So this year I'm assisting a coach who will be leaving next year, and most likely I'll take over for the next couple years. This is LL majors, players range from 9-12. The league is competitive but also laid back, the focus is mainly on having fun and developing players.
I like the coach a lot, good heart and decent baseball knowledge. We had our first practice yesterday, and I can see that his approach is much different from mine. A few days earlier I asked if he wanted to chat and come up with a plan for the practice (I always have a detailed "agenda" for every practice when I coach), and he wanted to just "wing it." When we first got started, he was going to have the kids just start playing catch without any preliminary introductions (there are 5 new kids on the team, I gently suggested maybe we should introduce everyone first).
I would definitely do things differently, but I want to be a good assistant and not always be saying "why don't we do it this way" or challenging his approach. After all, it's his team and my role is to help out.
But at the same time, I have a lot of ideas about how to make the most of our practice time--for example, my son played on the team last year and says most practices were the old school variety where the coach pitches to a batter while the rest of the team stands around in the field. That to me is not the most productive approach.
I guess I'm looking for opinions or guidance on how to be a good supportive assistant without constantly biting my tongue the whole season. Should I gently make suggestions (beforehand, not during practice) but then just drop it if the coach doesn't follow up on it? Do I just be a good soldier and wait until next year?
I once had a couple of assistant coaches who never responded to my emails asking for suggestions or ideas before the season, or responding to the detailed practice plans I would email out the day before practices, but then once on the field they would say things like "why are we doing it this way?" or "why don't we just play a scrimmage"? Needless to say, it was not a lot of fun working with those guys and I vowed I would never do that to a coach.
Would appreciate hearing your perspectives. My gut is telling me to chill out and just let the coach run the show his way, but I also care a lot and want to make the experience the best possible for the kids.
I like the coach a lot, good heart and decent baseball knowledge. We had our first practice yesterday, and I can see that his approach is much different from mine. A few days earlier I asked if he wanted to chat and come up with a plan for the practice (I always have a detailed "agenda" for every practice when I coach), and he wanted to just "wing it." When we first got started, he was going to have the kids just start playing catch without any preliminary introductions (there are 5 new kids on the team, I gently suggested maybe we should introduce everyone first).
I would definitely do things differently, but I want to be a good assistant and not always be saying "why don't we do it this way" or challenging his approach. After all, it's his team and my role is to help out.
But at the same time, I have a lot of ideas about how to make the most of our practice time--for example, my son played on the team last year and says most practices were the old school variety where the coach pitches to a batter while the rest of the team stands around in the field. That to me is not the most productive approach.
I guess I'm looking for opinions or guidance on how to be a good supportive assistant without constantly biting my tongue the whole season. Should I gently make suggestions (beforehand, not during practice) but then just drop it if the coach doesn't follow up on it? Do I just be a good soldier and wait until next year?
I once had a couple of assistant coaches who never responded to my emails asking for suggestions or ideas before the season, or responding to the detailed practice plans I would email out the day before practices, but then once on the field they would say things like "why are we doing it this way?" or "why don't we just play a scrimmage"? Needless to say, it was not a lot of fun working with those guys and I vowed I would never do that to a coach.
Would appreciate hearing your perspectives. My gut is telling me to chill out and just let the coach run the show his way, but I also care a lot and want to make the experience the best possible for the kids.
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