Coach Reese Bruechner Message-->Parent response thread

 

FROM COACH-Reese Bruechner
Hey Meredith, we can chat in person before or after our next practice if you’re interested.  I’ll try to answer your questions.

With 13 girls 3 have to sit on the bench every inning but all are in the lineup and bat.  There are no rules on who is benched or a rotation as far as the league goes.  It’s up to the coaches. I’ve been rotating based on combination of age&ability.

As far as what position they play it’s up to the coaches.  We try to fit them into positions with the best chance of success for the team.

Outfield is important in coach pitch.  Paying attention, stopping the ball, throwing to second, and backing up infield is very important.  Softball is a team game and we need players all around the field.

We had identified Kassidy early as possible infielder.  She needs to listen.  She has not been coachable and she’s not listening to our advice.  You may notice every practice we tell her to set her feet and step into her throws.  She is hustling and rushing everywhere which hurts her fundamentals.  Performance in games and practices matters.  No position is set in stone and as girls develop they may be moved where they can benefit team success.
Believe me we coaches all want to win and are trying to win.  If the girls maintain good attitudes and continue to develop we can beat everyone we play.  If you notice we have 6 girls who this is their first season of coach pitch and that’s basically 6 outs every at bat.  It’s hard to win when that happens.  Everyone on the team has room for improvement and that is our main goal as coaches.  If you notice we have not canceled any practices and add extra when we can.  Have y’all been to all practices?

If Kassidy is not enjoying her season then I am sorry for that.  I would hope you encourage her to set goals and take steps to reach them.  I recommend you help her with hitting in addition to our team practices.  I know Sawyer, Emma, Baylee, Lily,  and Chelsea work on hitting almost everyday.  Margaret works in off season with hitting coaches.  I also encourage you to have a goal for Kassidy to listen and focus in practice and games, play perfectly when she gets opportunities in outfield,  backup infield so she gets opportunities to tag and throw outs even when starting outfield.  She can develop and earn more time playing infield by doing that.

FROM Kassidy’s Parents

Thank you for the quick response coach. Just want to let you know, I am not her mother, this is stepmom here. The one who is with her dad at the games and most practices. I know we’ve been to a practice and a game that you were absent. Practice's that were missed were not on our watch. Her mom took to them to the beach for spring break and she missed everything during that week. And I will let you know; I was not happy about any of that, but I don't have control over a divorce decree boss.

I have been to enough practices that I’m familiar with the skill sets of the girls on the team and know what you’re working with. I’ve also been to every game and have seen your strategy of setting the infield and rotating outfield every inning. I know that 2 of the non-rotating infielders are coaches’ kids so I get that. I assume the rest of them also played with y’all last year and that’s where the politics comes in, I guess.

Obviously, Kassidy needs to continue working on all of her fundamentals. I understand that she’s an outsider coming into this team and that you have no idea what she does outside of your practices, but she gets in more work every week on both hitting and throwing. I’m glad the other girls work on hitting almost every day and get off-season help from hitting coaches but to be honest none of that has really been reflective on the field. No girl outside of Sawer on the team has just been amazing at the plate. Let just be honest about that. I’d argue that Kassidy has more skill than half the girls on the team and that’s being modest.

Thank you for pointing out you have 13 girls on the team and letting me know that you as coaches determine who is benched and who's not. Obviously, coach, that's recognizable and understandable. I truly want any coach to make the right decision for their team, I've coached, I know. Trust the process, right? But the results have been embarrassing.

Position's that these girls play is completely up to you all, I completely understand this. I also understand the importance of infield and outfield, I can assure you, I don't need coaching on that.

With you saying Kassidy is not coachable. I would really appreciate more details on this because I have been to practices and there isn’t much difference between her and a lot of the other girls. I'm pretty sure we've all seen the same thing. The way I saw it is 1st game she started at pitcher, made couple bad throws and then went to the outfield rotation. I told her after the 1st game day that she has to execute on every opportunity, or she may not get another chance and sure enough she hasn’t gotten another. Kassidy has not mentioned being unhappy on this team. She hasn't recognized any demotion yet, but we'll make sure she understands what it is before her next game. I hope that you put additional thought and consideration into how you utilize her on this team. Thanks.