Posted by MikeT23 on 9/29/2016 10:36:00 AM (view original):
Posted by tecwrg on 9/29/2016 10:21:00 AM (view original):
Posted by MikeT23 on 9/29/2016 10:05:00 AM (view original):
So, after your Little League teams gets a beatdown, do you rally them with "Boy, we got crushed. They were better than us. Maybe we'll do better next time!!!!?
If so, you need to work on that. There's an old saying "Don't let one game beat you twice" or something like that. It means "Don't dwell on that defeat, we've got work to do."
Since this is quite relevant to me, I'll tell you exactly what we, as coaches, do after a loss.
You take an honest look at what just happened. What worked, and what didn't work. You recognize and reinforce the good parts (that worked), and you come up with a plan, likely at the next practice, to address and improve on the parts where you failed. That goes for not only the kids, but also for the manager.
I had a playoff game this past spring where I had two of my weaker kids in the game at the same time playing corner outfield. As fate would have it, there was an inning where it seemed that every ball was hit down the LF or RF line, and we gave up a shitload of runs. Then came rain and lightning, and the game got called before it was an official game. I had a very different game plan with respect to those kids the next night for the makeup.
So, do you think Trump is capable of taking an honest look at his approach to Monday's debate and will have a different game plan for the next one?
Well.....
A) You didn't address how you address the kids after the game. Insert Trump in your role, kids as his supporters. I'm almost positive you accentuate the positive rather than admit you were simply beat down. Remember, this is politics. You need your supporters to actually vote not throw up their hands and say "We can't win. Why bother?"
B) Yes, I think Trump will be prepared. I believe Hillary thought he would be in the first so she was going to attempt to frustrate him. However, since he apparently was not, frustration came naturally.
You address the kids with exactly what I said above.
"Boys, we got our butts handed to us tonight. We did a good job with the bats, Jimmy had a couple of solid hits, Tyler made good contact but got robbed on some nice defensive plays, and Dan had some great AB's where he battled from behind in the count that ended up in a hit and a walk. But their pitchers late in the game were tough tonight and shut everybody else down. But we also hurt ourselves out there tonight. Kids were missing signs, we had kids not busting it down the line out of the box on ground balls, and some of you were jogging instead of running on the base paths. That cost us at least one and maybe two runs tonight. We can't do that. Defensively, we made some nice plays, but our corner outfielders did a poor job of moving to back up throws. Nobody stands around on defense, even if the ball is hit nowhere near you. You need to watch, think, anticipate, and move. On every play. If we don't improve on that we're going to keep having repeats of what happened tonight. We've got practice on Sunday morning, and this is what we're going to be working on."
Instant and relevant feedback. Followed by a plan to improve.