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Get! Out! I mean it!!
by Dave
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Too many folks claim to know really good softball yet never go to watch top events. I often hear misperceptions about higher level ball from folks who have never seen anything but a couple 14U games played in between their own 10U or 12U tournaments. You really have to get out of the house every once and again to see what the top people in this sport are doing, thinking and saying.
If you coach, you can learn a lot about pre-game warm-ups and perhaps get a couple drills you didn't know about by going to some NFP, college, showcase or big tournament games. NFP is available in only limited locations. College is done. But right now is the real season for showcases, NFCA camps which often have a tournament associated with them, and ASA qualifiers.
I'm really not just talking technical aspects of softball drills here. There is so much more to be learned by watching and listening that it boggles the mind. For example, if you are really quiet and sneaky, you might find yourself sitting within earshot of a couple college coaches talking about prospects. You could hear things like "I really liked her technical skills but her personality (and that of her parents) just didn't mesh with my team, if you know what I mean." If you're really lucky, you'll hear some very specific discussion about some of the things college coaches have experienced in the recruiting process, what they like and what they won't tolerate.
You might hear a showcase team coach approach a college coach and ask them to take a look at this or that pitcher. You might hear the college coach complain about this kid's 56 mph speed. You might hear a showcase coach tell a college coach that he has an 8th grader who is near 60 and then hear that college coach complain that if he does, in fact, have such an animal, her school won't even be in the kid's considerations. You might, if you get lucky, hear a college coach ask the showcase team coach to justify some kid's mediocre grades. The possibilities are endless. I've overheard a ton. My wife has overheard far more than I. Combined we haven't even scratched the surface.
You will also see the full spectrum in terms of softball skills, coaching methods, interpersonal relationships between players, coaches, and parents. You'll see things completely unexpected. You'll learn more than I can possionly hope to tell you.
I recall a conversation I had with a fellow I coached with. He lamented the fact that our team, between games, was always just fooling around. When he played, he would have been talking baseball the whole day. He would have watched games and then talked about different techniques and strategies employed during those games. Our girls are talking about songs, video games, and other non-softball related things. He said he believed that at the top levels, the girls are more focused on the game itself. I told him of an experience I once had at a showcase tournament which refuted his opinion of higher level players.
I was walking around and had left my chair someplace else. I came face to face with an interesting game and a high quality pitcher. So I sat down in the stands to watch. Along came a group of girls with their lunch selections, cheese fries, fruit, and assorted other healthy and unhealthy foods. They sat down nearby. These girls wore their uniforms and because I owned a program which listed all the teams' rosters, as well as where many of the kids had committed, I knew that this batch of girls consisted on a number of prospects headed to the Pac 10, Big 12, SEC, etc. This was no band of mediocre players.
But these girls were not even a little interested in the game in front of them or softball in general. They were more interested in what each other was eating. One girl was made fun of because she had a very limited diet and had entertained them all with something she had refused to eat the night before. The conversation went in all sorts of directions including favorite candies, gross foods, what some friend from afar had texted, etc. There was absolutely no discussion of softball other than perhaps an occassional comment about liking that team's uniform or disliking this one's. These girls were at least as unfocused as our young team was between games. They could have been an 8U team waiting to play in another two hours.
Other interesting interactions happen in every direction when you are at a big time tournament. You just need to be open to learning, and of course, you need to be there. This is as true for actual young softball players as it is for their parents. I have brought my girls to watch showcases for several years. Mostly they want to just run around with their friends and have fun. They don't seem to care that there is softball going on all around them. They want cheese fries, ice cream, seeds, etc. It was, at first, kind of disappointing to me. But months, even years later, one of my kids turned to me and made some comment about a good or bad play made at one of these things. I was shocked. I really didn't think she was watching. But she was and had learned something useful.
You may not know how to locate these higher level tournaments but like everything else, it can all pretty much be discovered via the internet. Go to SpySoftball and peruse the summer schedule.
There are events from now until mid-August. These events are all over the country. There are: the Pennsbury Invitational, attached to the NFCA recruitment camp in eastern PA; Team New Jersey Showcase in Edison, NJ; Colorado Firecracker tournament in Aurora; NFCA DWI in Binghampton, NY; Rising Stars Summer Showcase in Florida; Elite showcase in Texas; and various ASA and other nationals at sites all over the country, just to name a few events which draw big time players, coaches and others. I'm sure that if you compare your tournament and vacation schedule, you can find something that fits in. You really need to get out more often. Make plans to broaden your horizons!
Permanent Link: Get! Out! I mean it!!
 
Bullpen Catcher
by Dave
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Several years ago I gave you a tip on improving your hitting. It was self-serving at the time but I honestly felt it could make a huge difference. Recently, a friend of mine ratified my tip and explained what it had done for his daughter, a top level player being looked at by major universities.
My big tip for you, the average softball player, is to don the gear, get behind the dish, and play backstop for pitchers, during their workouts and lessons, whenever you can.
Look, I'm approaching 50. My knees are shot. My quads are not what they were 10 years ago, let alone when I was 15. I have tendonitis, probably arthritis, in my shoulders, elbows, wrists, neck, back, etc. I could probably use rotator cuff surgery in at least one of my shoulders. My vision is not great. My daughter is 14, needs to throw 4 times per week for an hour, throws in the upper 50s, near 60, has good, sometimes slightly unpredictable movement. Her drop is pretty good but the idea is to bounce it in front of the catcher, me, and while I have managed to survive so far, my days are numbered. The other kid is also a pitcher who needs to throw 4 times per week, etc. But at least she's just 13 and does not have the speed or movement of her big sister.
I am able to fool my daughter into believing that we are throwing from 43 feet through the winter because one day she'll have to pitch from that distance. During the summer, I try to work in long toss, from the outfield, several times and she knows this is an effective practice technique. But I'm speaking frankly here. My primary reason for using these techniques is self-preservation.
I could always use a little help from a volunteer catcher.
But that's besides the point. That is the self-interest part of the equation. It says nothing about the benefits to the catcher. Those are significant.
My friend's message to me went something like this: "one other thing, aside from the other important techniques she is learning, she started catching pitchers. She goes to pitching practice with local pitchers, puts on the gear and catches for them. This helped her with spins, hand/arm/body positioning and just seeing/tracking pitches. That was big for her."
If you think of the early years, say 10U and 12U, most of the success of pitchers has to do with quirks. That is, frequently we see very successful pitchers who have odd motions and release points. They don't throw a lot of movement and their location skills are not yet well developed. But they are successful because kids have trouble picking up the ball out of their hand. People, especially pitcher's parents, don't like to admit it but much of the success of young pitchers has to do with these quirky deliveries.
I remember several years ago a team I coached having loads of trouble with a particular pitcher who didn't snap true. I thought she was throwing a drop curve. That's certainly not unheard of with 12 year old pitchers. And this kid was throwing a ball that moved like a drop curve. When I approached her father to ask what she was throwing, he informed me that she has not been pitching for very long and had had little formal instruction. She only had, according to this father, one pitch, the fastball. Later she hurt her elbow due to her quirks. She never regained her stature as a pitcher but that too is besides the point. This kid was successful because kids had trouble picking up the ball out of her hand and because she had funky movement, however slight. I imagine that if every kid on our team had caught this kid enough to really get comfortable with her release and the trajectory of the ball, which was always pretty much the same, they would have had no trouble hitting her.
In later years, say at 14U and 16U, real pitchers remain and those who merely possess quirks start to disappear. Pitchers mechanics are much improved over 12U ball. They throw harder, of course, but the batters' nervous systems are better developed and speed doesn't thwart that many hitters. These more developed pitchers throw far superior location and their movement pitches are actually doing what they are supposed to do. The tricks to hitting them are 1) seeing the ball out of the hand; 2) judging the trajectory of the pitch based on the visual clues; 3) knowing what a ball is going to do, subconciously, based on spins visible in a very short period of time; and 4) judging the location as quickly as possible.
Don't be confused by my emphasis on seeing and judging the pitch. Hitting mechanics are still king. But assuming a certain level of skill in this regard, picking up the pitch, knowing where it is going, and understanding movement make for better hitters. I also put a ton of stock in visualization but I'm assuming you are doing everything right and now need to be better at the rest of the hitting game.
I have watched a number of kids with outstanding mechanics, etc. struggle at the plate. I often hear complaints from parents about how the hitting instructor is great but uses the tee, some other device or a pitching machine, and cannot offer the opportunity to hit off live pitching. My daughters have, from time to time, been asked to pitch batting practices so hitters can get to face live pitching. Teams we have been involved with have run entire practices, sometimes multiple ones each week, at which nothing else was done aside from live pitched batting practice. Yet, seeing a single pitcher and taking a few hacks so everyone can get through the workout just does not provide hitters with as much experience as catching a full stable of pitchers often, frequently can.
If you hit at a private workout with a pitcher available, chances are pretty good that you'll get 10 to 15 minutes of drills, another couple spent on techniques, and then perhaps ten minutes worth of pitched practice. You'll see maybe 25 - 50 pitches. If your team of 12 rostered players shows up for an hour and a half batting practice, chances are pretty good that you'll see even fewer pitches. On the other hand, if you catch a pitcher's workout, you will be catching pitches for a half an hour. You'll probably get to catch as many as 150 pitches of all sorts and to all locations. It is a much more full experience.
At one of the lessons my pitcher-daughters go to, the pitchers all have to spend half their time catching other pitchers. They rotate through so they each, at one time or another, catch every pitcher in their group lesson.
While not all that many dedicated pitchers have the time to also take batting instruction, many of the local pitchers are among the best hitters. Of the very best pitchers from this stable, those who attend lessons at the highest levels and see almost every good local pitcher, some are absolutely the best hitters around. Why is that? Are they just better athletes than all the other girls at other positions? I doubt it.
Another thing that is evident is many catchers from local travel ball also happen to be among the best hitters. They get to catch a bunch of different pitchers during their travelo experiences over several years. That experience makes them better hitters. Of those who are not pitchers and catchers, many once were. I think that speaks for itself.
You can figure out how to get behind the dish at pitching lessons and practices merely by asking around. If the pitcher on your team goes to some privates with a coach, ask to attend and volunteer to catch. Then, when you are there, give that private coach your phone number and tell him or her that you would be willing to catch other pitchers. Somebody should bite and give you a call when the usual catcher is ailing or when dad or mom finally decides they don't want to do this anymore. When you are practicing with your team and the coach is looking around for catchers, volunteer. It might take you a little time to get used to the gear but it will be a worthwhile experience.
If I have not convinced you that catching pitchers is a great way to improve your hitting, at least let me convince you to give it a try. Then judge the results for yourself. Don't get hooked into always catching the same pitcher. Try to get behind the dish for as many pitchers as possible regardless of skill level. See as varied an assortment of pitchers, motions, release points, and pitches as you can. I know I will thank you from the bottom of my back, my shoulders, my face, etc. And I believe in the end you will be the one giving the thanks to the pitchers who allow you to catch them!Labels: batting
Permanent Link: Bullpen Catcher
Free Market Economics
by Dave
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
I've been watching and listening for any mention of the current administration taking over the softball showcase world. There just does not seem to be anything out there. That means we are all at the mercy of the free market. So it is strictly a buyer beware proposition.
Some months ago, perhaps a year or more, I received disturbing word from a softball acquaintance of mine. This guy's daughter had joined a showcase team to get in front of college coaches. The team was playing a showcase tournament at which there was no elimination round playing to an ultimate champion. The thing was organized purely to get college softball aspiring kids in front of college coaches. The guy's daughter had done her homework, identified several schools she would be interested in, and contacted the coaches to get information and, ultimately, to get them to take a look at her. One of the coaches was in attendance but the girl was not in the lineup for that game.
I'm not sure if I remember this perfectly straight but either the college coach or the kid asked the team's coach if she could be inserted in the lineup for a few innings. The reaction of the showcase team's coach was somewhat odd. That coach informed the kid not only that she would not be inserted into the game, but also that the coach would always make all the decisions about who would play where and how much. He/she did not appreciate being approached to put some player in. The coach said he/she would always play to win and play whomever gave the team the best shot at winning, always, under all conditions!
That is disturbing to me. The best shot at winning a showcase game at a non-competitive tournament? Who is zooming who?
The world of showcase ball is very expensive with kids (parents) paying more to play on these teams than on run of the mill competitive travel teams. Typically, we are talking thousands of dollars before we even look at travel expenses. If you want to participate on a showcase team, you are definitely in for at least a thousand more than other teams and then, once you want to go to the full complement of events, well, by the time you are done, you may be out of pocket as much as ten large. At least one parent told me he had spent closer to 15 one year because he wanted to travel and watch his kid play. That's fine, if you can afford it but, well, you can go to college for less, especially if you get some academic and/or financial aid.
When I refer to "non-competitive" tournaments what I mean is, the world of showcases is varied. There are those with a set schedule at which winning games means absolutely nothing. There are some which conclude with an ultimate champion. There are many others where the only trophy is bragging rights to some sort of best record in bracket title. I suppose you could participate in the ones which end with a champion just like you would any other tournament, that is, try to win the things. I also suppose there is value to an organization which earns the bragging rights for winning a bracket. Perhaps you can earn games on a field where there are actual college coaches next year. Perhaps you will find an easier time recruiting players next year. But the ones which do not have any sort of winner or loser are an entirely a different matter.
When parents go into their pockets to pay for showcase teams, they are looking for exposure. Most of the time, they are choosing a team based on the salesmanship of the coaching staff rather than their technical softball skills. They want guys and gals who are on a first name basis with the college coaches. They want people who schmooze targeted coaches, take them out to dinner, know their kids first names, etc. They want to be on teams with good reputations, good reputations for placing kids. They frequently are not interested in the team's chances to sport an undefeated record or otherwise lay claim to best in state titles.
To be sure, sometimes kids join these teams with an eye towards earning a berth to ASA "A" or Gold nationals, perhaps even competing well once there, if not winning the whole thing. It can be a bit of a fine line. But while ordinary travel ball coaches have an allegiance to the full roster to get the maximum number of games for each and all, showcase coaches have that added duty to get the best possible exposure for all the girls who are paying the freight. Whereas a typical travel coach fields his or her lineup to get as deep into the tournament as possible, the showcase coach must also serve the more important goal.
I remember sitting through my very first showcase game. The pitcher for one team was rolling along nicely. She was truly outstanding, a likely D-1 prospect. I was mesmerized by her skills. Then came the fourth inning and the coach pulled her for a much less impressive kid. The team was in the lead something like 2-0 but the next pitcher quickly yielded some baserunners and then a couple runs. Neither team seemed to take much notice of the pitching change. Nobody seemed very upset or happy about taking or relinquishing the lead. I was dazed and confused. Why had the coach pulled her? Was she hurt? Had she pitched to some pre-arranged number of pitches or innings and now was her time to rest? I didn't know what was going on. But that coach had 4 pitchers to get in and just two games to do it that day. The games were time limited so he pulled his pitcher after 3 and put the next kid in. That's the way the cookie crumbles.
More recently a fellow wrote to me to complain that his daughter had joined what was called a showcase team. The team had brought several pitchers onto a slim roster. They went to their first couple of tournaments and had used just two of these girls. The other pitchers never so much as warmed up. His daughter was one of the "other pitchers." He wondered if he was getting upset over nothing. He wanted some advice. I told him to find another team and leave. But don't just leave and move on. Tell all your softball friends and acquaintances to avoid the team like the plague. Tell them exactly what happened. The rest will take care of itself.
That is the way the showcase world gets policed, by you and me, by buyer beware. The softball world is very small and if a team holds itself out to showcase girls but plays every game as if their reputation demanded victory, well, the next time they conduct tryouts, the talent pool will be significantly reduced. Who, in their right mind, with a full set of facts, is going to join a so-called showcase team which feels no loyalty whatsoever to the goal of actually showcasing their kids?
The truth is, this particular team does not play many true showcases. Rather they play a few real showcases and then mostly compete at run of the mill tournaments which call themselves showcases. These do not draw a lot of college coaches. They do not draw the best possible teams even from the local area. They are showcases in name but they are not showcases for bigger time talent. And the teams which attend are usually pretty petty, choosing to put winning over showing their kids.
A friend of mine told me about how he had his team playing showcases. I tried not to ask the critical questions about which college coaches he saw there. He noted that the teams they had played were very good and his team had done poorly. The second day of the tournament, they were stuck in a bad location due to their poor performance the day before. But I wonder how many college coaches were at the good site and I wonder how many of these teams were just there to fill out there schedule or tune up for the time when they will be playing national qualifiers. This guy's team was very young. And he was new to the very idea of "showcase" tournaments. He had signed up for this one merely because the organization running the tournament had called it a "showcase."
Showcases, like all products, run the full spectrum of quality. There are showcases which are really just dressed up 18U tournaments. They don't really draw any coaches. There are those affiliated with skills assessment camps with throngs of coaches in attendance. There are those which exist purely because they bring in droves of college coaches and the best teams year after year. Before you choose a showcase team and shell out your limited sheckles, you really need to educate yourself on the big, important showcases and learn which of these a particular team plans on attending.
If a team has a schedule made up up Jason's Car City Softball Championship and College Showcase, ASA/NSA/PONY A or B states, PBA softball extravaganza, etc., I would hope you wouldn't be mesmerized by the term "showcase" in their name. I would hope you wouldn't shell out $3,000 to play a bunch of pretty good tournaments within driving distance of your home. if you are going to pay more than regular travel, you;ve got to go to at least 2 to 3 bigger name events.
On the other hand, let's face the fact that many of us do not have the spare cash around to put our 6th graders, no matter how good they are, on a team which plans 6 out of state treks via airplane this summer. For many, a lesser interstate experience is appropriate. But I hope the prices are commensurate with the experience. If on one hand I have a team headed to 3 Gold qualifiers, 4 true big time showcases, and 3 other events, and on the other a team playing mostly dressed up regular tournaments, I would not expect both teams to cost $3,000 before travel expenses. If a team charges you $3 grand to play local showcases with no coaches around, maybe you're being taken.
In any event, if my daughter is involved with a true showcase team, I expect full lines of communication between myself and the team's manager. We all understand that our daughters need to stand up on their own, learn to deal with coaches on their own, and generally make their own way into the real world. But those fine and noble goals go out the window when we are talking about $10 grand for the year and multiple years going forwards.
The kid cannot enter into a legally binding contract. If I'm essentially purchasing an automobile, well, I demand lines of communication. And whereas I would not ever approach a coach to discuss my kid's playing time on a competitive run of the mill travel team, I'll be damned if my dollars are going to go to showcase 9 other kids while my daughter rides the pine and bides her time. Don't tell me that she needs to learn to pay dues and she'll be the beneficiary of other kids doing the same as she ages up. That's not the way it works. Check out your competitors.
In softball, as in other human pursuits, it is buyer beware. Showcase ball is no different. But showcase comes with a higher price tag. So before you buy the horse, look at the teeth. You want to know exactly the tournaments you'll be watching. You want somewhat firm commitments about playing time and an understanding that if a college coach comes around specifically to see your kid, the team's coach will be considerate enough to do what he or she can to get your kid in there.
You want to be able to talk to someone if you are not happy with the situation. Don't tell me parents must stay in the background with respect to this aspect. Yes we need to be neither seen nor heard when the college coaches are around but we have full right to talk to coaches and representatives of the organization about any topic. This isn't the high school team. This isn't 14U NSA ball nor any sort of regular travel team. This is showcase. Lots is riding on the opportunities here. There are alternatives to your team. I'll trust in your expertise but I am an active participant. This is a partnership.Labels: coaching, college, parenting
Permanent Link: Free Market Economics
Baserunning Fundamentals
by Dave
Monday, June 08, 2009
When the word "fundamentals" is used in a softball or baseball context, most often the images conjured up have to do with hitting, fielding, or throwing the ball. We don't often think of anything to do with baserunning as "fundamental" per se. In baseball, where the important parts of the running game don't emerge in the early years - leading off base appears in late stages say at 12U travel (50-70) or when the bases move to 90 feet at 14U - it is understandable that base running fundamentals are not taught at 8U or 10U levels. In softball, the bases and most of the rules remain pretty much the same from 10U on up. And we really do need to teach these fundamentals as much as any others.
There can be restrictions at 10U regarding bunting and stealing but for the most part, what remains unchanged from 10U through the highest levels are 1) you can't leave base until ball release, 2) after the ball is released until it is back in the circle, you can pretty much do anything you want, at risk of being put out, and 3) once it is back in the circle, you must proceed directly to a base (referred to as the look back rule).
I'll take a moment and explain the "look back rule" which is what compels the runner to proceed immediately to a base once the ball is back in the circle because I think sometimes folks can get confused about this. Obviously, in softball, we don't have leading the way they do in baseball. So, after the pitch, when does the runner need to be on the base? The runner needs to be on the base for the period of time leading up to the pitch. So, once the ball gets back into the circle, runners have to go wherever they are going so the game can proceed.
There is not an obligation that a runner return to the base last occupied. She could attempt to move up a base. But the time to decide and go is now, once the ball is back in the circle. So, a runner could lead off base on the pitch and then stand there while the catcher fakes a pickoff throw. But once the ball gets back in the circle, she must proceed to the next base or go back to the one she's gonna stay at. If she does not, the ump can call her out. The only exception would be if the pitcher were making a play. A pitcher is considered making a play if she has the ball in her throwing hand and is threatening to throw, like holding the ball in a cocked position.
There is no requirement, express or otherwise, that the pitcher "look" the runner "back" but sometimes people around me have expressed that this is precisely the meaning of the "look back rule." It isn't. A baserunner waiting to be "looked back" to base stands a decent chance of being called out for failing to return!
The reason I harp on this subject is because it plays an important part in the baserunning fundamentals I'd like to see you all teach. That is, a very important part of baserunning fundamentals is returning to base. But I suppose we should get on base and then lead off first.
The first element of baserunning fundamentals is necessarily the movement from batter to baserunner. The "easiest" way to get onto base is via the walk. What I want my hitters to do when they walk is drop the bat immediately and then run to first as if they are trying to beat out a grounder. I do not want them over-running first but I want a full out sprint to get to the bag. We often see habits from rec days of girls getting concerned about their new bat being put away properly or they do not wish to make the coach get up off the bucket and retrieve the bat. So, when the ump says "take your base," they smile and then start looking around for a nice place to put the bat down or for a coach or teammate to reach out and grab for it. That's no good. Drop it and go.
Another less popular way to get on base is the ole strike em out drop the ball play. I want my batters to, after striking out, be told by the first base coach that they are out. I don't want anyone to ask questions, look back at the plate ump or anything like that. Drop it and go. Coach will stop you if you are out. This is critical for a number of reasons. First off, the rules are, the batter is allowed to try to make first provided that the base is unoccupied with less than two outs or at any time there are two outs.
This rule is actually more complex than it seems. Think of it this way. If there is a runner on first and she steals right before you strike out, is first occupied? Yes it is and the batter is out via the K. But grab hold of anyone, particularly the catcher and ask them this question while telling them they have 2 seconds to respond and what you'll typically get is a throw to first to make sure the batter is out. In other words, your runner from first gets to steal for free.
Further, at the moment of the K, it is somewhat unusual for the catcher to know automatically how many outs there are while also contemplating the rule about when the batter is out. If there are two outs and first is occupied, there is some chance that she will grad the ball and then roll it out to the mound while neglecting the runner headed to first. Or better yet, there is a chance she'll try to throw out the runner stealing from first at second. I've seen it happen dozens of times.
OK, here's one final thought on th9is subject for you. Let's say it is strike three but the pitch hits the dirt as the batter swings at it and the catcher, thereafter, makes a clean play on the ball - she does not drop it. What happens then? This may seem a bit pedantic to some of you but I have heard at least one person get this wrong once a year for the past 30 years. The answer is, if the ball touches the dirt, it isn't a clean catch - you have to tag or put out the batter before she reaches first. All that has to happen is the ball has to hit dirt. It doesn't matter how the catcher deals with it so long as she doesn't snatch it from the air before it contacts the ground. But that's enough of that.
A final way to get on base involves hitting the ball into play and reaching the bag before being put out. What I have seen taught is running through the bag and then curling into foul ground after reaching the bag or, alternately, if the ball is hit into the outfield, curling into foul ground and then rounding out towards second. I want neither.
As a first consideration, I want everyone to understand the use of the safety base at first. If the ball is hit into the infield, the runner should use the outer base, the one in foul ground. If the ball is hit into the outfield, you should use the inner base, in fair territory. On balls hit to right where the RF seems like she might be making a play on the runner at first, I would stick with the outside bag unless the 1B was using it. But this gets tricky. Technically a ball hit to RF is in the outfield and the inner bag should be used. But because this play seems more like an infield one, I think runners should be taught to use the outside base.
Another consideration is the run through the bag and then curl into foul ground thing. There are some popular misconceptions in this. First, particularly at very young ages, there is a misunderstanding of the rules which tells beginners that the runner at first needs to turn clockwise into foul ground. There's no such rule. You can over run first and turn whichever way suits you so long as you don't make a movement like you are going to go to second. Once you make towards second, you have to go or get back to first - it doesn't matter which way you turned.
More importantly, I don't want girls in practice to run like the wind through the bag and then slap the coach's hand out on the outfield grass. Rather, at the moment of striking the base with their foot, I want runners to work towards coming to a stop. "Breaking down" is the term usually used. You reach the base and then do whatever you can to stop while taking a glance towards your right into foul ground, just in case there is an overthrow, you may see the ball go flying away. Otherwise, you stop and then turn on your bionic hearing in case your coach tells you to go.
If the ball is hit into the outfield, except right, our batter-baserunner should easily reach safely without having to over run the base. I want her to turn and get slightly off the bag, stop, look and listen. I do not want her to round big time, and then see what is going on. This is softball not baseball. The distances are closer. If you enter high school ball with the idea that you should round the bag when you get a hit to center, well, you're gonna get thrown out at least once before your career is over. I want girls taught to round slightly but not take big lead offs of first following a hit. If there is any chance the ball is going to get by the outfielders, the base coach should see that long before the runner gets there and then, hopefully, direct her to go, go, go!
But so much for just getting on base. Those are important fundamentals but not the ones I want to focus on. The ones I want to focus on involve being on base, leading off and getting back. The first element we encounter is the proper stance to take at the bases. Often coaches will use the baseball stance which is basically your old athletic 'ready position" with weight evenly distributed and the butt low. But this stance is intended for situations with leading in which the baserunner is just as likely to have to go back to the bag as he or she is to proceed to the next base. That doesn't work as well when the objective is to get off the base - one directional. here we want to put weight on the pivot foot and take it off the stride foot. We want to explode off the base at the precise moment the ball comes out of the pitcher's hand.
The pivot foot must have a solid base from which to push as the runner strides towards the next base. If the bases are anchored to the ground as most are, using the base itself as a sort of starting block is fine. If they are not, it is preferable to put the foot next to the base and use solid ground to push off of. If you come to fields and notice that bases are not anchored, I suggest asking the umps during the pre-game meeting, if it will be ok for your kids to put their feet next to the base - while of course still making contact with the bag.
Most girls stride strongest with their right leg so it is the left foot which should be firmly on the ground and bare the majority of weight. The right leg should be back behind the base. The arms should be coiled. And as the pitcher begins the downward journey of her arm through the windmill motion, the arms should come forward and the stride leg explode into running position. In this manner, the runner is into a full stride, though she has not lost contact with the base, as the pitcher's arm comes down to the release point. Thereafter, she pushes off the base, hopefully, at the exact moment the ball comes out of the pitcher's hand. The more practice a kid can get with an actual pitcher pitching, the better. But you have to go over technique first.
Let's be clear that the runner is not allowed to lose contact with the base before the pitcher releases the ball. If she does lose contact early, she can be called out. But if you are playing a preliminary round game with just one ump, or if there are two umps and other runners on base they are watching, it would seem to be ok to come off the base a little early. That's true when it is unlikely to be called. A single ump behind the plate is almost never going to call out a runner at first for leaving early. The same is true with two umps and the field one concerned mostly with the runner at second or third. We want to teach girls to be aggressive so it is important to teach them to recognize when they should more quickly leave the base.
Along the same lines, I once took my team aside and asked them if they understood when to leave base. There was some minor confusion but for the most part they understood. So then I asked them what happens if you leave early. Everyone said, "you get called out." I said, "no you don't. You get called out if you leave early and the umpire sees you do it." That's gonna sound like cheating to some but I suggest to you that it is not. It is merely being aggressive. My next question to my charges was, "if you get called out for leaving base early, is that: 1) always really, really bad; 2) no big deal; or 3) it depends. They loooked at me funny and then concluded that it was always bad since you get an out and have to leave base. One girl said her father would "kill her" if she ever got called out for leaving base early.
I told the girls that if nobody on this team ever gets called out for leaving base early, that would be a bad thing since we aren't being aggressive enough. I also let them know that if they're on third in a tie game, in the last inning, well, then getting called out for leaving early is a bad thing. But generally, I do want my girls to be aggressive enough to sometimes get called out for leaving early. We talked at length about situations in which it would be good, those in which it would be bad, etc. But I didn't want the point lost that I want them to be aggressive. I want somebody at some point to get called out for leaving early.
So, that's getting off and the next question is, what do you do once your right foot is striding and your left has left the bag. Well, that too depends on the situation.
I want my runners at first to get a 3 stride running lead and then stop in the old ready position, weight balanced, ready to go in either direction ... unless the ball is contacted. If it is contacted angle down, I want them ready to proceed to second. If it is angle up, I want them to freeze unless there are two outs (and we'll get to that).
I want my runners at second to get a 5 stride running lead and again stop in ready position. That's because the fielders are further from the bag. If the 5 stride running lead puts them in front of the SS, the strides are too long and I want them to shorten up. If a girl is not stealing, I never want her all the way out to the SS. The opposite is true as well. If the SS is cheating so far towards third that you find yourself miles away from her, I want you to go a bit further, unless the 2B is creeping in behind the bag. So generally go as far and no further than the closest infielder to second. I would say you want to be a full running stride closer to second than the closest fielder so you can get back before they even get there. Of course, if you are trying to pull a delayed steal, then perhaps you should go out all the way to the fielder. But delayed stealing is a subject for another day.
At third base, you are far too valuable of a commodity to play around. I want a two walking step lead and no more than that. I want you off the bag and ready to head for home but I don't want you to make yourself a target for a pickoff play, despite the piece I just wrote about catchers not trying to pick off runners at third. There are certainly situations and baserunners who i ant to try to draw a throw to third but I'm talking broad generalities here and in general I want no more than a two step walking lead at third. i don't think I need to discuss the fair ground/foul ground aspect of the lead at third. I think that's obvious.
So we're off base at whatever distance, depending on which base we occupy, and now what do we do? Go back, of course! But let me be crystal clear about this. This is really the crux of what I have to say today. You get on base, get into a good lead off position, lead on the pitch, somewhat aggressively, see what's up and then GO BACK. I don;t want dancing. I don't want taunting. I want you to be ready for action and barring any developments, I want you safely bag to the bag ... NOW. You have to be heads up just in case something happens like a wayward throw back to the pitcher. -; But there's no point in being off base if all that is happening is the catcher is throwing the ball back to the pitcher and getting ready for the next pitch. So go back. Get on the bag.
I have had some kids play for me who stroll back to the bag. I've had many who feel the need to taunt and dance. I've had some who like to saunter back as if some predatory cat looking to show off its athleticism. I don't like this as a general rule. I think this is just too showy and not about getting business done. I want you back unless we are going to try something like a delayed steal.
If we are going to try something, we aren't just going to stay off the base and make it obvious since everyone else is continually rushing back to get on the bag, we are going to set it up. We are going to try to play with the other team's head. But 90% of the time, I want you off and then back. We need not get into the other aspects. We're talking fundamentals.
It is absolutely critical that girls on third not saunter back or lounge around. When you return to third, you turn your back from the ball. So you need to get back immediately and leave no opportunity for the opponent to pick you off while you're napping.
Lest I forget when I say go back to base, I am of course forgetting about the situation with two outs and any sort of contact. I suppose I have seen more players at high levels not go all out on hit balls when there are two outs, than any other mistake. It is important to explain to girls at length that when they are on base and say the ball is popped out to the OF, you gotta go. The onyl two out situation during which you shouldn't go is when you are on second, not forced, and the ball is hit right in front of you. Then you have to hold and as soon as the ball is thrown, you proceed to third and turn the bag in case the throw gets away.
On a 3-2 pitch with two outs, runners who are forced must go as if they are stealing. Of course, we always want girls to try to pick up the ball in order to avoid interference. But all forced runners must go on the pitch with a 3-2 count and 2 outs. Sometimes, when runners go all out with two outs on struck balls, fielders make mistakes. For example, I have seen shortstop throw the ball home to head off a run. I've seen pitchers do this too. I've seen infielders who had to chase a ball down turn to make a force out throw at a secondary base because they didn't think they could get the batter out at first. If runners proceed immediately with two outs, sometimes this very event can open up an inning.
I think that is enough information for one posting - probably way too much. We touched on some important fundamentals of base running. We've talked a bit about look back and some other rules. I mention this stuff today because I watched a team break almost all of my cardinal rules this past weekend. I saw a situation in which one run was going to make all the difference in the outcome of a game. One team had a runner on second who took a two step walking lead. I'm not sure why since neither middle infielder was covering the bag after pitches. And both were cheating towards the foul line. This girl could have taken a 7 step running lead and never been challenged. But she didn't. So when the first pitch was thrown into the dirt, she didn't go. Her coach yelled at her to come unless he stopped her. But he never questioned her lead. When the next pitch got away, she started towards third but stopped when the coach realized she would never make it in time and held up his hands. Had she taken the lead the defense had given her, she would have made it without a throw. When the next one got away, she finally ran but she was off to such a bad start the catcher easily threw her out. I heard the coach talk to the kid about deciding to go sooner. He never noticed that her lead stunk and was the primary reason she was out.
Later that same game I saw the same thing again. the girl failed to advance until a grounder was hit to second for the second out. Had she advanced as she should have, she would have scored on that play. Later as that game went into ITB, there was another girl on second. A ball was hit to the SS and this kid, who also got a bad lead raced towards the kid making the play on the ball. From what I could see, she intentionally made contact with the SS. Obviously the umpire called interference. The kid was out, ball game over.
I saw this play develop in slow motion. I turned to see what the coaches looked like in this moment of losing. They had no idea the ump would call interference. They all had looks of jubiliation on their faces. They thought something good was going to come out of this play. Had I been able to quiz them at this moment, I believe they would have said they thought obstruction would be called against the SS and the runner would be awarded third. In the moment after the call, as the other team left the field happy they had just won the game, I saw these same coaches look puzzled. Nobody understood the call!
Preparation is critical. Coaches need to know the rules. Players must be steeped in fundamentals, not just fundamentals of hitting, fielding, throwing but also fundamentals of baserunning. No kid should get a two step lead at second. No kid should be ignorant of rules regarding what they can, should, or are prohibited from doing on the bases. Fundamentals are the key to winning games.
Permanent Link: Baserunning Fundamentals
Who Is In Charge?
by Dave
Monday, June 08, 2009
A few weeks back I wrote some commentary having to do with several topics, one of which was about catchers who had free reign to chase runners regardless of the situation. At that time, I suggested to you that good teams do not just allow their catchers to throw at runners whenever they please. I received a little pushback from a friend who thought I was talking about very young catchers and felt we need to encourage these girls to make the throws at a young age because they're going to have to make them when they get older. I was not writing about younger catchers. I was referring to all catchers from very young but including those in college. The specific examples I referred to were all at high school level and up. I agree that sometimes you need to encourage a catcher to make certain throws in order to develop their skills. But allowing catchers to just throw whenever and to whichever base can be as bad for their development as it is for the team.
Without going back over the specifics I wrote, what I suggested was for any interested party to create an experiment through which to judge the success and failure rate of "aggressive" catcher-made throws. I feel the results of a real examination of certain throws we often see catchers try to make would be enlightening.
Typically, we see catchers try to throw out runners at first when those runners take liberties by getting a little too far off base. That can be a very valuable tool for certain situations. Depending on whether you have a righty or lefty batter, the catcher can have a great look at the runner, the fielder covering, and the outfielder backing up the play. First is the safest base to throw to.
Second is a bit tougher because the throw is quite a bit longer. There is also the fact that the pitcher has her back to the base runner and is not necessarily in on the gag. I have seen numerous times when a catcher tried to pick off a runner at second and the pitcher made a great play to get her glove on the ball and prevent it from flying into the outfield. She didn't know the catcher was throwing to second. Sometimes, despite herculean effort, such a pitcher can only manage to tip the throw and then the ball sails someplace where there is no back-up. This alone can make the throw to second a low percentage one.
Also, because fielders need to be in position to make plays if the batter hits a grounder up the middle, the 2B cannot always get to the bag timely to take a throw down to second. Obviously, during most of these situations, the SS is concerned with covering third on steals so she's not going to be the one covering second. That's as it should be anyway because you really want the covering fielder to come from the back side of the runner on a pick-off. If you happen to have your 3B covering third and your SS is freed to take the throw at second, it is still a bad idea to have her covering since she is coming from the same direction as the baserunner. But I'm hoping most of you realize your 3B needs to be in for the bunt and the SS should be covering third.
So the difficulty of getting a runner at second do to the fielder perhaps getting there a little late, plus the distance involved, plus the fact that the pitcher may misread what is going on, makes the pickoff at second difficult and a low percentage play. Add to this that generally, the baserunner at second gets off a bit more than one at first or third, that she may deliberately try to draw a pickoff throw in order to advance to third, and the fact that a throw from second to third to get the runner who moves on the pickoff attempt is made all the more difficult by the covering SS probably being in a bad position to take a throw from second. What's more, the secondary throw to third, should the runner attempt to advance on the pickoff, is a really bad proposition since a bad throw will sail out of play and therefore hand the baserunner home. The ad hoc pickoff at second is not something we want to encourage.
The pickoff throw at third, however, is my personal demon. I absolutely hate it. I have seen more runs score as a result of a pickoff at third than for any other type of play. I've seen catchers strike the batter with the throw - once a game was lost when the ball struck the batter's helmet and sailed out of play. I've seen balls many times strike the helmet of the baserunner diving back in and then fly out of play. I've seen SS's get struck in the face and other places by such a throw as the ball comes in right past the diving baserunner. The SS never saw the ball until it was on top of her as the runner just barely missed being hit. I have seen catchers stumble as they went to release the ball and throw it past the LF backing up on the play. And I have seen very, very few runners ever caught off base like this.
The overall point I ewant to drive home is NOT => don't ever try to pickoff a runner. of course we want to pick off runners. But it cannot be an ad hoc decision by the catcher. It must be called by someone else. And just about everyone on the defensive team should know it is coming.
If we're going to make a pickoff attempt at first, I think I would rather try to lure the runner into complacency by having the 1B up for the bunt and not rushing back to cover the bag. If the baserunner belongs to me, and she sees the 1B rushing back to cover, I want her back on the bag. That's the way all runners should be trained. But it is just possible that the 2B can sneak in behind the runner without the base coach realizing and catch everyone sleeping. So, at the very least, the C, 1B, 2B, and RF have to know a pickoff is coming. It has to be a called play. The catcher can call it. The 2B can call it if she thinks she can sneak in. The RF, at least in theory might be the one who would notice the opportunity so she should be able to communicate to 2B, etc. if she thinks it should be tried. And of course, a coach should be able to call it.
If we think of it this way, it should work. There has to be a verbal call like "Red Rose" or some such where the catcher is letting the 1B and 2B know she is going to throw. 2B should let the RF know, if the C can't be heard. Alternately, the C could have a hand signal for the various fielders but it can't be something that will be confused with other signs. Bottom line is everyone must know it is coming, everyone except the runner and base coach!
If the pickoff is coming at second, like I said, I want the 2B covering that so my SS is covering third. You cannot do this in standard bunt coverage situations since the 2B has to cover first. But if you want to run something like this, I think I want a pitchout anyway. In fact, if you suspect a bunt, the runner on second is expecting the SS to cover third and the 2B to cover first so she's likely to be vulnerable. She's also more concerned with moving to third if the batter gets one down. She believes nobody will be covering second so she may be lazy getting back to the bag. Call a pitch out, have 2B cover second while SS runs to cover third, and pick her off, if you want to be aggressive. I've seen this play wreak havoc in ITB a few times. Most importantly, I would limit my catcher trying any pickoff at second to these types of plays. And I'd want it called from the bench.
With respect to third, I have more trouble identifying the situation in which I want a pickoff attempt. I have absolutely no doubt that many of you can come up with certain situations perhaps you saw this past weekend. But I also have no doubt that I cvan see the situations differently, that I'd be less prone to try a pickoff in those. I do realize that having a runner on third with no or 0one out, the game tied late, etc. can really cause stress. I realize that you'd be willing to trade almost anything, except a run, to get rid of that girl. I just happen to think the pickoff from C is the lowest percentage play.
I'd almost prefer a play in which the C throws immediately and hard back to the P who wheels and fires to get the lazy runner out. That's a 40 foot throw with a clean line. But most well schooled base runners are not going to be vulnerable to that sort of thing. If a coach or say the 1B were to notice that the runner at third were off the bag more than a full stride and a dive, and then be slow or lackadaisical getting back to the bag, then I think a pickoff 2 to 1 to 6 ought to be attempted. I'm sorry, I just don't want the throw to come from the C.
This is a really important issue to me for many reasons. I've been lucky to have had the opportunity to watch a lot of very good catchers. Almost all of them are very aggressive players. They'd like to get every runner out, whether they steal or simply lead. Several girls I've watched have cannon arms. I've seen quite a few with sub-2 pops. And yet, I've seen more bad throws, costing a run at a critical time, than I have seen runners actually picked off.
Recently I watched a young catcher ply her trade. She's very good. But I believe she is overly aggressive and I think I know why. I don't want to get into the reasons why. But I think this sort of behavior needs to be, if not controlled, at least tempered, even aty a very young age. You don't do a kid any favor to build up the notion that she should throw to every base, every time, if when she gets to Gold level, high school, or college, her coach is going to take pickoff decisions out of her hands. And in the meantime, if she costs her teams more games than she wins by being the hero, especially on elimination days, well, you get the idea.
OK, I don;t want to go into this any further. I just want everyone involved in this game, particularly coaches and perhaps, to a lesser extent the catchers themselves, to consider the percentages when doing a pickoff play. I want you to assess this realistically. Its OK to pickoff but let's have specifically designed, called for and executed plays for this.Labels: catching, coaching, defense
Permanent Link: Who Is In Charge?
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