Finding Good Assistants Is Like Finding Gold

Finding Good Assistants Is Like Finding Gold

By: Dick Smith

Provided by: NFCA's Fastpitch Delivery

Whether the current assistant coach has been of value to a softball program is a subject worth review. Head coaches are generally under the scrutiny of the administration and always observed by parents and railbirds. But do assistant coaches get the same analysis?

ASSISTANTS WHO have been with a program for a time are probably in sync with the head coach or else they would not be where they are. This article pertains more to the times when a program is seeking an assistant, either because one is needed or the current one has not been, shall we say, beneficial to the program. The head coach probably is the one having the ultimate say in who will become the assistants. So, then, who gets hired?

Keep in mind that good assistants are like gold. The good ones are rare, indeed. So rare, in fact, that often a program is relegated to selecting someone that might not be as qualified, simply because one is immediately needed. It might be a former associate of the head coach, or a friend or someone recommended by another.

PERHAPS IT IS simply a person making an inquiry into the program. It could be just about anyone depending upon the situation.

Assistant coaches do not make much, if any, money working with a program. Full-time positions are few and far between, and even those few are not that well paid. Part-time coaches sometimes get modest stipends that may or may not even cover gas money. Thus, the available well-qualified people are not all that eager to join the fray.

MANY POTENTIAL assistants are retired players or those looking for positions where they can work with players. This group is very large, but the facts cited often turn them off to available positions. Retired people and those with part-time jobs often fit the bill, but are they qualified? Good question.

Most of the people seeking work in the softball profession are former players or perhaps coaches of summer teams. Most of them know the game and know it well.

When they get the job, they tend to use methods either taught to them or learned. Those who have learned from their own experience and not particularly from others tend to coach the way they think they played. Not bad, but sometimes quite wrong.

Many of the men coming from baseball programs having played the game enter the softball arena thinking the games are the same, except the balls are bigger and the bats and diamonds are smaller. The games are not the same.

IT IS ONE THING to know a subject and quite another knowing how to teach it. Teaching fundamentals is an art, and even the very experienced coaches are often far afield from the proper techniques required.

An assistant must be on the same page as the head coach. This cannot be disputed, for if there is a difference in philosophy, methods of teaching or otherwise, there will be problems, chiefly of which will be an undermining of the head coach. This is very detrimental to the team.

THERE ARE THOSE that are hired as pitching or hitting coaches. These are necessary positions and require great skill. Many are simply not qualified for these tasks, although they think they are. These tasks take many years of training and cannot be mastered immediately after, say graduation, or by simply watching the game.

An assistant is sometimes a gofer in the strictest sense. That person does scheduling, recruiting and supervising of all aspects of the program while the head coach sits around bragging about accomplishments. It is necessary that this not happen. There must be cooperation between the two at every juncture, and they must be on the same page.

WILL THERE be differences? Of course, but these need to be handled in private, away from the team and never brought out in the presence of players.

There are two aspects of the job. The first is teaching. The second is game time. It is essential that the two aspects be separate. A coach is first a teacher who trains the team for battle. Once the fray is entered, the head coach becomes a manager.

The assistant does the job of assisting the head coach during the game, which may include such things as scorekeeping, pitch counting and other important functions.

THE BEST ASSISTANTS are those who have worked under head coaches who have been in the game and worked with players for many years. It is there that good techniques are learned and can be employed later on, rejecting those that are not good. Experience is the key here.

Selecting a good assistant is like prospecting for gold. When found, they are extremely valuable, but often "fools gold" finds its way onto the fields of play.

Good luck to all who seek this treasure, for it is rare.