The Gauntlet. Games on off days that have to be made up. I believe we are going to have at least 8 games in this two week period, including 3 straight days of games this week. 

 

Here is a question for other coaches here. We were supposed to have a game at a park that has portable pitching mounds. Because of the use of those mounds the school said that the pitchers weren't allowed to wear metal spikes and had to wear rubber bottomed shoes. The head coach and I said absolutely not as I can't make my pitchers go buy a pair of turf shoes or another pair of molded cleats just to pitch in that game and I'm not putting my pitcher at a disadvantage when it comes to fielding his position in tennis shoes on a dirt field. Needless to say their AD isn't happy about it and I believe we had the game moved to our school. What would you do in that situation?

 Exactly like you did!

I would have done exactly what you guys did in that situation.  At that point it becomes an administration issue.  AD tells you to suck it up, then you suck it up.