More Hustle and Guts Needed

Just sharing a few thoughts I had after this summers tournaments were over. 

Those on the AAF mailing list probably already read this, but if not, here it is again.

ALWAYS hustle down the line after you hit the ball, NO MATTER WHAT.

However you hit the ball, strong or weak, fair or foul ALWAYS,
ALWAYS, ALWAYS hustle down the line.

Hustle is your second weapon in an at bat. First, you hit the ball,
then you RUN like heck!

The defense needs to first defend your hit THEN beat out your
hustle. Your first strike is the hit you put on the ball, you
"attack" again by running your FASTEST to put as much pressure as
you possibly can on the defense AND to make them PAY if they make a
mistake.

I saw too many girls, including my own daughter, slow down before
first base. Granted some of them were already out by the time they
were within a few steps of the base, but I believe all players
should run all hits out at their best speed no matter what. If
they're able to slow down and stop before the base on a ground out
to the left side, they probably weren't running their hardest.
Some are slowing down before the bag and are only out by a step or
two, that's just not the way to play. Imagine if these players had
been hustling down the line, they could have rushed a throw, they
could have shaken up the 1b to possibly mishandle the ball because
they were right there - you never know, RUN LIKE HECK after you hit
the ball.

Then there was another situation when a girl popped up soooooo
high, she should have been standing on 2nd when the ball popped out
of the SS glove. Instead, she's dogging it and almost gets caught
in a pickle between 1st and 2nd because she wasn't going hard. She
was just trotted around 1st and then, bam, the ball pops out of the
SS glove and now she's in no man's land between bases not even at
top speed. Seriously, she would have made 2nd easy if she had run
as hard as possible from the get go. She hurt her team by giving
less than her best. I didn't stay at that field to see what
happened after that, but it's quite possible that her team had to
give up an out to move her to 2nd, a base she could have had "free"
if only she gave her best effort after her mis-hit rather than
pouted and felt sorry for herself. Team players, and players
giving their best effort, never give up on a hit. If you're giving
up on hits, if you have players that are, it's time do to a self
check and step up your game because you're selling yourself short.

I recently received an e-mail from Tom Hanson and he talked about this very issue.
Here's something he reported from an MLB game...

"I loved that he pulled Upton (after he'd run out to his OF
position...ouch) for not hustling on a play.

Even with Longoria and Crawford out he pulls arguably his most
talented remaining player for not running out a ball."

Apparently, even pros need do to self checks every once in a while,
so don't beat yourself up over it if that's you. Just make the
adjustment and get better.

AND....more coaches need to have the guts to reward those who do
play all out and sit those who don't. You're not doing a player
any favors by rewarding them with playing time (or anything else)
when they play and practice selfishly (showing up to practice when
and if they feel like it, walking on the field, doing drills half
way, etc, etc, etc). You're only asking for trouble because the
ones who only go all out when they feel like it will continue on
that path, and those who do go hard all the time (and never get
rewarded for it) will start playing like the others - only going
"all out" sometimes. Next thing you know, your whole team is
playing selfish, "go hard only when I feel like it" softball.
You'll have far bigger problems than you started off with and
you'll wish your only issue was having to play a game or two with
your "stud" on the bench and "less talented/big hearted" on the
field.

If coaches can do it (sit "studs") in the major leagues where jobs
depend on success and wins and losses, then you can do it too.
Telling your players that they should give their best all the time
and backing that message up with your actions are two different
things. But if you can create an environment where your players
know that nothing less than their best is acceptable and nothing
less than their best will be tolerated, your season will be filled
with much less headache. However, that will never happen if you
continue to reward the "slackers" and the "it's all about me"
attitudes. The rules have to be the same across the board -
consistency is key. You can't have one reward/punishment for some
players and another for other players. Be fair, be consistent,
back up your words with actions, and you'll have much more success.

Here's to having the guts to "honor the game."