KFDM COOP Posted February 8, 2009 Report Posted February 8, 2009 Is baseball the toughest physically to coach? By Dave Rogers Published February 8, 2009 If the investments are tanking, speculators might be wise to look into analgesics and icemakers this time of year. The market for relieving sore shoulders and elbows should be spiking again with the start of high school baseball and softball practice. And not just for the players. What of the adult coaches? It’s not the young-uns who throw endless hours of batting practice and hit untold thousands of grounders and fly balls to help the players with their fundamentals. These are grownups, many of whom are beyond the usual age of playing in rec leagues, 40- and 50-something folks who may require a tube of Ben-Gay or some long hot baths to get through their seasonal coaching regimens. And the work for baseball and softball coaches doesn’t end there. Many of them take responsibility for grooming their fields as well, cutting the grass, dragging the infield and chalking the base lines. Which begs a question: is baseball and/or softball coaching the toughest of the high school coaching jobs? If not, which job is the toughest? (I’d like area coaches to email their answers, alternatives and explanations to me for a follow-up story or several. Please forward your thoughts to dave.rogers(at)baytownsun.com and be sure to put COACH in the subject line.) Based on decades of behind-the-scenes observation, I’d say that football takes the prize for being the most time-intensive sport. Football coaches routinely work long into the night at school watching videotapes and drawing up plays only to spend their free weekend time doing the same things. Preparation for one game starts the minute another one ends. And their off-seasons are getting more and more busy with powerlifting teams in the winter, spring training and summer 7-on-7 competitions. Sure, there are time-consuming jobs for coaches in most all sports like entering stats into computers, scouting opponents and laundering uniforms. Except maybe golf. That’s widely acknowledged as the best/easiest job in all of coachdom. Often, it’s also one of the most sought after, too. But basketball coaches don’t normally shoot jumpers and run the court or varnish their gym floors. Just like football coaches don’t actually do any “live†blocking and tackling and these days striping the fields is usually left to the maintenance departments. So when it comes to “getting physical†and actually doing activities performed by their players, coaches who swing fungo bats and throw batting practice have my vote. ••• In case you missed it, Sports Illustrated has reported that Alex Rodriguez tested positive for steroids in 2003. First, who cares? Even though Major League Baseball outlawed steroids a decade earlier, it did not begin testing for steroids until after A-Rod gave his sample as part of a MLB test that was supposed to be anonymous. As I’ve said before, I don’t think the use of performance-enhancing drugs in baseball’s so-called “steroid era†should disqualify anyone from Hall of Fame consideration, or be that big a deal. You know the big sluggers faced juiced-up pitchers and vice versa. Whether or not they violated the “sanctity†of record books is irrelevant to me because, how “sacred†can the record book be considering changes in ballparks, conditioning, lifestyles and travel schedules since records began being kept in the 19th century? Here’s what I care about concerning the A-Rod steroid revelation – as well as prosecutors using samples from the same test against Barry Bonds: They were never supposed to be revealed. By all rights, those records should have been destroyed before they could be seized by over-reaching government agents intent on prosecuting Bonds.
WeedBegone Posted February 9, 2009 Report Posted February 9, 2009 Speaking for GFPSB--- Coaching summer ball is an unbelievable task. Pitching BP to 13 or 14 girls in the summer heat is tough. Preparing a team for a tournament in the SETX heat can definitely take a toll on the back, hip, knees and entire body. It is not unusual to play 5 or six games a day. Last summer we played 77 innings of ball in 4 days in average temperatures in the mid ninetees (August). Your in the heat the entire time and often in back to back games. That is equivalent to 8.5 nine inning baseball games in 4 days. Tough for coaches and tougher for the players. Folks, serious Girls Fast-pitch soft ball is not a sport for sissies. It takes a toll on all involved. Our team of 12 players and coaches would put down 45-55 bottles of water/gatorade in 6 innings of play. It takes several days to get the electolites back in check after a week-end. But i loved every minute of it--i think. Beer and other beverages worked well at the end of the day.
Guest abovetherim Posted February 9, 2009 Report Posted February 9, 2009 Not in my opinion. Football, the assistant coaches work their butts off.
WeedBegone Posted February 9, 2009 Report Posted February 9, 2009 Not in my opinion. Football, the assistant coaches work their butts off. LOL--Riding a sled blowing a whistle. ;D
Bucof2010 Posted February 9, 2009 Report Posted February 9, 2009 Not that its par for the course but every cross country coach I had always ran with us.
WeedBegone Posted February 9, 2009 Report Posted February 9, 2009 Not that its par for the course but every cross country coach I had always ran with us. But that counts -- one vote for cross country ;D What i was trying to say was... regarding the wear and tear and long hours a midst the extreme heat..
9Doggies Posted February 10, 2009 Report Posted February 10, 2009 No comparison, Baseball is the toughest. 1 hour of B.P. , 1 hour of Fungo, Bullpens, 30 minutes Field Prep, 10 Minute Speech, Supper, Beer and a bag of ice for my rag arm, a few minutes with the family and off to bed. Get to do it all again tomorrow. Not enough assistants, Football has a coach for every position, Inside Linebacker and a Outside Linebacker Coach, come on? Wouldn't be nice to have a Pitching Coach, Infield Coach, Outfield Coach, Hitting Coach and a Manager to run it all at the Varsity level. Sub Varsity having at least 2 Coaches instead of 1 to build a program. What am i thinking, this is Southeast Texas, never going to change. Nice to dream though. Oh by the way the Fans are within a ear shot, ever call or decision is heavily scrutinized by the 9 million Dad Baseball Coaches in the stands. It also pays the same as other sports. You got to love the game or love helping kids get better to do it.
WeedBegone Posted February 10, 2009 Report Posted February 10, 2009 No comparison, Baseball is the toughest. 1 hour of B.P. , 1 hour of Fungo, Bullpens, 30 minutes Field Prep, 10 Minute Speech, Supper, Beer and a bag of ice for my rag arm, a few minutes with the family and off to bed. Get to do it all again tomorrow. Not enough assistants, Football has a coach for every position, Inside Linebacker and a Outside Linebacker Coach, come on? Wouldn't be nice to have a Pitching Coach, Infield Coach, Outfield Coach, Hitting Coach and a Manager to run it all at the Varsity level. Sub Varsity having at least 2 Coaches instead of 1 to build a program. What am i thinking, this is Southeast Texas, never going to change. Nice to dream though. Oh by the way the Fans are within a ear shot, ever call or decision is heavily scrutinized by the 9 million Dad Baseball Coaches in the stands. It also pays the same as other sports. You got to love the game or love helping kids get better to do it. 8)
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