For D2, D3, NAIA and JUCO staffs
Bench Coach
The coach next to you who has read everything.
In a dugout the bench coach is the one beside the manager who knows the roster, the matchups and the schedule, and hands over what the manager needs to make the call. This is that job, done by software fed the program's own files, with a person making every call that matters.
What it is fed
- The roster, with the positions each player can cover and the notes your staff already keeps on him.
- The schedule and the travel plan for the season.
- The scouting folder for the opponents on that schedule, the same reports that land there every series.
- A short document on how you talk to players and parents.
Ask it
This is a scripted example on sample data, not a live chat. It shows what a staff gets when Bench Coach is fed the program's own roster, positions, schedule, scouting folder and the coach's written philosophy: every number comes out of the files, and a person approves anything that leaves the building.
Coach
Friday we get their right-hander. Who do I move up in the order?
Bench Coach
He changes shape by handedness. Against left-handed hitters it is fastball 36.1 percent and changeup 26.2 percent. Against right-handers the sinker jumps to 35.0 percent and the slider to 20.0 percent, and most of that lives arm side and below the zone. He is in the zone 37.0 percent overall with a 29.4 percent chase rate, so he will give up walks before he gives up barrels. Move Brown and Smith up: they are your two left-handed bats with the best on-base marks, .379 and .392. Caveat: this is 81 pitches from one outing, so treat it as a lean, not a book.
from: scouting/friday-opponent.pdf, roster.csv
Coach
Robinson is out at short for the weekend. What are my options?
Bench Coach
Three names on the roster can cover it. Taylor is listed INF and the roster notes have him at short through the fall with the arm and range for the left side, and he is your best bat right now at .379 with 14 stolen bases. Moore is the other INF with a true shortstop arm. The cleanest change is Taylor to short and Moore across to second, which leaves the top of the order alone. The third option is Garcia, and moving him off catcher leaves you one healthy catcher for a three-game weekend.
from: roster.csv, roster-notes.md
Coach
Write the note to parents about the travel change for next week's series.
Bench Coach
Next week's series at Sample University moves up a day. The bus leaves Thursday at 1:30 instead of Friday morning. Players need to be dressed and at the field by 1:00. Hotel and meal plans are unchanged, and the Sunday return time is the same. If that creates a conflict for your player, call me this week and we will work it out.
Marked for your review before it goes out.
Awaiting coach approval
from: philosophy-and-messaging.md, schedule.csv
Two rules
Every number on the screen comes from the files, computed in code, and the assistant is not allowed to make one up. If a number is not in what you handed over, you get told that instead of getting a guess.
Nothing leaves the building on its own. Messages and lineups sit marked for the coach's review, and a person sends them or does not.
Notes about injuries or eligibility are not kept beyond the week they apply to.
Where it stands
What is on this page is a scripted example, written by hand on the anonymized sample data already on this site. It is not a live chat and there is no running assistant behind it.
The working version is being built now. Staffs that already get reports will see it first, on their own files, and what they say about it decides what it turns into. No date is promised, and this page will say plainly when that changes.
Get on the list.
If you coach D2, D3, NAIA or JUCO baseball or softball and want Bench Coach fed with your files, say so. Tell me your level, your sport, and what your staff keeps having to look up.