Why make players run after games (win or lose)?

[HeinekenMan]

I'm with those who think it's unnecessary BS from the coach to show that he's no softy. What I'd like to know is how to get a kid to do exercises when he refuses. Today, we did a sideways crab walk to work on catcher mobility, and one kid refused to do it. Another kid refused to run a lap at the end of practice. He jogged out to the fence and walked the rest of the way around the field. Dad said he was tired from going to the beach... My boy used to do the same stuff. He wouldn't run for me. But he ran for other coaches, and he now runs for me, too. Perhaps it's just an age thing. A few of our guys are still 8 years old.

[Jake Patterson]

1. It shows the parents/fans that the coach isn't happy about the way the team played, resulting in losing. The players don;t learn anything from the running. It's all show for the coach. Seriously, did any of you guys as players ever look to each other in the 6th inning and say "Damn, we better take the lead or we're gonna run for certain."? No. Me neither.

2. Pitchers run to [1] increase endurance (day of and sequential days) and [2] increased blood flow carries away muscular waste products and delivers "rebuilding materials" faster to aid recovery; some call it active rest.

After the game, it's all to let everyone in the park know that the coach doesn;t teach his kids to play that way and lose. So, now they must be punished. I always wanted to, but never did, ask our coach to run with us. Oh yeah, he's the only one that did his job at the expected level.

I never had my team run after a game win or lose - and I always tried to avoid using running as a punishment... I always felt running was part of the game why use it to punish? Would we say, "OK you guys played poorly, get out there and catch 100 balls."

Also - I don't think kids enjoy running.... They enjoy running around.

[omg]

Yeah it's funny. I've had kids (13's) ask after a game, "Coach, why are we running, we won"? Also, had pitchers that age ask, "why am I running, did I do something wrong"? I forget sometimes these kids don't know what older players do.

[skipper5]

Couldn't agree more

Circle nailed it. "It's all show for the coach."

[Standballdad]

1. It shows the parents/fans that the coach isn't happy about the way the team played, resulting in losing. The players don;t learn anything from the running. It's all show for the coach. Seriously, did any of you guys as players ever look to each other in the 6th inning and say "Damn, we better take the lead or we're gonna run for certain."? No. Me neither.

2. Pitchers run to [1] increase endurance (day of and sequential days) and [2] increased blood flow carries away muscular waste products and delivers "rebuilding materials" faster to aid recovery; some call it active rest.

After the game, it's all to let everyone in the park know that the coach doesn;t teach his kids to play that way and lose. So, now they must be punished. I always wanted to, but never did, ask our coach to run with us. Oh yeah, he's the only one that did his job at the expected level.

Couldn't agree more

[CircleChange11]

1. It shows the parents/fans that the coach isn't happy about the way the team played, resulting in losing. The players don;t learn anything from the running. It's all show for the coach. Seriously, did any of you guys as players ever look to each other in the 6th inning and say "Damn, we better take the lead or we're gonna run for certain."? No. Me neither.

2. Pitchers run to [1] increase endurance (day of and sequential days) and [2] increased blood flow carries away muscular waste products and delivers "rebuilding materials" faster to aid recovery; some call it active rest.

After the game, it's all to let everyone in the park know that the coach doesn;t teach his kids to play that way and lose. So, now they must be punished. I always wanted to, but never did, ask our coach to run with us. Oh yeah, he's the only one that did his job at the expected level.

[omg]

Running is good exercise. It's that simple. I agree that it should not be used as punishment. Here are some factors to consider:

1) Time. If the game itself has been long or a long commute is involved then running may be limited or eliminated.

2) Post game instruction. Run, but work on one particular aspect, usually, but not always, base running.

3) The conditioning plan. A coach needs to figure out when the team has had rest, when the team last ran, and when the team will run next. Some coaches, for example, have their kids run a lot the practice on the day before a game. That is a mistake.

4) Pitchers. Pitching is it's own special case. Ideally, pitchers would run the day after the game but adjustments need to be made if that is not possible.

5) The game itself does not involve a lot of running. For example, a third baseman may not get any balls hit to him or he may not get on base in a given game. But baseball is a sport which requires conditioning so a coach has to plan accordingly. For example, a practice may be structured in such a way that conditioning is weaved into practice through taking grounders, doing drills,etc. Other times, practice may consist of something lighter, like standing around waiting for a turn to hit in a cage. A coach has to figure out a pattern of rest and conditioning based on what a team is doing in a given week, month, or season. Often, coaches just willy-nilly it which is a mistake.

[bbrages]

I think it's from the "get the blood flowing" school of recovery... for pitchers, at least.

Probably, it's a good way to relax from the tension of the game, too.

[bryan2137]

Kids just love running. I dont think of it as punishment or conditioning or anything. They just love to run around. Let them take off their cleats and have at it

[The Uncoach]

This particular example is 13-14 year olds. But I've seen it as low as 10u.

Specifically speaking after a win, I can't answer, but I have seen it and would be curious as to the reasoning as well.

[The Uncoach]

Both my son's teams run (8U and 9U). And they like it. I've seen them lose a game and be down, but they love the running at the end.

I used it at 9U for the kids who messed up in the game. FI, taking a called strike 3 or other mental mistake that lacked aggressiveness. We would keep track of them in the scorebook, I would go over them with the other coaches so they agreed, and then we would pick a spot for those select kids to run to and then run back (for punishment). Now before anyone says I'm evil, I ran with them. The parents thought it was great, as the boys had fun with me running alongside and trying to race them, but at the same time they were made aware that taking strike 3, etc. wasn't an option. Sometimes I think they struck out looking on purpose! :lol:

[johnlanza]

I've now coached 5/6 and 7/8 year-olds. After a game, the only running our team does is to the concession stand for team drinks

[AdamInNY]

Both my son's teams run (8U and 9U). And they like it. I've seen them lose a game and be down, but they love the running at the end.

[jbolt_2000]

This particular example is 13-14 year olds. But I've seen it as low as 10u.

[The Uncoach]

Depends on the age and the purpose that is served by running.