Practice What You Preach and Negativity

Well you need to be coached up during practice so when the games are played you can just do your job. But if you think a coach telling you wait back on a slow fastball is being negative then you need to hang your spikes up. I've seen a lot worse said to players.....heck I've said worse things to players than that.

First the only person who can destroy your self - confidence is you. No matter what anybody says to you or how they say it it comes down to how you take it. Listen to it, judge if there is merit to what's being said and then use it or forget it. Never get caught up in HOW it's said.

Secondly if this these small comments like this get to you then you might be pretty thin skinned. If you as a varsity player should know and / or figure these things out on your own then you don't need coaches. There's nothing else left to learn because you can figure out everything but then you look at the MLB level and they have coaches that they listen to.

My advice - shut your mouth and open your ears. If you do that the vast majority of your life in general it will help you lead a much easier life. Please try to get some perspective.

I'm confused on how you think the way things are said don't effect what is said. When a team is up 6 with 2 outs and nobody on what's wrong with going after a pitch that you think you can handle and put a good swing on? NOTHING! If as a coach you're throwing out sarcastic and negative comments during a players at bat you probably should rethink your motive. ALso, you should think about the player you're talking to in 62 ab's I've had 4 strike outs... no I'm not saying I'm too good for coaching I'm saying that I put the ball in play. I don't understand what is wrong with going after a first pitch fastball which is probably one of the best pitches you're gonna see.
And by the way I would rather get chewed out all day, all week, all month, hell forever when the ab is OVER! Let the player play pitch by pitch. You can't lose a game on one pitch and you sure as hell can't win it on one pitch. So why coach that way?

Junior, it is a huge no no to yell out instruction during a players AB. I think talking about your approach for a given at bat is fine, but the coach should keep his mouth shut during your AB. All instruction should happen at practice.

Secondly, all comments should be positive! Even if you made a mistake, it can be addressed in a positive manner. Negative talk is useless. Anyone can do that.

As far as defense, I am ok with a coach yelling out position changes from batter to batter.

Hang tough. It is not a perfect world, hang together as a team and you will be fine.

Lefty...

I hate coaching a player when he is at bat. Unless its like something obvious. Batting is mental. Dont make him think.

quote:

Originally posted by LAball:
I hate coaching a player when he is at bat. Unless its like something obvious. Batting is mental. Dont make him think.

Yes Sir! I agree...

quote:

Originally posted by Sdlefty:

As far as defense, I am ok with a coach yelling out position changes from batter to batter.


Lefty...

I was talking more about something like a missed ground ball or a bad throw. It's common knowledge that a player messed up and the first person to rip the player to shreds is the player himself. The coach doesn't need to add much/if anything extra.

quote:

Originally posted by junior5:

quote:

Originally posted by Sdlefty:

As far as defense, I am ok with a coach yelling out position changes from batter to batter.


Lefty...

I was talking more about something like a missed ground ball or a bad throw. It's common knowledge that a player messed up and the first person to rip the player to shreds is the player himself. The coach doesn't need to add much/if anything extra.

Ok, understand now. Yes, I agree with you. There is no reason for that - no class. Handle it the next practice.

Look - if you don't like the way you're being coached or how you're being talked to then quit. Stop whining about it on here because while I will agree that coaching needs to be done during practice and not games if things like this TRULY get you off your game then that's your fault.

If getting ripped for making a mistake or getting coaching tips in an at bat or whatever is the worst things to ever happen to you then you lived a good life. Learn some perspective and learn how to handle things that don't go your way. You don't like the way the guy coaches then either quit or learn to deal with it. Like I said earlier the only person who can take you out of the game mentally is you and nobody else. Anything else is an excuse and this is coming from a coach who probably wouldn't coach the way this guy is coaching you.

Coach,
I respect everything you said a 100%. Do i agree with it... well, sorta. You are right about the only person who can hurt you mentally is yourself and I know that. Thanks for the response.

j5,
I coach varsity HS and 18u club/travel. Sometimes I coach up a player during an AB or in the field and sometimes I don't. When I do, nothing too crazy, just one simple thought to make sure they are focused on the moment. I tend to do so more with the HS players because many of them haven't played enough ball or don't have the mental make-up or motivation to consistently focus on the game situation at hand. We work on things daily at practice to improve this but baseball has more situations than two months of practice can cover. Most of the club players have more games under their belt and are more serious about the game and therefore don't have the same requirements. Sometimes I get this right and sometimes I don't. That brings me to the main point I would like to make to you.
Two great things about being high school age -
1.) You learn that no one is perfect. Your HS team sounds like a very good team. And, yet, I guarantee that every single player AND coach has faults. If you work hard together and support each other in spite of your faults, you can still accomplish great things.
2.) You start to learn to work well with all types of bosses, teachers and coaches and make things work whether you love 'em, hate 'em, or somewhere in between. And if you've learned #1, you usually won't hate 'em. Instead, you'll see the good that they are trying to help you accomplish, faults and all.

quote:

I don't want to hear how I should've been more patient on the first pitch of the AB or how I need to wait back on a slow fastball.

Are you sure you're not confusing encouragement with criticism? What you've mentioned is some of the stuff that naturally often comes out of a coach's mouth between pitches. If you're focused you see his signs the stuff you're mentioning is background noise.

Come on son your going to have to learn to be a lot tougher than this to play this game. Every coach is different. What you described is a coach giving you advice. Actually coaching you. I don't believe in talking to players, coaching them up while they are trying to play. But if that is going on you have to learn how to block it out and just play the game. And you do need to learn to sit back. And you do need to learn to let the ball get deep. Why? If will help you have success and that will help your team have success.

If you could figure this out on your own he wouldn't have to be saying it to you or your team mates. If a coach sat back and waited for his players to figure everything out on their own is he really coaching? What need is there for a coach then? Its his job to help you figure it out. Sometimes that might mean putting you on the bench for a game or two until you get the message. It might mean moving you down in the order. It might mean he has to chew you out. Or it could be a pat on the back and some encouragement.

You don't need a friend you have plenty of those on your team. You need a coach. And a coach is no different than a father imo. He is going to spank your butt when you need it, give you encouragement when you need it, give you instruction and advice because thats what they do, and many more things along the way.

Take your focus off the coaches and trying to pick apart their approach to coaching. Put your focus on being the best player you can be and the best team mate you can be. Its no different than those that go to church and get caught up in looking at the other people there and miss the message intended for them. JMO good luck

Coaches like this usually result in losing seasons year in and year out despite the talent that's dropped in their lap. Maybe every once in a while, if he gets lucky, he can have great talent and squeak out a winning season.It's not hard to understand why players won't go thru a brick wall for a coach who has no clue what he's doing or constantly beats down his players with constant negativity and going the wrong way about coaching the game and managing his players.

These are the type of coaches who can only have any shot to win if he gets lucky and have the talent drop in his lap, and even then, they don't go as far as they can.

It's the good coach who year in and year out has his teams competitive and always play hard and often good results happen because they're well taught, well prepared and have a positive reinforcement and attitude going into games.

I don't get why coaches fill a team fulll of negative vibes. why bother coaching if you're doing nothing to prepare your teams for battle and that includes the mental side of it. The game is hard enough to play and adding the negativity makes it that much harder.

I'm not gonna say it's all on the coaches or the players should get a free pass because it may be that they're not good at communicating and getting across what they want their players to do but what's the point of beating down players if they don't execute. This stuff should be all worked on in practice and be prepared. While I can understand not being disciplined or not properly following the coaches instruction, why get animated and throw up your arms if the player fails to execute even though he went about it the right way. Sometimes, the other team gets credit for executing on their end.

With that being said, it's up to the players to deal with it and toughen up. If they're too thin-skinned and can't deal with certain personalities, they'll have a tough time dealing with difficult people throughout their lifetime so there is something that can be taken out of it all.

In junior's defense, I thought this thread was going to go in a different direction based on the title. So I'll go where I thought it was going to begin with.

I have coached from age 7 to 13, so my experience is with younger players still learning the game. I try very hard to instill positive attitudes with my players. Baseball is a tough game when it's going well let alone going bad, so we have to work very hard to keep our heads up and in the game at all times.

Then I catch myself complaining and whining about bad plays, missed calls, umpires, the wind, my wife's cooking....

Then I drive home that night wishing I had set a better example for my players. Hence, the title of the thread, Practice What You Preach.

If you plan to play in college I can pretty much promise you that your coach will be even more blunt than your high school coach.

No coach is ever going to coach you exactly the way you want to be coached (that's a good thing by the way). I agree that your coach shouldn't be coaching during an AB. That obviously doesn't mean that every coach agrees with that, and I can promise you that your coach isn't going to change. You are going to have to adapt.

There is nothing wrong with a coach making you uncomfortable. If you're comfortable you're not getting any better.

quote:

Originally posted by junior5:
If as a coach you're throwing out sarcastic and negative comments during a players at bat you probably should rethink your motive.

If this stuff bothers you, just wait til you play for the Mets and you're on deck in Philly.

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Hey papi...you had best stop by Boston Market© on the way home.






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quote:

Originally posted by coach2709:
My advice - shut your mouth

I don't usually fall for all the false outrage that goes on here, but, coach, maybe you meant to say something else?

I don't get what your implying - please explain.

Not "implying" anything. A grown coach shouldn't tell a kid to shut his mouth.

Since you don't understand what context means let me give you a brief definition

quote:

the parts of a written or spoken statement that precede or follow a specific word or passage, usually influencing its meaning or effect: You have misinterpreted my remark because you took it out of context.

Now let's put the whole statement of what I said since you decided to put just one small part

quote:

My advice - shut your mouth and open your ears. If you do that the vast majority of your life in general it will help you lead a much easier life. Please try to get some perspective.

Don't pick apart things I say just to try and start something.

quote:

Originally posted by coach2709:
Since you don't understand what context means let me give you a brief definition

quote:

the parts of a written or spoken statement that precede or follow a specific word or passage, usually influencing its meaning or effect: You have misinterpreted my remark because you took it out of context.

Now let's put the whole statement of what I said since you decided to put just one small part

quote:

My advice - shut your mouth and open your ears. If you do that the vast majority of your life in general it will help you lead a much easier life. Please try to get some perspective.

Don't pick apart things I say just to try and start something.

This thread has gone sideways... Junior was just looking for some advice on how to handle his situation. I think everyone has provided some great feedback for him. Take it and run Junior.

I think some of you are not getting what I am trying to get across. After a pitch you look down to the third base coach for a sign. correct? SO somehow.... listening to the coach a player is not supposed to listen to him and block him out?

Second, I did say previously I prefer a coach who will get on me. I can't stand a coach who doesn't say anything. I will get chewed out all day, all week, all month, hell all forever! Why is the negativity necessary during the AB? What does it help?

Personally, I'm not suprised by the way people are so split on this discussion because it's just a matter of opinion. No, I don't think I handled the situation right. Next time, I'm gonna say stfu I'm going to get a hit or make the next play.

This is somewhat of a side statement but since I've been on here it is very easy to notice who the more negative people are. This thread is different because I needed most of the criticism I recieved from you and I understand that. It just seems to me a lot of people take questions and answer them with some negative not needed answers that don't do people anything except make them want to never come on this site again.
* I UNDERSTAND I needed the criticism. Thanks.

quote:

Originally posted by junior5:
Next time, I'm gonna say stfu I'm going to get a hit or make the next play.

Let us know how that works out for you.

I meant in my head. What player would say that?

This is an interesting thread since locally we have been talking a lot about how “good” and “bad” coaching makes a huge difference in the success of HS baseball teams. At least in public schools there is an ebb and flow of talent into a program so long term a good coach will have good teams and marginal teams. The best coaches generally field competitive teams IMO. We have a team in our area that is ALWAYS competitive, this is my son’s third year on Varsity and I have watched his approach for three years now and I have come to the conclusion there is a reason why he is successful. He does a lot of “coaching” in practice, works on details, details, details, develops players year round, and in game time is very positive toward his players, but will pull one aside and talk to him if he made a mistake. He is tough but he also recognizes that baseball is a game of failure. He realizes that practice is his time and game time is for his players.

Now on the other hand we have another program that works hard year round, has decent practices but assumes that the players know how to do certain things and does not really work on the fundamentals too much. He does not pay attention to the details, makes marginal decisions in putting players in specific positions, but the biggest problem is that he berates players during the games. If they make an error he pulls them. What happens is that the team usually starts of pretty good in early season and then fades, as the players get sick and tired of the coaches and stop having fun and give up. He literally sucks the life out of the team. (He also tends to hire other coaches that berate players) So what you get is a program that is generally just under 0.500 each year, but year in and year out has NEVER had a winning season. The program has plenty of talent but cannot overcome its coaches.

Another example is a program across town finally got rid of a “bad” coach. They brought in an experienced guy, who worked them hard, really works on details, is hard on them in practice, but knows that game time is their time. They immediately go from a sub par team to a very competitive team, with mostly the same kids.

So junior unfortunately it sounds like you are stuck with a poor coach and there is nothing you can do about it but suck it up, try to be as positive as you can, and ignore him as much as possible. Frankly you probably get it more than your coach does, so approach it that way. Get your kids together and talk about what YOU and your TEAMATES want to achieve. He is probably an idiott so ignore him as much as you can.

BOF,
I think that we have a pretty good coach we just don't always take things the way we are supposed to as I think coach2709? said and I agree with him. There are definite differences in the coaching and it usually is shown by the success of the team. We are a very good team for our division and I think our coaches are a very good reason for it.

quote:

Originally posted by zombywoof:
Coaches like this usually result in losing seasons year in and year out despite the talent that's dropped in their lap. Maybe every once in a while, if he gets lucky, he can have great talent and squeak out a winning season.It's not hard to understand why players won't go thru a brick wall for a coach who has no clue what he's doing or constantly beats down his players with constant negativity and going the wrong way about coaching the game and managing his players.

These are the type of coaches who can only have any shot to win if he gets lucky and have the talent drop in his lap, and even then, they don't go as far as they can.

It's the good coach who year in and year out has his teams competitive and always play hard and often good results happen because they're well taught, well prepared and have a positive reinforcement and attitude going into games.

I don't get why coaches fill a team fulll of negative vibes. why bother coaching if you're doing nothing to prepare your teams for battle and that includes the mental side of it. The game is hard enough to play and adding the negativity makes it that much harder.

I'm not gonna say it's all on the coaches or the players should get a free pass because it may be that they're not good at communicating and getting across what they want their players to do but what's the point of beating down players if they don't execute. This stuff should be all worked on in practice and be prepared. While I can understand not being disciplined or not properly following the coaches instruction, why get animated and throw up your arms if the player fails to execute even though he went about it the right way. Sometimes, the other team gets credit for executing on their end.

With that being said, it's up to the players to deal with it and toughen up. If they're too thin-skinned and can't deal with certain personalities, they'll have a tough time dealing with difficult people throughout their lifetime so there is something that can be taken out of it all.

My HS coach yelled almost every pitch of every game. It was very tough on some kids. However, he has won multiple state championships, has players in professional baseball, and has won hundreds of games.

Why??? He yelled things that were helpful. He pointed out mistakes. Maybe some people didn't like the way he did it, but is sure seemed (and still seems) to work.

I would much rather have a coach that "coaches", than someone who sits on a bucket and chews seeds all game.

I'm not sure why we are saying junior's coach is a bad one. There have been several posts on here who said he was a bad coach but I really don't see enough evidence here to make that claim. Maybe he is a terrible coach but there's not enough evidence to confirm it.

You know what I think is funny in an ironic sort of way? If I get on here and say something along the lines of "Johnny Doublecut who plays second for me has the absolute dumbest parents on the face of the earth. They make ole Johnny put his left shoe on first and then his right shoe. Can you believe that? What a bunch of idiots?" I would be vilified for posting something like that but it's almost second nature for people to get on here and just absolutely BLAST coaches. Now I got Sultan nitpicking my posts to try and find stuff make me look bad or whatever his goal is - I have no idea.

Junior if you don't like it when your coach tells you "coaching tidbits" during an at bat then go to him one on one in a mature, respectful and classy way and ask him if he could not do it when you're hitting. He may not realize he's doing it. Some coaches are just talkers - they say stuff because they need to talk. Back in the old days it was called chatter but he's doing coach chatter or something like that. Don't go to him and make it sound like you're whining or complaining. He may just change or he may not - either way learn to deal with it.

I never had a problem with any of your posts and inclined to think you got on here to blow off some steam. No harm in that - I would rather you get on here and blow the steam instead of blowing up at the coach. Probably lose that battle you don't need to fight. There has been some great advice on here by some good people but like I said - take everything said and evaluate it. Take the good and incorporate it into who you are and the rest just ignore it. Listen to the message and not how it's delivered.

quote:

Originally posted by realteamcoach:

My HS coach yelled almost every pitch of every game. It was very tough on some kids. However, he has won multiple state championships, has players in professional baseball, and has won hundreds of games.

Why??? He yelled things that were helpful. He pointed out mistakes. Maybe some people didn't like the way he did it, but is sure seemed (and still seems) to work.

I would much rather have a coach that "coaches", than someone who sits on a bucket and chews seeds all game.

I agree. Players would rather have coaches who care and want to help their players. However when you hear of the same issues year-in-and-year-out, there is something in common with these different teams that pass thru the system. It is what it is.

quote:

Originally posted by coach2709:
I'm not sure why we are saying junior's coach is a bad one. There have been several posts on here who said he was a bad coach but I really don't see enough evidence here to make that claim.

Your probably right coach, and Jr agrees, but this thread hit a nerve on what is going on in our area. I am certainly not an expert, but the conclusion I have come to is that great coaches consistently field winning teams and bad ones don’t….I know kind of a D’Oh. I guess there is no surprise in this, but prior to really watching a lot of HS ball I had the opinion that talent could sometimes overcome bad coaching. It probably can, but it has surprised me how often it does not happen as I have seen some really talented teams fail, and some marginal ones really succeed. Here's to all of the great HS coaches out there.

I think one of the greatest challenges of a coach is getting to know his players. Really understanding each kid, and what makes him tick. Some can be yelled at, some can't. Some need praise some don't, etc...

Once you understand each athlete, it's pretty simple to have a plan for their development. I think to the athlete, it really shows that you care. And trust me they know if you care or not. In the past, once this is in place our growth is limitless.

Lefty...

BOF,
Talent can only get you so far. We were a good team with a lot of talent last year and this year we are pretty much the same team. I can tell you we are a completely different team, besides our rough game last night we are a close work for the end goal team and it's work out. I have all the confidence in the world in my coaches and I think we have a good shot at state this year.

.

sdlefty...



.

quote:

but this thread hit a nerve on what is going on in our area. I am certainly not an expert, but the conclusion I have come to is that great coaches consistently field winning teams and bad ones don’t….I know kind of a D’Oh. I guess there is no surprise in this, but prior to really watching a lot of HS ball I had the opinion that talent could sometimes overcome bad coaching. It probably can, but it has surprised me how often it does not happen as I have seen some really talented teams fail, and some marginal ones really succeed. Here's to all of the great HS coaches out there.

From what I've seen, coaching at the HS level has a huge affect on how successful teams are on the field and it is difficult for talent to overcome bad coaching.

quote:

I think one of the greatest challenges of a coach is getting to know his players. Really understanding each kid, and what makes him tick. Some can be yelled at, some can't. Some need praise some don't, etc...

Once you understand each athlete, it's pretty simple to have a plan for their development. I think to the athlete, it really shows that you care. And trust me they know if you care or not. In the past, once this is in place our growth is limitless.

And if fairness to these coaches, they don't have the time to spend with these players one a one on one basis because the HS season is so short to begin with. Seems like just as the baseball season gets into swing, it's over. Now the coaches who have a knack for doing this will more likely have success with teams over the long haul.

Both excellent points hee.

quote:

Originally posted by zombywoof:

quote:

but this thread hit a nerve on what is going on in our area. I am certainly not an expert, but the conclusion I have come to is that great coaches consistently field winning teams and bad ones don’t….I know kind of a D’Oh. I guess there is no surprise in this, but prior to really watching a lot of HS ball I had the opinion that talent could sometimes overcome bad coaching. It probably can, but it has surprised me how often it does not happen as I have seen some really talented teams fail, and some marginal ones really succeed. Here's to all of the great HS coaches out there.

From what I've seen, coaching at the HS level has a huge affect on how successful teams are on the field and it is difficult for talent to overcome bad coaching.

quote:

I think one of the greatest challenges of a coach is getting to know his players. Really understanding each kid, and what makes him tick. Some can be yelled at, some can't. Some need praise some don't, etc...

Once you understand each athlete, it's pretty simple to have a plan for their development. I think to the athlete, it really shows that you care. And trust me they know if you care or not. In the past, once this is in place our growth is limitless.

And if fairness to these coaches, they don't have the time to spend with these players one a one on one basis because the HS season is so short to begin with. Seems like just as the baseball season gets into swing, it's over. Now the coaches who have a knack for doing this will more likely have success with teams over the long haul.

Both excellent points hee.

I agree Woofy! It is tough to do.

Junior, sounds like you are taking things on this thread constructively. That's a great sign.

My son reminds me that he can only control himself, and he choses to not focus on things he can't control, like the coaching style of his coach. In this case the parent is learning from the kid.

One thing I've noticed is that when my son is batting or catching he doesn't hear anything anyone from the dugout or stands is saying. Now, I don't know whether this is really the case, or if he's just adopted that approach to playing.

Good luck. I bet you are going to do just fine.

quote:

Originally posted by AntzDad:

quote:

Originally posted by junior5:
If as a coach you're throwing out sarcastic and negative comments during a players at bat you probably should rethink your motive.

If this stuff bothers you, just wait til you play for the Mets and you're on deck in Philly.

Is it true Eagles fans attend Phillies games in the summer to warm up for the football season?