- Kilsyth Diamond
Softball Club Inc.
- ALONE AT THE
PLATE She pulls on the
helmet, picks up the bat and walks
to the plate, "gotta hit and that's that".
The crowd starts to yell, the game's
on the line, last inning, two outs,
the score's nine to nine. Dad
yells, "go get it," Mom wrings her hands, coach hollers, "hit it" but alone there
she stands. Heroes are made
in seconds such as this, but she's
just a little girl, what if she should miss? Years after this game's ended and she's little no
more, will she remember the outcome
or even the score? No she'll
have forgotten if she was out, hit, or a run, she'll only look back on her friends and the fun.
So cheer this girl on, alone with
her fate; help her remember with
fondness, this stand at the plate. Spend your time wisely and help in her quest
to be a hitter with confidence and always
her best. And when the game's
over, this girl can stand tall, for
you helped her prepare to give it her all! COACH'S CREED 1997
- ALWAYS GIVE
100%
- As coaches we have a variety of traits
that we look for in our players. I have yet to find a coach
who did not include on that list,
"give me 100%". We feel that the greatest thing that we
can
teach our players is that trying their
best, giving 100%, is all that matters. If you do your best,
you are never a loser. To emphasize this to
our young players, we have written a team cheer. We use this cheer to start and end every game and
every practice. And if in the middle of a game we begin to forget what's really important, we even
use it between innings.
-
Coach: "WHAT ARE WE?"
Team: "A TEAM!"
-
Coach: "WHAT DO WE GIVE?"
Team: "100%!"
-
Coach: "WHAT ARE WE WHEN WE GIVE 100%?"
Team: "ALWAYS WINNERS!"
- GOOD PLAY STARTS
WITH GOOD BASICS
- Regardless of the level of play that you
may be coaching, it all starts with the basics. There
are many terrific drills out there for
every skill and every level. Try to select five or six
that you really like and that cover the
basic areas of play; hitting, running, sliding, stealing,
throwing, catching and fielding. (I won't
go into detail on my own selection right now, but if
anyone would like drill ideas, please
e-mail. I'd be glad to help.) Using the same drills over
and over helps to enter the moves into
muscle-memory. It also helps to keep your practices
more organized and productive.
- At the start of every practice and every
game we begin with a team warm-up. We use the
same set of exercises each time. Players
who arrive late know to run through these by
themselves before joining us in the dugout.
At practices, once the players are warmed up
we go through our drill selection for 30 -
45 minutes. We use the same drills but for only
about 15 minutes before games. It not only
keeps them warmed up, but also helps them to
keep calm by doing something that they are
familiar and comfortable with.
- NOTE: If you find that one drill isn't
working for you, replace it.
- Remember: When you cannot
decide between two courses of action, choose the one that is
best for the children. Coaches and parents
are a distant second.
-