Here We Go Again

Tomorrow starts the 2014 season, and, if my math is correct, my 40^th high school team (15^th at Webster). My body hasn’t completely given out on me (yet) and I’m excited to work with the young women who will make up the JV. It says a lot about our prospects for a good season that I already know almost all of them from camps and workouts, good players and people. We’ll have girls fighting for playing time who would have been clear starters just a few years ago. In addition to the strong freshman class, we’ll also have experienced veterans with 4-5 sophomores who can model the kind of chemistry and leadership that made last year such a great (and enjoyable) season.

That’s how far the program has come. It’s been a pleasure to follow the leadership of Bryan Gibson. I’m also lucky to have an outstanding assistant coach in Leah Poe and a great associate coach in David Knapp, both knowledgeable and strong teachers who relate well with the girls.

It appears our numbers are down a little this year, but we’ll have enough for two competitive teams. There may be a kind of Memphis-St. Louis relationship between the teams this year, with some girls bouncing back and forth between the varsity and JV, depending on what the varsity needs in any particular situation. That is our goal, to get girls ready to play at the next level.

For parents new to the program, I’ll post a box score and summary, with pictures when available (and both Amy Jo Love and Stacey Greer have already shown up with cameras, but all entries are welcome), on this blog after each game, usually early in the evening. Coach Gibson (with help from Beth) keeps us on Facebook, so feel free to “like” us there, as well.

We will also be using a new app, called GameChanger, which will allow you to follow the game live if you cannot attend. The app also generates a summary and box score, although the blog box score will be the official one. So.... if you have an iPod, iPhone, or iPad (my preference because of the bigger screen) and are planning on being a regular, download the app and I can give you administrative privileges if you’d like to do some scorekeeping via the app. It should make the season a little more fun for parents and other friends and relatives who can’t be at the game.

Besides this site, the other site you need to be aware of is StatesmenSports.com, where you will find Tweets, calendar updates, etc. I’ve also added a special Twitter account just for WG Softball. Feel free to follow me @CoachBerndt. I’ll tweet all Softball Blog updates

Late Learner

Why has it taken me so long to become a good student? I think the expression “life long learner” loses something when you don’t really start maximizing your efforts until you qualify as a senior citizen.

Ironic as it may seem, for someone who loved his long career as a teacher (and is still loving it in its current, very limited, iteration), I was a bad student. My GPA declined every semester from my freshman year of high school on, finally bottoming out at .6 as a second semester college sophomore (after that, my year-designation rated as undetermined until I finally graduated). Yes, that is 0-decimal-point-six (3 Fs, a D and a C, for those of you keeping score at home, and didn’t include PE, which I also failed, and the speech course I dropped before I got an F there, as well).

Obviously I picked things up a little in order to graduate and get my teacher certification, although the following anecdote is telling, and this takes place AFTER I was married (and graduated, but that’s another story. Anyway, it’s one thing to explain a bad grade to a parent; to your wife....) Carolyn had accidentally locked herself out of our first apartment and went next door to a neighbor, asking for a ride up to UM-St. Louis to retrieve a key. Her friend said, “You’ll never find him, that place is huge.” True, although certainly not on the scale it is today. Carolyn’s response, “No, it will be fine, he’ll be in the commons playing bridge.” She had no problem getting the key.

I actually did become a decent student at Webster University (née College) for my master’s, even joining as adjunct faculty for a class or two. I didn’t exactly revert to form for my Counseling masters (GPAs for masters degrees are a joke, requiring mostly attendance), but I complained a lot and had to force myself to actually show up to class. However, unlike my undergrad studies, I actually did show up.

Two weeks ago I finished a coaching clinic in Kansas City. I began attending these about 25 years ago, as I was about to take over the reins of Hancock’s softball program. For 10-12 years these conferences served as the kick-off (apologies for the wrong sport metaphor) for our Spring season. I kind of got away from them for a while, but still attended sporadically. This year I returned (the AARP room rate was cheaper than the sold-out “special” conference rates) and found myself taking copious notes at all the the sessions, even the ones that were less than relevant for me.

I occasionally wonder how much more I might have learned in college had I cheated by actually going to class, reading the material (but really, shouldn’t books with college text price points read themselves?), taking notes, etc. Of course, like my MAT from Webster, this clinci has immediate, practical applications. I can visualize how I’m going to use the information and look forward to being able to apply it sooner rather than later. My mind still wanders, of course, but only because I’m projecting forward something I just heard/learned.

I’m looking forward to sharing what I learned this weekend with my great “teammates” of the WGHS coaching staff, the remarkable young women who play for us, and the parents who support us all. My 40^th softball team is just around the corner and I’m anticipating once again, another enjoyable season. I am fortunate; I have had teams with bad records, but never a bad team. 

It didn’t hurt, of course, that softball season is also a harbinger of warmer weather, as I stared out at the ice from my hotel room in Kansas City and see the ice/snow combo still covering our deck at home.

Quick Reminder December 10

We'll be having an orientation meeting next Tuesday for returning and incoming softball players. Below is the letter Bryan sent out a couple weeks ago. Looking forward to seeing most of you.

Good morning,

I’d like to invite you to an informational meeting on December 10th at 7 PM in the WGHS Commons (near the cafeteria) to help share our offseason schedule/activities and also answer/discuss any questions that you have regarding our high school softball program.  We obviously want to welcome, orient, and inform our new families from the class of 2018,  and make sure that we are able to provide any information to help you plan and prepare for your high school softball experience.

Attendance is certainly not required, but welcomed for all returning upperclassman and  families (current grades 9-11).  Consider this your opportunity to “press the restart button” – bring new ideas, goals, and plans to the table.  There is plenty that most of you can take from the meeting and provide to the conversation.

Meeting information includes….

Winter workout schedule

                Open Cage schedule

                A ROUGH DRAFT of a summer schedule

                2014 Schedule (as of 11/1/13) but with firm start and tournament dates

                Camp/clinic schedules (for attendance and for helping with Jr. Statesmen)

                Service Project plans

                Club team and college searches

                Program expectations, goals, and contact information

                Time for questions and discussion

We will make all materials available electronically so don’t panic if you can not attend in person.  Also, our mailing list comes from our Jr Camp attendance and the WGBSL particpation; it may or may not be completely accurate.  Please feel free to update (or remove) your information with me, and please extend the invitation to anyone interested in playing softball for the Statesmen in 2014, as long as they are currently enrolled at WGHS or Hixson .  We hope to see you on December 10^th and please don’t hesitate to contact me with questions before hand if needed.

Crunching Numbers -- Season Wrap Up

It’s been almost two weeks since the Hancock Tournament and the end of the season, we’ve had our meetings, handed out the evaluations and have only the celebratory banquet ahead before we begin our off-season activity and we start all over again. I thought this might a good time to do a summary of our year and put some meaning into the numbers.

Softball and baseball are numbers-oriented sports and numbers geeks, like me, spend (probably way too much) time crunching the numbers to provide an objective assessment of the season and the individuals who, in our case, made it so successful. You may want to skip this unless you, too, are a numbers geek or want to learn about the numbers and how they’re figured. One other note: scoring is always subjective, and the decisions about hits/errors are mine. What might be considered a “tough” error on the varsity level might be ruled a hit on the JV.

On a subjective scale, this was the equal of any team I’ve had since returning to the program in 2006 in terms of accomplishing the goals of improving as a team and as individual players, of building camaraderie, and integrating the goals of the Webster Groves High School softball program.

I will admit that this team far exceeded my expectations – I certainly did not predict 13 wins as we finalized our roster in August, but what can never be predicted is a team’s character and heart. Neither can it be measured in a number, but if it could, this team’s stat would be off the charts.

The offensive numbers that can be compared paint an interesting (to me, of course) picture. It’s a fair comparison to look at the numbers from 2011, 2012 and 2013 (numbers will be presented in that order). The number of games (24-24-23) was similar, as were the records (13-11, 14-10, 13-10). Despite playing one less game than the two previous years, we actually played more innings than the previous two years (138, 128 & 140) and took far more at bats (AB), (621, 658, 693) and had more plate appearances (PA=AB+BB [walks] + HB [hit by pitch] + Sac [sacrifices]), (731, 804, 810). We scored runs at a better pace than either of the previous years (235, 253, 251), despite a lower batting average and slugging percentage than the year before (.343/.456, .372/.517, .358/.443).

Defensively, our fielding percentage continued to rise (.842, .862, .870). Most significantly, the number of assists was way up, which means that we made lots more plays on ground balls and didn’t need to wait for someone to pop up or strike out. “Catch and throw,” “Take care of the softball,” we did that. Our pitchers did exactly what we asked them to do, throw strikes. While opponent strikeouts were down by almost 50%, so were our opponent walks, the fewest since at least 2007. That helped everyone as we learned about how to play in a variety of defensive situations, a key component to our growth and success as the season wore on.

As a side note, I’m including a link to some articles on my personal blog that are softball related, although not necessarily to this team. Content warning: Because it’s my personal blog it contains personal (and occasionally political) opinions that not everyone may like. I’m not intentionally provocative, but if you’re easily provoked, well, consider this fair warning!

On Cheering

Worst Part of Coaching

Accidental Coach
    Coach

End of Year Meeting & Other Announcements

We will be meeting with the JV and undergrad varsity players on Tuesday after school, usually in a math room down the hall from the athletic office. They should be prepared to turn in their (washed) uniforms and equipment. I am preparing a personalized letter/evaluation for them and one of us will meet with each of them. As mentioned previously, please emphasize to your daughters that these evaluations may appear overly negative because we are focusing on areas where they can and need to improve to continue moving up in the program. Don't let them ignore the positive comments and focus just on the negative. It was a great year and each girl played an important part in that.

Also, we will be having our softball banquet a week from Tuesday in the Commons. More information will be handed out at the meeting.

Final Stats from 2013

These stats are unofficial, although I don't expect any significant changes as I review the score cards and boxes from our 23 games. They are helpful and misleading at the same time. There are hard .250 hitters and soft .300 hitters (if those numbers land on any particular player it is PURELY coincidence). In fielding, some positions are more prone to errors than others. I am offering the season ending stats from some of our previous season for sake of comparison only (they have been previously published). Have fun all you stats-junkies (of which I am one).
I've been asked to provide a key: RoE=Reached on Error; CS=Caught Stealing; TB=Total Bases (1 for a single, 2 for a double, etc.); Slug%=Slugging Percentage (TB/AB); OB%=On-Base Percentage (Hits + Walks + ROE divided by PA (Plate Appearances=AB+BB+Sac). Hope this helps, Paton!

Pictures from the Hancock Tournament

Thanks once again to Beth Kazlauskus for the skill and time she devoted to providing pictures for this blog. I hope someone will step up next year. Softball is a tough sport to shoot (says the former yearbook adviser) and we've been lucky to see so many great shots. There's one of every girl who played yesterday, and that was every girl. Enjoy.