One of the most important aspects of a team’s culture is the coaches’ ability to make every player on the team feel important whether they are a starter or a role player. The bench can be a powerful element during competition. To me, it can become the X factor if you have people on the bench that are positive, energized, and are engaged in the game. Engaged can mean different things to different people. To me, every player on the bench has a purpose during the game whether it is charting opponents’ tendencies, watching signs of opponents that may give you an advantage, giving verbal communication while on defense, or just making sure they are prepared to go into the game when their number is called. You have many ways to help your team when you are not a starter if you have a positive attitude and accept your role as a pinch runner, pinch hitter, bull pen catcher, or a late inning replacement on defense. These are all roles that must be established and communicated with your players so they will buy in to their role for the team’s success. It does not mean that you do not continue to work hard in practices and try to be in the starting line-up! Playing time should be earned by your performance each day and if the process is a good one, through time and effort your opportunity will come. At my level, the game is performance based and ultimately I gain confidence in players by their preparation, work ethic, attitude, focus, and ultimately their ability to execute the game with some consistency. Every level is different as I am a firm believer that when we are working with players at the 10u, 12u, & 14u – skill development and game knowledge should be a priority over winning and the only way kids develop is by having chances to play the game. As we move up the ladder and the skill set and knowledge are established, the game becomes a competition and the game should be played to win!

At the higher levels of our game, this is where the bench becomes a major factor and the culture of the team becomes essential in building a successful program. The bench player can either be a positive influence by staying engaged in the game and sharing in the responsibility of being a good teammate and a team player. Praise teammates when they do well and comfort and encourage them when things are not going well. Criticizing teammates in the heat of the battle simply distracts from the focus of working together and gives the advantage to the opponent who develops a sense of confidence when seeing signs of weakness or lack of unity in the midst of competition. As coaches, we need our players to respect the officials and the other team and its effort. The bench is not a place for emotional tantrums or showing a lack of respect for the game. Cheering from the bench is okay in the game of softball, I guess……… but we need to make sure what is coming from the bench is tasteful and does not make a mockery of the game. Every team will have a different culture on their bench and that is okay! I would hope that we use the bench to teach the game and use it as a classroom to increase their knowledge of game situations.

Parents should stay away from the bench or dugout until the game is over. Let the players play and the coaches do the coaching. Sometimes you may disagree with the decisions of the coach and these disagreements should be handled in the proper way. I will discuss issues with attitude, skill development, and work ethic but never playing time. We should always go back to the basics of player development, early stages should be about development and shared playing time although as you climb the ladder in competition, playing time is earned and parents need to be realistic about their child and their abilities.

Until Next Month,

Coach Mike Candre