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Observation 3
The Wild Cats were warming up on a hot, Thursday afternoon at Maywood Middle School in
Corning, California. It was four-thirty p.m. on May first when I brought my two daughters to
their Corning Little League practice. Their team consisted of eleven girls between the ages of
eight and eleven, two female coaches and one male coach. The girls are part of the Minor
Division, which is in between Farm League and Majors. The girls are halfway into the season
and are preparing for their first game without the coach assisting with pitching. Batting and
pitching was their number one priority that day.
Teacher Movement
Graham, Holt/Hale, and Parker (2013) said that an efficient way to scan the class is to
move using a left-to right sweep so that you can glance at the entire class in just a few seconds.
Luckily, this team has three coaches with only eleven children so they are able to scan for safety
from several directions. Two coaches watched the group of girls, while one worked individually
with the teams pitchers. As the girls got into their field positions, one of the coaches observed
from the back of the field and the other from the front. The coach in the back consistently
moved in left-to-right sweeps in order to get different views and stayed behind the girls at all
times. They appropriately used the back-to-the wall techniques since both coaches faced all of
the girls at all times in order to keep the team on task and scan for safety.
The coaches consistently recognized when a player was on task and if anything was
interfering with the safety of the children. For instance, I observed the coach remind the second
base player not to stand in the way of the runner. Not only is this a strict rule for softball in order
to avoid an automatic out based on interference, it is a safety precaution as well. Also, the
coaches would remind the girls to get into position and pay attention. There were numerous
times when one particular girl would not be looking. The coach would remind her to stay on
task, and she would get into her stance. Many reminders to stay on task relate to safety. If a girl
is not paying attention, she could get hit by a flying softball. Another example is when the girls
in the right field started talking which quickly resorted to laughter. It is okay to have fun, but
this was right before a ball was about to be batted into the field. The coach quickly chimed in
with a Girls pay attention and they immediately got back on task.
Types of Feedback
Graham, Holt/Hale, and Parker (2013) say that your first type of feedback should be
specific versus general. I noticed during this lesson, there was much more specific feedback
given to the children. I was almost able to witness all of the types of feedback we learned about
in class. Most feedback was positive, however I did notice some negative also. There was
general and specific group feedback. During one instance, the ball was hit toward third base and
there was a runner on first base. The left fielder backed up the third base player as she caught
the ball and threw it to second base. Then, the second base player threw it to first, almost

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making a double play. The coach used general positive group feedback at this time by saying,
Great job girls! At the end of practice she used a specific positive group feedback by saying
Everybody did a very good job today swinging all the way through while batting.
The coaches also used individual general and specific positive feedback. Mostly, they
utilized general positive feedback with numerous comments though out the practice such as,
Great job Savannah! However, I also noticed comments such as Great catch Hannah! and
Way to be there Sage! I believe that this quote is considered a specific positive response,
because she was referring to her backing up first base.
I did notice some negative feedback responses during this lesson. When I was observing
the individual lesson between the coach and pitcher, I heard several negative feedback responses.
I did recall that the coach was also the father of this girl so he was being harder on her then he
would with the other girls. He seemed to get frustrated easily and made comments such as
Cora! You cant pitch to the ground! and Cora, stop letting go of the ball so soon. Not only
were the words negative, but the tone in his voice as well. Another example of negative
feedback that I noticed was directed to a girl that was practicing batting. She consistently did not
swing her bat. After a couple strikes that she didnt swing at, the coach said Savannah, you
cant just stand there like a robot!
Reflection
I was very surprised to notice some negative feedback by these coaches. These coaches
are the best on the minor girls league and make a strong effort to keep the girls on the team
positive. They go as far as to change lyrics to different cheers and ban some that all the other
teams use, because they are slightly negative. I look up to them and they usually remain
consistently positive with the kids. This shows that everybody makes mistakes, but I am
learning how to prevent them in this class. Rather than saying Savannah, you cant just stand
there like a robot! A good response could be, Savannah, I know youre a hitter! Swing at those
good pitches, you can do it! This was a great practice for me to observe. I was able to witness
all of the topics I am learning about.
Conclusion
Overall, I had a great experience during this lesson. I was overly pleased with the
positive influences these coaches had on the children. I feel that these children are safe during
each and every practice. The hands on experience gave me great insight on how to keep my
future classroom safe and give positive feedback. I feel that positive feedback for children is
extremely important for their self- esteem.

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References
Graham, G., Holt/Hale, S., & Parker, M. (2013). Children moving: a reflective approach to
teaching physical education (9th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.