THere is an "i" in team

swingbuster

True--you need to work on individual skills in baseball but in my book once you introdue "I" you loose the team concept

Kids can work privately with coaches to fine tune skills but I am sorry, there is no room for "I" in baseball

For example --we had two boys up yesterday for a workput and mind your the shorter of the two trips was 1.5 hours one way in a car--- they came for the specific purpose of fine tuning--one played for us this fall and the other was a young pitcher looking to be evaluated and learn at the same time-- that to me is looking to get better and be able to help their team--

THERE IS NO "I" ON OUR TEAM !!! IT IS WE !!!!!

Buster

I'm watching my son's basketball team have a horrendous season. They aren't real talented but losing by 20 or more to teams they should keep around 10 and then losing close games to teams they should beat.

All they need to do is work on post moves, post defense, and a few other individual skills and they solve the problem.

All they work on in practice is their team offense and press.

The coach has the kids in the right places.......yet that is all he works on. Problem is the kids need to develop a few skills to handle the place the coach has put them in.

Frustrating. Give me three practices and I'll make a 10 point differential difference.

Same very true with baseball. Players and parents know their high school coaches can't help them so they seek instructors.

What TR doesn't understand is there is a lot of individual training going on by his kids so they can be effective in a team game.........but talking about it makes you not a team player.

This could be an interesting discussion if you can get "adults" to drop the "sports rhymes" and "jingles" and speak truthfully about how parents, coaches and players "egoes" drive them all to strive to excel at all cost.

Most of what you will get is the admonition to "humility", though being humble in victory is an admirable character trait, it also doesn't deal with the human beings desire for individual recognition that all of want for our accomplishments.

This is the most difficult character trait that the individual deals with...that is being able to separate the desire to excel and achieve perfection at something like baseball, and the need to fit that "ego-driven" exercise to show our capabilities of "how" well we can run things, perform a task or play a position over our counterparts.

Parents are driven to see their children succeed, and they have their egoes right out front in the personification of their own childs ability to perform as well or better than their classmates, or teammates.

Controlling these interest to excel and succeed through our children is where the coaches abilities to understand how to deal with and direct that energy into constructive progress for the team, instead of destructive disruption, takes the patience of a saint and the iron fist command using a powder puff...called making them eat the sugar coated pill.

But let's not kid our selves, old athletes that become parents can always do it better than their kid's coach...just ask them.

Pic, so true but then again, every Coach knows that, "old athletes that become parents can always do it better than their kid's coach...just ask them." I believe that you have to have the best of both worlds. A kid has to be selfish in wanting to start. Therefore, he motivates himself to outwork all others. Some do this through Private Lessons. Others simply hit the weightroom and work on conditioning. The ultimate goal is the same. All want to win.

When that season starts, it is up to the coach to make sure that Team/We is always first. I don't agree that a coach can't breakdown each position and make sure that each player gets individual work. If a coach is organized, has a system that the kids understand, provides the players with "check-offs" for their position to ensure that they are getting the proper number of reps with quality then individual work will improve both player and team. Now, can a coach monitor all of this? I just don't know. I believe that we do by having 3 coaches that have assignments each practice and know what I want them to work on. Each player has their work outlined for them. We have a practice plan that lets each know who needs to be where and when and when they are working, here is whtat they are working on. I have to see it all. Most of the time, I have to be on the run. The joke last year was that this year, I was going to receive an ATV to keep up with everything. I received a golf cart! LOL!

Let me add this if I may;

Our team obviously does not practice as a HS team does--we have a three man staff in most cases for every event

BUT

when we arrive for an event every kid knows what his role will be and how to prepare for it--the pitchers know the rotation and catchers know who they will catch; The pitchers who will be working out of the pen also know who they are; the DH and EH know who they are ahead of every game so they can be mentally prepared for that role; the outfielrders know who they are so that they can talk ahead of game time as to is doing what in the field; the same goes for the infielders so they can talk and know who is talking what throw , who takes what cutoffs, they talk with the ctahcer to make sure they have their signals in line for cutoofs and throws to second.

They also know what the individual drills are for prior to game time etc

We meet in the hotel lobby way before we leave for the field and the coaches talk with them at length in preparation for the game and the talking doers not end when the game stops---we, the coaches are continually talking among ourseleves and to the players about situations etc

THERE IS NO "I" IN TEAM!!!!!

Teacherman .

Our basketball team is not as good as they should be. We played 4 qtrs Friday night against a man D and never set one pick....go figure. Shooting is becoming a lost art too.

Jordon...team or "i"
Bo Jackson Team or "i"
Bonds Team or"i"

Why do they pay them so much?

Georgia Tech has 1 hour of each pratice to work on high probability shots for their guards. Why ..because every play breaks down eventually against a good team and the guard has to dribble to a soft spot and make the jumper. Team or "i".

TRHit

All good teams are made of great "i"s with a good coach that makes them a team. Why are colleges looking for guys with stats. Why don't they just get some great team players out of a winning program. Just recruit B25s hardest hustling , first to practice guys. Because they want to win and they look at the guys that can put up individual stats that indicate his ability to outperform. Stats equate to probable future performance...they buy iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii not TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT they can turn them into T they don't have the time or patience to work on I

Baseball is the 'game made of individual stats.

Why do you need three coaches then?

Swingbuster I agree with the fact that kids need to get help with areas that they are struggling in. During the season most of the time is spent on team oriented areas. There is some individual time and alot of work on fundementals of the game. But lets be honest with 18 kids and three hours of practice time there is no way we can sit down with each player individually and work on what he is having problems with everyday. Kids have 8 months in the off season to work on their individual games and their areas of weakness as well. But the player has to care enough to go out and work. I have no problem with our kids getting private instruction and trying to improve themselves. I really dont care if they hit the way their private instructor teaches them even if it is different than what we teach as long as they are hitting. If they are not hitting we will step in and see what they are doing wrong and try to help them. You dont fix something that is not broken. But if its not working it is your job to help fix it.

swingbuster

If you think college guys look at just the HS players with "stats" you are sadly mistaken--- many of the solid college guys were guys with normal stats in HS-- a .560 hitter in one HS may well be a .260 in another HS playing better competition and college coaches know it---they take it all into consideration

You may have "I" on your team but we sure don't--the "I's" who think of their stats over the teams success don't play for us much less get invited to play for us-- as for stats I can remember where I had my #4 hole hitter sacrifice bunt because the situation dictated that he do so--he wasn't worried about losing an RBI chance (stats)-- he was more pleased that he laid down the bunt and moved the men up--by the way bunt led to the two runs we needed to win the game

But your belief's VS mine are what makes this game so great-- you can have it your way and I can have it mine and we can both be successful and happy

As for the three coaches they are there to help the team function in an orderly fashion and at the same help instruct the kids as we fine tune their talents in a TEAM setting--each player is a contributor to the overall team success--once they begin to worry about their own stats they lose the TEAM CONCEPT.

I consider myself very fortunate to have excellent field coaches on our staff. It took me a number of years to find the correct combination for what we wanted to accomplish.


Just my thoughts

Buster

We have an inexperience post man on our team. Averaging 8 per game. He has one move only. Give me 1/2 hour with him and he'll have 4 or 5 post moves and average 15 per night.

Have him practice those moves over his hs career and he'll average 20 or more as a senior and the team will compete for the district crown.

But, it won't happen so when he's a senior he'll get 10 or so a game, the team may be .500 and he'll miss out on some of the best experiences of his life.

Agree with TR on stats in HS-meaningless for advancement to the next level. Not one scout or college recruiter asked to see the stats for my son. As TR says, a kid might bat .500 for one
school and .250 for another because of the difference in competition.

But a Red Sox minor league manager spoke to the players at USF(Tampa) last week and told them
that baseball is a team game made up of individuals. In order to be the best "team" player
you can be, you must hone your individual skills to the fullest and then use them for the
betterment of the team.

Thanks MOC

"But a Red Sox minor league manager spoke to the players at USF(Tampa) last week and told them
that baseball is a team game made up of individuals. In order to be the best "team" player
you can be, you must hone your individual skills to the fullest and then use them for the
betterment of the team."

I would think that was just plain common sense and it is. Anybody that argues with that just likes to argue.

Anyway the post was intended to point out what Teacherman and I see that kids don't go out and get the help( as coach May suggest) . When school practice comes around there is not enough help/ man power to get it done.And many times we are talking about an hour session to just change the way they view what they are doing.

But no coach has mentioned "I" like you have swingbuster

They are saying what I am sayin--they hone their skills to help the team --they are not worrying about their stats--if they were they would not be good players such as are needed on a TEAM

I would daresay that where two teams of equal ability played the team without the "I" players would lose.

In no sport can you have players thinking "I" --they need to think we or the team loses out

I think we understand each other. Nobody wants front runners. I am saying at our school we have neglected personal skills in baseball and basketball so long that we are having a hard time competeing even though we have good athletes that are playing hard, hustling , and want to win.

Developing talent in position players with people that played the positions well even if its the off season or preseason can make a big difference.

We( us) are believing too much in anyones ability to build a team with players with little experience, knowledge about the role they will be asked to play for the team.

Can you shoot ,rebound, pick, block out, hit, catch, throw,bunt, pitch and do the things that you must do alone? This is one on one stuff man.

Tug-O-War is the only team sport. Oh, I take that back ...somebody would be recruiting the biggest anchor man with great individual skills and strength.