Catching Up Part 2

So unlike in past years where there was a break between baseball and basketball seasons, this year indoor baseball practices had already begun before basketball ended. This was the difference between doing travel and house league. So after the disappointment of basketball, I’m not exactly firing on all cylinders as we get ready for baseball. And the weather makes things worse. We played our first tournament at the end of April and we had exactly 1 outdoor practice before then. We’d seen kids hit a live baseball twice and never in any sort of game situation. At several practices we’d done pitching so I thought I’d had a good feel for that. And we spent a LOT LOT LOT of time working with groundballs so I thought we’d be OK there.

We come to our first tournament and it’s like 8 year olds playing 9 year olds. Except that our opponents were also only 8. In that first tournament we faced teams that play year round and boy did it show. That said we were on the short end of the talent stick. And it was painful. Our best pitcher in the first game pitched two innings of lights of pitching. And after that we were lost. We went through 4 pitchers in one inning at one point. It was not good. And our hitting didn’t have a chance against their pitching. And while our groundballs were OK our throwing resulted in error, after error, after error.

On the other hand, the house league team we were coaching overflowed with talent. It didn’t hurt that we had the best player that we’d seen in the 4 years of doing it. The kid pitched almost nothing but strikes and he could hit homerun after homerun. And half the team could pitch. We won only about half of our regular season games, but that was OK, or at least we thought it was. However, in the last couple of games we tried to switch on to playoff mentality. This was all similar to previous years. And our team couldn’t make the jump. We lost our last game, closely, a game we should have won easily. And in the first round of the playoffs we lost to a team we’d beaten handily the first two times we played them. It was a disappointing end to the season.

But the real thing was that while the travel team was struggling and struggling mightily it was good to have this other team in our pocket. Of course the house league season ended well before travel and so then it just became all about a team who hadn’t won a game. If I had to assign responsibility I’d say 80% of it lay with a lack of team talent. Most of the kids belonged on a B or C level travel team. We played nearly all A level teams. They simply couldn’t expect to match-up and they didn’t.

But that other 20% is the fault of Steve and I. Some of it is that we didn’t step up our coaching. We had many more opportunities, but we didn’t really take advantage of them until later on in the season. Not coincidentally as our coaching improved so did our team, though we did get an assist by playing teams who were B rather than A on a more regular basis. A good example is a player who we had who dropped his shoulder. First there is the issue that I am simply a poor hitting coach. Steve is much better than I and recognizing faults with hitting. But Steve, while able to diagnose the problem, isn’t very good at fixing it. So we had this kid who dropped his shoulder and we knew it. Finally during the last tournament of the year, I really started doing 1 on 1 work with him where we would do soft toss, meaning I was throwing to him from the side. If he would drop his shoulder, he’d have to step-out and do five practices swings, correctly. Good practice swings too not just half-hearted ones. And he made progress. It was good. But it also came too late.
Then there were the parents. Losing teams are almost always going to have difficult parents and our team was no exception. And, as I’ve already stated, we do bear some responsibility for the poor performance, which never helps. Much better to have irrationally irate parents since it’s much easier to wave off (though that’s still what Steve and I did to a large extent).

All this wasn’t too great, but what pushed me over the edge from being a long painful season to one filled with anger was what happened with Eric and Brian, who run the program for the Park District. The big issue came when Mark, a parent who was the team’s logistics guy, wanted to schedule an extra game. Except Steve and I weren’t available. I because of a genuine commitment, Steve because his commitment to a team waxes and wanes with the success of the team. I’m sure mine does as well, it’s just easier to notice in someone else. So we told Mark that we didn’t want to do the game. He then absolutely goes off on us, but more so me, in an email. Steve wants to call Mark that night and tell him off, but I convince him to call Brian instead. It appears that Eric and Brian have our backs. Except they don’t and the game ends up getting scheduled, after much consternation. Essentially we get left out to dry. Steve and I were particularly opposed to the game since we hadn’t won a game, but knew this would be a team we’d have a chance against. Sure enough we won. Certainly didn’t help our image with some of the parents. I gave serious consideration to resigning on principle, but decided that there was only a month left in the season so it wasn’t worth the hassle.

So we finished the season. And overall it was a positive end to the season. In particular we played very well in our last tournament and actually had a chance to move out of bracket play, so that was pretty cool considering how few games we were competitive, let alone won, the whole season. It was nice after a terrible season to end on a high note.

Our season ended with a July 4th tourney, as the team was designed to let people go to overnight camp. And when baseball ended my whole outlook lightened up. During basketball I gave serious consideration to officiating rather than coaching this fall. And I’ve gone through the process of becoming a patched basketball official. However, I felt that I needed to give coaching one more shot. I hope it’s a good experience. I know I’m a better coach now than when I started. The question is whether I’m good enough. And I simply don’t know. So we’ll see.

Try-outs are on Monday and it has occupied nearly the same mental space as it did last year. Last year I would think about it constantly. This year I’ve done a lot of work on improving my skills, but when I’m not doing that basketball hasn’t crept into my thoughts or sleep like it did last year. I don’t know if this is a good thing, as I learn how to better develop the stress, or a bad thing signifying that I’ve emotionally tuned out. Like I said we’ll see.