How to Communicate Effectively in the Outfield

By Steven Michael

Good communication in the outfield is mandatory. Communication is virtually all verbal in nature. And for good reason. When defensive players are running to catch the baseball, they don't have time to look at each other and give visual cues. Communication should also include returning or confirming a call made by a player. And communication is also meant to direct the next action by an outfielder.

Communication To Catch

"I got it -- I got it -- I GOT IT!" That's how an outfielder should state his intention to catch the ball. If there is any question in outfielder's minds who should make the play, communicate it three times and make it loud.

Crowd noise, wind whistling through the ears as they run, and same-time calling are all reasons to yell loudly and multiple times. In big stadiums, crown noise can be deafening. Even in smaller venues, a hundred people screaming can diffuse outfield communication.

Players who call for the ball at the same time is the most common problem. They each call for it once, at the same time, and neither player hears the other. Bam! -- a player collision. In addition to being loud, communication should be done in an authoritative voice. The ball is up for grabs and must be caught. Call for it with authority -- and remember the priority rules.

There is a wonderfully funny story about language as a barrier to good communication. In the 1950's the Phillies had a center fielder named Richie Ashburn. Richie was a great outfielder and was named Rookie of the Year in the National League. The Phillies shortstop was a Spanish player from the Caribbean, and he didn't know any English. On more than one occasion, Richie and the shortstop would be running to catch a pop-fly behind the infield. Richie would scream "I got it", but the shortstop didn't understand, and they had a couple near misses at colliding. A savvy old coach told Richie that the Spanish words for "I got it" are "Yo la tengo". Well, the next time a pop-fly happened, Richie was sprinting in to catch it screaming "Yo la tengo -- Yo la tengo". The shortstop immediately understood and stopped. Richie was then run over by his American-born left fielder.

Marco -- Polo!

Just like the youth game played in a swimming pool, where one child, with eyes closed, is calling "Marco", the other kids say "Polo" to audibly reveal their positions, outfielders need to respond. Outfielders must respond and clearly communicate with each other. This prevents any misunderstandings about who will make the play.

In situations where two players are calling for the ball, the player who backs off should communicate that fact. He should confirm that the other player has priority. How does he do this? By saying, "Take it -- Take it -- Take it".

When calling for the ball, it is assumed the outfielder is confident he can catch it. Don't call for the ball when you have zero chance of making the play. On the other hand, if an outfielder thinks he has a better chance than any other fielder, call for the ball. On some outfield plays, nobody calls for the ball. Where two outfielders are running for the ball, and neither thinks they have a chance to catch it, it's okay not to call for it. This usually means the outfielders are not close enough to risk a collision.

Communication To Assist

Outfield communication is not all about calling for the ball. There are times when an outfielder should help by being their teammate's eyes. Let's look at these situations.

Warn About the Fence

Outfielders should have a signal worked out between them about the wall. When one outfielder is running full stride toward the wall to make a catch, the adjoining outfielder should warn him when he is five strides away from it. The most prevalent method used is shouting the words, "Fence -- Fence -- Fence!". This lets the pursuing outfielder know in plenty of time that he has four to five strides before the fence.

The reason five running strides is the threshold is because it takes at least two strides for the receiving outfielder to recognize the communication. Things happen fast, so you want to alert your teammate in plenty of time.

Direct the Throw

When one outfielder is making a play on a batted ball, the adjoining outfielder should watch the play and tell the fielding outfielder where to throw the ball. This applies to all situations. The adjoining, or non-fielding, outfielder can see what base runners are doing, the depth of the ball, and the game situation. The fielding outfielder is watching the ball to catch it. If a ball is hit to the gap in right-center, and the right fielder will get to it first, the center fielder should be yelling at the right fielder to hit the cut-off man.

Runners on first and third bases, less than two outs, and a fly ball is hit to the left fielder. The center fielder should let the left fielder know where to throw the ball. If the ball is deep, he yells, "Two -- Two -- Two" to prevent the runner on first from advancing to second -- and scoring position. If the ball is not deep, the center fielder should yell, "Home -- Home -- Home", or "Four -- Four -- Four" to cut down the runner tagging from third base.

With less than two outs, a fly ball is hit to left-center field, and there is a runner on second base, the left fielder should be telling the center fielder that the base runner is tagging. He can yell "tagging" or "he's tagging", just make sure your are heard. This lets the center fielder know that he should position himself to make an urgent throw to third base -- through the cut-off man.

In a huge number of situations that can't be fully described here, a non-fielding outfielder should be communicating the things that the fielder can't see. Runners tagging, hit the cut-off, which base to throw to, are just the normal situations. It's always better to over-communicate than to say nothing at all. Help each other out.

Direct Traffic for Outfield-Infield Plays

When an outfielder and infielder are both pursuing a pop-up, in addition to the outfielder calling for the ball, the adjoining outfielder should also call the outfielder's name. This gives both pursuers of the ball a confirmation of who should catch it. Now you might say that three players yelling is too much static to hear anything definite. But you're wrong. The more communication that is used is always better.

How many times have you seen an infielder backpedaling to catch a pop-up, he hears the outfielder's steps, and stops. The outfielder slows down because the infielder looks like he's going to catch the ball -- and neither one catches it.

I just watched a game last night and that happened. What if the adjoining outfielder had screamed the outfielder's name? Do you think that would have helped or hindered the situation? Yeah, it would have helped considerably, in fact the ball would have been caught. By the way, three runs scored -- there were two outs and the base runners were off with the pitch. Ouch!

Steven E. Michael played seven years of professional baseball in the Montreal Expos, Detroit Tigers and Milwaukee Brewers organizations. He played collegiately at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona earning All-Western Athletic Conference, All-College World Series, and Sporting News All-America honors.

His new book, "How To Play Baseball Outfield: Techniques, Tips, and Drills to Learn the Outfield Position" is available at http://www.stevenemichael.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Steven_Michael

Building A Relationship With Your Child's Coach

Here is a re-post of an article I posted about a year ago. Very helpfull info for parents with kids of all ages and timely considering most leagues are starting spring baseball soon...

Youth baseball leagues cannot survive without volunteerism. It takes the time and effort of many dedicated people to deliver a great experience for its players. This includes managers and coaches who tend to offer many hours on and off the field. As parents we have an obligation to the team as well. Here are a few ways you can help the coach and your kid during the baseball season.

1. Communicate With Coach And Arrive On Time.

Whether through email or via phone make sure the coach knows your kids availability for games and practices. If your child is going to be late give an accurate time as to when he/she will arrive. Games require prep work and coaches generally figure out where kids are going to play prior to game time (a rotation). This can take a long time to put together and if a kid doesn’t show up on time, it creates a lot of extra work for the coach. Also, make sure your kid is well prepared for the game with the proper equipment.

2. Get Involved.

Coaches generally welcome parent who volunteer to help. Tell the coach at the beginning of the year that you are willing to help. Let him know what you can offer the kids.

3. Pick Up A Rake.

Most leagues have requirements to prep fields before or after games. Parent can help out by taking over this responsibility for the team leaving time for coaches to warm up before a game or have post game discussions with the team. These are both important parts of the baseball experience and parents should pave the way for this to take place.

4. Cheer For All Players.

Baseball is a team sport. Parents should cheer for all players on the team. It’s even OK to cheer for kids on the opposing team. Give the kids a smile and cheer for all of them.

5. Have One-On-Ones With Coaches After Games.

From time to time you may need to speak with your kids coach privately about issues. The best time to do this is after games or practices. The best way to go about this is to ask the coach a few days in advance if they will have some time to speak with you. Give them an understanding of what it is you want to talk about. Most importantly have this discussion without the kids around to listen.

6. Be Constructive.

Not destructive! Nothing is worse that negative energy on a baseball team. It can drive teams with great talent to the brink of destruction. It’s important for parents to keep things positive. Don’t give into discussions with others about what the coaches are doing wrong… focus on what they are doing right. If you have an idea, observation or suggestion… result to item #5. Keep things positive. In most cases all involved are there to make the experience a great one… help that cause, don’t fight it.

Always remember that we are all doing this for the kids. At the end of the day what’s important is that the kids are playing baseball, participating in a positive activity, getting exercise, making friends, learning to be a teammate. I hope these few ideas will help you develop great relationships with your child coach and make your child’s baseball experience a better one.

Coach Bob

How to Communicate to the Coach About Playing Time

By Nate Barnett
Playing time is an interesting thing in youth baseball. Somebody is never happy. Players get frustrated if they are not getting field time. Parents become agitated if they are paying money for their son to be on a team but yet he is sitting on the bench more than he is playing. However, when all is said and done, there will always be hitters who sit on the bench. It's a numbers issue since no team can run solely on nine players for an entire season.

Most coaches are fully aware of the playing time issue and do all they can at the younger levels to get all players in the game. But, what is truly frustrating to a head coach or a coaching staff is how most playing time concerns are communicated by players or parents. Because many communication problems spiral out of control and cause more damage to all parties involved, I'd like to explain a few thoughts and guidelines on the topic of communication.

There are essentially three ways to communicate to a coach. The least effective is listed first, and the most effective is listed last.

1. In writing, that is letter format, email, text messaging, instant messaging, etc.
2. Over the phone.
3. In person and face to face.

The reason why written communication is the most insufficient form of communicating emotional concerns is because it's difficult to express emotions in the correct manner. It is tough to make sure that the emotion one felt when writing is read with the same emotion in mind. If an athlete is frustrated when writing the message, it may not be read as a frustrated tone by the coach. He may have interpreted the words as challenging, or argumentative. Therefore, writing should be used (for the most part, not always) when conveying thoughts that are non-emotional.
Phone conversations are much more effective when attempting to communicate issues of emotion. The reason this is the case is because the coach on the other end can hear tones of voice and voice fluctuation. Thoughts and concerns via the phone are far less likely be interpreted incorrectly when compared to written communication.

Lastly, and most effective is face to face communication. While often the most intimidating, talking with a coach in private and without distraction is valuable for a couple reasons. First, a coach can hear tone of voice and read into the emotion being communicated. Secondly, and most important, body language can be displayed. Much of in person communication is performed through body language. Therefore, live conversation is far more effective when issues of emotion at the topic.

In my experience in working with athletes and running baseball teams, many communication problems can be averted if there is open lines of communication between everyone who has a vested interest in the success of the team. Remember, back biting, rumor spreading, and open complaining only does more damage to team chemistry.

Nate Barnett is owner of BMI Baseball, a baseball instruction website. Nate's has written two ebooks on hitting mechanics as well as mental baseball drills to improve performance.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nate_Barnett

Breaking Tough News To Your Baseball Team

One of the more difficult tasks as a parent is breaking bad news to your kids. We need to be sensitive to their age and awareness being careful to put things in perspective while trying to position the result as a learning experience.

When a kid doesn’t make a baseball team it can be very tough on them. Especially for younger kids who experience this for the first time. They may feel like they’ve failed themselves and you. They may also be subject the boasting and needling of peers who made the team.

First, take the pressure off them. They didn’t fail anyone. They tried there best and that’s what’s important.

It is important to try to turn a negative into a positive in these situations. If you feel your child didn’t perform at a level to make the team then you can offer a plan to prepare and improve for next year. Position it as an opportunity to get better at the game.

Some may feel their child has the abilities to make the team. Most of the time there is tough competition for the few spots on a baseball team. Some times there is a small difference in talent and ability between the players that make it and players that don’t. The positive explanation for your child in this situation is that they are a strong player… and there are many strong players in their age group. If you keep trying and keep practicing you will increase your chances of making the team next year.

Kids should never be told they didn’t make a team because they weren’t good enough. Rather they should be told they are a “good player who needs to improve in some areas and here is what we’re going to do to help you improve”.

You should also prepare your child to answer questions from his peers… have an explanation as to what he’s going to do to improve his chances next year.

Don’t be shy about asking the coach or group who selects the teams to give you some feedback on areas where your child needs to improve. This will help you develop a plan with your child to help give them a chance next year.

The bottom line is to plan ahead what you’re going to say to your child with the goal of turning it into a positive. As tough as it may seem these are some of life’s harder lessons. Teaching your child positive ways how to handle these situations is the best thing you can do for them.

Coach Bob

http://youthbaseballblog.blogspot.com/

Give The Coach A Hand: Tips For Building A Solid Relationship With Your Child's Coach

Youth baseball leagues cannot survive without volunteerism. It takes the time and effort of many dedicated people to deliver a great experience for its players. This includes managers and coaches who tend to offer many hours on and off the field.

As parents we have an obligation to the team as well. Here are a few ways you can help the coach and your kid during the baseball season.

1. Communicate With Coach And Arrive On Time. Whether through email or via phone make sure the coach knows your kids availability for games and practices. If your child is going to be late give an accurate time as to when he/she will arrive. Games require prep work and coaches generally figure out where kids are going to play prior to game time (a rotation). This can take a long time to put together and if a kid doesn’t show up on time, it creates a lot of extra work for the coach. Also, make sure your kid is well prepared for the game with the proper equipment.

2. Get Involved. Coaches generally welcome parent who volunteer to help. Tell the coach at the beginning of the year that you are willing to help. Let him know what you can offer the kids.

3. Pick Up A Rake. Most leagues have requirements to prep fields before or after games. Parent can help out by taking over this responsibility for the team leaving time for coaches to warm up before a game or have post game discussions with the team. These are both important parts of the baseball experience and parents should pave the way for this to take place.

4. Cheer For All Players. Baseball is a team sport. Parents should cheer for all players on the team. It’s even OK to cheer for kids on the opposing team. Give the kids a smile and cheer for all of them.

5. Have One-On-Ones With Coaches After Games. From time to time you may need to speak with your kids coach privately about issues. The best time to do this is after games or practices. The best way to go about this is to ask the coach a few days in advance if they will have some time to speak with you. Give them an understanding of what it is you want to talk about. Most importantly have this discussion without the kids around to listen.

6. Be Constructive. Not destructive! Nothing is worse that negative energy on a baseball team. It can drive teams with great talent to the brink of destruction. It’s important for parents to keep things positive. Don’t give into discussions with others about what the coaches are doing wrong… focus on what they are doing right. If you have an idea, observation or suggestion… result to item #5. Keep things positive. In most cases all involved are there to make the experience a great one… help that cause, don’t fight it.

Always remember that we are all doing this for the kids. At the end of the day what’s important is that the kids are playing baseball, participating in a positive activity, getting exercise, making friends, learning to be a teammate. I hope these few ideas will help you develop great relationships with your child coach and make your child’s baseball experience a better one.

Coach Bob

http://youthbaseballblog.blogspot.com/