Is the following true?

Boys have to win to feel good
Girls have to feel good to win

This is a very simple phrase that has lots of implications.

It suggests that:

• Boys play sports for the thrill of winning while girls play sports for camaraderie.
• There is more psychological and emotional factors for girls before they start to play
• There are some post-game strategies that coaches should employ, depending on the sex of the players.
• The coaching relationship and overall team chemistry with girls has a bigger impact on their performance than it does for the boys.

So what are the implications as a coach?

1) If you coach girls, understand the importance of the emotional state of the players as well as team chemistry issues. Perhaps you need to address these issues rather than ignore them.

2) Maybe understand that the socializing that occurs during practice, with the appearance that the girls are not focused, is actually important to the team being able to perform at a high level. This socializing helps them bond which helps them perform better.

Kudda would love to hear your thoughts!!

I know that I’m speaking for the masses out there when I start to question the reasoning behind some of the rules in girls’ lacrosse. Now I’m well aware, 100% supportive and understand the need to protect the players. That, to me, is priority #1. But… as I watch the games at the HS level, some things just don’t make sense.

If a girl gets carded and has to leave the field her team plays “man-down”. Unlike boys lacrosse or hockey, you’re still able to keep 7 defenders back to match up against the 7 attackers. The “man-down” gets taken off the offensive end. So it’s still a 7-7 situation… so where is the advantage and motivation to not commit those types of fouls? What if… both teams still had to keep 4 players back? That way, the defense would be “man-down” and there would be a 7v6 situation. The only thing that the current interpretation of the rule gets is confusion. Some proponents say that in transition the man down team gets hurt? Not sure? Change the rule to truly penalize the team that commits a foul by forcing each team to keep 4 players on the other side.

Here’s another rule that makes no sense. A girl goes in and scores but the defense is guilty of a “shooting space” foul and the whistle blows after the goal is scored. So what happens? The goal gets taken off the scoreboard and the offensive player gets an 8M shot. Then what happens? 7 out of 10 times they miss the shot. So, the offense scores a goal but the goal gets taken away because of a defensive foul and the burden is placed back on the offense to score again? Who gets penalized here, the defense or the offense? Supporters, meaning the referees, say that they need to teach safety and that committing shooting space fouls is dangerous (which it is). I was at a Jr level game over the weekend, where one team scored but the other team was offside. Logic suggests that you count the goal and continue. But no…not in girls lacrosse. The referees took the goal off the board and gave the offense an 8M shot. And guess what happened? They missed! Was safety an issue in an offside situation? Makes no sense.

How about this?
You penalize the shooting space infraction by carding the girl who committed the foul and then have them play man-down. If the team scored on that play, you count the goal and the team gets a man-up situation. Or count the goal and the offense still gets an 8M shot. Possibly offense walks away with 2 goals. Believe me, you would see a decrease in shooting space fouls. However, right now, what’s the incentive to NOT commit a shooting space foul?

Check out what the rules say about Shooting Space and how to properly teach how to avoid this call by going to Howard University Coach Jessie Morgans videos on Kudda. Click hereShooting Space

What has happened to the game of baseball lately? The games are getting longer and parent’s patience are getting shorter. Why do the youth games take so much longer to play? Why are games lasting well over 2 1/2 hours for a 7 inning game? Are the strike zones suddenly smaller so there are more pitches? Are players trying to imitate the pre-pitch antics of the Mike “Human Rain Delay” Hargrove, or Nomar or David Ortiz? Are the pitchers that much slower in between pitches? Are they not throwing strikes? Whatever happened to hustling on and off the field in between innings? Nowadays players waltz out to their positions.

I had to give up coaching baseball after 20 years because I wasn’t getting home until 7:15 after a 4:00 start. Thus I was missing my kids’ games. I remember getting home by 6:00 on a regular basis. We had many games that were over by 5:30? Why the gradual slowdown of the game? What is happening out there?

MLB is also experiencing longer games. This may be more to time in between innings to maximize the ad revenue. However, teams are more deliberate in changing pitchers, having mound discussions, and taking their sweet time in between pitches. The effect is with a 7:30 start time, games are lasting until 10:30-11:00. This makes it hard for families to attend a weeknight game.
When was the last time you saw the conclusion of a World Series Game?

Big question: What can be done to speed up the game? Of course, we need to figure out why the games at all levels are taking longer.

In a perfect coaching world, every game is close but your team wins because you have prepared your players better than your opponent. In other words… you out-coached them!! Granted, during the course of a season there’s going to be some close games and probably several more where there is a larger margin. However, what we hate as coaches are those games where one team is so dominant that the outcome of the game has been determined in the first 5 minutes. Coaching in these blowouts is one of the more demanding roles of a coach and needs to be handled with sportsmanship and dignity. If not, it’s a lose-lose situation… for both teams.

Coaching in these games is difficult because if you continue to score, you’ll embarrass your opponents by running the score up. Coaches try to prevent this by playing their bench or playing defenders on offense. Realize that if you empty your bench, they want to score as much as the others. And the defenders moving up to offense? They’re even worse about wanting to score!! In both cases, everyone wants to score! You still end up running up the score.
If you play keep-away, you embarrass the other team by “teasing” them.

We’ve seen some other “tactics” that actually embarrass the team more than if they just continued to run the score up.
For example, one of the prep schools here in Baltimore had an extremely big and fast RB at the middle school level. After giving the ball to this guy 4-5 times straight and having him run for touchdowns the coach decided to switch it up in an attempt to exhibit “good sportsmanship”. This star RB was also the 3rd string QB so the coach moved this stud to QB. OK, sounds like a nice gesture. Unfortunately, the coach called for QB draws and options which enabled this player to run for 2 more touchdowns. Basically they took the “handoff” out of the equation. When he was challenged by the opposing coach, the coach responded that this player was the 3rd string QB and there wasn’t anything he could do about it.
Lesson here is to make sure that your intention is actually effective.

Coaching Strategies in a Blowout are sport specific. I’ve noted some of the basic strategies we’ve seen exhibited but would welcome more ideas from our viewers.
These are strategies for the dominating team.

Basketball:
Defense- go into a tight zone where every player has to keep one foot inside the lane. This will allow the other team to at least get to shoot.
Offensively, Have a 5 pass rule or “windshield wiper” rule. Players have to complete 5 passes or get the ball from one side baseline by the 3-point line to the other side. Or possibly limit their shots to ones off of backdoor cuts or from a pick and roll.

Lacrosse:
Defense, everyone has to have one foot in a zone (girls: be aware of the 3 second call for being in the 8M)
Play off-hand. Work on the weak hand. Try to get something productive out of the game. Possess the ball for either a certain number of passes or a certain length of time.

Soccer:
Play possession. Get the ball into the offensive zone and then switch fields while bringing the ball back to defenders Focus on changing the attack.
Avoid- Keeper Sweeper or playing with fewer players. These tend to embarrass the other team and make your team appear to be cocky.

Baseball:
Bring in your players who don’t pitch that much. Could be painful if they can’t find the plate.
Offensively: You don’t want to bunt… that’s just plain disrespectful. Have your players work on hitting to the opposite field.
What you can’t do a whole lot about:
If their pitcher can’t find the plate. You don’t want your players swinging at bad pitches and developing bad habits.
If their fielders can’t field. Your team puts the ball in play. As long as they’re not knocking it over the fence, really nothing you have to do. Just don’t bunt.

There’s a balance between running the score up and embarrassing the team by exhibiting certain strategies that actually backfire.
If you have the right attitude and approach, you could go up to the opposing coach and say, “Coach, I’m aware of the score and we don’t want to run it up. I’ve got my subs in and we’re going to work on switching the field, connecting 8-10 passes before we attack the goal. We’re still going to be working hard and I know your team is still going to work hard.” Maybe say this at halftime (certainly not after 2 minutes… that’s a little arrogant!) Hopefully you’ve already talked with the coach and have established some connection with them.

Kudda welcomes comments and other strategies/tactics that coaches can use in a blowout situation.

What level should your team play? Usually, teams have the option to play at various levels. Should you place them at the top level, “A”, or place them in the average level, “B”, or in a developmental level, “C”? Is it better to play at a higher level against better competition and probably lose every game? Will that increased competition make your players better? Would losing demoralize them? Is it better to stay down a level and totally dominate your opponents? Would winning every game make your players better? Does it give them a false sense of superiority?

Ideally, in a perfect world you want to play at a level where your team goes .500. That reflects that you are winning some and losing some. You’re in the right league! Hopefully the games are also closer and more competitive. If you have a higher winning percentage, then you might have been better served playing at a higher level, and vice-versa. So how do you decide which level to play?

1) What are your goals? Is it to instill a winning tradition? Is winning the most important thing to you and the players? Does winning give you a lot of self-esteem at the office? Get to brag to your co-workers and the boss? Then by all means “sandbag“ at a lower level.
But if your goals as a coach is to challenge your players in a competitive atmosphere, teach them many of life’s lessons, such as losing and handling adversity, then you might play at a more competitive level.

2) Check your ego at the door. Take a step back and take a realistic look at the talent of your players. Think of “lipstick on a pig”. Just because you have them playing at the “A” level doesn’t make them “A” level players.

3) Use your experience. If you’ve been coaching the same team for a year or two, go back and look at your record and decide if they are ready to move up. If you’ve dominated the “C” level with this group of players, obviously move them up. If you’ve struggled, check the ego and move them down. Look at your players. Have you gained or lost the better players?

4) See what the leagues dictate. Often, the leagues will dictate what level you play. If your town has 4 or more teams, then the top teams have to play at the “A” level. If your town has only 2 teams, that’s when you may decide which level.

Big picture, make sure that you realize that it’s THEIR experience, not yours. Make the decision that will enable them to be in the most competitive league where they will experience some victories and some losses. There’s nothing wrong with going .500 if you’re in the right league.

Another early season matchup between MIAA powers, Calvert Hall and St Pauls. Both these teams are in the same division and were 1-0 in conference play.
With game time temps hovering around 45 and a constant downpour, both teams struggled offensively. St Pauls slowly extended their lead and were able to hold off the CH Cardinals, 6-3. The APU Player of the Game was St Paul goalie Gunner Waldt.
Thanks again to Booker Corrigan for the play by play.

Here is the action from the first quarter. Kudda was late setting up as it was standing room only in the press box.

1st Quarter CH @ SP from Kudda on Vimeo.

Here is the action from the 2nd quarter

Calvert Hall @ St Pauls 2nd Q from Kudda on Vimeo.

Action from the 3rd quarter

Calvert Hall @ St Pauls 3rd Q from Kudda on Vimeo.

Action from the 4th

CH SP 4th Quarter from Kudda on Vimeo.

Many of the Spring season teams actually started to play games this past weekend. For those of us in the Mid-Atlantic region, this is nothing short of a miracle, especially if we remember what it was like one month ago… 50 inches of snow on the ground.

With the start of games, comes the start of the “Pre-game” speeches. What do you say to your teams to get them in the best possible mental state of mind? Do you go over situations? Do you yell and scream and get them excited? Do you try to give a Knute Rockne speech?  Or how about an amazing motivational speech like Gene Hackman in Hoosiers?

Unfortunately, what we see in youth sports are coaches who try to do too much before the game. We see coaches who feel that they have to give the “Hoosiers” speech every game. It might work once but gets old real fast. We often see coaches who want to go through all of the possible situations that their 9-10 basketball team may face. After a few minutes, probably even seconds, their team isn’t listening or they are simply overwhelmed with the amount of information as well as the amount of energy and excitement.

Here are some Kudda- proven guideleines to make your “pre-game” talks more productive.

• Players are excited, and coaches are excited. Coaches need to be calm. Take a few deep breathes to settle down before addressing the troops.

• Keep them short and simple

• Location, location, location. Make sure there is nothing behind you as you talk, nothing that would distract your team. Therefore, don’t stand in front of your bench and talk while the other team is warming up behind you. Have your team turned away from the field when you talk with them.

• Prepare what you will say. Write it down and stick with it. All too often coaches try to “wing it” and go all over the place. Then they get too excited… see number 1.

• Give them 1 or 2 thoughts to focus on. Hopefully these are 1-2 areas that have been emphasized during the week.

• Give them something specific to focus on. Something for their extremely short-term memory.  “First shot, BOX out!!” “First ground ball is OURS at all costs!!” “Everyone touches the ball before we attack the goal”.

• Reinforce their strengths. Too often coaches remind players of their weaknesses right before games which defeats the purpose of getting them mentally fired up.

• Save the great motivational speeches for that one key game/moment of the season. Prepare that speech, write it out ahead of time and practice it. What sounds good in the shower, or in your commutes, may not sound as inspirational out loud.

Many of you have contacted Kudda expressing outrage on the dirty hits exhibited by the Penn Charter player in a game last week. There has been much discussion on various forums and the general feeling is disgust. The Penn Charter coach, Pat McDonough, did not see the actual hits and is frustrated about the subsequent fallout. He has received emails calling his program “classless”. I know Pat personally as we taught together for several years and know the type of program that he runs up at PC. He’s a standup guy and a coach that wouldn’t tolerate this type of behavior. It wasn’t Kudda’s intent to smear his program but to bring to light the coaches’ responsibility to controlling his players. Kudda removed the videos from this blog as well as from Youtube as we wanted to take the heat off of Pat.

Kudda is hoping that disciplinary action is being taken up at PC against this player. They can not simply ignore what he did. The message needs to be sent that this type of thuggery has no place in HS sports.

Many of you have also questioned the referee’s role in controlling the players. This issue is being investigated by the referee association in the Baltimore area as a result of the video. How could the referees allow this player to remain playing after two devastating and illegal hits? Why didn’t they immediately eject the player? Again, the primary job of the referees is to make sure that the players are safe. (Then you deal with calling the games fairly)

In this situation, the referee’s failed in their primary mission. I also blame the coach for not removing the player. Coach McDonough may not have seen the actual hit, but seeing the aftermath, a player knocked unconscious might raise some questions on the sidelines…someone saw it on the PC sidelines. And after the 2^nd player went down? Doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure it out.

The question still to be debated is, ”Is the coach still responsible if they don’t see the play?”

Kudda will stay on this story and as we get results back from PC and the referee association, we’ll be sharing them with our viewers.