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Eat It
by Dave
Friday, May 15, 2009
Softball and baseball are percentage play games. There are differences between the games caused by the different time frames in which plays are made but both sports involve percentage plays. We don't execute certain plays because they always work, but rather because they work more often than not. And we pick and choose plays given certain situations. We don't always execute X or Y because they succeed more often than not. Our decisions are dictated by the game and inning situation. Within this realm, certain play choices are bad bets, sometimes made worse by the situation. And because there are differences between baseball and softball, what works in one realm doesn't necessarily work well in the other. We need to examine our play choices before and after game situations in order to educate ourselves and alter our in-game approach.
Offensively, my least favorite play is the bunt with runners on second and third. I also don't care for the play-for-the-big-inning approach when a team knows it is facing a tough pitcher backed up by an experienced defense. I guess another disliked offensive play is the safety squeeze except situationally dictated, used only when the abilities of the defense are well known, and with a very skilled and swift runner on third.
A frequent bad defensive bet is the go-for-the-lead-runner-at-all-costs approach. Also, I dislike the infield-in approach except in certain limited game situations. But I suppose my least favorite defensive play is the baserunner pickoff by catcher attempt.
Let's be clear that the age and quality of competition have as much to do with this analysis as anything else. If you are playing a poor opponent or playing lower age group ball, you can have differences of opinion with what I have to say. A given play can be a much higher percentage at 12U than it is at 14U. Another works in 14U B but almost always fails at 14U A level. It is difficult to analyze anything in fastpitch softball without laying out a specific age and skill level.
The problem I have writing this kind of thing is so often we teach something suitable for one level of ball and then when the player reaches a higher level, they are prone to making bush league / lower level mistakes. For example, I know of one girl who was one of those aggressive base runners at 12U. At the time, she was fairly fast for her age. But as she grew older, to 13, 14 and 15, her speed became merely average. Her baserunning instincts remained at this younger age where she stole the shorts off many teams. She continued to try to employ old tricks that worked in 12U and was frequently thrown out as she moved up. Eventually, she became a baserunning liability who gave her coaches heartburn.
Similarly, I have observed a number of players who pulled certain stunts in 14U ball get eaten alive by the same tactics in upper age groups. For example, one catcher who picked a lot of runners off base when younger, found little success trying the same thing in high school ball, except against very weak oppponents. She had a great arm as a 12U and even still as a 14U. Her arm was fine at 16U and in high school but because the runners had learned to be more careful, her pick-off attempts became a lower and lower percentage play.
So when I discuss offensive and defensive tactics, I suppose where I am viewing the plays is at high school and higher levels since that seems to be most players' target while engaging in youth travel ball. Where I aim my comments is at the ages of 14 or 15 and up. But please understand that, aside from the goal of winning games at the age level you are actually playing, what I am after is preparing kids for the age/skill level they ultimately want to play.
Before I examine each of the plays I have decided to dislike, I want to say a word about baseball vs. softball. As everyone knows, the bases in baseball are 90 feet apart while in softball they are 60. baseball is often played on a grassy infield while softball should always be played on skin. Little League still conducts its 12U championship on grass, possibly because it does make for a niver picture on TV but even LL plays its older games on skin and that is the way fastopitch softball is designed to be played. In any event, very few would dispute that softball is a faster game than baseball.
It takes the typical runner 3 seconds or less to reach bases 60 feet apart. Baseball's time frame is more like 4 seconds. That is quite a large distinction, one third. And it makes all the difference. We seldom see archetypical 6-4-3 double plays made in softball. We do not often see infielders bobble balls or double clutch and still get the runner at first. These things are ordinary in baseball.
In baseball, a well hit ball which stays in the park is often caught because there is a longer flight time of the ball. When it isn't, it is often an automatic double even for the slow-footed catcher. Doubles are harder to come by in softball unless the runner can get to second in under 6 seconds. This is partly because there is a lot less room in the outfield and partly because throws from outfielder to infielder are much easier to accomplish accurately. Triples are a raity in softball and while not frequent in baseball, they do occur with more like the same regularity that doubles occur in softball.
There are probably more strike-outs per inning in softball. There is definitely less offense than in baseball. Baserunning is more critical in softball. Small ball plays a bigger role in softball than it does in baseball.
I suppose I could go on and on but I won't. The point is, baseball and softball are different due to the speed, proximity, and relative offense issues. And what works in one does not necesarily work in the other. The reason I mention this is too many assume the games are essentially the same and then try to employ the same sort of strategies in one that worked in the other. Now to the plays.
In some levels of 12U ball, maybe a well placed bunt with runners on second and third can work well. The girls are not as experienced, more prone to panic decisions, and their arms are not nearly as good as they are at 14U and above. But even there, I think it can be a mistake, especially when playing a game against a good team.
The trick is, with runners on second and third, all you really need is a grounder up the middle which gets past the pitcher in order to score a run. The outcome of a bunt in this situation is either going to be a run scored as the defense gets the out at first, a runner mowed down at the plate while being overly aggressive, or base loaded as the defense freezes to prevent a run from scoring. In bad 12U ball, there is a higher likelihood of someone making a bad throw and thereby allowing a big inning to get started. That is why so many teams will attempt a bunt with runners on second and third. But in better ball, it is common for the defense to get the batter-baserunner at first and then either hold or nail the runner from third. The play works with a high percentage in 12U, though not against well schooled teams. It seldom succeeds at any higher level. So why teach it at all?
If the defense holds the ball, what you are left with is bases loaded. Offensively, the best situation is runners on 2 and 3, not bases loaded. Bases loaded sets up a force at home. Runners on second and third creates a tag play at home. While in baseball, a tag play at home is fairly easy to accomplish, in softball, since the time frames are shorter, tag plays put far more pressure on the defense. It is far harder to catch a throw from an infielder, get the ball in the right position for the tag, and actually make the tag for a catcher. Ideally, a catcher wants to catch the ball, put it in the throwing hand, and then sweep at the runner, making contact with the glove while holding the ball tightly in the throwing hand. That's as true in baseball as it is in softball but a bit more critical in softball since the ball is bigger when compared to the mitt. On a bang-bang play, that is difficult to accomplish.
In baseball, there is a frequent call to play-for-the-big-inning rather than being satisfied with a single run. Baseball is a 9 inning game in which run production is higher than the 7 inning game of softball. defense is a bigger part of the fastpitch softball game than it is of baseball. Many more softball games are decided by a single run. And because, while in baseball a runner scoring from second on an outfield hit is a virtual certainty, except in certain situation. In softball, the runner scoring from second is a fairly high likelihood but nowhere near as high as it is in baseball, especially when playing against gifted, experienced outfielders. In softball, it is most often preferential to go for a single run and avoid the baseball adage of playing for a big inning.
Early in a softball game in which your opposition is unknown, you can make value judgments about the ability of the pitcher and decide that you would rather allow your 2, 3, 4, or 5 hitter to cut loose and try to get a big hit. This should be less so when you are generally impressed by the pitcher and certainly far less when you know your opponent is likely very talented. I have seen more fastpitch softball games in which a first or second inning run is made to stand up than I can count. That doesn't happen frequently in baseball unless there are absolute aces on the mound for both teams. This reality has something to say about the way in which teams play defense early in a game but it probably says more about offensive approaches. With a runner on first or second and nobody out, you've just got to move her over. You cannot assume your that bunting will prevent a big inning since big innings are relatively infrequent.
As an aside, I have noticed a tendency in softball which I want to criticize, at least a little. I'll call this tendency the "dragifice." Very seldom in softball do we see true sacrifice bunts. Most often batters will pull the bat into bunting position at the last possible second. I do understand that the batter is trying to avoid laying down a bunt which allows the defense to nail the lead runner, followed by a second out being made at first because the runner didn't get out of the box quickly enough. But I believe I see more bad bunt attempts in these "dragifices" than is necessary. I see lots of such batters fail to get the bunt down and then place themselves in 0-2 holes from which they can't emerge. A scarifice just had to be get the ball down and then run, not run and try to get the ball down.
Finally, while softball runners cannot start until the ball is released and, therefore, the baseball suicide squeeze doesn't really apply, I think I see too few suicides and too many safety squeezes. This is partly a factor of the lack of sacrifice bunting skills since, on a suicide, the batter MUST get the bat on the ball. It is also a factor of a runner on third being so much more valuable in softball than it is in baseball. But my point is really that a true suicide squeeze, while being a presumably worse bet than a safety squeeze, it is under utilized, especially on a percentage basis. The safety squeeze is a bad bet unless the situation dictates, the defense is weak or on their heels, you are partly playing for runners on second and third rather than merely third, the bunter is an above average dragger with great speed, and your runner at third has great instincts about when to go or not.
A safety squeeze, while very often successful at 12U and even at 14U, can merely get you two outs and nobody on, if done poorly. Many first basemen in fastpitch softball have good throwing arms. That assumes the first baseman takes the throw at first. Most of the time, the 1B will be in close enough that the 2B is covering. And she's likely got a strong and accurate arm.
In baseball, that's often not the case. Usually on a surprise bunt, unless the batter forces the 1B to field it, he is often going to drop back to cover the bag. And in baseball, the 1B is very often a hidden defensive player with a good bat, not always but often. In softball where the first baseman is usually just as athletic as the SS and in which the 2B, another gifted athlete, often covers the bag, the safety squeeze often leaves the runner at third flat-footed and at a cold start as the out is made at first. She's goin g to be dead at the plate, if she goes. In fastpitch softball, the suicide squeeze is not a great bet but it is more effective than the safety. Yet it is under-utilized. That's a shame.
On defense, there are certain bad percentage plays I don't like. The first one is the go-for-the-lead-runner-at-all-costs approach. p I watched a great game a few weeks ago in which the thing went to extra-innings and then ITB. The first batter up tried to bunt the runner from second to third, a good percentage play. The girl who fielded the bunt tried to get the runner at third. The runner from third was fast, skilled, and got a good jump - a running five step lead because she knew her batter was a skilled SACRIFICE bunter. The runner knew her batter was going to get it down unless the pitcher threw an unbuntable pitch. The play at third was somewhat close although not as close as the fielder might have expected. Both the covering fielder and the baserunner ended up on the ground, one on top of the other. But the runner was safe, leaving first and second and still nobody out.
What happened next is not important, except to the players in the game. But this, in my opinion, misplay opened the door for a big inning, 0one the defense could not recover from. The notion that we must go after the lead runner at all costs can, in fact, be rather costly. This game situation dictated perhaps a v ery aggressive defensive play. There are few situations which call for going for a lead runner more than that. But it was still a bad percentage play. Had the team merely toaken the out at first, they would have been under pressure from the runner at third, but the pitcher had a fair number of strike-outs in the game thus far. One might have expected her to gewt another and leave the situation as runner on third with two outs. The worst case scenario probably would have been run in, two outs. That would have left a wholly manageable 1-0 score with the home team coming to bat and a runner on second. The fact that they went for the runner at third was the lower percentage bet.
Whenever there is an important run on third, whether in baseball or softball, there is a natural tendency to pull the infield in. I get it, especially in games where one run will end the contest. The only thing that matters is the girl on third. But those situations are somewhat rare and there is really no choice involved. If you are forced to bring in the infield, you do it, no questions asked. But where I don' like it is in the second inning or at other points in the game where you're up by a run or two, or down by a run or two. The trouble is, having the infield in drives up a batter's average because it cuts down the angles an infielder can take to the ball. I guess what I'm saying is the infield should be in only under certain limited circumstances. I see it far too often in softball.
The best example of the over-used infield-in play happens when bases are loaded or the runner on third is not a fast one. If there is a force, the chances are very high that your fielder can nail the runner even if she is a little deep at her position. There are very few situations in which a ball can't be fielded and an accurate throw made within 2.8 seconds. The runner from third is not going to get the sort of lead a runner at first or second will. if she does, she leaves herself vulnerable to a pitch out followed by a planned and executed pickoff play (we'll get to that shortly). That should leave her in a relatively bad position to make it home on an ordinary grounder unless that is hit into the hole in the middle of the field someplace. An ordinary grounder should be an easy force out at home even with the infield at fairly deep positions.
If there is no force, of course, you may end up having a tag play and you want to give your catcher as much time as possible to make it. The infielders should shorten up a bit but that is not the same as a full infield-in approach. Obviously, if you have a very skilled, very fast runner at third, and the situation dictates, well, then you've got to do whatever is necessary but not when the run is relatively unimportant. If you're already down by a couple, you're going to have to get the bats moving anyway. Why would you want to put yourself in a bigger hole by opening up an inning for the offense? Sometimes you have to give up a run to put out a fire. And if your hitters can't pull you out of the hole, well then you wouldn't have won anyway. If you are up by a few, one run is only going to show up on the pitcher's era. It is often better to allow a run mereloy to clean off the bases. if you're up 3-0 and you pull in your infield to guard against a run in the fifth inning, you get what you deserve.
Finally, we come to my least favorite play. It is my least favorite play unless it is done as a specific strategy to accomplish an important task. Before I go any further, I want to give you some homework. Go watch 100 games and bring along a pad of paper and pencil. On that pad, I want you to write the number of times a catcher attempts to pick off a runner. Note how many times the runner was thrown out and then how many times after she was not, she moved up a base anyway. Note how many times there is a bad throw which allows the runner to move. In each instance, make a notation to the inning and game situation. Then, after you have compiled your data, make a value judgment about whether nailing that runner was important or not based on the situation. I believe when you are done, you will have dozens of examples of catchers making throws. In more than half of these, you will have judged the importance of nailing the runner as low. There may be one or two instances in which the runner was nailed, though probably not - there isn't very much of that in softball. And in many instances in which a catcher is trying to keep the runner close, she probably advances a base anyway. A relatively high percentage of the time, the runner moves on because of a bad throw. Other times, she is moved by a nunt or some such.
Catchers try to get runners, particularly on third, far too often in this sport. The catcher is often left to her own judgment in this regard. Well coached teams don't do that. Well coached teams only want to see the catcher throw at a runner when the coach has called for the play. I have seen so many attempts by catchers to throw out runners when the situation dictated otherwise that I cannot begin to count them. Sometimes a runner steals a base and the catcher wants revenge. Sometimes the runner sees the the first baseman or whomever is a little slow to get to the bag and she is merely harrassing the catcher. Very seldom is a baserunner going to tease the catcher and then later steal a base. If they're gonna go, they're gonna go. They'd rather the catcher be sleeping than on edge, when they go.
The play which really bothers me is the one when the team in the field is up by one or two and the catcher's throw ends up in LF, allowing the runner at third to score and the one at first to move to second. There are limited circumstances in which a runner on third should be thrown at because, let's face it, it is a difficult throw. The runner can and should put herself in the way. We teach runners to run right at the covering fielder when returning to third. I want her to stare right into the fielder's eyes and then get deliberately in the way of the throw. If she moves to her left, you move that way too. if she moves to her right, that's where the ball is going to be, get in the way of the throw. Unless the throw is high, there's no way the fielder can catch it. if it's high, you're gonna slip under it. If it is low, it is either going to bounce off you or skip into the outfield. This is a low percentage play for the defense and one with significant peril.
There are times when a pickoff attempt is worthwhile. In the game I discussed a bit above, after the top of the inning, the team which opened up a lead went back out to play the field with a couple run lead. The first batter up bunted and the defense rightly played for the out at first. That left a runner on third with one out. The coach saw that the runner on third was not being attentive enough. Also, the girl behind the dish was a top notch catcher who is undoubtedly headed to a college playing career. She has a quick release, a strong throw, and an accurate arm. The coach called a play, the catcher caught a wasted pitch outside, and threw immediately to the fielder who was covering and expeting a throw. They nailed the runner and that broke the back of the opponent. That was a p-urpose pickoff with little downside potential. That was a high percentage play.
Baseball and softball are games played with percentages in mind. Everything you do on offense and defense has a percentage you can ascribe to it. The situation dictates how you evaluate these percentages. The level you play also has something to say about which strategies you emplooy and when but you should always strive to prepare your kids for the next level. You don't do anything in a vacuum. You must school your players on what is the right thing to do in certain situations and the coach needs to have control over when their players do what. You can consider some of the plays I have brought up and perhaps many others that you deem important to your team. You don't wanrt to evaluate these situations and your response while you are in a game. Do it now and then teach your kids in practice or prior to games. Execution is very important but sometimes you are better off having a kid know absolutely and immediately to eat it on a given play.Labels: baserunning, Bunt, catching, coaching, defense, game strategy, Offense
Permanent Link: Eat It
 
Visual Clues
by Dave
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
In my humble opinion, there is no better feeling in all of sport than that which happens when you hit a ball really well and come to the split-second realization that not even hurricane force winds can keep that shot within the confines of the park. I don't think anything else comes even particularly close. We can debate the point later, if you like, but we need to move on from there now. To me, even though nothing comes close, not even in baseball/softball, the next best thing, though way behind, is the feeling of being on the bases. It can also be the worst feeling and these two possibilities are what I would like to examine today.
First of all, there is a very good feeling that comes with the moment of total clarity one experiences when, for example, one is three steps into the run to first and realizes the ball has just gotten past the outfielder. It is time to turn on the wheels. You are going to, at least, second base. A similar feeling happens when you dive back into first, realize you are safe, and then look up to see the ball screaming down the line with nobody nearby. You're going to third, if you can get up quickly and turn on your speed. Yet another example of that moment of clarity on the basepaths occurs when you're on first and you see the bat come off the ball and take aim for the rightfield line. You are all out around second and probably reaching third, if not home.
These moments of clarity on the basepaths cause an exhiliration on the part of the baserunner as she realizes she is free for at least the next 6 seconds. No decision need be made. Just GO!!!
Where base running becomes far more confusing, far more disconcerting, far more stressful, happens when you get those tweeners, those moments when you are unsure whether, as the Clash song says, "should I stay or should I go, now?" Almost every player has, by the time they are 15, had the experience of being doubled off base because they were off too far, thought they needed to go, and somebody made a good play on a liner or hump-backed liner. There are other experiences like being nailed by the catcher while on third because you drifted off too far; getting pickled on a grounder on which you were not forced; getting nailed at third while legging out what will go down in the record books as a double - especially if you hit it with two or no outs; or otherwise making a bad decision on the bases - more so if it turns out the base coach wanted you to do something else.
We have base coaches because we recognize that the baserunner cannot always know exactly where the ball is, cannot always make the decisions by herself. A runner on second can and certainly should check where the outfielders are before a ball is struck but you can't pay attention to what you are doing on the play, know where the ball is and be 100% certain that the outfielder has made a good or bad play on it. Runners from first cannot always see the ball get past the RF and they need that coach to tell them to go or stop after a basehit. That's why third base coaches are so critical and that's why so many head coaches prefer to stand by third when their teams are up. The runner needs help to tell them: up, down, round the bag, hold the bag, score, etc.
Similarly, runners going to first shouldn't always know what to do next. We train hitters to focus their eyes on the point of contact, hit it and go. They have clues about where the ball is going but they need to focus on their path to first and cannot frequently make the decision to go for second. They often do not see the ball bounce off the outfielder, high into the air, and land 20 feet away. The base coach must assume that role.
So base coaches are critical to successful base running. But they must make themselves completely understood by the runner, sometimes more than one, within a split second. And that communication is what I want to focus on today.
For all you parents, coaches, and yes, base coaches out there who do not exactly remember what the sensations of a baserunner are, I want you to perform an exercise. Get yourself a regulation batting helmet and put it on your head. Now, run in a straight line as fast as you can. Now for step two, run around a regulation softball diamond as fast as you can. Place someone at the two basecoaches' positions. Have those folks tell you something really important as you pass them. Now tell us what they told you. I'd be willing to bet you can't tell me what was spoken to you!
If you cannot perform this exercise, let me remind you what it is like to run around the bases with a batting helmet on your dome. First off, even uif you are a slow runner, the wind whips through the ear holes. It creates quite a racket. You cannot here anything "true." What you get is more like an extremely loud seshell held up to your here. WA ... WA ... WA.
If there are fans screaming while you run, you really don't hear them very well. You get the notion that people are screaming but you aren't sure why. Did someone make a great catch? Is the ball rolling to East Jabib? Is there going to be a close play on you? You don't know what direction the screaming is coming from. You don't know what they are yelling. It is just meaningless noise which combines with the sound of the air running through the ear holes.
For whatever reason, perhaps because the reality of wearing a helmet is a buit like being in a very close space, you usually can hear yourself breathing. Your breaths are very loud in your head. And when they combine with the air rushing through the ear holes, the screaming from the sidelines, whatever your base coach is trying to tell you, and the sound of blood rushing through your head as the adrenaline levels rise, they create something which is generally referred to as a din. I suppose if you've ever seen the movie "Saving Private Ryan," the feeling of running the bases with a batting helmet is kind of like that moment in the movie in which Tom Hanks' hearing has been shattered by an explosion and then it starts to come back to him.
I hope I made the point that the baserunner does not have hearing acuity as she races around the bases. For that reason, there are three things I'd like you to consider. First of all, anything spoken must be done in a loud, clear voice which is limited to a few sounds that are are clearly discernible from others. Second, all clues, instructions, etc. must be handed out at the correct moment. Finally and most importantly, she needs visual clues.
We have all made mistakes as base coaches. At one fairly recent game, I had a girl on third who does not have a ton of experience. The ball got away from the catcher. I told her to "hold, hold, hold." She heard "home, home, home." Using her own judgment, she would have gladly held. But this is a great kid, an obedient kid, a kid who absolutely puts her full faith in her coahes and does everything they tell her to do. She went for home. The pitcher and catcher were able to meet at the plate, exchange pleasantries, discuss what they had done the day before and what they planned to do after the game before they noticed that there was a girl running towards home. They stopped their conversation briefly, tagged her out, and then went into the dugout to continue with the discussion.
I walked off the field a little confused while trying to figure out what she was thinking. It came to me as I approached homeplate. So I said to her, lying there on the ground, completely dejected, "did you think I said, 'home'?" She looked up at me, with tears in her eye and said, "yea, isn't that what you said?" I blinked and said to her, "you see? I told you I would make more mistakes than you ever could. That was my fault."
I want to stop the diatribe for a moment and re-emphasize a very important point. It is absolutely critical for coaches to acknowledge blame when they deserve that blame. Heck, it can be important for them to take on blame when there is some question as to whether it is theirs or not. But when they make some sort of error, it is necessary to let everyone know it was their fault.
Trust me, the kids know their coaches are no infallible. They still may like and respect them. That's probably more so if the coaches admit when they make mistakes. The worst thing in the world to a player happens when they do something that results in a bad outcome when they thought that's exactly what the coach wanted them to do, and the coach turns around and blames them. I've seen this a thousand times and while it may not be readily apparent to anyone that the kid harbors resentment, trust me, they do.
They know they are not to blame. They are not fooled into believing that the coach wanted them to do something else entirely. They know it is that idiot coach's fault. And by not accepting blame, you are setting them up to do the same at some later point. That's just plain stupid softball.
Several years ago. I watched as a third base coach botched play after play. With a sizeable lead and a ball into the gap, he held runner after runner from second at third. Down by a run with the team's best hitter coming up with no or two outs, he played aggressive. Worse still, his clues were all verbal and done at library speaking level. Even worse, sometimes they were contrary instructions. "go, no, stop." After the play was over, this guy had the cojones to walk back to the dugout saying, "I told you to stop." Of course, now his voice was louder, loud enough to hear from any place in the park!
Please understand that I hold no contempt for the coach who says "go" and then needs to say "stop." I think we all have been there. A good friend an d former assistant made that particularly mistake the other day. I know because I could hear him do it. I'm not sure if the girl was safe or out though because I was two fields away from that game and couldn't see the play. All I say is, if you need to reverse what you have already told a baserunner to do, say it loud enough so that God and the Devil can both hear it.
I want to make the point that whatever you do while coaching the bases ought to be loud. Nobody in the place should wonder what you said. Further to the point, you need to work out the words you say given certain circumstances. "Hold" may seem fine but "BACK" can never be confused with "home." There is very little which can be confused with "DOWN, DOWN, DOWN." That particularly true if you avoid using the word "round." "Go, Go, Go" can be confused with "No, No, No" unless you avoid using "No" at all costs. There are perhaps less than one dozen baserunning instructions you need to utter so list those out and then decide whether any of your word choices can be confused with any other. Choose the absolutely clearest instructions you can come up with and then stick to those without exception.
Obviously some people are going to think you a fool if you say things like this as loudly as I do. When I was a child, I had a friend whose nickname was "big and loud." I think he was 6-6. The guy could deafen a person standing within 20 feet of him merely by clapping his hands together. I don't know how he did it but he was the loudest clapper I have ever encountered. I was once at a rock concert with him and got lost in the crowd. I found him by following his clapping sound ... while the music was still playing. Ev erything about him was loud. Our mutual friends referred to me as "not as big but just as loud." So when I say I am loud while coaching base, I really do mean it. And you need to be too. And keep in mind that among those who will consider you a fool for vbeing that loud, this group will not include your base runners who will be eternally grateful for receiving clear, discernible instructions.
OK, so we have gone over being loud and paid some service to the notion of deciding your word choice before youy go onto the field. We've talked about owning at least as much responsibility as you foist upon your players, perhaps more, and owning mistakes you make, out front and in public. But these are the smaller parts because there is something far more important. That, of course, is visual clues.
When coaching base, particularly third, the best instructions you can give a baserunner, especially one moving towards second, are visual ones, assuming you are in the player's ordinary line of vision. The signs should be simple, obvious, discernible, and seen. That's simple but let's discuss anyways.
These signs or clues should be a limited language. A player cannot process four hundred pieces of sign language within a tenth of a second, which is all you have. A simple, violent windmilling of the arm pretty much is universally understood as "go home" or keep going. Both arms stretched out to the sky with palms facing the runner should be understood as stop. You can develop your own visual clues but they must be simple, limited and understood.
Also, these signs or clues need to be in motion before during and after the player looks at you. In ordinary circumstances, you should practice giving these clues to the runner, for example, as she finds herself halfway between first and second. What I mean is, it should be predetermined that the runner needs to pick up the third base coach at this point. So the coach can expect that if the runner is fifteen feet off the back, racing towards second, she is going to be looking at the coach shortly. So he or she should have already made up their minds what to communicate and begun that communication. Then the runner, the person doing the real work here, has the leisure of being able to look for the sign from that point until she is fairly close to the bag.
There is no room for confusion so whatever visual clues you are providing must already be part of a limited language and the specific clue you are providing must not be susceptible to being confused with any other. For example, when a base coach wants a runner from second to slide into third, the coach has to be visible to the runner, he or she must be making a signal that can be confused with no other, and he or she can do any number of predetermined things but the runner must know absolutely that she must slide. I have seen coaches throw themselves to the ground when they want a slide. That was entertaining for the crowd. I'm sure some of the more highb row fans thought it unbecoming of an adult. But I guarantee you the runner slid.
OK, I don't want to belabor the points anymore. I've written enough for today. But before we go, I want to rehash. Running the bases is great, most of the time. It can also be a bad experience, paerticularly if the outcome is bad or confused. Runners need help. That's why we have base coaches. Those coaches have the responsibility to make decisions and to communicate those decisions effectively. They must be loud, clear, preferably visual, provided at the right moment, and practiced. Coaches make mistakes. When they do, they should own them. Those mistakes can be mere mistakes of communication. When that happens, effort should be expended to correct the mistake. Baserunners can barely hear you even if you are loud. If you are soft-spoken, fuggetaboutit. If you are decisive, clear, loud, and visual, you will be understood ... most of the time.Labels: baserunning, coaching
Permanent Link: Visual Clues
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