Well...um...ok. There has to be a coaches' note after every game. Right.
Honestly, this note is perhaps the toughest one to write in the four years that there have been game notes for Mr. B's ARA seniors teams. The intent is to be positive as much as possible; you have to admit, there are not many positives to take away from this game (except at the end, where we bore down and scored two runs off of one of the best pitchers in the league).
So, we'll put this one behind us and look at things we can do in the future. The coaches got together and talked about this and here are some thoughts:
- We need to act more like a team. This does not mean that everyone has to become lifelong friends, but during games, show concern for the other players on the team. Encourage teammates that make a good play ("nice play") and comfort someone that had a tough play or error ("that's ok").
- Be "in the game." What that means is even though a player is not directly involved in the game at a particular moment, still pay attention to what is happening in the game. Is it possible that something occurs that is a learning experience and will help at some other time.
- Also, being "in the game" is to reduce outside distractions. Softball games are not your entire life (far from it), but it's fair to ask that during the roughly two hours at a game that attention is focused there (on softball), instead of using cell phones, going in and out of the dugout.
Now, we understand that this team stuff is difficult due to the fact that we seem to have different combinations of players due to events that make players unable to attend games. That should be slowing down now.
Don't think for a moment that we, the coaches, are standing on high, now spewing forth fire and brimstone down on the players. We have not done everything that we could have during this season to unite the team. If anyone thinks of anything that we can do to help or conversely, are doing something that is not helping, please do not be afraid to tell us, in private, if necessary. That goes for parents as well as players. We value your opinion.
There is no doubt in our minds that this is a very talented team. We can compete with and beat ANY team in this league (yes, even Notre Dame). Let's start turning it around now. There is still time.
We believe in this team, win or lose.
Thank you for reading this.
Mr. B. and Mr. T.
