Sometimes we encounter a player who just doesn't want to be there. The parents or someone has decided that they should play ball. Maybe its for exercise, being part of a team or they honestly think the player will like it if they give it a try. We have to handle the situation so that it isn't a distraction.

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This weeks Lineup

• Warmup Segment
• Listener Question: What will happen if they change the transfer rule to allow unlimited transfers? (@08:12)
• Paige's Power Play (@12:38)
• The rich keep getting richer in college softball. The transfer portal and NIL is allowing players to migrate to the great teams. (@16:17)
• How do you distinguish between all the different "Final Tournaments". With so many nationals, world series, etc tournaments, we don't have a true national champion. (@30:33)
• Illegal pitches. Players from the very young to the older ages are getting by with illegal pitches. They don't want to change, but what is going to happen when the encounter a game where it is being called. (@37:43)

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If we graph performance of a player or a team it is not a straight line showing improvement each day. Skills are developed over time and while the skill level will increase over time it will ebb and flow on the way. Also it will depend upon what we measure to show improvement. As we progress through the age groups the skills of the opposing players and teams improve. And as the opponent improves it is harder to use the typical measuring sticks, like batting average, era, on-base percentage, etc.

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This weeks lineup:

• Warmup Segment:
• Listener Question: Why do people think that having coaches with no players on the team is the greatest thing ever? (@10:32)
• Paige's Power Play (@20:29)
• What to do when a player outgrows her team. (@24:36)
• How can we help the player that is all-american in practice but fails in a game. Its like she has stage freight. (@34:23)
• We see it all the time where a team complains about the facilities after they get home from a tournament. Can be fences, field maintenance, concessions and on and on. Almost everybody has been to a tournament and know what they like and dislike. Ask the questions BEFORE you make a commitment. Don't assume that because it is a big tournament or showcase that everything will be first class. (@48:10)

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The coaches discuss this time of year where teams are finishing this season but are planning for next season. We are finishing up with probably our biggest tournaments of the year. But, many are trying to get a jump on preparing for next year. It is hard to stay focused on the task at hand for the players and coaches if we are distracted by working in tryouts at the same time.

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This weeks lineup:

• Warmup Segment
• Listener Question: What do we do when the coach plays a guest player and several of the team members are given limited playing time? (@8:51)
• Paige's Power Play (@15:52)
• Etiquette for showcases. The coaches discuss some dos and don'ts for parents and coaches regarding the college coaches that are in attendance. (@21:32)
• Organization Jumping. Is the grass always greener on the other side? (@35:05)
• The coaches discuss picking the right showcase for the level of talent on your team. (@42:35)

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We can increase the softball IQ of our players by teaching them the basics of scorekeeping. They will better understand how their batting and fielding average is computed. Also they could look at an online or offline scorebook and reconstruct what had occurred. Every little bits helps in the education process.

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This weeks lineup:

• Warmup Segment
• Listener Question: Is there any place where I can find clips of great plays to share with my team? (@10:32)
• Paige's Power Play (14:04)
• Ramifications of UCLA and USC going to the Big 10 (@17:13)
• Based upon some listener responses we talk some more about loyalty and other topics.(@30:43)
• Great advice based upon a quote by Matt Lisle. (@44:37)

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We have all seen it. A runner is sliding into a base or homeplate and the fielder reaches and tags the runner high and the runner is safe. Remind your players that the runner has to come to the base, so we should get in a position to tag the runner at field level on whatever body part is going to be the first to hit the base.

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This weeks lineup:

• Warmup Segment:
• Listener Question: How quickly should a player be able the change a bad habit? (@12:11)
• Paige's Power Play (@18:23)
• We had some good responses to our topic on loyalty. There are some more things to consider. (@24:03)
• How do we make the pro-leagues work? (@36:54)
• We have to teach sliding better. Let's eliminate the collisions. (@50:55)

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