Have we allowed our players to get too soft?
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Good topic TR. I don’t think so. While I’ll be the first to admit our society in general has gotten into eating the high fat fast food with very little exercise, the” serious” athletes are keenly aware of the impact nutrition and exercise has on their ability to perform. I think players realize the direct relationship the condition of their body has with their performance on the athletic field. Those that take their sports seriously take their body seriously. I think this starts to emerge about the time they become teenagers.
Fungo
Fungo
Fungo
I agree with that aspect concerning diet-- what I see is HS kids afraid to push the envelope-- the " No coach I cannot do an inning back to back, today and tomorrow " situation-- they are afraid to play thru pain and soreness--they also do not exercise properly to stretch out-- they dont seem to want to go that extra step
I agree with that aspect concerning diet-- what I see is HS kids afraid to push the envelope-- the " No coach I cannot do an inning back to back, today and tomorrow " situation-- they are afraid to play thru pain and soreness--they also do not exercise properly to stretch out-- they dont seem to want to go that extra step
TRHit, Is being able to play with pain a good thing? Depends on what pain is. I think that mindset may contribute to the increased TJ surgeries. Many times I have heard of players that refused to tell the coach about a physical problem for fear of being benched. When it comes to “pushing the envelope” I think the old adage of discretion being the better part of valor would apply when it comes to playing with, or through pain. Each player is made up differently and we the parent needs to understand our son and their tolerance for pain and what it means. Society accepts sissies and softies as a normal part of the population but in my opinion we should not adjust the rules or stop play while they cry but I also don’t want to see a promising young pitcher pitch until his arm is ruined....I’ve seen both things happen.
Fungo
Fungo
Fungo
Soreness and pain do not mean injury--I firmly believe that kids are not in shape today--they do not throw every day--they, the majority, do not work out other then when the coach says to do so.
Your son and my son may be exceptions, trust me they are not the norm, the normal HS player is nowhere near being in shape nor do they work out properly--and they come up lame every weekend
There are certain things to do before weight training in terms of gettingloose --it is not done-- there are certain things to do in strecting and getting loose before a game--most kids dont even know what to do
Then they tell you they cannot play today because they are sore--they are not hurt, they sore because they are out of shape and not doing what they should be doing in preparation for a game,much less a weekend tournament where they may play upwards of 6 games
Soreness and pain do not mean injury--I firmly believe that kids are not in shape today--they do not throw every day--they, the majority, do not work out other then when the coach says to do so.
Your son and my son may be exceptions, trust me they are not the norm, the normal HS player is nowhere near being in shape nor do they work out properly--and they come up lame every weekend
There are certain things to do before weight training in terms of gettingloose --it is not done-- there are certain things to do in strecting and getting loose before a game--most kids dont even know what to do
Then they tell you they cannot play today because they are sore--they are not hurt, they sore because they are out of shape and not doing what they should be doing in preparation for a game,much less a weekend tournament where they may play upwards of 6 games
quote:there are certain things to do in strecting and getting loose before a game--most kids dont even know what to do
There could be coaching issues regarding those kids going way back. By the time you get them they should be familiar with conditioning drills presented by their high school coaches starting in 9th grade.
The exception to the rule is the self-motivated kid that will work out off-season and in-season by himself, if need be. I guess that is why he is exceptional.
Soft? Soft as compared to what? What were the old 'hard' days like?
I think we need to ask: our the coaches not pushing their players hard enough, or are the players not pushing themselves hard enough?
I think we need to ask: our the coaches not pushing their players hard enough, or are the players not pushing themselves hard enough?
I had a similar conversation about a graduated player this weekend. He was all everything as a freshman on Varsity at SS in HS. Was 4 for 4 in his first varsity game to MVP of the State All Star game as a SR. Problem was he never got better from his freshman year. I actually felt he was better as a freshman, but I expected more each year. He went to JUCO to play ball and quit the team because he did not start either game of their first doubleheader. His problem was he never pushed himself. I felt that as his coach I pushed him as much as I could. Although I'm rethinking that now.
How do you push a player to his limits if it is obvious that he won't test those limits? Do you hurt the rest of the team by benching your star player because he didn't take .1 sec off his 40 in the off season or he didn't stay after for extra grounders?
How do you push a player to his limits if it is obvious that he won't test those limits? Do you hurt the rest of the team by benching your star player because he didn't take .1 sec off his 40 in the off season or he didn't stay after for extra grounders?
In my opinion the stretching issue is right up there with the throwing issue. Hurry up and stretch and throw guys we play in 30 minutes. Or hurry up and stretch and throw guys we have alot to work on today in practice. When I coached AAU I can not tell you the amount of times that I saw teams go to the outfield just kind of toss it around for a few minutes and then take infield and play. Stretching and properly throwing working on mechanics of throwing and catching are a big part of all of our practices. IT IS A PART OF PRACTICE not just something you do to get ready for practice or a game. As far as kids being softer now than years ago. Yes they are the majority are. The ones that are not are tougher than we were and much better players. The gap between the really dedicated serious players and the three month guys has grown leaps and bounds in the last few years. It used to be that the better players were a little better than the average players. Now in my estimation they are light years ahead of the average player. JMHO
Not sure about players, guess some are too soft and others are not!
I remember some soft players back when I was young. I see a lot of real tough players now days. Not sure how much that has all changed.
One thing for sure... Don't know about the players but... I do know that I have allowed this body to go way too soft!
I remember some soft players back when I was young. I see a lot of real tough players now days. Not sure how much that has all changed.
One thing for sure... Don't know about the players but... I do know that I have allowed this body to go way too soft!
This is one of those threads that stinks of "good ol' day syndrome"
I have an 06 player, when he was a soph he was stretch a single into a double, while sliding head first into 2b he caught his left hand under the bag and amputated his pinky, right below the nail. He called time out and ran over to the head coach and said tape it up. Head coach while nearly passing out got the trainer to escort my son to the emergency room, where he underwent surgery to reattach the finger. They put a pin through the finger and splinted it. My son pinch hit in the first game of the year, he hit a game winning triple, and didn't come out of the line up the rest of the season. The pin was removed 4 weeks later.
Just like yester year there are some soft and some not, just depends on the kid.
I have an 06 player, when he was a soph he was stretch a single into a double, while sliding head first into 2b he caught his left hand under the bag and amputated his pinky, right below the nail. He called time out and ran over to the head coach and said tape it up. Head coach while nearly passing out got the trainer to escort my son to the emergency room, where he underwent surgery to reattach the finger. They put a pin through the finger and splinted it. My son pinch hit in the first game of the year, he hit a game winning triple, and didn't come out of the line up the rest of the season. The pin was removed 4 weeks later.
Just like yester year there are some soft and some not, just depends on the kid.
txdad
You make a great point but I am asking are there more soft players than we used to see.
The aches and pains seem to more pronunced and kids cannot throw an inning of 10 to 15 pitches back to over a weekend in a tournament as a closer
You make a great point but I am asking are there more soft players than we used to see.
The aches and pains seem to more pronunced and kids cannot throw an inning of 10 to 15 pitches back to over a weekend in a tournament as a closer
In my humble opinion, kids are kids are kids… They are the same today as they were in the past. They are not softer, more spoiled and /or more high maintenance (Sorry, I just couldn’t resist using that.) Kids are exactly how you let them be. The higher the expectations, the higher they will achieve. JMHO!
I think this all comes from staying indoors and playing Playstation all day rather than going out and doing long toss.
kids havent changed - its what we let them get by with that has changed.
The point about being sore(arm) is one that I here a-lot, but usually is from a kid who throws awkward with bad mechanics or just hasn't thrown enough these days. It seems to me to come from not playing catch enough as kids. At least the awkwardness i see in a-lot of kids throwing lately..We spend a ton of time playing catch and with a throwing program..There is a great article in Collegiate Magazine this month about a long toss program one coach has from alabame..I think they were #1 last year in the country...It is a ton of throwing(every day long toss), but they have had tremendous success and few sore arms or injuries. Great magazine by the way.
My experience is that I have to force the kids to tell me when their arms hurt and at times I just have to make a judgement call and pull them because they will pitch until their arms fall off if they have a chance to get a win.
I over used a kid in the finals of our last tournament and when I pulled him for a reliever with bases loaded and nobody out in the last inning he was angry at being pulled. When the reliever retired the side the starter, who had pitched a great game, was unhappy (in a good way) that the reliever would get the win if we could come back in the bottom of the inning.
After the game I heard him telling his parents his arm was sore and that he needed to ice it. Even though I had asked him repeatedly during the later innings as I saw the number of off speed pitches increase the only thing he told me was that his arm was fine.
I over used a kid in the finals of our last tournament and when I pulled him for a reliever with bases loaded and nobody out in the last inning he was angry at being pulled. When the reliever retired the side the starter, who had pitched a great game, was unhappy (in a good way) that the reliever would get the win if we could come back in the bottom of the inning.
After the game I heard him telling his parents his arm was sore and that he needed to ice it. Even though I had asked him repeatedly during the later innings as I saw the number of off speed pitches increase the only thing he told me was that his arm was fine.
I'm coaching a great group of 12U's that have been playing ball together for a long time. We needed to add a couple of players to the team because of football, etc. and the new boys quickly learned that these players wouldn't accept "softness". It was pretty neat watching the two new boys get an education from the other players and it didn't take them long to change their ways.
One of our original boys was the catcher for the Dixie Minor WS team a couple of seasons ago. He bit through his tongue during a play at the plate and refused to come out of the game. After the game they took him for stitches and he finished the tournament without missing an inning. He caught 42 innings that week with a very swollen tongue! I wasn't the coach of that team but he is one tough kid!
I am lucky that we have a number of kids with his spirit and they bring the whole team to their level. Attitude is everything.
One of our original boys was the catcher for the Dixie Minor WS team a couple of seasons ago. He bit through his tongue during a play at the plate and refused to come out of the game. After the game they took him for stitches and he finished the tournament without missing an inning. He caught 42 innings that week with a very swollen tongue! I wasn't the coach of that team but he is one tough kid!
I am lucky that we have a number of kids with his spirit and they bring the whole team to their level. Attitude is everything.
