Communication is an integral part of our society and lifestyle, both on the professional and personal levels. Good working relationships and team chemistry depend on everyone’s ability to have open lines of communication and verbally expressing one’s intentions.
No more could that be evident than on the youth baseball field. At this time of the year, and after being together for over three months, coaches know players, players adapt to coaching styles and players familiarize themselves with each other. But can they communicate?
Talking to one another on the field and communicating is a sign of quality coaching and players getting intelligent, thereby learning the game and all the nuances baseball presents. Communication sets them up for success, not failure.
There are essentially three communication captains on the field; the catcher, centerfielder and shortstop. These three players, taking their cue from the manager, need to constantly keep reminding their team of game situations and what to do, in addition to directing defensive situations as they unfold in a game.
Having the luxury of seeing the whole field in front of him, the catcher is the focal point of the infield. He communicates non-verbal signs to the pitcher relayed from the coach, and must be verbally telling the infield how many outs there are before and after every play is made. Additionally, he should be directing players on where to throw the ball, telling the pitcher or infielders where to throw the ball on a bunt play, giving signs for pickoffs, directing who should catch a pop up in the infield, moving infielders into position for cutoffs or relays from the outfield and orchestrating where the pitchers needs to backup or cover a base.
This all takes verbal communication. Lack of it leads to players out of position, overthrown balls and hastily made plays which lead to more errors. If a catcher is talking and communicating, these miscues will be minimized and your pitcher will receive the defensive support he deserves. Poorly coached teams make these type of errors because the catcher and his supporting cast haven‚t been schooled in communication, therefore, no one knows what to do or where to go.
Shortstops are the other key component directing traffic in the infield. They should be telling the second baseman who‚s covering second on a steal, telling the pitcher who‚s covering second on a double play ball hit back to the pitcher, relaying signs for pickoffs, letting the outfielders know how many outs there are after each out is made and where to throw the ball on a hit.
Roaming the outfield to catch fly balls is not the only job of the centerfielder. He should also keep reminding his fellow outfielders how many outs there are, directing traffic on fly balls so their won‚t be a collision between an outfielder and infielder, and letting them know where to throw the ball after its hit to them. This last point is important because sometimes an outfielder has his back to the play after retrieving the ball at the fence and rather than just getting up and flinging the ball anywhere, the centerfielder should be yelling what base to come up throwing to. The outfielder can now position himself better and visualize where he‚s going to throw the ball and where the cutoff might be.
If teams just start with these communication basics and stress the need to verbally communicate on the field players will have a better understanding of what to do and where to go. They‚ll also realize how important talking to one another can lead to fun and success.
