Pressure of New Season

For us, we will start the very end of February.  I  am going to get back in to coaching softball now because my daughter had graduated college and so has finished her playing career.  We have open gyms and it is so hard to sit there and just watch.  Still, I can see so many things we will work on after the team is picked.  I will be the JV Coach this time around and so, have not been an assistant since the '98.  That will be different but still, I am approaching it like a HC.  We are not supposed to be good this year.  Things to make sure you get done now are:

• Equipment repaired including nets and ready to go.
• Make sure all equipment ordered at the end of last school season has come in and is set up.
• You have your schedule where you want it.
• A list of each player's flaws from last year and a plan to work with each one individually.  Perhaps they have fixed some problems over the summer and so, you can't just jump in to this one.
• Make sure that players know the dates of open gym and weightlifting dates and they are open to everyone including freshmen.  You never know what freshman might contribute and you just might have a move in that will make various teams in the program.
• Do that uniform count AND check them to make sure nothing has happened to them over the winter.  I am reminded of an area program that had a water leak in their storage room and the coach didn't know it.  His uniforms were destroyed. 
• Get the facilities at the field ready.  For us, that would mean cleaning the coaching office, painting the game bases or putting new bases together, sorting balls, etc.

Well, this is a little of what I am doing now. As the OP said, I can't wait. 

presont posted:

 

JCG - mine is a month or so away from driving, which will be nice - but not looking forward to the auto insurance payment that goes with his license!

If you plan on getting him a car, it will be more, if he is an occasional driver of another car, it will not. 

What pressure? Anticipation, yes. Pressure comes from lack of preparedness. As a parent I had my turn as a player. I have no need to live through my kids. For the past twenty years it's been about enjoying my two kids playing.

As for my kids, by high school they prepared very hard all off season (even when playing other sports). They left nothing within their control out of their control. It's the most a player can do. 18u and college was the first time softball/baseball was challenging. It was the first time everyone's background was all-everything.

Not to sound condescending at all, but I meant this directed at coaches. I think there is a certain "pressure" (like I said, for lack of a better word) when you see the season right around the corner, and the mental checklist speeds up a little. In the fall, it feels like all the preparation is for a distant contest, and sometime near December for me it feels like opening day is right around the corner. 

Just a post to try and get coaches talking a little bit about their pre-season routines.

C'mon Ironhorse, there's pressure on us dad's too!

-Should I just go with the bleacher cushion so I can move around some? or zero gravity recliner for max comfort?

-New koosie that says "Baseball Dad"?

-School colors in case they win a few?

I feel more and more pressure each day. We went from possibly having one of the best teams I have every coached to relying on some underclassmen to be major factors in our season. We lost our starting center fielder (severe broken leg) starting 2nd baseman (torn ACL) from football injuries, and our starting center fielder and #3 pitcher 87-89 (torn ACL) from a basketball injury. Two of the 3 had college offers, and the third would have had the opportunity to play at the next level. But, as a coach you continue to work hard every day to make sure your players are prepared when injuries do occur. 

We will begin practicing the day with get back from Christmas break and scrimmage Feb.11. We will have voluntary workouts over the holidays, and jump right into it at the beginning of 2016 excited about a new start.

ironhorse posted:

Not to sound condescending at all, but I meant this directed at coaches. I think there is a certain "pressure" (like I said, for lack of a better word) when you see the season right around the corner, and the mental checklist speeds up a little. In the fall, it feels like all the preparation is for a distant contest, and sometime near December for me it feels like opening day is right around the corner. 

Just a post to try and get coaches talking a little bit about their pre-season routines.

 

... and of course you are right about this.  I've felt it every year I've coached.  Sunday, I went to watch one of my potential players at a pitching lesson.  I have been following my child in college and so, haven't seen a lot of the players I will coach.  So, I'm trying to watch any and all that will be trying out at lessons if they want.  I've seen 7 or 8 now.  We have changed the fence cap and have brand new red wrapping on the fence and all the way around the field.  We are getting a new infield mix.  So, we  rented a turf cutter and trimmed to make sure it looks nice when the new mix is added.  We have brought in 3 screens that were "accidentally" left out.  IMO, they were put up and someone with keys got them out.  I have a new shelf ordered for our cage area.  It will be in this week.  I will clean up the cage area and get things ready for tryouts.  I could go on and on.  It feels like I'm running out of time. 

Yep. Getting a little sod cutting done today. That will be our last action before Christmas Break. I'll start mowing the rye over the break and plan out the first 10 or so practices, go through film one more time, and finish out our "curriculum" for our Leadership group in the spring. 

One legged man in a butt-kickin' contest. But it's the best job on the planet.

Bobbie Knight said it best "Pressure is only something you put on yourself", but agree anticipation starts around here when we come back from xmas break early january as tryouts mid feb.