Paul Reddick of the "90MPHClub.com" nails it. Watch the full video and comment. Problem is, this completely falls on deaf ears if you are a the target of his comments.
I understand where he's coming from since I'm also from the school of Berra on how I grew up and played ball for 22 years. I think you can have a healthy tournament schedule with THE RIGHT COACHES! Unfortunately, in tournament situations, you just don't have the right coaches that can mentally be strong enough to handle winning vs. losing.
Last Fall, Some parents and I put together a practice squad of families/kids we liked and decided to play in one of those 10U tourneys just for fun. We didn't even have proper uniforms because we were truly just brushing up on the kids' skill base.
It was eye opening to see how a few (not all) of the "professional" managers/coaches acted around the kids. I even caught one of them teaching his team how to cheat (no joke!). Many of the parents seemed to be accepting of the behavior as long as the team won...sad thing is, one of them was a family we used to coach with, and I really liked them and never in a million years thought they would go along with it.
Paul Reddick is a knob. I've been coaching for years, including Little League (Spring and Fall leagues), Babe Ruth, tournaments, etc. I find the tournament coaches much more knowledgable and great baseball guys. Are their some jerks; you bet. But by and large, tournament coaches are more serious about baseball, do a fantastic job of teaching the kids (regardless of what Reddick says), and are much better sports.
Most tournament players and coaches go out and play for the reps, not the glory. Players can get much higher quality reps playing in tournaments than in rec ball. The intensity of rec All Stars is much higher than in weekend tournaments, and every year it brings the worst out in players, parents, and coaches. Every parent thinks that because their kid is on the All Star team, that they should be the star of that team. I've coached many All Star teams, and it's one of the biggest headaches in coaching.
So Paul, stick to schlepping your pitching products and Amway, and leave the coaching to the coaches. I understand your frustration with travel coaches taking away your business, but at least be honest about it.
I think the only right approach is getting in the reps with better competition. It is true about tournament kids pitching more innings than they should during the normal season.
Dead on Paul. The dad-coaches and adults are really damaging the game. There is rarely any coaching and teaching and if they do it usually is more harm than good. We need more sandlot ball where adults do not have a big stake in winning and losing. Players cannot be manufactured is correct. http://www.coachandplaybaseball.com/index.html
Agreed! My son plays spring and fall ball and this year we found that the amount of kids playing tourney ball has increased. Almost taking over LL. Some teams had more than half the kids missing on tournament weekends. The couches clearly favor the tourney kids without a doubt. And we were actually told, at the beginning of the season, our kids can learn from them. What happened to actually wanting to coach your WHOLE team to become better baseball players? Are parents now supposed to sign up the kids to play tournament ball, just to get play time? It's getting crazy! What happen to baseball SEASON! New tourney teams are popping everywhere because its a huge money maker.
I understand where he's coming from since I'm also from the school of Berra on how I grew up and played ball for 22 years. I think you can have a healthy tournament schedule with THE RIGHT COACHES! Unfortunately, in tournament situations, you just don't have the right coaches that can mentally be strong enough to handle winning vs. losing.
ReplyDelete-Brad Evans
Brad,
ReplyDeleteUsually the tournament coaches don't consider the making of kids "men of character and better ball players" winning.
Agreed.
ReplyDeleteLast Fall, Some parents and I put together a practice squad of families/kids we liked and decided to play in one of those 10U tourneys just for fun. We didn't even have proper uniforms because we were truly just brushing up on the kids' skill base.
It was eye opening to see how a few (not all) of the "professional" managers/coaches acted around the kids. I even caught one of them teaching his team how to cheat (no joke!). Many of the parents seemed to be accepting of the behavior as long as the team won...sad thing is, one of them was a family we used to coach with, and I really liked them and never in a million years thought they would go along with it.
-Ted Browne
Thanks for your comment Ted.
ReplyDeleteAnd love what is happening over at BALL. War Facebook fans!
Paul Reddick is a knob. I've been coaching for years, including Little League (Spring and Fall leagues), Babe Ruth, tournaments, etc. I find the tournament coaches much more knowledgable and great baseball guys. Are their some jerks; you bet. But by and large, tournament coaches are more serious about baseball, do a fantastic job of teaching the kids (regardless of what Reddick says), and are much better sports.
ReplyDeleteMost tournament players and coaches go out and play for the reps, not the glory. Players can get much higher quality reps playing in tournaments than in rec ball. The intensity of rec All Stars is much higher than in weekend tournaments, and every year it brings the worst out in players, parents, and coaches. Every parent thinks that because their kid is on the All Star team, that they should be the star of that team. I've coached many All Star teams, and it's one of the biggest headaches in coaching.
So Paul, stick to schlepping your pitching products and Amway, and leave the coaching to the coaches. I understand your frustration with travel coaches taking away your business, but at least be honest about it.
I think the only right approach is getting in the reps with better competition. It is true about tournament kids pitching more innings than they should during the normal season.
ReplyDeleteDead on Paul. The dad-coaches and adults are really damaging the game. There is rarely any coaching and teaching and if they do it usually is more harm than good. We need more sandlot ball where adults do not have a big stake in winning and losing. Players cannot be manufactured is correct. http://www.coachandplaybaseball.com/index.html
ReplyDeleteAgreed! My son plays spring and fall ball and this year we found that the amount of kids playing tourney ball has increased. Almost taking over LL. Some teams had more than half the kids missing on tournament weekends. The couches clearly favor the tourney kids without a doubt. And we were actually told, at the beginning of the season, our kids can learn from them. What happened to actually wanting to coach your WHOLE team to become better baseball players? Are parents now supposed to sign up the kids to play tournament ball, just to get play time? It's getting crazy! What happen to baseball SEASON! New tourney teams are popping everywhere because its a huge money maker.
ReplyDelete