We asked coaches and players to set goals for the coming season. We wanted to know what team development priorities would be - more power? more speed? better pitching? better glove work? The response was expected in some areas, surprising in others.

First some conclusions we derived...

• Older team coaches are more ambitious, younger coaches take any wins
• Older coaches are more focused on details, younger coaches on basics.
  FOR OFFENSE
• All ages put hits as the first goal in offense, but
• Younger teams want more walks, more extra base hits
• Older teams want more into steals and sacrifices
  FOR PITCHING
• Walks are the big problem for all teams, but...
• Older teams are more interested in ground-outs
• Everyone thinks they have the right number of pitchers.
  FOR DEFENSE
• Errors are the killers - most important overall.
• Older teams are more focused on infield work
• Youngers teams more concerned with flyballs.

Now the tabulated results. We re-ordered each section according to the top percentage for all ages. If either age group was much higher than the norm or the other group, that result is highlighted.

THIS SEASON'S GOALS		All Replies	Younger Ages	Older Ages
For the Team	Play better than .500 ball	28%	30%	27%
	Win area championship	24%	30%	20%
	Win regional championship	16%	0%	27%
	Win national championship	16%	10%	20%
	Win a few more games	8%	20%	0%
	Qualify for area play-offs	8%	10%	7%
For Offense	More hits per game	72%	80%	67%
	More runners on base	48%	70%	33%
	Score more runs	44%	50%	40%
	Steal more bases	40%	10%	60%
	Advance more runners	40%	30%	47%
	More total bases	24%	50%	7%
	Hit more home runs	4%	0%	7%
For Pitchers	Walk fewer batters	72%	80%	67%
	Allow fewer hits	44%	30%	53%
	More ground-outs	40%	30%	47%
	Increase pitch velocity	32%	50%	20%
	More specialty pitches	28%	20%	33%
	More strike-outs	16%	30%	7%
	More/fewer pitchers	0%	0%	0%
For Defense	Fewer fielding errors	80%	80%	80%
	Get to grounders quicker	48%	40%	53%
	Stop stealing	44%	50%	40%
	Catch more fly balls	32%	40%	27%
	Turn more double plays	28%	20%	33%
	Cut down sac runs	12%	20%	7%