I have been coaching Little League for 9 years and I LOVE IT!
Apparently an author named Beverly Carroll noticed my passion for coaching Little League and asked if I'd give her book a read. I received the book, How to Coach Youth Baseball, in the mail on a dreary March day while in the midst of preparing schedules for our league, setting practice plans for my team, preparing for our annual Little League Auction and praying all this snow will go away before our tryouts!
It is written in a very simple, easy to understand style. The author makes no assumptions that the reader knows anything about baseball (who really does) which may frustrate more experienced coaches, but overall the style does not distract from the content.
The book is divided into sections that address fundamental drills for each baseball discipline. It's chock full of drills and practice ideas. The drills are explained in detail and many have accompanying photographs to illustrate the proper execution. Incorporating lots of repetition with fundamental drills while varying the activities and keeping the kids engaged is tantamount to the success of any youth baseball squad and the drills outlined in this book will help a coach accomplish this. I was surprised and delighted to find many drills I use in my own practices described. I also got some good, new practice ideas which to me is the measuring stick for a good coaching book or lecture: "did I learn something new?" If I did, I consider the book or lecture a worthwhile endeavor! All the skills need to be covered and taught in practices, so having several different exercises for each fundamental is important. You'll probably find you don't have the time to do all the drills in the book in your practices, but it sure is nice to have something new up your sleeve if you do have some extra practice time.
The practice outlines in the book are invaluable, particularly to a new or less experienced baseball coach. Having a plan for practice is important- I like to set up 6 or 7 stations at my practices and rotate the kids through each station in pairs every 5-10 minutes. This keeps each kid engaged and actively working on skills and fundamentals for over an hour of each practice. The drills in How to Coach Youth Baseball are very well suited to this sort of practice organization.
There are things I do at my practices that are not in this book (maybe I'll write my own...), but there are more than enough fundamental drills to fill any team's practice season. I had one problem with the book-they actually cover throwing a curve ball! Kids should NOT throw curve balls until their teens and coaches who need to read this book shouldn't be teaching them to throw it!
I've read many books, attended many lectures and coach's clinics and searched for hours online to help me be a better coach and to help me make my practices productive and educational for my players. When I think back to that first tee ball team I "coached" years ago, I wish I had How to Coach Youth Baseball then.
If there is one book a coach, particularly a new baseball coach, should read, this is it. The season starts soon, get your copy today!
How to Coach Youth Baseball
Coaching 6 Year Olds Baseball
In our town, 6 years of age is when kids get to play ball. They play Tee-Ball, that brand of baseball that's just a small step above anarchy and a step or two below what you may envision baseball should be.
Tee-ball at its worst is mayhem with some adult supervision. At its best, it is a fun introduction to the great game of baseball. The single most important thing a coach can do for his or her Tee Ball squad is to make it fun so the kids will want to come back next season. If you can sprinkle in some instruction on how to play the game, your season will be a huge success!
I offer these tips on practice:
KEEP PRACTICE UNDER AN HOUR- 50 minutes is long enough for 6 year olds.
It's important that you keep the kids occupied. If they're standing around doing nothing for more than a minute, they'll get restless and you'll lose them. Be firm, but fun. Make sure you keep them moving or doing something the entire practice. KIDS LOVE TO RUN! Break up any training exercises with a bit of running. Twice around the bases is good, so is the old "everybody run to the fence and back." Even if they learn nothing about baseball in your practice, they'll get some exercise and they won't be bored.
A fun running drill for kids is to divide the kids into two teams, have one group start at home and the other at second base. Have a relay race with each kid running around the bases. Each kid carries a baseball and hands it to their teammate as they come back to the starting position. The kids LOVE this and you can do this drill at the start of practice, in the middle and at the end. They'll want to do this all night! Have some gum for everyone after the last race as you end your practice-they'll leave happy and want to come back the next time.
It is also important to get the kids to throw the ball correctly. See who can throw well on your team and pair those kids off for a game of catch. Take the kids who need help and pair them off. Have the parents involved here. Have each parent stand behind their child holding the ball in the palm of their hands so the child has to lift their elbow above their shoulder to retrieve the ball to throw it. Have the kids reach back, "pick the apple off the tree" and throw the ball to each other. This helps teach and reinforce keeping the elbow above shoulder height for throwing.
Get the kids in a circle (or two) and have them roll the ball to each other with their glove hand. Have the kids keep their thumbs pointed to the ground, glove open, to roll it to each other. This reinforces proper positioning of the glove when going to retrieve a ground ball.
Have the kids pair off. NO GLOVES for this drill. Have them 8-10 feet apart and gently UNDERHAND TOSS the ball to each other. Make sure they use both hands to catch the ball. This will reinforce proper catching "mechanics."
Have the kids 8-10 feet apart with gloves on, "baseball ready" with the throwing hand behind the back. One kid gently rolls the ball to the other who retrieves the ground ball with his glove hand. Once each kid has retrieved a dozen balls or so, have them use the throwing hand to assist in retrieving the ground ball. This will reinforce good ground ball skills.
These are just a few tips, check back for more.
Tee Ball Practice Game
Here's a good little game you can play with your tee ballers in practice. This is a good game to do right after a running game.
Divide your team into two groups. Have each group line up facing each other about ten feet apart. Make sure the kids are arms length away from each other in their own line. Start the first kid in each line with a baseball in his throwing hand. He then transfers the ball to his glove hand and puts the glove hand in position so the next kid in line can reach it with his throwing hand. He then transfers it to his glove hand and repeats the process and so on down the line and back to the coach. The first team who gets the ball back to the coach WITHOUT DROPPING IT wins the game.
LEFTY TIP: Try to split lefties equally on the teams and just have them stand backwards to the group so nobody is crossing arms during the game. Put the lefties nearest to you so they won't get distracted and turn around. If you get a lefty who gets sensitive about being left handed (yeah, they're out there), make a big deal about the popular lefty of the season and how being left handed is a great asset (yada yada yada) to pump the kid up.
This drill reinforces fundamental hand to glove coordination, concentration and teamwork in a competitive but fun way. It doesn't take long, so you can do it a half a dozen times. It's also a good segue into a throwing drill as the kids are already line up across from each other.
