Abramowitz 1

Joseph Abramowitz
Professor Murray
Composition 2
8 December 2014
The Ins and Outs of Coaching
My discourse community in Task 2 is similar, but different than my discourse community
from Task 1. I chose to change it from Fantasy Baseball to Olympia High School Baseball Coach
because I recently got hired to be a coach there. My information from Task 1 will still be
beneficial because it is categorized under baseball, and all of the lexis is the same whether it is
fantasy baseball or coaching. My goal and purpose for this task is to conduct research and find
out how coaches and more specifically how baseball coaches communicate with their players
and fellow coaches. I plan on using a variety of sources, covering the different genres and lexis
within the discourse community. The audience consists of researchers and scholars interested in
my community. Because I am actually in my discourse community, and considered a figure of
authority, I will also use ethnography to give insight to my particular community.
Annotated References
Abramowitz, Joseph. Ethnography. 18 Sept 2014.
I am considered an expert within my discourse community. My purpose is to provide my
audience with factual and up to date information, regarding my discourse community. I want to
specifically focus on the Olympia High School Baseball team, and how communication is
organized. Being that I am the coach, I basically control the communication of the team, and
what modes of communication are used. On my team, there are three written ways among many
other verbal ways that we as a community use to communicate. I use a lineup card (Custom
Lineup Cards." Kidz N Sports.) In order to communicate to my players who is playing and who is
not playing that game. The second way is through texting. Things happen and change all the time
in sports so I use texting as a way to let my players know about any scheduling changes. The
third and most important way I communicate is through player evaluation sheets that are similar
to what pro scouts use. The purpose of these evaluations is to convey what the players strengths

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and weaknesses as a player are, so that we can create a game plan on how to make the strengths
stronger and the weaknesses weaker.
Charlton, James. How to Speak Baseball: An Illustrated Guide to Ballpark Banter. San
Francisco: Chronicle, 2014. Print.
I chose to include this source in my research because James Charlton does a great job
introducing and explaining some common baseball phrases that are not common to the rest of the
world. It is important for the audience to know and understand at least some important baseball
lexis in order to understand how my community interacts. For example, in the book, the term
rubber arm is used. In my community, rubber arm or golden arm refers to someone,
usually a coach who throws the ball a lot everyday, and is able to do it everyday without
problems. An easier, written lexis is the term DH or designated hitter. This phrase will be
written on the lineup card, explaining which player will occupy that role for that game.
Charltons focus on lexis provides readers with the necessary inside information into the
discourse community.
"Custom Lineup Cards." Kidz N Sports. Word Press. Web. 8 Dec. 2014.
The purpose of this source is to show the audience what a lineup card looks like.
This source is important because it shows a major form of communication in my discourse
community. The lineup card organizes everything that will happen in the game. The lineup card
directs the players when are where to hit in the lineup, and what position to play. The lineup card
also allows me to write out all the players on the roster, which helps with strategies and
substitutions. Without it, the discourse community would fall apart. A picture example can be
found in the Appendix A.
Drucker, Susan J., and Gary Gumpert. "Take Me out to the Ballgame: Communicating
Baseball." CompPile. 2002. Web. 8 Dec. 2014.
This source was chosen for a different reason than the rest thus far. This source
offers specific insight on how written language is used in the discourse community in a unique
way. Drucker and Gumpert discuss storytelling, the social function of baseball, and the fan
experience. While some of these topics are not necessarily associated with the overall purpose
within the community, storytelling is the focus of what will be used from this source. As an
expert, I can confirm that storytelling is vital in the discourse community. It is used in multiple
genres such as bible verses, and motivational quotes for the team to read in the dugout. This
motivation helps the players relax and play to the best of their potential. Storytelling according to
Drucker and Gumpert, is important to baseball because it keeps accounts of the greatest baseball
moments alive for all fans to cherish. Story telling, in the written form, is just as equally
important within my specific community.
Lopez, Andy, and John Kirkgard. Coaching Baseball Successfully. Champaign, Ill: Human

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Kinetics, Chapter 1. 1996. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 8 Dec. 2014.
This source is used for its content in chapter 1. Chapter 1 discusses coaching
philosophy and what is needed to be a successful and communicative coach. Lopez states, How
we choose to work with people and our perspective of coaching develop well before we make
out our first lineup card (3). The authors go on in chapter 1 about different factors that have an
impact on a coaches philosophy, and how each philosophy is different based on these factors.
The role of parents, childhood, previous experience as a player, and coaching mentors are all
factors that influence coaching styles, and in particular, all of the previously stated factors have
an impact in my discourse community. The authors include that some coaches will not have the
same attributes and backgrounds as other coaches, which will also shape and mold an individual
coachs philosophy.
Miller, Glenn A., Rafer Lutz, and Karen Fredenburg. "Outstanding High School Coaches:
Philosophies, Views, And Practices." JOPERD: The Journal Of Physical Education,
Recreation & Dance 83.2 (2012): 24-29. SPORTDiscus. Web. 8 Dec. 2014.
This source is beneficial to my community. The purpose of ERIC Institute of
Educational Sciences study was to examine the coaching philosophies and practices
used by achieving high school coaches of both genders from across the United States.
The hypothesis was that these particular coaches must have a unique or innovative way
of communicating with their players. Results indicated that these coaches did in fact
include some kind of uniqueness into their own coaching philosophies and coaching
practices. The reason this source is valuable, is that it allows people in my community to
learn from and use the coaches from the study as an example, to implement some
uniqueness into their own styles, which consequently usually helps the coach grow and
communicate better with his or her players.
Patterson, Wayne. "The Cryptology Of Baseball." Cryptologia 35.2 (2011): 156-163. Academic
Search Premier. Web. 8 Dec. 2014.
This source is important to the audience because it goes into great detail about
how a baseball team communicates every game on the field. While a plethora of what
Patterson explains is considered verbal communication, it can all be related back to
written communication between the coach and players. Patterson talks about the
importance of the Head Coach, using visual signals to instruct batters, base runners,
pitchers and fielders during the game. As I mentioned earlier, these visual signs can
potentially determine how much playing time an individual will get. In my discourse
community, if a player has trouble remembering what each signal means, it can
negatively impact the team as a whole, almost forcing a coach to substitute in a player
that is aware of the specific signals. The way a coach would initiate this substitution is by
changing the lineup card.

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Walter Jr., Bernard P. "Chapter 1: Fundamentals." Baseball Handbook. 11-19. n.p.: 2002.
SPORTDiscus. Web. 8 Dec. 2014.
As mentioned earlier, player evaluations are an important way of communicating
with my players in my specific community. Included in the evaluation, are suggestions and
specific drills to help a player become better. Bernie Walter, in chapter 1, goes through the
fundamentals of baseball, which is very important to aspiring coaches in the audience. Most
coaches understand that pure talent can help a player, but only to a certain point, solid
fundamentals however, can help a player move beyond his natural talent level. Also included in
chapter 1, is a picture (See Appendix B) known as The Pyramid of Achievement which was
based on Coach John Woodens Pyramid of Success and Maslows Hierarchy of Needs.
Walters personalized version of the pyramid is a good guide to use when determining what is
important in the community, and what qualities a successful and respectful team should
encompass. Walters overview of the fundamentals matched with his Pyramid of Success
allows coaches of other discourses and my own a guide to helping the team succeed. The proof is
in the numbers, which indicate and confirm that Bernie Walters has successfully helped 55
baseball players achieve their dreams of playing Major League Baseball.

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Appendix A

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Appendix B