Intangibles

Braves made me think of this one from a previous post:

In your opinion, what do you think the biggest "intangibles" are for a team during the course of a season?

I think one of them is "Senior Leadership" avoiding the "Senioridice Bug"

 

IMO, leadership is relative to experience. it doesn't necessarily have to be seniors. i work at a small 1-a school so i'll have at least one freshman playing varsity and a couple sophs starting.

one of my 10th graders, was an all-conference second baseman as a fresh. was the varsity starting point guard last year and this year. he played summer ball with our legion team. so he is more experienced than a lot of seniors.

my point being, i think too many people put too much stock in senior leadership. you need leadership. if its seniors great, but it doesn't have to be.

 

Leadership

It really helps when your better players are the leaders. The other players look up to them because they are talented and they will follow them. If they provide leadership as far as work ethic and mental toughness it can make for a very good season. On the other hand if they lead in a negative way it can make for a long season as well. Look what Alex White did for DH Conley. He made everyone around him better. The same can be said for other guys on other teams. You always want your upperclassman to lead by example because they are the guys that have been in the program for awhile. But the fact is someone has to step up and lead. It really helps when that guy or guys can play the game as well.

 

Agree LP46...but I have seen with some past teams that had a large Senior class the underclassmen were reluctant to step up and try and be the leaders....I think we agree that "leadership" whether it comes from Seniors or otherwise can be an "intangible"...

What are some of the other intangibles that can greatly impact the outcome of a team and season?

 

Weather and health.

Good weather, no postponements, you don't have to bunch games at the end of the season and pitching doesn't get worn down at the end.

Players staying healthy and if you lose one to injury, someone prepared to step in and contribute.

Also the wind, hope it blows out while you are hitting and blows in while the other team hits.

 

The biggest intangible for a team during a season is trust.

 

Excellent points....I've tried controlling that wind blowing thing by making visits to the mound....don't always workout the way I would like it to.

 

I like this one 007...give us a little more detail on where you are going with this one.

 

Well, alot of people will tell you that baseball is the game that most closely parallels everyday life, so that broadens the scope of what a team is really based on. HS baseball coaches are not just preparing players to play at the next level, they are preparing their players for everyday living. Since HS is the end of the line for 90% of the players, the life lessons learned tend to have a lasting impression. People might say the core of our team is our pitching, hitting, or defense, but I don't agree. The core of a team is trust.

 

Trust in the coach and his ability to manage a game? Trust in each other?