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A Coldwater catcher's helmet is shown with a speaker that allows the coach to make calls from the dugout on the inside by the right ear. Electronic communication systems were approved for baseball last year and for softball July 8.
A year after implementing electronic communications from the dugout to the catcher behind the plate in baseball, the National Federation of State High School Associations is bringing the same rule change to softball.
"A landmark change," the NFHS wrote in its press release, and some parties are eager for it.
"I had two emails from two different companies before the NFHS even released their approval of it," Coldwater coach Kyle Ahrens said.
Ahrens and Parkway coach Trey Stover said they're not sure whether there's a problem to be fixed with electronic comms, but they'll consider using them next spring.
"I won't have to do near as much talking from the dugout," Stover said, "but I honestly don't think it's going to be a huge, huge change."
When the electronic comms systems were authorized in baseball last year, Coldwater coach Cory Klenke decided to try one, and he was thrilled with the results.
Communications systems can involve a wristband or smartwatch, as well as earpieces and speakers as long as they doesn't allow the catcher to reply. An example of a watch system from a company that reached out to Ahrens is GoRout, which uses a watch that can show a few words and an app on the coach's phone into which calls can be typed. The company has an in-house frequency system that ensures the watch doesn't need WiFi, but also charges an unspecified yearly fee.
Klenke went with a company called MULTIVOICE, whose system features a speaker, approximately one-inch by two-inch by 1/2-inch, Velcroed to a clip on the earhole of the catcher's helmet. The coach can then speak into a microphone from the dugout, using radio frequencies.
The system used by the Coldwater baseball team features a speaker clipped into the earhole of the catcher's helmet.
In addition to the speaker being almost completely hidden, speaking into it allowed the coaches to give much more detailed calls.
"You could talk to the catcher about situational things a little bit easier," Klenke said, "as baserunners are on, or even with a certain hitter at the plate, if you wanted to pitch him a certain way, things like that."
Traditionally, teams have relied on wristbands with number, letter or color codes. The coaches yells a code from the dugout - three numbers, for example - and the pitcher and catcher check their wristbands to figure out what pitch was called.
Ahrens said that maybe five times this year, the calls had to be repeated louder, but they never failed to get a call in. Stover, whose infielders use the same codes to determine where they're positioned, said the Panthers had a few problems on the road - at parks with more foul ground between the away dugout and the field - and in tournament.
Stover did say that in some of those cases, his pitcher and catcher couldn't hear the louder call either.
"There were a few times in tournament games where they couldn't hear me and ended up making their own call on a pitch or whatever," Stover said. "But that didn't happen very often."
Among the potential benefits, Ahrens concurred with Klenke that more complex defensive calls could be relayed than with a three-digit code. Electronic comms also eliminate the potential for sign stealing if an enterprising player or coach deciphered the verbal codes, although none of the coaches interviewed said they had seen that recently, and make it less likely the catcher would mix up signals.
But with only the catcher getting digital comms, it requires two signs: from the dugout to the catcher and then from the catcher to the pitcher, and, if necessary, other infielders.
"I'm guessing that their goal with this is to speed the game up," Ahrens said, though he also noted that he didn't think games were going particularly long. "But if that's the case, I wish they would include pitchers being able to wear a communication device like a digital wristband."
Klenke said he thought the pitch comms sped up baseball games a little. He also noted another plus was being able to tell the catcher to go out to the mound during an inning.
"In a way, it could potentially give you more mound visits," he said. "A coach could tell the catcher, 'I need you to go talk to the pitcher.' Might be something specific, might be he needs time, whatever."
One potential downside the coaches pointed out is potential outages. Ahrens remembered seeing a College World Series game when a digital watch stopped working mid-game and the catcher had to revert to manual signs.
"I feel like we'd probably still keep our wristbands and have them as a backup just in case if that would happen," he said. "And you know that's going to happen at some point. I guess it's one of those things where you just hope that doesn't happen in a huge game or a huge moment."
The biggest downside, especially for small school districts, is the cost. The GoRout system is marketing for $700 for one device and a one-year contract, and Klenke said the MULTIVOICE comms system cost $660 with no yearly fee. The baseball program had enough of its own funds raised, primarily from duck races and ACME sales, that it didn't have to call on boosters or draw from the athletic department budget.
He noted that the Midwest Athletic Conference baseball coaches discussed it before the spring, and most weren't planning to use it because of the cost. But there were a few cheaper options that came available "last-minute", he said, which enabled Coldwater and a few other teams to try them out.
"I'll definitely, look into it here this school year," Stover said. "My plans are to try it out, at least (if I) find a system that we can maybe put into our budget, and we'll probably give it a shot this spring."
