What would you do?

The two assistants have little "baseball" experience, or just calling pitches? Depending on the amount of time you have, i would be working with the assistants to get them up to speed before the spring season. Explain your pitching philosophy with them and see if they grasp it and can handle it. Having your district MVP calling the pitches can and will work... until he is no longer there.

If you call the pitches, what will the assistants be doing? I’m going to assume you hired them for some sort of reason or skill set?

haha. They were hired to coach football my friend. I coach in Texas. I was previously at a school where I could hire them but not here. They have both coached baseball one year. One did play some in college but as an outfielder. Not sure he would invest enough to make me comfortable. He is our OC. The other is loyal and a hard working guy but just not terribly baseball savy. I would probably have them with charts and things like that. I doubt either watched 3 games on TV last year. Our catcher is a Junior and actually I have two very talented ones below him..A Soph and a Fish. Lucky in that department. I'm leaning toward giving the catcher a shot early.

Teach the heck out of the Junior and the two below them so they can call pitches on their own. Have a system in place so if there is a certain pitch you want thrown in a certain spot it will but other than that teach the kids to play.

I'm a little different in that to me a coach should be hardly be seen, heard or used during a game. A coach - head or assistant - need to earn their money during practice and then be able to watch the game or make some small adjustments here or there. I've had several non-baseball coaches on my staff and I had to teach the heck out of them just like I did my players. I kinda liked having guys not familiar with baseball on staff because they will teach what you want taught the way you want it to be taught. It's good to have guys on staff who are baseball guys but sometimes their egos get in the way of teaching what should be consistent across the board.

The game is for the kids and the preparation is for the adults. If both do their job in preparing and learning then the games tend to take care of themselves.

My first thought is why do you want a coach calling? My reason is simple. Let me do the thinking and analyzing, let the kid worry about executing. I don't want him thinking "should I throw the 3-2 curve" I want him to see the sign, nod his head, and break one off!!Also, I don't need him thinking about our defensive shift, I just need him to keep hitting spots.

I do allow for the kid to shake off at times. When it happens, we always talk between innings about why. What I have found is we get a quick conversation in, I can find out what and how hie is feeling, and it helps him trust a little more. Occassionally I turn it over to my pitcher/catcher, and I can tell the bench almost pitch for pitch what they will throw. Think it helps them learn, at the same time they feel confident.

One thing that helps is we talk a lot. I talk about the when and whys, the set up pitches, but really focus on pounding the zone as much as possible. I don't beleive in nibbling the corners, I beleive they have to hit our pitch. But what helps me is the kids understand why I call like I do. When they take over, they start throwing doubles, going oppo with speed changes, and do pretty good.

Another thing we do to help is I will let them throw a simulation in the bullpen, one inning theirs, one inning mine. We describe a batter and attack him for 3 batters, he calls 3, I call 3, and we talk about each pitch and what we hope to accomplish with it.

I certainly understand both sides of this argument. Lots of factors to consider...
What are your resources? Which players and/or coaches in your system have the capacity to manage calling pitches? Will this affect performance of their other duties? What will put the team in the best position to win?

We make an effort to teach our catchers what they need to know in order to call pitches. We often let them call summer games and scrimmages. We talk to them regularly and try to develop them in this aspect of the game just like every other aspect. If a catcher shows the aptitude to do so effectively, we allow for that.

That said, our current crop of catchers generally have been slow to pick up this part. When they do call games, their other responsibilities tend to suffer and, therefore, the team suffers. Their strengths are more physical than mental. They just don't have the mental makeup to handle both at this stage. IMO, this is not uncommon for developing 15-16 y.o. players. There are a few players on the team who, if they were catchers, would probably be great at calling the games and we would likely let them.

Also, our HC is a former college P and loves the strategy of pitch sequence as well as finding holes in a hitter's swing. Our team is clearly in a better position to win with him calling pitches. We always talk to the players about putting them in the best position to win. Why should this be any different?

Other challenges - HS season is short and you typically only have players at the V level for one or two seasons. Unless they come up with a good head for the game, this skill may not come around quickly enough.

Here is my two cents. If you want a coach to call pitches you need to do it. I hired a guy with pitching background earlier in the fall and quickly realized even though he had prior college pitching experience he did not neccesarily know how to call pitches. In discussing your other option of a kid catching it I have done that as well. I printed him a hand out that he had to study that dictated how we call pitches based off situations and the player themselves, breaking them down into categories. I also told him he did have to look in every ptich because there would be times that I would call pitches. Having the kid call pitches worked and when he did something I disagreed with, which was about 5 times all year, he had a very good reason to why he called that pitch. If you would like the print out PM me. I am sure I can find it.

My goal is to have a catcher call his own game. It starts as soon as you get them in the program. I have never liked the idea of just giving a sign to a player and then having him relay it and the catcher not understanding why it was called. I think catchers who call their own game and are confident in calling their own game play the position at at higher level than if you call it for them. The game has a much better flow to it. Pitchers like to get back on the bump get the sign and pitch. IMO its part of the learning process for a catcher. To learn how to call a game.

I understand you can get caught in situations where as a coach your not comfortable with a certain catcher calling his own game. But IMO part of the coaching process for catchers is to teach them how to call their own game and then allow them to do it. So for me I think the effort has to be put in to teach this to your guys. It will pay off not only for the team but for the player as well. JMO

I'm for catchers calling the game. Teach them what to look for and go over the pitch calling the next day. That's how they learn.
How nervous would you be drafting a catcher and giving him a huge signing bonus when he's NEVER called his own game? The most important aspect of catching at the higher levels and many big time catchers have ZERO experience doing it before pro ball.
"Practice is for the coaches, the game is for the players."

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