Saturday Addendum
One thing I don’t think emphasized enough was how different I am as a coach this year compared to last year. I see how Steve is coaching this year, commenting nearly relentlessly and I know I did almost as much of that last year. When we started to unravel a bit, Steve was having a difficult time handling his frustration, and I know I felt similarly last year. I really think basketball changed this about me. I do less is more when it comes to comments, while still making sure the good outweighs the critical. And when the game that had been a blow-out started to get close, I felt it, but I worked hard to not let it show. I know that several of my parents, most notably Lucas’s dad, loved the fact that I always remained calm and I think this is a big reason we won nearly every close game we had. To be honest I even said something when Steve got audibly flustered that I shouldn’t have said (something like “Calm down” in a quiet and nice way). Anyhow, coaching baseball has made me see how much I’ve grown as a coach and I’m real pleased with the new me during games.
Tuesday Practice
Monday night Steve calls me. Long story short, in a month he’s going to unexpectedly lose his apartment and he and his roommate have to go hunting Tuesday during practice. This is going to leave me on my own for only our second practice.
Last week we’d developed a really awesome practice plan, for the Wednesday practice that was canceled due to rain. I basically decide to go with a modified version of this practice. The practice is going to be heavy on base running with a minor in hitting/bunting.
I get to the field and Jeremy Me is the first to arrive. We play catch for a bit. 5:45, the nominal start time of practice rolls around and he’s the only one there. Now I knew we’d have quite a few late players due to religious school, but I expected more than one kid at the start of practice. Our practice doesn’t start, therefore, in actuality until 6. Practice ends at 7 so it is a short practice. When we start there is only Jeremy Me, Sean, Jared, Cameron and Nick. Austin and Alec came to drop off Nick, but their mother basically couldn’t deal with logistical issues involving having Austin and Alec there so they missed. As we were throwing a little before practice started Nick and Jared were both concerned about their pitching performance. I reassured Jared he’d get to pitch again and Nick that he’d get to pitch two innings again.
We started off with some sprinting competitions with a sample 1st base and home plate. I would yell “Ball 4”, they’d drop their bat and run, going through the bag at first. After a little initial groaning they had some fun with it. We also practiced sprinting down to first and then making the turn towards second. As we were working on this Jeremy Ma, Jeremy F, Matt S, and Nof all showed up. We then worked on a drill where they practiced leading off as soon as the ball crossed home plate from the pitcher. All of these drills are designed to send the message that we will be aggressive on the base paths and to give them the practice that they need to do it. Aggressive base running can mean 1 or 2 runs every single game and I want to make sure we get them all.
By this time it was almost time for us to get the field. I did one last quick game where they were partnered up and I gave them 20 seconds. The goal was to throw back and forth as many times as possible in that time. They were about 2/3 of the distance between bases. The idea here is teach them on how to get the ball out of their gloves and make accurate throws under pressure.
Then it was time for us to take the field. The missing fifteen minutes of instruction would have been devoted to the basics of bunting and some individual hitting instruction (had Steve been there). I decided to go ahead with modified batting practice, where they can earn extra swings based on their bunting ability, anyway giving a very cursory bunting lesson. None of our batters were particularly successful with the bunting, understandably. I’m not sure that this hitting was the best use of time, actually, but they were clamoring to hit and this activity was on my practice so I did it. After the modified BP, we did the “how many bases can you get” game as this is both a throwing game (our one weakness so far) and a hitting game. We still had quite a few errant throws. By this time practice was almost over and so I ended us with a throwing relay race competition.
For this practice I feel like I gave excellent base running instruction. My hitting instruction was so-so, though I did make good progress with our novice bunters.
The big revelation of practice was that the ball Jeremy F rocketed during the game was no fluke. Both during BP and the game he KILLED the ball. He actually got 7 bases during the game, which is about the most you could get.
Nof is going to be our weakest hitter. His fundamentals just aren’t strong and he knows it. He’s an incredibly nice kid though and so hopefully we’ll be able to help him. Matt S is also weak, though he can wallop the ball if he gets a piece of it.
Nothing really stands out either way from any of the others.
Week Wrap-up
Heavens forbid that we actually get a full week of baseball in, our game yesterday was canceled due to rain (hardly unexpected). The forecast is favorable for Saturday though not so good for Tuesday and Wednesday for next week. There is a possibility we won’t play on Saturday as the fields could still be too wet, but hopefully that won’t happen.
I also received a sad email today from Kevin. Justin G has broken his arm and is going to be out for 3 weeks. We’re certainly going to miss his good cheer, his bat, and his pitching. Basically we’re going to miss him. I haven’t talked him yet, but am going to see if he’d be interested in coming to some of the games and perhaps doing some base coaching (not too much harm they can do at 1st base).
Hopefully you’ll see another update on Saturday.
Showing posts with label Jeremy F. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jeremy F. Show all posts
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Saturday, April 21, 2007
BoSox vs. Yankees
Pre-Game
Steve and I were hanging out the night before and so we ended up making the lineups Friday night. Jeremy Ma was going to be unable to attend since we was going to the Bulls/Heat playoff game, lucky guy. We decided that we wanted to continue trying lots of different kids in different spots. We also agreed to give Jared and Austin a chance to pitch. All of our kids would see three innings of infield in the game if we went the full sixth, a possibility given the nice forecast, which we felt real good about.
Our team arrived early and with energy for our second game. I did some work before the game with Jared on his pitching. He didn’t look particularly strong. I changed him from working out of the windup to working out of the stretch. Still could have been far better. I need to really brush up on my pitching instruction since I’ve not been able to give the sort of specific tips to my pitchers that I’d like to be able to do.
The Game
The other game ends and we’re up to bat, facing the Yankees. We go down 1-2-3, though with no strike outs which is good. We gave Jared the start since we want to use him at catcher and it’s good, we’ve learned, to have them pitch before catching. Based on our work before the game, I knew that it could get real ugly. Sure enough he walks the first batter and second batter after going to full counts each time. He induces the next batter to ground out to second before walking two more. At this point he’s reached his limit and so I have to pull him, having also walked in a run. In comes Justin, who was scheduled to pitch the second. I feel good about Justin pitching as we know he’ll get the ball over. He lives up to our expectations, striking out the first batter, and doing the old ground-out to center (there was a force at second). Still they score 1 and we once again will have to play from behind.
Fortunately, we’re not behind for too long. After Matt A (who’s been nicknamed Noff) gets a walk, Sean hits into a fielder’s choice getting Noff out at second. Jeremy F then singles. Jeremy M singles in Sean. Jeremy F is now at third. It is here that I learn that he’s an absolute nervous nelly on the basepaths. He’s just terrified of getting out. To the point where he won’t even lead off at third. It doesn’t batter as after Cameron walks, Justin hits into a fielders choice scoring Jeremy. Nick ends the inning with a ground out and we capture the lead 2-1.
Justin comes back in and after allowing a walk to the first batter gets the next three out so we maintain our lead. Jared starts our inning with a strike out. Matt S then hits a hard hit ball that gets underneath their shortstops glove for a single. He ends up scoring after advancing to second on a fielders choice and a single by Alec.
We have another new pitcher in Austin, who we have throw to his brother. This is an unmitigated disaster. While Justin showed some signs of progress, Austin is a long way from being a pitcher we can use. After four consecutive walks, we use Cameron in relief. Cameron looks a lot better than he did in the first game. It looks like we might get away with only allowing one run, until one of their guys hits a base clearing triple. We end up allowing four runs giving them a 5-4 lead.
We need some runs in the fourth and Sean starts things out well by getting a single. He then steals second. I tell him to steal a half second too late, on a particularly poor catcher, and he gets called out, just barely. Whoops. Anyhow, Jeremy F then hits a single, steals second and third. Jeremy M unfortunately pops up to the pitcher for the second out. Cameron walks, and steals second easily, which is nice because Justin then drives in Jeremy, advancing Cameron to third. Nick hits another single driving in Justin. Jared continues our little rally, but unfortunately Matt grounds out to the pitcher. However, we’ve recaptured the lead, 6-5, Bo Sox. The bottom of the inning, with our ace pitcher Nick, goes as expected with his striking out the side on 14 pitches.
We then continue our offensive spurt scoring four more thanks to singles by Austin and Alec, a walk by Sean, a triple by Jeremy F, on a hit that he just laced, who scores on a single by Jeremy M. Four more runs gives us a 10-5 lead. The bottom of the fifth is going to be our last inning. We’ve got our best pitcher up. I’m thinking the game is in the bag. Except it just doesn’t happen that way. Nick gets a couple of bad calls on some strikes. This isn’t helped by the fact that Matt S, who is catching, isn’t a particularly good catcher. Nothing is working for Nick and we eventually have to pull him, with the bases loaded, only one out and having already surrendered 3 runs. In comes Jeremy M. His dad made a big deal the first day we met him how we pitched in relief last year. When he gets to the mound I ask him what we’re expecting him to do. He tells me “close the game”. I agree that is what we’re asking, but I ask him how he’s going to do that. He tells me “throw strikes”. I agree that this is the way. I tell him not to worry about letting them hit the ball, just to get it over the plate. He promptly ignores my advice (ok not really) and strikes out the first batter. This then brings up the strongest player on their team. On a 2-2 count the kid gets a hold of the ball. Fortunately Jared is out in left. He tracks down the ball and we escape with another win.
Post Game thoughts
The game ball went to Jeremy F, who was 3-3 including his great triple. He’s a nervous kid and I’m real glad he had some success today. Austin and Alec are going to need a lot of work on their hitting, as they’re just ugly to watch right now.
At catcher, Jared remains our strongest catcher, with Sean our second best catcher there today (Jeremy Ma might be better). Alec didn’t look nearly as good today and Matt S looked bad. Matt S really has a desire to play the position so it looks like he’s going to be Steve’s project this year.
Our fielding remains strong, with only one error, by Jeremy F at short, while our throwing could use some work. We’ll do some of that at our next practice, of course.
Overall, we continued to hit well today. Considering we had to remove three pitchers because they had walked four batters, to come away with the victory is just wonderful. I think we’re really starting to get a feel for who we can count on as pitchers and who we won’t be able to. Steve and I remain very upbeat about what we’ll able to achieve this year.
Steve and I were hanging out the night before and so we ended up making the lineups Friday night. Jeremy Ma was going to be unable to attend since we was going to the Bulls/Heat playoff game, lucky guy. We decided that we wanted to continue trying lots of different kids in different spots. We also agreed to give Jared and Austin a chance to pitch. All of our kids would see three innings of infield in the game if we went the full sixth, a possibility given the nice forecast, which we felt real good about.
Our team arrived early and with energy for our second game. I did some work before the game with Jared on his pitching. He didn’t look particularly strong. I changed him from working out of the windup to working out of the stretch. Still could have been far better. I need to really brush up on my pitching instruction since I’ve not been able to give the sort of specific tips to my pitchers that I’d like to be able to do.
The Game
The other game ends and we’re up to bat, facing the Yankees. We go down 1-2-3, though with no strike outs which is good. We gave Jared the start since we want to use him at catcher and it’s good, we’ve learned, to have them pitch before catching. Based on our work before the game, I knew that it could get real ugly. Sure enough he walks the first batter and second batter after going to full counts each time. He induces the next batter to ground out to second before walking two more. At this point he’s reached his limit and so I have to pull him, having also walked in a run. In comes Justin, who was scheduled to pitch the second. I feel good about Justin pitching as we know he’ll get the ball over. He lives up to our expectations, striking out the first batter, and doing the old ground-out to center (there was a force at second). Still they score 1 and we once again will have to play from behind.
Fortunately, we’re not behind for too long. After Matt A (who’s been nicknamed Noff) gets a walk, Sean hits into a fielder’s choice getting Noff out at second. Jeremy F then singles. Jeremy M singles in Sean. Jeremy F is now at third. It is here that I learn that he’s an absolute nervous nelly on the basepaths. He’s just terrified of getting out. To the point where he won’t even lead off at third. It doesn’t batter as after Cameron walks, Justin hits into a fielders choice scoring Jeremy. Nick ends the inning with a ground out and we capture the lead 2-1.
Justin comes back in and after allowing a walk to the first batter gets the next three out so we maintain our lead. Jared starts our inning with a strike out. Matt S then hits a hard hit ball that gets underneath their shortstops glove for a single. He ends up scoring after advancing to second on a fielders choice and a single by Alec.
We have another new pitcher in Austin, who we have throw to his brother. This is an unmitigated disaster. While Justin showed some signs of progress, Austin is a long way from being a pitcher we can use. After four consecutive walks, we use Cameron in relief. Cameron looks a lot better than he did in the first game. It looks like we might get away with only allowing one run, until one of their guys hits a base clearing triple. We end up allowing four runs giving them a 5-4 lead.
We need some runs in the fourth and Sean starts things out well by getting a single. He then steals second. I tell him to steal a half second too late, on a particularly poor catcher, and he gets called out, just barely. Whoops. Anyhow, Jeremy F then hits a single, steals second and third. Jeremy M unfortunately pops up to the pitcher for the second out. Cameron walks, and steals second easily, which is nice because Justin then drives in Jeremy, advancing Cameron to third. Nick hits another single driving in Justin. Jared continues our little rally, but unfortunately Matt grounds out to the pitcher. However, we’ve recaptured the lead, 6-5, Bo Sox. The bottom of the inning, with our ace pitcher Nick, goes as expected with his striking out the side on 14 pitches.
We then continue our offensive spurt scoring four more thanks to singles by Austin and Alec, a walk by Sean, a triple by Jeremy F, on a hit that he just laced, who scores on a single by Jeremy M. Four more runs gives us a 10-5 lead. The bottom of the fifth is going to be our last inning. We’ve got our best pitcher up. I’m thinking the game is in the bag. Except it just doesn’t happen that way. Nick gets a couple of bad calls on some strikes. This isn’t helped by the fact that Matt S, who is catching, isn’t a particularly good catcher. Nothing is working for Nick and we eventually have to pull him, with the bases loaded, only one out and having already surrendered 3 runs. In comes Jeremy M. His dad made a big deal the first day we met him how we pitched in relief last year. When he gets to the mound I ask him what we’re expecting him to do. He tells me “close the game”. I agree that is what we’re asking, but I ask him how he’s going to do that. He tells me “throw strikes”. I agree that this is the way. I tell him not to worry about letting them hit the ball, just to get it over the plate. He promptly ignores my advice (ok not really) and strikes out the first batter. This then brings up the strongest player on their team. On a 2-2 count the kid gets a hold of the ball. Fortunately Jared is out in left. He tracks down the ball and we escape with another win.
Post Game thoughts
The game ball went to Jeremy F, who was 3-3 including his great triple. He’s a nervous kid and I’m real glad he had some success today. Austin and Alec are going to need a lot of work on their hitting, as they’re just ugly to watch right now.
At catcher, Jared remains our strongest catcher, with Sean our second best catcher there today (Jeremy Ma might be better). Alec didn’t look nearly as good today and Matt S looked bad. Matt S really has a desire to play the position so it looks like he’s going to be Steve’s project this year.
Our fielding remains strong, with only one error, by Jeremy F at short, while our throwing could use some work. We’ll do some of that at our next practice, of course.
Overall, we continued to hit well today. Considering we had to remove three pitchers because they had walked four batters, to come away with the victory is just wonderful. I think we’re really starting to get a feel for who we can count on as pitchers and who we won’t be able to. Steve and I remain very upbeat about what we’ll able to achieve this year.
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