Over Confidence

One of the biggest mistakes any team or individual can make in competition is, being over confident. This usually occurs because the true sense of the team's (or individuals) strengths and weaknesses are inflated. Factors which can lead to over confidence are: playing a weak schedule early, not doing your homework on your opponent, an unrealistic evaluation of talent, poor game preparation and counting the contest in the win column before it is played. Over confidence can lead to a complacent attitude and a work ethic which often translates into a less than average effort on game day.

Getting off to a slow start during a game can be hard to overcome, especially when your opponent is playing with no fear or intimidation. They are executing while you are still trying to find your best effort. This explains why teams with lesser talent beat teams with more talent. Remember, upsets happen every day in athletics. Why? Because teams are ripe for an upset due to over confidence and complacency. Work hard, be humble, do your homework and avoid the upset.

Defense

Many people have written articles on the quote, "Offense wins games but defense wins championships." Some go as far as stating that the best offense is a good defense. I believe teams must have a balance of both in order to be successful, especially against teams of equal or better talent.

Success in the game of Baseball usually comes down to pitching and defense. It is not the 10 to 1 wins that will define a team, but the ability to win a 2 to1 game on the road. Having a team identity of, "being difficult to score on", can go along way in building respect for your program and confidence in your players for each other under pressure. Good defense can pick up a team and lead to an offensive explosion. However, poor defense can cause a let down and lead to an implosion with the inning running the wrong way.

Be careful to place a proper balance on both aspects of the game so as to send the right message to your players, supporters and opponents.

The Line-Up Change

There comes a time when most coaches consider a Line-Up change. Line-up changes are good for competition. They shake things up and give other team members a chance to start and show what they can do with that opportunity. This keeps everyone on their toes while taking nothing for granted. It gives hope to those who are not regular starters, develops their confidence, strengthens the team and keeps others humble.

However if line-up changes never occur (even when a player is not producing) then the coach sends a dangerous message to his team and others watching his program that production does not matter. Baseball is all about production, especially at higher levels. Sending a message that production does not matter, suggests that factors other than production on the field, do. This can be viewed as favoritism or prejudice and has no place in athletics.

So look for those opportunities where you can reward other players with some quality time. This will pay dividends in many areas over a long season.

Scoring a Difficult Job

Baseball is a game of numbers where scoring can become a challenge. Most High School teams keep statistics on the three basic categories of offensive, defense and pitching. These categories can be further divided into many sub categories to cover all facets of the game like: pass balls, wild pitches, fielding errors, earned and unearned runs, etc. The official scorer, in some instances, must use his own judgement to reconstruct the outcome of an inning when errors are made and determine what the inning would have been like error free.

Score books are kept, statistics are recorded and even posted on websites for anyone to view. High school coaches can check on opponents records and statistics at the click of a mouse. College coaches can check on game locations, team records, individual stats and even contact information.

The importance of keeping accurate information becomes crucial in light of the public access to these figures. Most coaches review the score book before posting is done, especially when it is kept by a novice (who may not understand all the scoring rules) or by a parent. However even then, mistakes can be made, rules misinterpreted and applied. How should one handle this?

A simple request to the coach to review the instance in question based on the, "Book Rule" you wish to site will do. Remember the official scorer and coach have the final say but mistakes are made and corrections do help the team records as well.

The Scrimmage

This past weekend, High Schools all across Southern California were allowed by CIF-SS regulations to conduct their annual scrimmage. The CIF Blue Book defines a scrimmage as follows. "An interscholastic scrimmage in baseball is a training session between a minimum of two and a maximum of three schools where no score is kept, free substitution and time-outs are permitted, spectators are not urged to attend, and officials are not paid."

This is what makes a scrimmage unique and the reason why it is not counted as a contest. This format permits coaches to set up situations, get game experience in the execution of certain skills in a more controlled, relaxed format. The scrimmage also allows the coaches to freely substitute players in and out giving a great deal of flexibility not normally afforded in the game.

While many High School Baseball Coaches still run a scrimmage as it was intended to be, a training session with teachable moments and free substitution, some have gone far beyond this definition and treat it as a regular contest. Even to the point of sending a message or setting the tone for the season and playing to win. This attitude is far beyond the intent of the rule and reflects a selfish will to win when no score is to be kept.

I like this rule and as a traditionalist, I would not like to see it changed........only followed.