Shame on you coach!

For those who didn't see it, the kid was clearly having an issue with this throwing arm. He was rubbing and shaking it, and told the coach it was tight.

I was glad something was said about putting him at short, but OH was clearly trying to be careful about criticizing the coach.

quote:

Originally posted by TPM:
So the coach takes the young LL pitcher who is showing distress off the mound and puts him in the ss position. WT*!

I wish that OH could have said what was really on his mind!

There was a kid yesterday maybe? He reached his limit of 85+ and was put in center field. He was not showing signs of distress but put the pitcher at first if you need to keep him in.

They're clearly not allowed to say ANYTHING negative about anyone.

Yesterday, Terry Francona (who I think adds a TON to every broadcast I've seen him do) ranted and raved about the unique swing a certain player had. The swing was so long he couldn't come close to catching up to a fastball.

He could easily have offered polite modifications to the boy's swing that wouldn't have been offensive. Well, Mom might have thought differently.

The announcers are describing bad swings as good swings. Not good for the young viewers.

We are heckling here.

First of all a player is in obvious pain , discomfort etc. He had just thrown a breaking ball and bent over and started shaking his arm. He tells the coach his arm is tight. The coach doesn't take the kid out of the game. He just moves him to SS. Like he is not going to have make a throw from SS? And where does the next ball go? To the kid he just took off the mound. Any coach who was looking after the players best interest would have immediately taken the kid out of the game and had him looked at. Not simply moved him to another position. The announcers said "Good for you Coach" when he took him off the hill. Simply pathetic imo. But really at this level the kids with the best arms are the most likely to get abused. And less likely to have the good arm down the road but more likely to be remembered for what they could have been instead of what they are. Good for you Coach.

I thought the game last night was blown by the Texas coach. His catcher made a back pick late and tight, which was caught but didnt get the runner out. My son and I both said DONT DO THAT. Well, minutes later he does it again, but this time the ball gets away and the lead slips away. Heck, I think there may have been runners on first and second at the time, but now I'm not sure.

Fundamental mistake. The coach had the chance to tell him not to do it. Heck, maybe the coach called for it.

These coaches are worried about getting seen and heard on TV , nothing else . Personally , I would have pulled my kid myself .No way you put him at SS which requires gunning throws across the field . But the LLWS is big money and air time so I guess we just overlook the safety of young players .

Since the coaches are miked up wouldn't it be great to see a coach remove an injured player the game and explain "Let's not ruin your arm when you're only twelve. This game isn't that important." Based on the arm abuse I witnessed coming through travel ball a lot of coached need to hear it. They toast kids arms just to attempt to win a weekend medal or trophy.

Let me offer another possibility. Perhaps the coach knows the kid well enought to spot the "losers limp" effect. I have seen it a lot in youth sports. When a player is struggling or over stressed there is suddenly a pain or strain. These are young kids who at times deserve and Oscar for their performance and their coach can spot it.

quote:

Originally posted by twotex:
I thought the game last night was blown by the Texas coach. His catcher made a back pick late and tight, which was caught but didnt get the runner out. My son and I both said DONT DO THAT. Well, minutes later he does it again, but this time the ball gets away and the lead slips away. Heck, I think there may have been runners on first and second at the time, but now I'm not sure.

Fundamental mistake. The coach had the chance to tell him not to do it. Heck, maybe the coach called for it.

Yes, that was late in the game (top of the 6th) and yes, there were runners on 1st and 2nd. Texas had just regained the lead the previous half inning. Had it in their hands and threw it away.

Same thing happened to my son when he was 11. He was throwing one of his best games in the District play-offs in Vegas when he his arm suddenly started hurting. For some reason, the coach initially put him at third base but quickly realized that was not a good idea when my son could barely throw the ball to first while the new pitcher warmed up. That's when he sat him down.

We were fortunate that it was not a serious injury and we just had to shut him down until the following Spring. Funny thing was that we moved from Vegas to Central Virginia during that time and he played Fall ball as a First Baseman. He never saw playing time again at Third until he started playing High School ball. They had just all assumed he only pitched and played First!

mcmmccm,
And if so, take him out of the game to teach him not to cry wolf. Either way the answer is take him out.

I got an idea to solve this whole nonsense.. take youth sports off national television!

Had a similar situation as a coach. Took the team to a 13U USSSA World Series. Kid pitched first game of two and complained of arm pain after. As he was not the top level offensive player on the team, I benched him the second game of the day. Well, his parents got very upset that lil' Johnny was not playing. I explained why and had the kid tell his parents he was hurting. They became very loud and obnoxious to me during the game and then threw out the ultimatum, "play Johnny or we are taking him home!". Note we were from Texas and playing in St. Louis. After standing my ground (between innings) they called my bluff and left with the kid, leaving me with a cuss-filled tirade. It made me look bad in front of the boys and parents, but I only felt bad for the kid that had to leave with a sore arm and idiot parents. We played one more game the next day and I never coached again.

quote:

Originally posted by mcmmccm:
Let me offer another possibility. Perhaps the coach knows the kid well enought to spot the "losers limp" effect. I have seen it a lot in youth sports. When a player is struggling or over stressed there is suddenly a pain or strain. These are young kids who at times deserve and Oscar for their performance and their coach can spot it.

No wonder kids have issues. The player was shaking his arm he was clearly in distress. He should have been removed from the game he had already put his time in let someone else play.

Or, as brought up by Francona, and commented by Orel, move him to the outfield.

This was the first night we watched, and will be the last.

With all the information available about taking better care of youth arms, I guess there still is a lot to be learned.

quote:

Originally posted by CADad:
mcmmccm,
And if so, take him out of the game to teach him not to cry wolf. Either way the answer is take him out.

Can't say i disagree with you there! Unless he has a big bat and you can't afford to take him out of the line-up at a big event and work on the other stuff later.

Sorry, but parents need to take part of the blame here too. They buy into the hype of LLWS, What, do they think their child will get discovered at 12? Many times the coach is the dad, and it's his kid he's moving to another position. Parents need to realize THEY are the ones that are going with players to dr.'s as well as paying for it. They need to take charge when their sons health is at stake. The coach will just find another player to fill a spot if an injury takes out someone. Not all coaches are like this, but unfortunately many are.

quote:

Originally posted by mcmmccm:
Can't say i disagree with you there! Unless he has a big bat and you can't afford to take him out of the line-up at a big event and work on the other stuff later.

That’s not an excuse either when there’s a re-entry rule.