Berry College softball had a tremendous season in the spring of 2011. They recorded a 20 and 11 season, which is more than a 50 percent win-lose ratio, (Berry Athletics). Although this is a winning season, the team and the coaches expect improvements next season. The one area of improvement that could benefit the team is full defense. Full defense refers to the infield, outfield, and most importantly, the pitchers. Among the defense in the 2011 season, they committed 59 errors. Their opponents committed 73. Even though Berry had 14 fewer errors than their opponents, this can easily be reduced with extra defensive practice. It is critical to make the least amount of errors as possible. In addition to errors, ERA's are critical. ERA's are earned runs allowed. This average determines how effective pitchers are. For individuals who are not familiar with softball or baseball terms, there are two types of runs scored; runs that the opposing team have earned by base hits, and runs that are unearned by errors and walks. Last year, the two pitchers combined for a 2.97 ERA. This simply means that the pitchers on average allowed 2 to 3 runs a game. The individual leading pitcher ERA last season in the GSAC, (Great South Atlantic Conference), was 1.92, (www.greatsouth.org). Berry’s pitching staff allowed one additional run each game when compared to the leader of the GSAC. If we can minimize runs scored and commit fewer errors, we should be able to improve and win more games.
In order to see outcomes in this area of improvement, we as coaches must re-evaluate not only our athletes, but, in addition, our coaching styles. Of course, we all want to tell ourselves that we are great coaches and it's the athletes who are not following direction...
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Works Cited
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2011 GSAC softball. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.greatsouth.org/custompages/softball/2011_stats/lgplyrs.htm.
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Coaching is an integral part of helping achieve one’s maximum abilities. Dr. Gawande (2013) explains that, “Coaches are not teachers, but they teach. They’re not your boss—in professional tennis, golf, and skating, the athlete hires and fires the coach—but they can be bossy” (p. 3). It is difficult to say what is the exact function of a coach, however, they help bring forth another point of view different from our own and they also help bring about the right mindset in order to subdue a weakness.
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A proper coaching philosophy contains principles which improve character development, teach step by step tactical and technical skills, form proper progressive physical training regimens, and carefully utilize team management to handle and control problems with administrative issues. A coach with a sound philosophy should mold a team with strong cohesion, and he should treat players not only as teammates, but as family and friends who are encouraged to develop communication and lifelong learning of skills through positive support and role modeling from the coach (Mergelsberg, 14-15). The philosophy should also contain written documents of implemented strategies and techniques, so that the coach will know what to improve upon season by season
The goal of every coach is to create an environment in which his athletes can flourish. Performance anxiety is a coach’s worst enemy simply because it can have a negative impact both mentally and physically on athletes. The mastery approach to coaching is a cognitive-behavioral intervention designed to promote a mastery-involving motivational climate (Smith, Smoll, Cumming, 2007). How a coach handles his athletes is essential for their confidence and ability to overcome any level of performance anxiety. Critical or punitive feedback from coaches can evoke high levels of negative affect in children who fear failure and disapproval, thereby contributing to a threatening athletic environment (Smith, Smoll, Cumming, 2007).
After many hours of practice I had mastered catching and throwing, which is needed to be successful in softball. At this point I was able to catch and throw a softball voluntarily and efficiently. Also, I was able to adequately perform various tasks subconsciously. For example, when I played on third base, if the ball came to me I was able to determine where to throw it next without having to put much thought into it. In addition, I could also adapt to various changes. For example, I knew how to adjust my performance when playing on a flat field vs. a hilly field. On a hilly field, I would make sure to examine where the bumps were so that when I ran to catch the ball I wouldn't trip and miss it. As I achieved skillfulness I become more consistent with my catches and throws. When I first started playing softball, on average, I would catch about 60% of the balls thrown at me. When I reached this age I was catching about 95% of the
Although softball is a game played on a field with a physical ball and bat against another team it could not be more of a mental game played against yourself. I believe this trait of mental toughness is my biggest achievement from playing this game. In this sport, you must learn how to fail. There is not a way to be perfect in softball, you will fail and you have to learn how to deal with it. Do you cower and give up or do you forget and become better? I have learned to push past obstacles that keep me from reaching my goal and to use my mistakes as learning tools.
The team that has the most runs at the end of the game wins. To score a run you must run around the bases and touch home plate. Two teams are required to play softball. In the infield, there are 6 players, one is pitcher, another is catcher, there is the first base man, second base man, short stop and third base man. In the outfield, there are 3-4 players. When you are up to bat, you are trying to hit the ball with the bat. When you hit it, you run to first base, if your safe you must continue to run around the bases when another player hits the ball.
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This Article is about the coaching in the youth sports today. Their are more than 40 million young people playing organized sports, weather it’s soccer, basketball, football, lacrosse, gymnastics , swimming, baseball or many of the other popular sports that is in the united states today. In the past 20 years their has been a demand for youth coaches and it has increased. As stated by the National council of youth sports their is two million adults being couches for sports. In an attempt to see if the couches are prepared and qualified to couch the youth , the ACE (American Council on Exercise) and the American’s Workout Watchdog had the help of exercise scientists from the Clinical Exercise Physiology program at the University of
Marzano, R.J. (2007). The art and science of teaching. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
In this course I experienced an important change in my beliefs about teaching; I came to understand that there are many different theories and methods that can be tailored to suit the teacher and the needs of the student. The readings, especially those from Lyons, G., Ford, M., & Arthur-Kelly, M. (2011), Groundwater-Smith, S., Ewing, R., & Le Cornu, R. (2007), and Whitton, D., Barker, K., Nosworthy, M., Sinclair, C., Nanlohy, P. (2010), have helped me to understand this in particular. In composing my essay about teaching methods and other themes, my learning was solidified, my knowledge deepened by my research and my writing skills honed.
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