The humor was obvious to some who carried it on into an even funnier perspective.
It was, in fact, a coaches list of excuses...the humor (as most posting here have very well stated) was that it was not inclusive of "coaches" excuses.
And as many have pointed out, that road goes both ways.
Lighten up, both of you, get off your high horse and understand that the people you are "targeting" are never gonna get it. The rest, get it, but realize this is part of life.
Anyone can comprise a list of accomplishments...it takes integrity to examine your life,especially when you are in a position of authority, and understand there are two points of view.
I cannot understand why the coach feels he needs to defend himself. It is well understood, he is on the list of those that contribute greatly toward the game and the players.
The list is humorous, regardless of his intentions.
Humor is subjective.
Ok I read the original post about the top 10 when it was first posted and thought how true and went away from the thread. I have just read every single post made after I saw how long it got.
First let me say I am not directing anything I am saying at any one person. In fact I rarely looked at who posted what when I read the whole thing because I don't know any of you personally.
To me the common problems in a team's failure are...
Selfishness, being immature, lacking fundamentals, lacking a work ethic, lack of personal responsibility, lack of unity, lack of intelligence, don't pay attention in practice, don't pay attention to details, doesn't hustle, unrealistic expectations.
I am sure there are other factors but those are what come to me right off the bat. Do you know who the three groups who most disply those problems in the team setting?
1. Players
2. Parents
3. Coaches
The one thing I got from this entire thread is that everyone agrees that there are good parents, players and coaches while there are bad parents, players and coaches. Every human being has a bias. There was only one person who walked this Earth who had no faults and we regular humas hung him from a cross because we didn't agree with him. Now don't think I am going to go off on some spiel about how coaches should be compared to Jesus. I am not that full of myself. The point I want to make is that WE ALL make mistakes.
I am a head coach at a high school and I have had success at the school. Now if you have read some of my posts in the past week and a half you know that I am going through a rough stretch with my team. So tough I am even contemplating changing jobs. So whose fault is it that my team is failing? Mine, parents or players? After much relfection we are all to blame. A phrase that irritates me, while there is some truth to it, is players win games and coaches lose games. Someone said earlier that they take the responsibility (as a coach) when their team fails and I do as well and I love giving credit to my guys when they win. But that phrase moves the team into the blame game. WE ALL win the game and WE ALL lose the game. That is a fact of life we need to remember.
Now this next part of the tirade is going to be about supporting the coach because that is who I am and that is who I favor. Until proven otherwise I will alwasy think the coach knows more than the parents - is that always true? No but I know what my colleagues go through because I go through it.
One problem coaches face is that the fans (parents and even players to a degree) see the result of what a coach calls and then disagrees with a call. Coaches have to make decisions that impact the game and outcome. If those decisions don't work then the fans will say "I never would have called that". My questions to them are 1) what were your options in that situation 2) what would be the thought process in making any decision?
Perfect example of this is what happened to my team last night. We were playing a team we have never played before. Watching them in IF / OF warmups the catcher NEVER made a good throw to anywhere. My first thought was to check the lineup to make sure that was the starting catcher - it was. We were the visiting team and our number two hitter is up and singles. The pitcher we are facing is not bad (found out he was their ace). My guy on first is our fastest player and has yet to be thrown out in 9 attempts. I put the steal sign on. The pitcher misses high with a fastball (in what I deemed to be a curveball count 0 - 1) so the catcher gets what is equivilent to a pitchout and then throws a strike to second to nail my runner. Was that the wrong call?
Fast forward to the 4th inning and we are now down 2 - 0. Number two hitter draws a walk with one out. Up to this point we have put the ball in play and the other team has made 2 errors. The caught stealing is still in the back of my mind. My number three hitter is struggling on pitch selection. He has been taking good pitches and swinging at bad ones. I put hit and run on with the first pitch. My thinking is - the pitcher starts out with fastballs usually in the zone, this is my best hitter and I want him swinging early in the count because the pitcher has shown during the game he wants to throw fastballs early, we have put the ball in play and they are a little shaky, staying still isn't working and we are running out of at bats, I am not a small ball guy especially with our number three hitter. The hitter got what I thought he would get a fastball inner half and he missed it and the runner was thrown out again. We have one parent who is very vocal and starts storming in the stands saying that was stupid to steal in that situation. There are three kinds of parents - the ones who know what is going on and keep quiet, the ones who aren't real sure and are easily swayed and the ones who are clueless and are vocal. The last group usually gets most of the middle group on their side. Now the stands are grumbling. I made a decision and it didn't work - did it cause us to last last night? Maybe or maybe not. There are thousands of factors that go into the winning and losing of games. Fans have the luxury of seeing the outcome and making a decision based on that. Coaches have to make a decision based on information they have observed and know their personnel. Sometimes you just fail.
Another problem for coaches face is if a fan/parent has coached little league they think they know everything. I am not a small ball person and I don't hide that fact but we do work on it. I tell my guys we are not going to bunt unless we have to and that is why we work on it EVERY DAY. I tell my guys it's better to work on something and never need it than to need something ONCE and fail because never worked on it. If one of these parents / fans are small ball advocates they are going to think what I do in game situations is wrong. They would bunt in the second and third innings while I wait until the latter stages of the game. Which was is best? Both are if you prepare your teams to do that exact thing. In the past two years we have only been shut out 3 times - once by a guy who is now in the minor leagues, once by a guy in division one baseball and once because my regular starters had to miss because of a chorus concert (don't get me started). I teach my guys to hit and we do and I teach my guys to bunt and they do when called on.
I think it comes down to this - good coaches can't stand idiot parents / fans and good parents can't stand idiot coaches. Good coaches are going to keep learning the game, go to clinics, talk to other coaches, read books and watch video. I just bought a book based on Tony Larussa and what goes on during a three game set with the Chicago Cubs. I bought it for two reasons 1. I believe it will be an interesting read 2. I hope I may learn something from a great manager.
If winning was easy then everyone would do it.
First let me say I am not directing anything I am saying at any one person. In fact I rarely looked at who posted what when I read the whole thing because I don't know any of you personally.
To me the common problems in a team's failure are...
Selfishness, being immature, lacking fundamentals, lacking a work ethic, lack of personal responsibility, lack of unity, lack of intelligence, don't pay attention in practice, don't pay attention to details, doesn't hustle, unrealistic expectations.
I am sure there are other factors but those are what come to me right off the bat. Do you know who the three groups who most disply those problems in the team setting?
1. Players
2. Parents
3. Coaches
The one thing I got from this entire thread is that everyone agrees that there are good parents, players and coaches while there are bad parents, players and coaches. Every human being has a bias. There was only one person who walked this Earth who had no faults and we regular humas hung him from a cross because we didn't agree with him. Now don't think I am going to go off on some spiel about how coaches should be compared to Jesus. I am not that full of myself. The point I want to make is that WE ALL make mistakes.
I am a head coach at a high school and I have had success at the school. Now if you have read some of my posts in the past week and a half you know that I am going through a rough stretch with my team. So tough I am even contemplating changing jobs. So whose fault is it that my team is failing? Mine, parents or players? After much relfection we are all to blame. A phrase that irritates me, while there is some truth to it, is players win games and coaches lose games. Someone said earlier that they take the responsibility (as a coach) when their team fails and I do as well and I love giving credit to my guys when they win. But that phrase moves the team into the blame game. WE ALL win the game and WE ALL lose the game. That is a fact of life we need to remember.
Now this next part of the tirade is going to be about supporting the coach because that is who I am and that is who I favor. Until proven otherwise I will alwasy think the coach knows more than the parents - is that always true? No but I know what my colleagues go through because I go through it.
One problem coaches face is that the fans (parents and even players to a degree) see the result of what a coach calls and then disagrees with a call. Coaches have to make decisions that impact the game and outcome. If those decisions don't work then the fans will say "I never would have called that". My questions to them are 1) what were your options in that situation 2) what would be the thought process in making any decision?
Perfect example of this is what happened to my team last night. We were playing a team we have never played before. Watching them in IF / OF warmups the catcher NEVER made a good throw to anywhere. My first thought was to check the lineup to make sure that was the starting catcher - it was. We were the visiting team and our number two hitter is up and singles. The pitcher we are facing is not bad (found out he was their ace). My guy on first is our fastest player and has yet to be thrown out in 9 attempts. I put the steal sign on. The pitcher misses high with a fastball (in what I deemed to be a curveball count 0 - 1) so the catcher gets what is equivilent to a pitchout and then throws a strike to second to nail my runner. Was that the wrong call?
Fast forward to the 4th inning and we are now down 2 - 0. Number two hitter draws a walk with one out. Up to this point we have put the ball in play and the other team has made 2 errors. The caught stealing is still in the back of my mind. My number three hitter is struggling on pitch selection. He has been taking good pitches and swinging at bad ones. I put hit and run on with the first pitch. My thinking is - the pitcher starts out with fastballs usually in the zone, this is my best hitter and I want him swinging early in the count because the pitcher has shown during the game he wants to throw fastballs early, we have put the ball in play and they are a little shaky, staying still isn't working and we are running out of at bats, I am not a small ball guy especially with our number three hitter. The hitter got what I thought he would get a fastball inner half and he missed it and the runner was thrown out again. We have one parent who is very vocal and starts storming in the stands saying that was stupid to steal in that situation. There are three kinds of parents - the ones who know what is going on and keep quiet, the ones who aren't real sure and are easily swayed and the ones who are clueless and are vocal. The last group usually gets most of the middle group on their side. Now the stands are grumbling. I made a decision and it didn't work - did it cause us to last last night? Maybe or maybe not. There are thousands of factors that go into the winning and losing of games. Fans have the luxury of seeing the outcome and making a decision based on that. Coaches have to make a decision based on information they have observed and know their personnel. Sometimes you just fail.
Another problem for coaches face is if a fan/parent has coached little league they think they know everything. I am not a small ball person and I don't hide that fact but we do work on it. I tell my guys we are not going to bunt unless we have to and that is why we work on it EVERY DAY. I tell my guys it's better to work on something and never need it than to need something ONCE and fail because never worked on it. If one of these parents / fans are small ball advocates they are going to think what I do in game situations is wrong. They would bunt in the second and third innings while I wait until the latter stages of the game. Which was is best? Both are if you prepare your teams to do that exact thing. In the past two years we have only been shut out 3 times - once by a guy who is now in the minor leagues, once by a guy in division one baseball and once because my regular starters had to miss because of a chorus concert (don't get me started). I teach my guys to hit and we do and I teach my guys to bunt and they do when called on.
I think it comes down to this - good coaches can't stand idiot parents / fans and good parents can't stand idiot coaches. Good coaches are going to keep learning the game, go to clinics, talk to other coaches, read books and watch video. I just bought a book based on Tony Larussa and what goes on during a three game set with the Chicago Cubs. I bought it for two reasons 1. I believe it will be an interesting read 2. I hope I may learn something from a great manager.
If winning was easy then everyone would do it.
After doing some thinking someone said about the list of 10 things by a coach are excuses made by coaches for bad decisions or something like that. Let me ask you this - if it wasn't Coach May who said it would you then say it was a list of excuses made by coaches? If a parent put that list then nobody says a word because that is true - and that list of 10 is true - if you have those things your chances of winning go up.
I agree with Coach May and others that excuses kill the team. It will lead to failure more often than naught. Here is something I got from Pat Williams who was general manager of the Orlando Magic at one time and it is very similar to what Coach May put about excuses and I give this to my team every year and we talk about it....
WINNERS VS. LOSERS
The Winner is always part of the answer
The loser is always part of the problem
The Winner always has a program
The loser always has an excuse
The Winner says, “Let me do it for you”
The loser says, “That is not my job”
The Winner sees an answer for every problem
The loser sees a problem for every answer
The Winner says, “It may be difficult but it is possible”
The loser says, “It may be possible but it is too difficult”
A Winner makes commitments
A loser makes promises
Winners say, “I must do something”
losers say, “Something must be done”
Winners are part of the team
losers are apart from the team
Winners see the gain
losers see the problems
Winners see the potential
losers see the past
Winners make it happen
losers let it happen
Winners make sacrifices
losers make excuses
I agree with Coach May and others that excuses kill the team. It will lead to failure more often than naught. Here is something I got from Pat Williams who was general manager of the Orlando Magic at one time and it is very similar to what Coach May put about excuses and I give this to my team every year and we talk about it....
WINNERS VS. LOSERS
The Winner is always part of the answer
The loser is always part of the problem
The Winner always has a program
The loser always has an excuse
The Winner says, “Let me do it for you”
The loser says, “That is not my job”
The Winner sees an answer for every problem
The loser sees a problem for every answer
The Winner says, “It may be difficult but it is possible”
The loser says, “It may be possible but it is too difficult”
A Winner makes commitments
A loser makes promises
Winners say, “I must do something”
losers say, “Something must be done”
Winners are part of the team
losers are apart from the team
Winners see the gain
losers see the problems
Winners see the potential
losers see the past
Winners make it happen
losers let it happen
Winners make sacrifices
losers make excuses
winners vs losers is another great list.
Coach2709, In response to your question...I rarely read WHO is posting also. My motivation was as I stated, in fairness to those WHO DO NOT MAKE EXCUSES, but fall victim to a coach who does not deserve the honor of coaching young people.
Since you understand...Jesus' perfect life was based on giving everyone a chance.
I was hoping to allow the opportunity for coaches to absorbed into their kindness the awareness that unfair, biased (or whatever) decisions DO AFFECT greatly those that do not complain. When they see a coach expressing their pain in a sarcastic way (or whatever emotion, apparently not in good humor) it ultimately affects everyone.
I was not going to respond because your words are impactful, but it still looks like "excuses" rules the thought process. Your generalization of parents is one-sided given you probably deal primarily with the last two categories, the first category, the "silent Majority, if you will) leave you alone.
Since you understand...Jesus' perfect life was based on giving everyone a chance.
I was hoping to allow the opportunity for coaches to absorbed into their kindness the awareness that unfair, biased (or whatever) decisions DO AFFECT greatly those that do not complain. When they see a coach expressing their pain in a sarcastic way (or whatever emotion, apparently not in good humor) it ultimately affects everyone.
I was not going to respond because your words are impactful, but it still looks like "excuses" rules the thought process. Your generalization of parents is one-sided given you probably deal primarily with the last two categories, the first category, the "silent Majority, if you will) leave you alone.
quote:Originally posted by CatSureMom:
I was hoping to allow the opportunity for coaches to absorbed into their kindness the awareness that unfair, biased (or whatever) decisions DO AFFECT greatly those that do not complain. When they see a coach expressing their pain in a sarcastic way (or whatever emotion, apparently not in good humor) it ultimately affects everyone.
Could you explain this one a little bit more. I want to make sure I understand exactly what you mean before I reply.
quote:I was not going to respond because your words are impactful, but it still looks like "excuses" rules the thought process. Your generalization of parents is one-sided given you probably deal primarily with the last two categories, the first category, the "silent Majority, if you will) leave you alone.
Are you referring to what I put about my decision making process in calling the hit and run or something else? To me what I put are reasons why I did something and excuses are something else. I'm not saying what I called was the right thing but there was a reason for it. I think most coaches who are good do this - bad coaches put something on because it seems like fun.
I don't think I generalized parents - I put them into the three categories all coaches face. The silent majority as you stated, the ones on the fence who are swayed and the idiots. You are right we spend the majority of our time dealing with the idiots - and that is what the are. Maybe I am too harsh but people like that don't seem to be happy unless they are causing trouble.
Think about it like this - some parents are going to come across coaches in little league who play favorites, they play for babe ruth coaches who play favorites, they play high school for coaches who play favorites and they play college for coaches who play favorites. Those parents will think all coaches are terrible and play favorites. A parent who has a child come up through the same system under fair coaches will think all coaches are fair. When the same system has some good coaches and some bad coaches the ones who made the strongest impact - positive or negative - will make parents think a coach is bad or good. People want to lump everyone into categories or stereotypes - its natural. If a parent has a bad experience with a coach they will tend to think all coaches are not good. I tend to think the worst about parents because I have been through some battles in my career. There are exceptions to this but overall this is the way it is.
Just remember this too - parents are worried about one kid being successful while a coach has to worry about 30 kids being successful.
You know what..you are preaching to the choir. No, I would never call into question your decision making process.
I think my point was understood by those who I stood up for in the beginning. I recognize I've hit a brick wall. You spoke well on your point of view.
Go and find joy in your journey.
I think my point was understood by those who I stood up for in the beginning. I recognize I've hit a brick wall. You spoke well on your point of view.
Go and find joy in your journey.
In the Bon Jovi song "Dead or Alive" is a steel horse a jet or a steel guitar? I have wondered about this for years.
Oh sorry, wrong forum, I got sleepy trying to read all these long posts.
People, you are too long winded!
Back to Coach May's original post: I think that, in some instances, there is some truth in everything on both of his lists.
What I have seen in my son's first year of HS baseball is that a degree of favoritism, not based on skill, and good players sitting, is very common. I am talking about every school in our area. And that surprised me, I heard about it, but I thought these were isolated cases. I was wrong.
As far as respecting authority, I agree up to a point. But last night when the pitcher on the opposing team, who happens to be a long time family friend, was made to throw 149 pitches, how am I supposed to respect his coach? Before I opened my eyes this morning, I thought not about our win, but about how that boy was abused.
I am still wondering about the Bon Jovi lyrics.
Oh sorry, wrong forum, I got sleepy trying to read all these long posts.
People, you are too long winded!
Back to Coach May's original post: I think that, in some instances, there is some truth in everything on both of his lists.
What I have seen in my son's first year of HS baseball is that a degree of favoritism, not based on skill, and good players sitting, is very common. I am talking about every school in our area. And that surprised me, I heard about it, but I thought these were isolated cases. I was wrong.
As far as respecting authority, I agree up to a point. But last night when the pitcher on the opposing team, who happens to be a long time family friend, was made to throw 149 pitches, how am I supposed to respect his coach? Before I opened my eyes this morning, I thought not about our win, but about how that boy was abused.
I am still wondering about the Bon Jovi lyrics.
Yup, I found it ironic that some of those defending coaches were the very same ones that call pitch counts (and the coaches who allow them) into question. I would think that would be a very good time to "question authority". Is that whining?
The answer is obvious.
The answer is obvious.
[QUOTE]Originally posted by sluggo:
In the Bon Jovi song "Dead or Alive" is a steel horse a jet or a steel guitar? I have wondered about this for years.[QUOTE]
I've been wondering too Sluggo. I think it could be one of these.
In the Bon Jovi song "Dead or Alive" is a steel horse a jet or a steel guitar? I have wondered about this for years.[QUOTE]
I've been wondering too Sluggo. I think it could be one of these.
Or is it their tour bus?
I'll climb out of my bed of roses here to say, By High School, parents SHOULD NOT be a factor anymore. Kids need to start learning how to stand up for themselves and figure out how to deal with the whys and hows a coach makes decisions. We want to teach our kids at 8 years old how to do "whatever it takes" to win,(including teaching them how to throw a curve ball), but we forget to teach them what they must learn at home other than at a $50 lesson- how to be a good person, a fierce competitor, a tireless worker... I learned at a seminar long ago-"take blame; give credit".
Moc1- Great call on Smeltzy and Anderson-two of the really good guys!!!
(ALso, for what it's worth, I fall off my soap box when I admit that in my younger years when I coached my son, I wore short shorts to get calls from the umpire. Call me a hypocrite!)
Moc1- Great call on Smeltzy and Anderson-two of the really good guys!!!
(ALso, for what it's worth, I fall off my soap box when I admit that in my younger years when I coached my son, I wore short shorts to get calls from the umpire. Call me a hypocrite!)