How to Coach Youth Baseball

I've published articles on my baseball coaching and league website admin experiences as well as a paper I wrote for one of the Master's Degree classes I took last fall.

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 Monday March 19 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,

Tee Ball Batting Practice

This batting exercise is best done with two kids while the rest of the team is engaged in some other activity.

Have the kids hit into the backstop or fence. Put old SOCCER OR BASKETBALLS on the tee* and tell them to hit it! That's it! What kid can't hit a big ball like that? Have each kid hit a dozen balls, then switch them. Then have each kid hit the baseball off the tee a dozen times.

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.

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:

Tips From The Coach

TIPS FROM THE COACH

I am often asked what is the single most important thing a coach should do? Tell your players they are GOOD, a LOT!

Think about it, baseball is a game of failure. Fail ONLY 2 out of three times at the plate for your career and you will end up in the Hall Of Fame. But you failed 2 of 3 times. It is how you deal with the failures not the successes that determines how successfully you play. They must believe that they can hit anyone, make every play, win every game, and be champions. There can be no doubt, no fear. You as the coach must positively reinforce their value.

Tee Ball Tips

I finished practice today and wandered into the field house to find our league president finishing his annual "tee ball coaches meeting." The room was filled with apprehensive guys who weren't sure what they were in for.

I offered a few of the guys these tips: