READ PART 1 HERE
Author’s Note: After submitting the story about Manchester Youth Baseball, I realized that I neglected to include the information relevant to Girls Softball.
THE FACTS:
For a variety of reasons, girls’ softball has always taken a back seat to boys’ baseball. The statistics show just how extreme the disparity has become. They will also show how important the position of head coach has been and will continue to be.
In the ’70s (5), ’80s (4), and ’90s (4), Manchester’s three public high schools reached the finals in Division 1 baseball 13 times, winning the state title in seven of them.
No Manchester public high school has appeared in a Division 1 baseball final since 2006.
In the ’70s (1), ’80s (4), ’90s (2), and ’00s (1), Manchester’s three public high schools reached the finals in Division 1 softball 8 times, winning the state title in five of them.
No Manchester public high school has appeared in a Division 1 softball final since 2006. Central has NEVER appeared in a D1 final.
Additionally, softball has joined baseball with high schools having to combine to have enough players to field a team.
Below you will find the pertinent information. Hopefully, you’ll notice that youth baseball offers Little League, Pony League, Cal Ripken, and Babe Ruth as well as 5 travel teams for parents to select from yet softball offer only Manchester Girls Softball League and 2 travel teams.
MANCHESTER GIRLS SOFTBALL LEAGUE (AGES 4-18) – PADDEN FIELD
5 DIVISION 22 TEAMS (200 GIRLS) RECREATIONAL AND FAST PITCH
Information included: TEAM, AGES, COST, CUTS, COACHES
MINIS 4-7 * INTRODUCTORY $65 volunteers
MITES 7-8 * focuses on foundational skills $65
* may move up or down
MINORS 9-10 * INTERMEDIATE $65
JUNIORS 11-14 * ADVANCED INTERMEDIATE $65
SENIORS 15-18 * HIGHEST (for older players) $65
TOTAL GAMES PLAYED – 12-15
SEASON LENGTH – APRIL- END OF JUNE
FOR MORE INFORMATIOM – mgslnh.com
* MANCHESTER JUNIOR DEB SOFTBALL HAS CEASED OPERATION.
SOFTBALL TRAVEL TEAMS
NH COMETS10U-18U $600 – $1,200 – younger, less intensive teams salaried
$2,000 – 3,000 – older, showcase teams
Costs cover team fees, uniforms, indoor winter training, and coaching, but don’t cover travel expenses like hotels
TOTAL GAMES PLAYED – 25-40
SEASON LENGTH – MID-MAY TO EARLY JULY
FOR MORE INFORMATIOM – president@nhcomets.org
NH LIGHTNING 10-18, $1,500 salaried
Cost covers tournaments, insurance, indoor training. coaching
Focuses on skill development – year round training and tournaments
TOTAL GAMES PLAYED – 40-50+
SEASON LENGTH – MAY TO LATE JULY
FOR MORE INFORMATIOM –nhlightningpresident@gmail.com
* The average salary for travel softball coaches in NH range from $38700 to $40400
* Information taken from Google Search
Part 2 is of equal importance because it deals with two critical parts.
- The “foundation” – BOARD OF DIRECTORS
- The “direct contact” – COACHES
“SPOTLIGHT ON…”
BOARDS OF DIRECTORS, COACHES, AND PARENTS
FROM: LONGTIME OFFICIALS AND COACHES
TO: PRESENT BOARDS OF DIRECTORS, COACHES, AND
ESPECIALLY, THE PARENTS OF KIDS IN YOUTH SPORTS
Part 2
THIS IS FOR THE INDIVIDUAL BOARDS OF DIRECTORS
Important questions for you:
What one is the “reputation” of YOUR league?
A. Organized, well-run with good coaching
B. Organized, but lacks good coaching
C. Disorganized, poor communication
D. Shady finances, fees, uniform costs, sponsorship
TO HELP YOU DECIDE, HERE ARE SOME “SIGNS”…
A. A RED FLAG: Your coaches continue to talk about winning as the primary goal.
Winning is important but shouldn’t be the sole focus.
Have your coaches improved their players skills, emphasized teamwork, built their character, developed a love for baseball?
If Yes, keep that coach. If No, time for that coach to move on.
A SOLUTION: Be sure to do a complete review of your coaching staff to be sure they each reflect the league’s expectations of the division/level of the players they’re coaching.
B. A RED FLAG: You have a high turnover rate from previous year.
If more than two or three players who were talented athletes, don’t return, it could be a sign of poor coaching, unhealthy team “culture” (into things away from baseball), or players believing they’ve learned little to nothing.
A SOLUTION: The coach may know baseball, but there’s more to coaching than knowing the game. Does the coach have good “people skills”? (ability to talk to a parent without turning a mushroom into a mountain?)
Easy question to ask…Is the coach “Fair”?
Tough to answer…If the answer is NO, replace the coach.
C. A RED FLAG: You have insufficient outdoor practice time.
If players aren’t provided sufficient practice time, the mistakes they make during games will continue. The coaches should be recording the mistakes the players are making and review them during practice so they can be, if not eliminated, at least reduced.
“Repetition is retention.” If players keep making the same mistakes and sufficient practice time isn’t provided, the wrong things are retained.
A SOLUTION: Practice must be held DURING the season, not just BEFORE They must cover the problems the players re experiencing before new skills drills are added. Every player has at least one weakness. Be sure every player’s weakness is resolved. If THAT coach can’t do it, let him/her ask for help.
D. A RED FLAG: Little to no participation in competitive tournaments
The level of competition plays an important part in player development. A very talented player offered a comment I’ve never forgotten. When I asked what he did to keep the position he played from being taken by another talented player, he answered…”I just practiced harder, played harder, didn’t cut corners, and worked on my weaknesses.” The result? Not only did he get better, so did his teammates who still tried to take his position away from him. “Icing on the cake”? A VERY strong, competitive TEAM.
A SOLUTION: Be sure to schedule games against challenging competition, even if it means going out of district. Better competition makes better players.
OK. You’ve read through each of the RED FLAGS as well as the SOLUTIONS.
Now which of the four is yours?
A. Organized, well-run with good coaching
B. Organized, but lacks good coaching
C. Disorganized, poor communication
D. Shady finances, fees, uniform costs, sponsorship
AN IMPORTANT QUESTION:
Travel Baseball/Travel Softball (TB/TS) often claims that kids will benefit more from joining one of their teams rather than staying with a LL or MGSL team because the coaching is better as is the competition due to better players participating.
How true do you believe that statement to be?
Even though it’s expensive, more and more parents are turning to TB/TS. The question is “Why?”.
If LL, CR, PL, NHGS and HS has really good coaches and stocks its teams with good players (rather than finding a spot for everybody), will it sway kids from going to TB/TS? Probably not, especially if your son or daughter is REALLY talented. The only way you’ll know for sure is by doing an in-depth search.
That is why we are starting with the boards of directors of Manchester’s youth baseball leagues. This includes Cal Ripken, Manchester Little League, North-Hooksett Little League, Manchester Pony League, and Manchester Girls Softball League.
Simply put, no matter what league you choose, the boards select the coaches.,,and that’s critical.
Because of the success it has enjoyed over the years in a variety of sports, Manchester was once referred to as “TITLE TOWN” by my favorite sports journalist, former member of the English department at Manchester West High School, Joe Sullivan, who also served as a coach in several sports as well as a writer for the Union Leader.
In his popular “Column As I See ‘Em” sports section, he listed 110 males and females who served as coaches of a variety of sports,
It’s been years since I read his original column, but I found the article and, out of curiosity, I went through the list of names to see how many I could remember. I remembered 100 of the 110. At first it surprised me because, at 82 years of age, I’m having a tough time remembering anything…that is, anything except sports.
Their names came easily because of their success in the Queen City’s sports…and it didn’t matter at which level! They excelled in all the levels of youth sports…mentoring kids from 5 years old to 18.
My hope is that a future Manchester sports journalist will be able to generate another list of successful coaches from the more recent generations whose names will be forever remembered.
The success at any level is most often the result of good coaching. It is for that purpose we are offering the following that has been compiled from our hundreds of years of officiating and coaching.
Bluntly put, because we’ve all “been there and done that”, we’re saying…make that SCREAMING…
IT ALL STARTS WITH THE COACHING:
1. EVERYTHING STARTS AT THE TOP
A. Everyone has to be kept in the loop/on same page
* Keep your parents in the loop with how you plan on developing your athletes & what is expected from your parents — being on time, supporting them through good and bad times, etc.
2. COACHES NEED TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE
A. To be successful, a coach has to have a plan.
B. A head coach can’t just show up and do whatever he/she wants.
* Everyone learns differently and at different paces.
* Coaches need to adapt to their athletes and sometimes realize there is a lack of talent and basic skills need to be taught first before moving on to advanced skills.
C. A coach’s responsibility is to develop athletes by eliminating their weaknesses & refining their strengths
* The first few practices are critical because they will reveal weaknesses and strengths
D. Youth sports are much different than watching the Red Sox.
* Teach everyone like it’s their first time playing the game.
* Educate them on all the small stuff before teaching higher level skills and concepts.
* Stop sending athletes on to the next level (especially high school) with no understanding of the game.
* Teach skills and concepts/strategy.
3. CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT OVER WINNING
* Teach them how to play the game right & play hard, how to win/lose with class.
* Be a positive role model & understand there is value in losing if corrected the right way
4. EMPHASIZE TEAM-FIRST & RESPECT
A. Find roles for everyone to get everyone involved.
B. Everyone needs to be apart of it – even your below-average players
C. Find things every athlete can do well and get them involved
D. Need everyone to feel like they are apart of something
E. Find things every athlete can do well and get them involved
* Coaches get greedy and only want to start and play their “best” players every game.
* Look for opportunities to start and play all your players at some point during the season. * Give them roles and get them involved early in each season
5. COACHES CAN’T TRY TO BE SOMETHING THEY ARE NOT.
A. Athletes will see through you
B. Teach what you know / understand well
C. Use YouTube, other coaches or players, & social media to learn skills
* Be realistic as a coach, you’re not coaching professionals.
* Don’t teach what you don’t know. Not only will athletes see right through you, they’ll create bad habits.
* Learn the basics then learn how to coach the basics.
* Many high school / middle school coaches will share their skills and knowledge. Use them!
* Good coaches become great coaches by “borrowing” from other coaches. What works for them may work for you.
D. If you don’t understand a concept or a mechanic – learn it
E. Don’t teach it incorrectly
6. PRIORITIZE PROPER MECHANICS/SKILLS, FUNDAMENTALS, AND STRATEGY
A. Understand & teach how the game is played for kids, not MLB.
B. Basic fundamentals are fine!
C. Don’t have to know every in & out of the game
D. Know the basics & teach them daily
* Basic fundamentals are lost in today’s youth sports.
* Identify the most used/basic fundamentals and skills or mechanics needed in your sport and practice them daily.
* You can’t teach sports at a high level before learning the basics.
* Example: if you can’t catch a ball on defense (baseball), why do you only hit all practice.
7. THE EXPERIENCE SHOULD MAKE THEM WANT TO COME BACK AGAIN NEXT YEAR
* Create a positive and fun environment.
* Can’t just be boring and long drills every practice.
* It’s more fun to have competitions & learn the game through game-like situations
8. BE AWARE OF OVERUSE INJURIES / BURNOUT
A. Big problem for athletes as they get to high school due to not taking care of their arms/bodies in youth sports.
B. Only playing one sport or having no breaks can burn kids out.
C. Added unnecessary pressure can cause this, too.
* The pressure comes from the coach’s ego
If by now you’re still not sure, take my wife, Kay’s, advice. Go to watch games played in the leagues you’re considering. It will give you a close up and personal look at a number of things.
BTW…
Be sure to watch the behavior of the fans. That will give you a great look at how the league handles discipline problems.
Remember…a future column will explain what membership on a Board of Directors entails and how important they are to creating successful sports programs.
Be looking for it…
TO THE RESPECTIVE BOARDS OF DIRECTORS, COACHES, AND PARENTS…
We hope what we’ve offered will be of help to you…ALL OF YOU.
Why? From membership on different boards of directors, coaching or officiating at a variety of levels, and we’ve all been parents, you can believe it because we’ve already been there, done that.
Sincerely,
Ted Mensward on behalf of NH Dunk-N-Diamonds
