A Coach's Nightmare

Our second game of the season was one of those games that the team, as one coach put it, had a collective brain fart. Everything we professed and worked on in the 3 weeks leading up to this game went right out the window. And that is a coach's worst nightmare. The other team scored 14 runs last night, and I think 11 of them were unearned.

First, a little background. Our little league team is in the minor league division (AAA), one step below the majors. Our team is comprised of mostly 10 and 11 year olds, with a 12, and two 9's as well (one of the 9's being my son). Our team's biggest strength is pitching. We have kids that can pitch strikes, and put some zip on the ball. Hitting would follow next, and defense is last, especially after last night's game.

Our biggest priority on defense, which we cannot stress enough, is to not throw the ball around on plays. The kids in this division, for the most part, are on a level where they can make the initial standard play. But once a play starts straying from the norm (like a bobbled ball, an error through an infielder, etc.), things can get out of hand quickly. Last night, one of those plays led to 3 runs. The ball was thrown from 3rd to 1st, to home, to 2nd, and not one throw or catch was clean. It was a nightmare.

There were other nits as well. Twice, our guys hit groundballs to the infield, and watched and watched and watched the ball as they were running to 1st, and then, slowed as they neared the base. Both would have been safe, otherwise. A couple of held balls in the outfield led to runners advancing. A pop fly to the 3B side of the infield that no one called for, and, for the most part, no one wanted to catch. The constant reminding of the SS and 2B to backup the pitcher when the catcher throws back to him. Playing groundballs to the side instead of getting in front of it.

It is these mental errors that will drive a coach to drink. We worked on running to first for, at least, an hour at one practice. After the first time it happened this game, we reminded the kids to run through the base, don't watch the ball. What happened next inning? Yep, you guessed it. At this level, I would never get on a kid if he does everything right, but, oops, makes an error on a play, or, strikes out swinging. These things are going to happen.

Brightspots? The pitching was good. Brian pitched a good game. They were hitting him in the first, but his defense let him down. Tom and Ben pitched well too. And, we attempted a comeback in the 6th (we were down by 11 runs, and scored 4(?)).

A sidenote on a tactic used by the other team. We played this team in our first game as well, which we won 12-10. With men on 1st and 3rd, they would have the man on first walk to second base after the first pitch, trying to draw a throw, or some sort of mistake. Legal? Sure. Bush? Sure. Having a kid walk to a base, in my opinion, goes against one of the basic rules of the game, hustle. You want to run a play? Have the kid run halfway, and stop. Anyway, being up 14-3, I heard the first base coach instruct the kid on first to walk to 2nd. He didn't, he ended up running to 2nd. But, we play them again after 4 games, and that will be remembered.