Teach Me Softball - QUICK!

April 23, 2008 2:19 PM

Help me coach a high school softball (or tennis) team when I have no real team sport experience.

It is lunacy, but is it possible? I'm angling for a position, with one of the requirements being taking on a coaching position. I don't mind this, necessarily, but I was a band nerd back in high school, and so have no experience playing or coaching team sports personally.

Where would I even begin? Books? DVDs? Websites? Joining a summer softball league? (This last might be a problem, since I'll be out of the country during the month of July)

For what it's worth, I'm actually a *fan* of sport, just not a *participant*. Also, this would be for a high school team and (if it matters) a season that runs for about a month - from end march to end April.

posted by absalom to sports, hobbies, & recreation (14 comments total)

EXTRA: Tips on Tennis would also be welcome - especially if that might be easier to coach. Heh.
posted by absalom at 2:20 PM on April 23

As an ultra-competitive high school tennis player, I think that softball will be way easier to coach. Tennis is way more of a skill and technique game, and you have no experience playing it, so I think coaching it would be quite challenging.

In softball, athleticism comes into play a lot more. You'd only have to coach on how to hit or how to pitch. I know that seems like it's trivializing it (there's a lot of technique involved), but tennis has at least 4 of these distinct actions (forehand. backhand. serve. volley).

Plus, it sounds like you're angling for a position at a small-town hs. Kids from small-towns will have a lot more experience swinging a baseball bat than swinging a tennis racket.

Also, softball is way more fun -> it's team oriented. People have fun playing rec volleyball leagues. The most boring thing on the planet is watching people who don't know how to play tennis, play tennis.

Anyways, to teach softball, def join a rec softball league. Watch a lot of baseball. If you can't join a league, go the batting cages. There's a ton of instructional videos...

and be willing to listen to your kids. 70% of hs coaching is being able to manage a team- when to be an asshole, when not to be, when to know when the kid is better than you and can give you tips, learn how to be respected, treat everyone fairly, etc.

for inspiration, look at Charlie Weiss. He's never played football in his life, and now he's coaching Notre Dame.
posted by unexpected at 2:32 PM on April 23

Actually: Not a small town high school at all; inner city magnet school, FWIW
posted by absalom at 2:44 PM on April 23

Are you asking how to fake knowing enough about softball or tennis to get the job? Or are you assuming you'll get the job, but you want to start preparing now for the actual coaching situation?
posted by SuperSquirrel at 2:45 PM on April 23

I have a good chance of getting the job, so I'd like to at least learn to be competent.
posted by absalom at 2:47 PM on April 23

Sorry to say....but i think it's lunacy.

Part of coaching is actually instructing players on the mechanics and techniques of the sport - hitting, throwing, catching, positioning, strategy, etc. Attempting to teach students how to do things that you don't know how to do yourself is a disservice to them.
posted by gnutron at 2:54 PM on April 23

You want to coach kids to do something you have no idea how to do yourself? How is that even fair to the kids? Coaching isn't just holding practices to watch them play, then standing on the sidelines cheering at games. Coaches are supposed to be teachers, and they teach from knowledge, not just by keeping one chapter ahead of the them in a history text.

Focus on your strengths. If you were a band geek - great. Does the school have a band program? Can you help with any of the extra curricular band programs?
posted by cgg at 3:02 PM on April 23

Well, first of all, if they are willing to hire you knowing that you have little coaching experience*, then your situation is not too dire. You've got lots of time to prepare, and lots of time to develop a reputation as a competent person, whether or not any future teams coached by you perform well. Does that make sense? A lot of coaching is just getting the respect of your players, so if you already have that respect from the classroom, your job as a coach is easier.

I would definitely join a team yourself, even if you will be out of the country. You might have trouble though, because around here, teams are already being formed and are starting some practices. So that should be your first order of business. But be aware that the rules and game situations are going to be different between a men's rec league and a [presumably] girls' competitive school league.

The USA Women's Team is currently playing tune-up games against various college teams. Watch as many of the games on TV as you can. Try and watch any college games that might be televised (or played) in your area. Go to high school games in the area and get a feel for how the coaches act. You might consider approaching a coach and explaining your situation.

Go to batting cages. Swing yourself, but also keep an eye out for coaches who are there with teams, or even someone who just knows what they are doing. Listen to what they say. Ask them for tips on explaining batting to someone else.

Sometime around June, the National Pro Fastpitch league starts up. Sometimes the games are televised, and most have some kind of radio broadcast, so watch or listen when you can. (Make a trip to Chicago to watch the Bandits, and I will treat you to a beer!)

Also during the summer, go watch park district or other league games. The more games you watch the better feel you will have for the game.

See if you can talk to the physical education teachers and/or coaches of other sports at the school. The PE teachers can help you with the techniques of the sport, and the other coaches can help you get a feel for the kids, for the other coaches in the league, for the parents, for all the other intangibles.

*I assume they know?
posted by SuperSquirrel at 3:11 PM on April 23

If you're in this only for yourself, i.e., you have to do it to get the job, then read some books, watch some games, etc. They won't really know how much you suck until after the season is over and you'll have a whole year to prepare and learn before the next season. This year's kids will suffer, but that's not as important as getting the job.

If you are really a teacher and a coach, i.e., you care about the kids you're teaching, you won't attempt this without knowledge deeper than you can acquire in the next few months. Your job as a coach is to improve the skills and capabilities of your individual players and of your team. (Will you go for power in the lineup or rely on singles and speed? What's your defensive philosophy? How can you decide without being able to assess your players' strengths? Can you spot a hitch in a swing? Where's the batter shifting weight as the pitcher delivers? Could a change in gloves help your shortstop get the ball into play faster?)

In short, you are much more likely to hurt the development of the kids than you are to help them, Disney movies notwithstanding. If this was PeeWee League, it would be different, but the level of high school sports nowadays require something more than a complete newcomer. Your enthusiasm, willingness to learn and self-awareness are terrific assets; you just need some more experience to be the kind of teacher/coach that I'm sure you want to be.
posted by joaquim at 3:58 PM on April 23 [1 favorite]

First, I'd likely register my hesitance to take on a coaching position of something you don't personally feel comfortable with. nthing what everyone else has said about that. But it sounds like your season isn't really that competitive -- in my high school region, at least, the competitive softball season happened in the fall, not spring, and it was longer than a month (I'm pretty sure, but it's been awhile). Also, if you have different teams, would you be coaching a varsity or JV team? If the stakes aren't too high you have a lot more leeway in learning as you go. If your kids aren't playing to win every game and get athletic scholarships and all that then I think you might be okay. My best times in softball came from hanging out with everyone, not with winning the games (and we almost never won).

If you do get the job, be up front with your kids about not fully knowing what you're doing. They'll know when you screw up (and you will) and they'll be a lot more forgiving if they know. Pretending to know things you don't will just make them lose respect for you, which makes your job infinitely harder in the short-term and nobody will want to join the team in the long-run.

I only played softball for two years, so I can't be specific about that, but I am a coach for a high school debate team. Debate isn't softball, obviously, but I think some things about coaching hold. First, it took me awhile to realize that coaching something is far, far different than actually doing something. I was very good at what I did, but it took almost 3 years for me to get my feet under me in coaching because you have to think about the activity in a much different way. Second, it took awhile to develop that different mindset. I think most coaches are probably pretty bad those first few years while they figure everything out, and that's okay.
posted by lilac girl at 5:08 PM on April 23

I think it would be an important thing to find out what the administration expects of a first-year softball coach. Is their program a strong one already (doubtful, if they're ready to turn the program over to a new teacher with no experience)? Do they want to build a strong program (possible, but less likely, again, for the same reason as above)? Do they just want to field a team, regardless of how competitive it is or isn't (sounds like this may be the case)?

There are lots of opportunities for softball these days. A school team is just one. Find out what the softball situation is like in your area. If the girls have plenty of options to play in addition to their school team, then I would not listen to the critics who tell you that you are doing a disservice to the kids. It's just not that big a deal, compared to the travel leagues and tournaments and showcases and exhibitions and clinics and camps and professional coaches that kids have available to them.

But if this is those girls' only chance to play, you do have a bit of an ethical dilemma on your hands. Can you do right by these girls, given your lack of experience, even if you study the game from now until the first practice? Be upfront with the administration, so that they can provide you with help, or put you in a less responsible position (assistant coach perhaps).
posted by SuperSquirrel at 5:40 PM on April 23

As an ex mentor: get to know your admins, principals et al will be your best allies.
posted by Meemer at 10:50 PM on April 23

do you have to be head coach? could you be an assistant for a year or two first? could you coach PE instead of a team? I am having a hard time with this question because i have a daughter who is an athlete and it makes me highly angry that some of the coaches she will have are only in that position becuase the school system made it a condition of their hiring.

however, here spring softball is slow pitch which is a whole different animal from fastpitch. that might be easier to get a handle on.
posted by domino at 6:25 AM on April 24

I'd do tennis.

I played tennis in high school in an area where most teams had non-tennis playing coaches. The quality of coaches had no effect on the team.

If the tennis team is ok, all you need is some leaders on the team. Talk to them about what to do, really. They'll tell you drills to have for the lesser players. To make the lineups you typically have the players "challenge" each other.

In your first year, you'll mostly be a chaperone and administrator.
posted by sandmanwv at 9:23 AM on April 24