District 8AAA

[12AEAGLEFAN]

I've read 'em all in this topic.....WOW! I didn't have any issues till you knock on S'town. Like if you ain't triple A your not "satisfactory" competition that could make your team better....OK. BTW thanks to the 3Aers who recognize.

 

BUT I just gotta get to a point that seems to be missed here, and in my opinion means more than coaches phyc. degrees or game strategy's or any of that horse hockey. We have a bunch of that around here.

 There are two elements of a successful baseball team that are more important than anything else mentioned here, and if your team doesn't have all of them, then consistency will not be with your program.

 

1. PARENTS DEDICATED TO "EXTRA WORK" WITH THEIR KIDS AT HOME TO MAKE SURE THEIR READY FOR GAME DAY! ASK THE COACH FROM SUMMERTOWN. HE DOESN'T TAKE THE CREDIT FOR ALL OF SUMMERTOWNS SUCCESS. HE KNOWS WHAT HAPPENS AT MOST OF HIS PLAYERS HOMES, OR THAT HIS PLAYERS GET TOGETHER AND DO ON THEIR OWN.

 

KIDS LIKE HIM BECAUSE HE IS MAKING BASEBALL FUN WHILE KEEPING EXPECTATIONS HIGH! HE DOESN'T WORK ON PITCHING OR HAVE A ROUTINE FOR PLAYERS THAT DON'T SEE THE FIELD OFTEN. BUT HE DOES EXPECT YOU TO PUT IN THE EXTRA TIME TO MAKE UP FOR WHAT YOU DON'T GET A CHANCE TO DO DURING TEAM PRACTICES.

 YOU HAVE TO HAVE PLAYERS THAT ARE COMMITTED TO WORKING HARD AT FUNDAMENTALS AND NOT..... JUST WORKING. YOU CAN DO BOTH IN THE SAME AMOUNT OF TIME!

 TAKING EXTRA PRACTICE AT THE TEE ON YOUR OWN OR WITH A PARENT OR FRIEND. COACHES CAN'T EVEN BEGIN TO PRACTICE ENOUGH TO MAKE SURE EVEN HALF OF THE KIDS ON THE TEAM GET ENOUGH REPS TO GET BETTER.

 

3. EACH TEAM HAS TO HAVE AT LEAST ONE LEADER THAT WILL CALL YOU OUT FOR BEING EXACTALLY ON TIME, AND NOT 15 MINUTES EARLY TO PRACTICE TO BE STRETCHED AND READY. IF YOUR LATE THOSE PLAYERS ARE CALLING YOU TO FIND OUT WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON...AND YOU NEED A GOOD EXCUSE TO LIVE IT DOWN! TRUE TEAM LEADERS OR CAPTAINS IF YOU WISH.

 

THE FACT I AM TRYING SO HARD TO STATE HERE IS THAT EVEN "THE BEST" COACHES HAVE LITTLE CONTROL OVER A CONSISTANTLY GOOD PROGRAM. PARENTS HAVE TO STEP UP AND BE THERE ALL THE TIME FOR THE KIDS ON THE TEAM AND THE PLAYERS HAVE TO HAVE ACCOUNTABILITY TO LIVE UP TO THEIR POTENTIAL.

 

There my friends is where the potential blame should lie in most cases. These good work ethics and dedication to ones own self even are taught and developed at an early age, by ...you guessed it.....the parents!!

 

And bring on the 3a teams. We love the competition. I hope we give it back. If not...you can bet our kids will work hard for the next one.

 

Help your kids and push a little on yourself and them

[SuperSport]

Players Play, Coaches Coach.

 

Coaches can't put on a glove and go catch the ball. They can't throw it. They can't get a bat and hit for their team.

 

Do you think that teachers are capable of making every kid a Dr? That would be like what it sounds like your expectations are (and that statement, as well as everything in this post, is generic, and not directed at any one person, but more towards parents in general that think their child loses solely because of the coach) of a high school baseball coach.

 

Do you think the coach you so dislike could do better at your job than you do? Probably not, and you're probably right. There's a reason you have your job, and there's a reason he has his. Baseball is such a complex game and you may watch every Braves game. You might have played High School, College, or Pro Ball. Those facts don't mean you know it all. You might have coached before. You've never coached all of those kids, on the same team, in that jersey, at that age.

 

It's insane to me that parents/ communities think that babe ruth, legion, travel, whatever else there is in the summer, compares to high school. There's many variables and it's not a good comparison (Every high school coach in the country would agree with that.)

 

Questioning a coach's knowledge about the game isn't smart as well. Anyone that knows baseball knows that in almost any situation, there are multiple plays or ways to be successful. Whichever one the coach picks is what he picks. If it's successful, most fans aren't intelligent enough to realize he probably got lucky, he probably had a better athlete/player than the other team in that situation, or the other team probably made a mistake. If it works, he's a genius, but if it doesn't, he's an idiot that deserves to be fired (in fans' opinions).

 

Baseball is about winning, yes. I would bet my house on the fact that every high school coach in the country wants to win more than every single one of his players. Most coaches spend too much time at school and the ball field. Their families suffer. Their health suffers. They sacrfice so much, but yet you say they're not doing enough. You say you know so much about baseball, go out and work with your child and see if you can make him better. Offer to become an assistant. Go fill out an application with the BOE. Walk a mile in his shoes...

 

Back to winning... If a coach teaches his players more than baseball, he's doing a good job. If he teaches them responsibilty, teamwork, respect, courage, and persistance, you have a good coach. It's not near as much about scholarships or playing time as it is those things.

 

I don't think high school coaches (besides football) get enough appreaciation from their community. So few coaches guide so many young men. Try saying thank you to them for what they do. Believe it or not, they probably do more for your son than anyone else at that age besides mom and dad. And your son would tell you that if he knew you were unbiased towards his coach.

Edited May 15, 2014 by SuperSport

[TullahomaGuy]

Super Sport that's one of the best Replies / post ever put on this site.

 

Great Job Buddy!

[catbyanyothername]

Amen!

[wingman10]

good post

[Tallyho]

 

"I don't think high school coaches (besides football) get enough appreaciation from their community. So few coaches guide so many young men. Try saying thank you to them for what they do. Believe it or not, they PROBABLYdo more for your son than anyone else at that age besides mom and dad. And your son would tell you that if he knew you were unbiased towards his coach."

 

What if the coach doesn't do more for your son?

What if your son says, "I like the Coach but we don't practice enough."

Or "We don't get a lot done in practice, it is not very well organized"

Or the coach simply doesn't have enough help, but yet refuses to ask for help or accept it if offered.

What if players are making the same mistakes over and over again and they are not getting corrected?

What if the coach doesn't communicate well? What if the coach doesn't have the time to put toward the sport he is coaching?

You said high school coaching is different, what if the coach has very little or no experience at that level?

Supersport, you made some very good points but why can't communities strive for good programs like Tullahoma has in baseball and football. Maybe just maybe someone is made a head coach that is not ready or competent yet for the position Parents have a right to expect teachers to be competent in the area they teach, why shouldn't they expect the same in sports, at least to a point.

I am not addressing the Lawrence County situation directly but I find it interesting when people write about situations they know nothing about as some in this thread have eagerly assumed this is about playing time yet readily admitting they have no direct knowledge of what is going on.

 

Supersport, you also said "Coaches Coach". Being a paid coach and representing a community is a responsibility that should never be taken lightly yet I have seen over the years many who are not ready, think they are ready, and make an unholy mess. I have seen coaches that do not understand the amount of work it takes to be successful. I have seen coaches that are too proud or too stubborn to ask for help despite a desperate need for it. It is a two way street. Not all parents are bad. Not all players are selfish. And not all coaches are the romantic version you have made them out to be.

[TF38478]

Great post super sport

 

This is Becoming I interesting. Blessed hope. Nope no kin to either coach I'm actually a daddy of a former player that played for one of these coaches.

 

"Adequate sample size" do you have one to judge these coaches? U sound like a wanta be.maybe u had success in collage. Or high school. Maybe even a babe ruth team. Now ur ego has blown to a gigantic egg shape head. Not sure. But Also pitching coaches, you are lucky in most high schools to have a coach. Much less a pitching coach.

 

Now AW. "Modernized style of baseball" really. That's like saying Ted Williams wouldn't be a good hitter today. People like mantle, Williams, rose, mays, Aaron those people are legends and all played this game the same way as we are today. That is the wildest thing I have ever heard, just because you have read "coaching baseball for dummies" or watched a utube video about how to hit.

 

Coaches of all ages but especially high school have a direct impact on kids. Some for good some for bad.

 

Baseball is a game of chance and luck. You can hit ground ball after ground ball and that kid will still miss one in game. You may have a player that is a good hitter but an avg defensive player. Coaches have to make a decision is his bat worth more then Another kids good glove. Both decisions are wrong on any given day. Luck. That's all that seperate most good players from avg players. 10 bloops, seeing eye ground balls, flares. That can change a kids avg for

200 to 300 in course of a season . Chance ,what were the odds that the sheffields would pick Tullahoma to play at.

 

Also if I'm in Giles county supporting these coaches. I'm pretty sure there are also people in your county doing the same. U may ask why? Because coach b made a lasting impression on me and my kids. That's why.

 

Coaching baseball is subjective. Every decision made can be wrong and still win. Or every decision can be right and still loose.

[wingman10]

3-2 Cookeville.

[wingman10]

Hope Coffee County Red Raiders and Coach Spears have a good yr. Keep focus and pull together