Collectively Wise

Group hugs and dog piles - more on coaching youth sports

Last post, I covered some of what I learned while coaching youth baseball and softball – when looking for differences, I actually found more similarities. I continue:

Team styles: The boys were definitely more apt to blame a teammate for any mistake – whether the teammate’s error or their own. The girls were more apt to shrug it off. Missed balls just happen. At this age, both boys and girls would tend to watch the ball rather than run after it, although each team had one or two go-getters.

Goof-off styles: The boys tackle and dog pile. The girls chase and group hug. Both were easily distracted by each other. Some coaches have great solutions like individual buckets that they put upside down for each child to sit on. For both teams, I had a parent on task for watching the dug-out. I noticed that the kids do like some sense of order, and both boys and girls enjoyed yelling out the batting order and knowing "who's next."

Level of acting up because the parent (me) was there: My son seemed to act up the same, but usually it involved play with the other boys (see above). My daughter, I felt, had a little more drama and would demand rights (like getting to bat first), because I was the head coach. This also had to do with the ultimate decision power of head coach. My son certainly knew who to cajole for a favored position to play, and it wasn’t me.

Parent involvement: This is tricky because I can’t characterize it. The girls’ softball feels more intimate. The parents seem more involved and more into the game. Maybe it’s because there are less coaches (we need more help) and because the coaches are less experienced (we need more help). This could also be the age difference, in that the younger leagues allow parents in the field with the kids to help direct play (“throw to first, throw to first, throw to first”). It could also be coach style – I’m pretty open and welcomed anyone that wanted to help at a practice or game. I think that it’s great for the kids, boys and girls, to see their dads and moms involved. You don’t have to be skilled to help.

Impact on my kids:

They all pick daisies. Learnings from coaching youth baseball and softball

To give you a little background, I’m a mother of a boy, 9 and girl, 7. I work full-time, but try to squeeze out time for coaching, class volunteering, running, friends and family.

This spring I was the head coach for my 7 year old girls’ softball team (2nd season) and an assistant coach for my son’s baseball team (3rd season). I played softball through college, so know a bit about the sports. At this age, they can’t quite fathom strategy and coaching becomes a challenge in teaching basic skills while keeping their attention.

I’m not going to talk about the coaching, but about some of the interesting contrasts that I observed between these teams of boys and girls, realizing also that they are two years apart. These are just fun observations, and could differ with a different group of children.

Who picks more daisies?

Tie! I was just as amazed at having to yell at my son to put down the grass, as to my daughter for picking a flower. Both teams were easily distracted by flowers, birds, dogs, kids, and rocks. One game, two boys swept out the dugout. Another game, half of the girls had disappeared onto a par course structure.

Learning styles:

I thought I could stereotype here, but in thinking through my teams, there were just as many kids that listened to the nuance of throwing a ball as there were that thought they knew it. Both groups have very short attention spans. For softball, I had to mix “exciting” positions with “boring” positions, so that they would have an overall fun time for the game.