NFHS Girls softball

[Manny A]

Originally Posted by CecilOne

OK, Steve had a pet peeve in another thread, so this is one of mine. We do not tell players what to do.
Catchers and pitchers can be told "last pitch" or ""one more", but not "throw it down".
Players may be told not to play with jewelry, not "take it off".

We don't coach, we don't instruct and we especially don't tell players to do anything that might be wrong or hurtful.

Hmmm, interesting. You have a problem with "throw it down"? That's not coaching, that's moving the game along. And, in reality, it's no different than "last pitch" or "one more", because you're telling a player she can't throw an additional pitch.

Coaching is telling a fielder where she shouldn't position herself unless she wants to be guilty of obstruction. Coaching is telling a batter she's too close to the top of the box. Coaching is telling a pitcher as she warms up that she cannot step back anymore like she did in high school.

And there are scenarios where we are required to tell players what to do. If the batter sets up with her foot outside the box, we tell her she has to get both feet in. I just don't see a difference between saying, "You cannot set up with one foot out," and "You need to put both feet in the box."