The Success of a High School Baseball Program - Term Paper Example

COACHING HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL Inserts His/her Inserts Grade Inserts 10/10 Introduction Coaching a high school baseball team is a great challenge as it involves shaping up students and turning them into highly competitive athletes. Baseball coaching is a process that starts from tryouts and goes on to off-season camps and training. It takes time to get good results in this game and wins are numbered in the beginning; but a program which focuses on developing players’ potential will yield results in the long run. Tryouts Team selection is one of the toughest jobs for the coach. Important decisions have to be made about who to keep and who to layoff. During tryouts the coach has to decide on the combination of players; how many specialist pitchers he wants, how many players need to be groomed for the future and so on. If there are too many players then playing time would be split among them; if there are too few then there’s a risk of not having enough players for a game. Players have academics, vacations and other activities that take up their time so it is advisable to pick around fifteen to seventeen players. The number of players that can be picked is also dependent on the school or league rules. While picking the team during tryouts, the coach can make fact-based decisions by using a team selection matrix. The matrix consists of 3 to 5 selection criteria with weights assigned according to their importance. Different selection criteria can be chosen but the three most important are; player skills and positions, attitude and reception to coaching and athleticism and potential. Each player’s score is then multiplied by the weight for that criterion. The scores after weighting are added together to come up with the final tally used to choose the team. (Krause) Uniforms After the team has been chosen, the next step is to acquire the equipment and uniforms. The overall look of the team can be helpful in providing confidence to the players. As budgets are usually tight, the cost of the uniforms is an important consideration. It should be remembered that the full cost will be a combination of the initial price and the added expense of uniform repairs and maintenance, thus quality and cost should be compared before making a decision. The athletes are the school’s representatives so the uniforms should be in the school colors and have the school logo displayed. The manufacturer should be able to design the uniforms with the athlete in mind. High school teams need uniforms that will support their growing bodies and their athleticism. The main component of a great high school baseball uniform is durability. Several games a week throughout the season can cause uniforms to wear out easily. In addition to their durability, high school baseball jerseys should also be comfortable and flexible. Flexible fabrics help the team move around the field as quickly as possible. Insurance Playing sports involves intense physical exertion and injuries are a common thing. High school baseball is no exception, so the players, coach and management need to be insured to protect their interests. Usually teams and leagues get General Liability insurance as well as Accident Medical coverage. General Liability covers the practice and play of any amateur activity in the sport insured. It is important that the coach gets coverage on lawsuits from athletic participants. If school insurance is minimal, the coaching staff must make sure that players are covered under their parents’ medical insurance. Fundraising High school baseball teams are provided with basic equipment from the school. The school usually does not finance the cost of new equipment and uniforms. Thus a joint effort is required from the coach and the players to raise funds for the team’s requirements. A common fundraising idea is to set up concession stands selling hot dogs and hamburgers. The plan is to buy economically and squeeze margins by selling combo meals at a higher price. Car washes and yard sales can also be organized by the players in the locality to raise funds for the team. Another way is to sell ads in the baseball program; the price of one ad can range from $25 to $100 depending on the size. The coach needs to take initiative in selling program ads to parents and other relatives. Some schools use backstop signs to raise funds. The back wall of the dugout is also used for these signs. Many schools use heavy vinyl banners for wall and fence signs. They last longer and can be taken down and stored in the off-season. Another approach is to get individuals or companies to pledge an amount per innings and organize a 100 innings game. The coach should also request for the help of parents in the solicitation of pledges. Additional funds can be raised on the day of the game by setting up concession stands. Golf tournaments can also be organized to raise funds. They are time consuming but can generate around $1,000 per tournament. 4 person team with a per team entry fee is the standard way of doing these tournaments. The entry fee can vary from $400 - $1,000 per team depending on the market rates. Another revenue source is to sell "whole sponsorships." Another good idea could be to have door prizes and raffles. (Howdeshell) A spaghetti/chili dinner or a pancake breakfast, can be held in the school dining area, a church social hall or a restaurant. Many high school programs have also been successful in selling subscriptions to ESPN magazines. The program usually gets 75% of the sales. It is important that the revenue raised is significantly higher than the cost and effort involved. Scheduling High school schedules are set by school conference administrators. While scheduling games it should be remembered that a program needs wins to build on, therefore difficult opponents should not be scheduled for every game. The schedule should include school teams that the team has a reasonable chance of beating. Having successes would encourage and motivate the players as well as increase their chances of being noticed by college scouts. Practice Scheduling The goal of practice is to help players face critical game situations and be able to sustain the pressure to perform. A coach cannot provide the confidence to the players they have to earn it in practice. The duration of the practice is not as important as the quality. A 60 minute work out twice a week with practice on Saturdays of a longer duration to work on defense and offense would be a good plan. The coach often has to put in more hours developing and organizing practice sessions and strategies than the team. Time is limited, and high school players have other responsibilities, e.g., homework, exam preps, home or farm chores. A good coach monitors the players’ academic progress as well as athletic progress. Thus the schedule must be both firm and flexible. Firm in the sense those deviances from the schedule are only for reasonable cause, e.g., weather, and are flexible to address unforeseen areas of player weakness. A well-constructed, realistic and firm schedule provides direction to the team, and conveys a sense of coaching predictability and expectations. Preparing players for the next level High School baseball players have big dreams. It is the coach’s duty to develop the players’ skills and stamina so they can get to the next level. The sole focus should not be winning but developing positive attitudes, team work, and discipline. This is also one of the reasons why while recruiting, ‘projects’ should be selected to be groomed for the future. (Krause) It’s the responsibility of the coach that the players get enough exposure so that they’re noticed by college scouts. A professional relationship can be developed by sending detailed profiles of players, a schedule of games, and VIP passes to the scouts. This makes it easier for the scouts to evaluate the players. Team rules From the start, the coach must establish his rules of personal conduct. This guides the players’ behavior athletically and academically. The code of conduct should cover how the players should act on and off the field. The rules should be followed by list consequences for violations. If the consequences are known in advance, and applied evenly, the coach avoids allegations of unfairness. Suggested team rules: Never throw an object in disgust. Never walk on the field. Never be late for practice. Answer the coach with a Yes, Sir or No, Sir Never question an umpire’s call. Never sit or lay down on the field during timeouts. Properly warm-up before every practice and game. Summer Baseball In the summer, players can devote more time to baseball practice and training. Baseball camps can be conducted for the team and they can compete in summer leagues. A typical summer schedule runs through July. Although winning is important, this part of the program would be for observation, instruction, and experimentation. The coaching staff can work towards detecting strong and weak areas and attempt to put the pieces together for the following year. The players gain game experience and learn to adjust to new positions. At the end of the summer season, each player can meet with the coach to discuss his strengths and weaknesses and his role in the upcoming season. Off-season Strength and Conditioning Off- season training is an important part of a sports conditioning plan. It helps the athlete to recover physically and psychologically, and also addresses some of the physical aspects of playing competitive sport. Off-season training consists of a transition or recovery period and preparatory work. A good off-season training program will address physical imbalances that will help prevent both acute and longer term chronic injuries. The game of baseball is played in a series of short quick bursts, so coaches should condition athletes in the off-season to enhance those attributes in players. The aim is to turn the average players into good players and the good ones into great ones. A sample off-season conditioning program would be: lifting three days a week--Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. On alternate days, Monday and Wednesday, agility workouts may be used that improve players reaction time, power and explosion. (Fox) Team goals The setting of goals should be a team effort preferably away from the field. Soon after recruitment a team swim party or cookout should be arranged where the parents, players and staff can mingle. The players should be encouraged to suggest team goals they see as important for the approaching season. The goals should be set before the practice or workout session. The goals should be written down and each player should be provided with a printed list of the goals. The list should include the team name, logo, picture, and the team roster. This will give direction to the team from the beginning. Team goals should be mentioned during team practices and games. They can be used to motivate players to focus on the practice activity. A post season meeting to discuss and review the team goals that were set before the season began can also be held. This will help in analyzing team performance and setting new goals for the future. Suggested team goals: Win the League Championship Go Undefeated Score at least 7 runs each game. Hold the opponent to 3 runs or less each game Have a team batting average of .375 or better. Have perfect attendance at every practice. CONCLUSION The success of a high school baseball program starts with the coach. A good coach is one who knows his game and imparts his knowledge effectively to the players. A coach who can master these skills and carry out the duties of a psychologist, groundskeeper, equipment manager, promoter, and administrator can establish a baseball program that will be successful in the long run. Bibliography 8 10 2010 . Anderson, Guy. "Organzing a high school team." 3 10 2003. 09 10 2010 . Fox, Coach. "Baseball Coaching by Coach Fox." 2 1 2009. 9 10 2010 . Howdeshell, Bob. "Fundraising." The High School Baseball Web. 9 10 2010 . Jerry Kindell, John Winkin. The Baseball Coaching Bible. 2000. Krause, Tamara. 3 1 2007. 9 10 2010 . "USSSA." 8 10 2010 . Read More