Over-Coaching

More often than you realize during games, LESS is more.

As coaches, we often want to make things happen. Even when you consider the very idea of "making something happen," it just sounds unnatural. Too often during games (especially in youth ball) I see overzealous coaches attempting to micromanage the game, every play, and every movement of their players. They feel like if they don't provide that last-second bit of advice, then maybe they didn't do everything they possibly could to help their player succeed. I truly believe it is with the best of intentions. But is it really helping?

In my opinion, experience and research, no, it does not help. In fact, it can actually be detrimental and have the opposite effect that you are hoping for. While the games we play may be complex in the sense that there is a lot to know in terms of technique, fundamentals and mechanics, when it comes to being in the heat of the moment what is needed is simplicity and open focus. Namely, their minds need to be cleared. They don't need to be overly focused on anything in order to be fully engaged and prepared to perform each task to their full potential.

What this means is, the more you put into their heads at the last minute, the LESS focused they are going to be and less able to perform at a high level. Let me give an example.

Last Saturday I went down to our local ballpark to take in some of the youth games. I strolled around the park and caught glimpses of several different games that were going on – 12U, 10U, 8U – both baseball and softball. I leaned onto the outfield fence of one of the 12U games and watched for a bit. It was a close game in the 5th inning, and the team that was up to bat was behind but making a comeback. The coach for the team on defense called timeout and walked out to talk with his pitcher and to settle his defense down. Good idea. But while that was happening at the mound, I noticed three coaches from the offensive team were all huddled over the batter as he stood between home plate and the dugout. All three were feeding him hitting advice and swing techniques. An absolute barrage of tips and strategies was piled on that batter right in the middle of his at-bat. "See the ball hit the ball... Load up and drive it... Keep your eye on it... See the ball hit the bat... Don't swing at a bad pitch... A walk is as good as a hit..."

I refrained, but I'll admit I wanted to shout, "Leave him alone. He's going to be fine. The last thing he needs at this moment is more to think about."

Over-coaching is an easy trap to fall into, and most of us do it at some point. We usually don't even realize we are doing it. As coaches, we just want to help kids play the game correctly and well. However, if we knew that we are actually preventing kids from learning and growing in the game, or at least delaying the learning process, then we might hit the pause button and control our over-coaching moments.

Another sign of over coaching that is often found at youth fields (and sometimes even high school fields) is yelling what-to-do instructions while a play occurs. It is tempting for coaches to think it is their job to tell players what to do on every play, but there is a fine line between good coaching and over coaching. Shouting out what to do as the play develops is like trying to play the game for the kids. You are removing the discovery process from them. In doing so, you are creating robots who, at the next level, will not know what to do or where to go unless their next coach tells them every time as well.

Don't get me wrong, good coaches do talk a lot, providing positive comments on players' actions and the team's actions throughout the game. Sometimes the comments are constructive critiques of those actions after they occur, helping them to evaluate what they could have done differently in order to prepare them to do better the next opportunity they get at the same kind of play. Those conversations are usually calm, collected, and take place after the player has come back into the dugout (and after the coach has taken some deep breaths).

Not so good coaches (or coaches who need more improvement in this area) talk a lot WHILE the action occurs. They are always yelling “what to do" instructions while plays are going on. All this does is cause distractions for the players, slows down their learning process and causes them to lose their focus. We want their focus to be on the next play that is occurring, not on the coach's suggestions.

While a ground ball is rolling toward a shortstop, yelling things like "Stay down," or "Go to first" (with the throw), or "Billy, Billy, Billy, that's your ball" (on fly balls)... are all great bits of advice. It certainly is what we want to happen on those plays. But, in all honesty, they provide zero positive results when shouted as the play is occurring. They only have potential to distract and create more anxiety in your players. Remind them before the play happens, which teaches them to think about and visualize what they are expecting to do on the next play. Once you've done that, sit back and watch.

Sometimes that's the best thing you can do as a coach during a game. Sit back and watch. And the more you coach them up in practice, the easier it is to sit back and watch in games. As a coach, I have always viewed practice as my time, while the game is the players' time. Practice is where I do my best work, so that the game can be where my players do their best work. And if I have done my job in practice, then I don't need to micromanage in the game.

Maybe you are a coach and you want to be the best you can be so that you can help your kids be the best they can be. So, maybe you are wondering, how can I know if I am over-coaching? Here's the thing, usually, the players will give signals that they are not enjoying themselves. Their body posture speaks volumes. Also, your kids will be very nervous while playing. Perhaps even more telling, when they are faced with a high-pressure or difficult game situation, they are unable to meet the demands of the game in those situations. Another sign of an over-coaching coach is that they will rarely have kids come to them and ask questions about the game in fear that they will again be told what to do. Ultimately, they lose interest in practice, then games become more like a job rather than, well... a "game."

Basically, over-coaching removes the fun from the game because it removes a big part of the experience of the game. It removes the learning, the discovery of right and wrong ways to do things. It removes the opportunity to fail, and more importantly the opportunity to pick themselves up and learn to move on from failure.

We've all done it. This post has been "confessions of an over-coaching coach." I was the greatest of all over-coachers. Now, today, games are much more relaxing and enjoyable to me. Don't get me wrong, practice is hard-core, fast-paced, high-energy, and often I come home with a hoarse voice from coaching and talking so much during practice. But the game is theirs. That's their day, their time. Let them shine. Let them fail. Let them learn and grow through their in-game experiences, both good and bad.