Coach going too Far/Catcher intentionally hits batter…

If that was my daughter I’d have punched that coach in the mouth.

 

Player is not a victim. Player and coach are both wrong. The player was given bad instruction, but the word "victim" isn't accurate, here. We've seen high school players held accountable for actions. High school students, in general, aren't automatically given victimhood status carte blanche just because an adult was involved. In basketball, coaches would teach swinging elbows to clear out the other team after a rebound if they were close. I never did that, because it didn't make sense to me how that is a safe or legal play.

 

Agreed. Who doesn't know that throwing a ball at someone's head is dangerous? If the coach said to stab the batter with a knife and she does it, does that make her a victim? The player went out of their way to throw a hard ball at another kid at full speed. Inexcusable and probably should be banned from the sport.

 

Coach, please hold out your wrist so we can slap it:

 

HIGHLY underrated movie by the way

 

Possible the catcher acted on her own as it looks as though the coach denied any responsibility. Have not seen any response from the catcher after being suspended and the coaches statement.

 

Agreed. Fun fact: the director Richard Linklater, who is now known for filming movies over long durations to capture natural aging of actors, now has a movie slated to come out in 2041. He’ll be 81!

Richard Linklater Will Be 81-Years-Old By the Time Production Wraps on ‘Merrily We Go Along’ in 2041 — World of Reel

 

He has put out some great stuff. And his semi autobiographical stuff is from my era and hits close to home

 

Just rewatched Dazed and Confused today.

 

Justice has been served! The coach can’t return to a job he already quit before the incident. That seems almost too harsh a punishment. And no wonder the coach didn’t realize that it was intentional — it had only happened in four other games that season and twice in the game that went viral. How was he supposed to know it wasn’t just an accidental play? This coach got a raw deal.

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This week, the UIL decided to put both the McCamey Independent School District and the head softball coach softball coach Michael Woodard (who is also the district’s football coach and athletic director) on a two-year probation. UIL will also publicly reprimand Woodard and the district.

The decision came after Woodard was questioned by the State Executive Committee. During that testimony, Woodard confirmed that his catcher had done this in four total games this season. The McCamey team had earned five batter interference calls — which resulted in outs — prior to the Cisco incidents that went viral on social media, Woodard said.

The committee strongly emphasized the lack of action and concern shown by Woodard. Committee chairwoman Johanna Denson told Woodard that this lack of action contributed to the appearance that he was condoning the behavior.

Woodard, however, maintained that he did not condone the behavior, claiming the footage that went viral is “not how he remembers” the incident occurring. Woodard told the committee that after the second batter was hit and the Cisco crowd erupted, he initially defended his catcher, but now regrets not taking her out of the game.

In hindsight, he admitted that he now believes his catcher intentionally hit the batters. He also admitted that he never reached out to Cisco to find out the condition of the batter that was hit in the face.

McCamey ISD Superintendent Michael Valencia announced to the committee that Woodard would not return to coaching softball at McCamey High, though that had been decided before these incidents, as Woodard was only coaching because of a staffing shortage.

Woodard will continue his service as the head football coach and athletic director of McCamey ISD during his probation. UIL has said that if any similar incidents take place at McCamey ISD athletic events during this two-year probation, the punishment will be more severe.

 

”Suspended”? Expelled from school is more appropriate. Lucky she doesn’t get criminal charges filed

 

Impossible to prove 100% the coach called the play or knew it was intentional but, to me it’s obvious he was at very least aware his catcher was capable, even likely to do something like this.
Also, the fact that the coach didn’t reach out or check on the batter that was hit throws a red flag up and certainly doesn’t set a good example for the young players in his charge.
I’ve played, coached and watched a lot of baseball and softball in my lifetime and this incident is as bad as it gets. The consequences should be severe. Anything less is condoning bad and very dangerous, I might add, behavior.

 

My post above (#32) was supposed to be sarcastic. Personally, I've never seen a batter get hit with a throw to 3B. So the fact that it happened four times in the same season with the same catcher suggests to me that the coach was on board.

 

I’m with you Johnny_cakes.

 

since the coach is also the football coach, I would bet that he teaches to hit the QB to the "echo of the whistle"

 

My kind of thinking!