Never Be Afraid to Ask WHY

Guest post by Ken Krause, Life in the Fastpitch Lane blog

Perhaps one of the most interesting and fun things about coaching softball players who come to you after working with other coaches is hearing the crazy things they're told to do. I'm not talking about the standards — the often-repeated instructions such as get your back elbow up. I'm talking about some of the really odd things coaches have players do.

A great example was the craze that had hitters slapping their backs with the bat. I'm not sure where that started, but there were a lot of females making that painful move not too long ago. Thankfully it's mostly gone by the wayside now.

The thing that most fascinates me about it is it seems neither the players nor the parents ever ask the simple question "why?" As in why do you want me to slap my back? How does it help?

Everything you do as a player (or say as a coach) should have a purpose. Sure, you don't want to be seen as being disrespectful, and if you're paying for lessons you want to be able to trust the person you're paying. Yet you have a right to know why you're being asked to do certain things, particularly if they deviate from the norm.

In my opinion, players and parents don't ask enough questions. Perhaps sometime, as an experiment, I will take a group of students and tell them to do something really crazy just to see if they'll question it.

I always stress to the players I coach, whether as a team coach or private instructor, that if they don't understand something or they're told by me to do something different than what they've been told before they should ask why. If I can't give them an answer they shouldn't do it because I'm probably just making it up. But I make an effort not to do that, so I'm not worried.

Certainly some coaches don't handle questions as well as others, but there is a way to ask without seeming to challenge authority. Tell the coach you're trying to understand it so you can do it right. As a result, you want to know what effect the instruction or drill is supposed to have, and how it will achieve that effect.

I certainly do that in the reverse. If I see a player doing something I think is counter-productive, I don't just walk over and change it forceably. I first ask her why she's doing it. What's the rationale for moving that way or doing what she's doing. I'm surprised at how often the answer is a shrug and/or a quick "I don't know." So you're practicing something, or executing a movement, and you don't know why you're doing it? Doesn't sound like a formula for success to me.

The more you know about the things you're being asked to do the better you'll be able to do them — and the better you'll be able to judge whether the coach knows what he/she is talking about.

Don't be impressed by a fancy resume either. There are plenty of folks who don't know what they're doing at every level.

Make a point of asking why, and listening to the answer. Because in the end, it's you who's going to have to live with the outcome, good or bad.

Anyway, that's the way I see it.