[Barkeep49]

Originally Posted by Izulde

Tough luck starting off with two losses. I remember my first game coaching youth soccer we got hammered 8-0 and I found myself wondering if I was cut out for it. I don't know if you're having some of the same doubts, but if you are, I can tell you that if you stick with it, things can turn around. It certainly did with the squad I coached.

As I talked about in the post above, I worry about my ability to help the team hit better. The other parts of the game, such as strategy, and defense, and positioning, I know I am a good coach and so I will not get down on myself.

Here's a suggestion regarding BS2: JM is clearly your top C and has a rapport with TG, but since it appears BS2 shows potential and is just raw right now, maybe you could work him with some of the other pitchers to try and find a matchup there too.

That's what our plan was, but frankly he's very raw at this point. We will definitely be working with him, and matching him up with PW last game was intended to help him build confidence, though it didn't work that way.

The biggest thing with kids who show potential but are raw is confidence. I had a girl who had the height, range, and some experience to play goalie. But she lacked the confidence, so what I did was to split games half and half between her and the girl who was our top goalie at the start of the season, except in cases where there was a shutout going at halftime. Then I refused to switch goalies.

As time went on and she played more often, her natural potential kicked in and by the end of the year, she'd moved up to our starting goalie spot and performed brilliantly to the level that she became one of the strengths of our team at a position that was pretty weak to start the year. As a nice bonus, her mom told mine in private that her self-confidence in all areas had shot through the roof because of the faith I showed in her.

Now I'm not saying the same thing will happen with BS2. I'm just adding in a small bit of advice for you to consider.

That's a great story. Congrats on your success with her and I appreciate the kind words. One thing I didn't talk about in the game post was how they left the field; they left the field with their head's up. Steve gave a nice post-game speech about "if it was easy everybody would do it". Steve felt that they left with their head's up because they didn't care. I felt it was because we stayed positive and have created a good atmosphere.