Coaching pee wee baseball (1 Viewer)

So initially offered to help out and be an assistant but they said they needed another coach, so here I am. Problem is no assistant coach obviously since they were short. I'll ask the parents when I call them.

Anyways 5-6 year old.

Have 5 or 6 practices then the games start in early May.

Get to pitch to them from 20 ft or so if they can hit the ball for the games if not they get to use to tee.

No outs, everyone bats, etc etc.

Coach the 4 yr olds soccer team so fine with the kids, and know I need to keep them moving and make it fun for them, but need some ideas for baseball seeing I have never done it before and havent even watched any pee wee ball

Any good sites or links or games, or ideas on what to do out there to play with the kids.

Only have 7 on the team, if I can get a parent to help would ideally like to split them up and do different "stations"

Make sure every kid gets a chance to play every position. Adjust the batting lineup as well so that everyone bats roughly the same amount of times.

Have the parent's buy 5 gallon buckets from Lowe's to put all their gear in (Helmet, Bat, Glove, etc.,) helps with keeping up with everything. Have the kids put their names on their gear. A lot of gear looks a lot alike.

To team building events, go to cheap pizza place, the kids will love it.

SHIZNITTTT said:

Make sure every kid gets a chance to play every position. Adjust the batting lineup as well so that everyone bats roughly the same amount of times.

Have the parent's buy 5 gallon buckets from Lowe's to put all their gear in (Helmet, Bat, Glove, etc.,) helps with keeping up with everything. Have the kids put their names on their gear. A lot of gear looks a lot alike.

To team building events, go to cheap pizza place, the kids will love it.

Click to expand...

Thanks yeah will rotate the positions each inning along with kids batting in different order each game.

How about drills to do during practice.

swirvenirvin said:

SHIZNITTTT said:

Make sure every kid gets a chance to play every position. Adjust the batting lineup as well so that everyone bats roughly the same amount of times.

Have the parent's buy 5 gallon buckets from Lowe's to put all their gear in (Helmet, Bat, Glove, etc.,) helps with keeping up with everything. Have the kids put their names on their gear. A lot of gear looks a lot alike.

To team building events, go to cheap pizza place, the kids will love it.

Click to expand...

Thanks yeah will rotate the positions each inning along with kids batting in different order each game.How about drills to do during practice.

Click to expand...

Run them and run them hard. You will dominate with the baserunning advantage. Especially when the ball is sitting on the tee.

GOB said:

swirvenirvin said:

SHIZNITTTT said:

Make sure every kid gets a chance to play every position. Adjust the batting lineup as well so that everyone bats roughly the same amount of times.

Have the parent's buy 5 gallon buckets from Lowe's to put all their gear in (Helmet, Bat, Glove, etc.,) helps with keeping up with everything. Have the kids put their names on their gear. A lot of gear looks a lot alike.

To team building events, go to cheap pizza place, the kids will love it.

Click to expand...

Thanks yeah will rotate the positions each inning along with kids batting in different order each game.How about drills to do during practice.

Click to expand...

Run them and run them hard.You will dominate with the baserunning advantage. Especially when the ball is sitting on the tee.

Click to expand...

1 base at a time unless you are the last batter of the inning, then you get to clear them!

Don't over think this.

teach them the proper way to hold a bat.

teach them the t method when throwing

teach them to think where the ball should go.

Keep em busy during practice, kids get bored quick. One of the best coaches my kid had did this-

If you can get an assistant, split the team up in 2 groups.

Have one of you pitch to a kid with 2 kids in infield to pay def. Put a kid at the backstop to throw the ball into the field after each pitch to simulate a hit, that way your infielders stay active and get practice.

The other coach goes to outfield, hits balls to group 2.

Rotate often.

Kids get real practice and everyone stays active for practice and maximizes reps.

Never too early to start them on the juice.

MC Gas Money said:

Never too early to start them on the juice.

Click to expand...

Good point. Capri Suns are very popular and I think have 10% real juice inside.

MindCrime said:

Keep em busy during practice, kids get bored quick. One of the best coaches my kid had did this-

If you can get an assistant, split the team up in 2 groups.

Have one of you pitch to a kid with 2 kids in infield to pay def. Put a kid at the backstop to throw the ball into the field after each pitch to simulate a hit, that way your infielders stay active and get practice.

The other coach goes to outfield, hits balls to group 2.

Rotate often.

Kids get real practice and everyone stays active for practice and maximizes reps.

Click to expand...

Do not do this. Most 5 yr olds are not ready to catch fly balls hit to them. You will have kids with lumps on their head and broken noses. If you want to work on skills catching fly balls, use tennis balls and throw or hit lob shots with a tennis racket.

belljr said:

Don't over think this.

teach them the proper way to hold a bat.

teach them the t method when throwing

teach them to think where the ball should go.

Click to expand...

This is correct. Keep it simple. Throw-catch-hold/swing a bat. When catching make sure they are not trying to catch balls from far away.

Try to make games out of the skill work...Divide into teams or do as individuals. Throwing accuracy games - trying to hit a target, like a bucket or tape squares on a wall or the backstop. Give them points for hitting the target. Start close then move a little further away and do it again. Throwing distance games to build arm strength...set up some cones at incremental distances and award points for throwing past markers. Fly balls - lob 5 tennis balls and award points for each catch. Field ground balls - coach rolls them 5 balls award points for each one fielded cleanly. At the end of the practice give out a little prize to the winning team or top scoring individual. I used to give out baseball cards...kids loved them, especially if they were from the local pro team.

ETA: don't forget to practice setting the bat down after swinging and before running to first...you are likely to have a kid or two that want to throw that bat after their big hit!

Jayrod said:

MC Gas Money said:

Never too early to start them on the juice.

Click to expand...

Good point. Capri Suns are very popular and I think have 10% real juice inside.

Click to expand...

No dude.....the roids

But no needles for the kids. Should start with the cream.

He should be creaming those kids left and right

I'm in my third year of coaching 4-6 year old girls softball. At that age, it has to be the same as the boys. As noted above, don't over think it -- they are probably starting at ground zero (at least some of them are), so they really need basic teaching of fundamental stuff. The good news is they get so damn excited when they do something right that it's pretty awesome.

We always open with playing "catch", which is actually one kid throwing the ball 50% of the way to the other kid and the ball being picked up for the process to be repeated. By the end of the season the kids typically are much improved, but at the beginning they are pretty bad at it. They will need to be taught the mechanics of throwing, which can be frustrating for the coach since for some of them it is not intuitive at all. "Catch" is actually "throwing" practice, not catching practice.

As noted above, running them on the bases is a must-have in every practice, but make it fun -- racing coaches, coming around to score, lots of yelling and cheering, high-fiving when a kid crosses home, etc. The kids love it and the parents appreciate their kids being tired-out at the end of practice. Plus it gives them exercise, which is part of the point. We finish every practice with that -- once with the kids running the bases with 1B and 3B coaches telling them when to run and stop, and once with the whole team just hauling ### all the way around.

Get a couple tees and get some parents to help with hitting off of them. At that age they suck at hitting and can get frustrated if you start with pitches. Let them learn how it feels to have the batting helmet and facegear on, hold the bat, swing the bat, etc. by whacking the ball off the tee into the fence while other kids work on fielding drills. Keep 2 or 3 of them rotating in and out of hitting and fielding until everyone gets the chance to hit. They get really excited when they square-up on the ball even if it's just off the tee. At the start of the season, if you try to pitch to them with the other kids in the field, the kid at the plate can get frustrated and the kids in the field will be playing in the dirt bored out of their minds. So you have to split hitting practice and fielding practice up at the start. After a few practices you can integrate hitting off the tee with the fielding practice. You can just use discretion as far as when to introduce hitting a pitch.

Get them to understand where to throw the ball (1st base, 2nd base, 3rd base). We just hit little dribblers to them and yell the base as they field/fall on/kick the ball. We have kids at the respective bases to field the throws.

Finally, as noted above don't hit fly balls. They can't catch reliably yet and they'll almost never encounter a fly ball in a game at that level anyway, if they do they'll make no effort to catch it anyway. It's better to get them to stop and field grounders -- that's what they're going to encounter in games.

We make our 1.5 hour practices fast-paced with constant activity. They enjoy themselves way more that way. Last year we had a bunch of disinterested parents, so there were just the 3 coaches trying to keep 10 little girls engaged. It was really tough. This year we have 3-4 dads helping out, and it's making a huge difference.

That age - safety #1. Them and you. Heaven forbid don't ever look out to your team while you place the ball on the tee for Johnny - he's swinging at your knuckles.

Short attention spans. Don't let them stand around and get bored with 1 guy taking batting practice while everyone else stands. This is true at every level. We used to do 4 hitting stations. Tee, soft toss, whiffle ball and then live batting. Kids that age love to run. Keep 'em moving.

And for all coaches at higher levels, please teach the fundamentals properly. Proper grip, stance, no one-handed uppercuts. Spend more time on the tee than pitching to them. More important. When pitching, don't throw rainbows. Get down on one knee and throw more of a straighter line. Easier for kids to hit. The coaches who strike kids out by lobbying these neck high or in the dirt slow pitch softball rainbows kill me.

Finally, bring a bunch of tennis balls to practice. Seriously. Teach them how to catch properly without fear of the ball. Start by tossing underhand with some kids if you need to. Get them to do a two handed catch over their heads, then backhand, forehand, glove up, etc. They need to turn their glove where the ball is thrown. Get them comfortable where they can't get hurt first. When they get it with a tennis ball and can turn their glove in any direction they are ready for a hard baseball.

Oh - and God Bless TBall Moms.

Country Boys said:

MindCrime said:

Keep em busy during practice, kids get bored quick. One of the best coaches my kid had did this-

If you can get an assistant, split the team up in 2 groups.

Have one of you pitch to a kid with 2 kids in infield to pay def. Put a kid at the backstop to throw the ball into the field after each pitch to simulate a hit, that way your infielders stay active and get practice.

The other coach goes to outfield, hits balls to group 2.

Rotate often.

Kids get real practice and everyone stays active for practice and maximizes reps.

Click to expand...

Do not do this. Most 5 yr olds are not ready to catch fly balls hit to them. You will have kids with lumps on their head and broken noses. If you want to work on skills catching fly balls, use tennis balls and throw or hit lob shots with a tennis racket.

belljr said:

Don't over think this.

teach them the proper way to hold a bat.

teach them the t method when throwing

teach them to think where the ball should go.

Click to expand...

This is correct. Keep it simple. Throw-catch-hold/swing a bat. When catching make sure they are not trying to catch balls from far away. Try to make games out of the skill work...Divide into teams or do as individuals. Throwing accuracy games - trying to hit a target, like a bucket or tape squares on a wall or the backstop. Give them points for hitting the target. Start close then move a little further away and do it again. Throwing distance games to build arm strength...set up some cones at incremental distances and award points for throwing past markers. Fly balls - lob 5 tennis balls and award points for each catch. Field ground balls - coach rolls them 5 balls award points for each one fielded cleanly. At the end of the practice give out a little prize to the winning team or top scoring individual. I used to give out baseball cards...kids loved them, especially if they were from the local pro team.

ETA: don't forget to practice setting the bat down after swinging and before running to first...you are likely to have a kid or two that want to throw that bat after their big hit!

Click to expand...

Sorry- agreed, No on the fly balls. Hit grounders. Should have been more specific. Whole idea was to get kids moving with ball coming off bat. Soft grounders just to get them moving their feet and trying to field them.

To practice pop ups at that level get a nerf type ball.

have them practice proper form, using 2 hands and no glove. Toss the ball a few feet in the air.

For God's sake, please dont tell them to put their elbow up while hitting.

belljr said:

To practice pop ups at that level get a nerd type ball.

have them practice proper form, using 2 hands and no glove. Toss the ball a few feet in the air.

Click to expand...

Nerds dont play sports.

Lol fixed.

hands whisper secrets to their ear

Tom Emanski video, IMO the best way to go. Crime Dog agrees with me I believe.

Tee ball was the only year I didnt coach my son until he started high school this year. What got me on the field was the coach telling my son the wrong way to play the game IMO. He was playing short stop and a runner was on first. The ball was hit to him and he fielded it, turned to throw it to second and the second baseman was playing in the dirt. (I have zero issue with this as kids do this all the time at that age). What I had an issue with was the coach telling my son that "we always throw the ball to first base". Um....no sir, we dont.

Anyways, at this age, repitition is the number one important factor. You should suggest to the parents that they play catch with their kids outside of the normal practice and game times, but you should also assume that most of them wont. You are lucky that the team is so small, so they should see plenty of reps during practices, which I assume will be once a week after games start?

The number two factor IMO is to have the kids stay in their positions. At this age, the best players tend to try to get everyball and it leads to either everone chasing the ball, or the same couple of kids getting all the action. Neither are helpful.

Some people think they need to put only kids that can catch at first base out of fear they might get hurt. Truyth be told, the ball will rarely get to first in the air anyways, so all of the kids can play all of the positions. Of course, there are exceptions, but thats generally the case.

Teach them to play dirty. Have them all trash talk the opposing batter. Have them step on the other kids hands/feet with their cleats. Remember if you aren't cheating you aren't trying.

As far as the games go, I suspect you'll find that 80% of the plays are made by the pitcher or the catcher. So rotate kids into those positions so they can be the ones fielding/throwing the ball.

Cjw_55106 said:

Tee ball was the only year I didnt coach my son until he started high school this year. What got me on the field was the coach telling my son the wrong way to play the game IMO. He was playing short stop and a runner was on first. The ball was hit to him and he fielded it, turned to throw it to second and the second baseman was playing in the dirt. (I have zero issue with this as kids do this all the time at that age). What I had an issue with was the coach telling my son that "we always throw the ball to first base". Um....no sir, we dont.

Anyways, at this age, repitition is the number one important factor. You should suggest to the parents that they play catch with their kids outside of the normal practice and game times, but you should also assume that most of them wont. You are lucky that the team is so small, so they should see plenty of reps during practices, which I assume will be once a week after games start?

The number two factor IMO is to have the kids stay in their positions. At this age, the best players tend to try to get everyball and it leads to either everone chasing the ball, or the same couple of kids getting all the action. Neither are helpful.

Some people think they need to put only kids that can catch at first base out of fear they might get hurt. Truyth be told, the ball will rarely get to first in the air anyways, so all of the kids can play all of the positions. Of course, there are exceptions, but thats generally the case.

Click to expand...

Thats one thinkg that I dont like from what I see.

Practice all of April, then May through mid June its games twice a week on no practices anymore.

Batting order:

Keep the same order all year. The order will be determined at the first game. First batter will be the first kid alphabetically that made every practice, on down the line based on practice attendance and then alphabetically...

If player #5 is the last batter in game 1, player #6 is the first batter in game 2.

Keerock said:

Batting order:

Keep the same order all year. The order will be determined at the first game. First batter will be the first kid alphabetically that made every practice, on down the line based on practice attendance and then alphabetically...

If player #5 is the last batter in game 1, player #6 is the first batter in game 2.

Click to expand...

I assume the whole lineup bats every inning. The last batter is always last.

Cjw_55106 said:

Keerock said:

Batting order:

Keep the same order all year. The order will be determined at the first game. First batter will be the first kid alphabetically that made every practice, on down the line based on practice attendance and then alphabetically...

If player #5 is the last batter in game 1, player #6 is the first batter in game 2.

Click to expand...

I assume the whole lineup bats every inning. The last batter is always last.

Click to expand...

Nevermind...

GOB said:

swirvenirvin said:

SHIZNITTTT said:

Make sure every kid gets a chance to play every position. Adjust the batting lineup as well so that everyone bats roughly the same amount of times.

Have the parent's buy 5 gallon buckets from Lowe's to put all their gear in (Helmet, Bat, Glove, etc.,) helps with keeping up with everything. Have the kids put their names on their gear. A lot of gear looks a lot alike.

To team building events, go to cheap pizza place, the kids will love it.

Click to expand...

Thanks yeah will rotate the positions each inning along with kids batting in different order each game.How about drills to do during practice.

Click to expand...

Run them and run them hard.You will dominate with the baserunning advantage. Especially when the ball is sitting on the tee.

Click to expand...

yes play small ball. Bunt, suicide squeeze..etc. ####### dominate.

Keerock said:

Cjw_55106 said:

Keerock said:

Batting order:

Keep the same order all year. The order will be determined at the first game. First batter will be the first kid alphabetically that made every practice, on down the line based on practice attendance and then alphabetically...

If player #5 is the last batter in game 1, player #6 is the first batter in game 2.

Click to expand...

I assume the whole lineup bats every inning. The last batter is always last.

Click to expand...

Nevermind...

Click to expand...

Yeah was going to do this

swirvenirvin said:

Cjw_55106 said:

Tee ball was the only year I didnt coach my son until he started high school this year. What got me on the field was the coach telling my son the wrong way to play the game IMO. He was playing short stop and a runner was on first. The ball was hit to him and he fielded it, turned to throw it to second and the second baseman was playing in the dirt. (I have zero issue with this as kids do this all the time at that age). What I had an issue with was the coach telling my son that "we always throw the ball to first base". Um....no sir, we dont.

Anyways, at this age, repitition is the number one important factor. You should suggest to the parents that they play catch with their kids outside of the normal practice and game times, but you should also assume that most of them wont. You are lucky that the team is so small, so they should see plenty of reps during practices, which I assume will be once a week after games start?

The number two factor IMO is to have the kids stay in their positions. At this age, the best players tend to try to get everyball and it leads to either everone chasing the ball, or the same couple of kids getting all the action. Neither are helpful.

Some people think they need to put only kids that can catch at first base out of fear they might get hurt. Truyth be told, the ball will rarely get to first in the air anyways, so all of the kids can play all of the positions. Of course, there are exceptions, but thats generally the case.

Click to expand...

Thats one thinkg that I dont like from what I see.Practice all of April, then May through mid June its games twice a week on no practices anymore.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I don't get it either, but practices end when games start. We can reserve a field on Sat (no Sat games) for practice, which we do every week. But that's "extra". You can really make some progress in practice once the kids actually see what happens in a game.

Biggest complaint in my league. Too many games not enough practice. We are on the field during games for help but it's dumb

Batting order: Use their jersey numbers, and bat in numerical order. Game 1: Player 1 is leadoff, Player 7 is last batter; Game 2: Player 2 is leadoff, Player 1 is last batter; Game 3: Player 3 is leadoff, Player 2 is last batter: etc.

Our league is big on post-game snacks, not necessarily the actual league, but the parent community. So, whoever is leadoff, it's his/her family's turn to bring post-game snack.

Twins should only bring snack once right

swirvenirvin said:

Twins should only bring snack once right

Click to expand...

Keerock said:

swirvenirvin said:

Twins should only bring snack once right

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Agreed.

Bob Loblaw said:

Batting order: Use their jersey numbers, and bat in numerical order. Game 1: Player 1 is leadoff, Player 7 is last batter; Game 2: Player 2 is leadoff, Player 1 is last batter; Game 3: Player 3 is leadoff, Player 2 is last batter: etc.

Our league is big on post-game snacks, not necessarily the actual league, but the parent community. So, whoever is leadoff, it's his/her family's turn to bring post-game snack.

Click to expand...

I always tell the parents that if the kids are here to get a treat after the game, they are here for the wrong reasons. If some parent wants to organize a snack schedule, have at it, but I don't support it.

One less thing off the plate of a coach who doesn't need to worry about crap like that.

Coach pitch baseball? OK, maybe that is borderline, but it got to the point that my sons' 10U traveling soccer team had treat schedules. Friggin rediculous. I nip that in the bud ASAP.

Bull Dozier said:

Bob Loblaw said:

Batting order: Use their jersey numbers, and bat in numerical order. Game 1: Player 1 is leadoff, Player 7 is last batter; Game 2: Player 2 is leadoff, Player 1 is last batter; Game 3: Player 3 is leadoff, Player 2 is last batter: etc.

Our league is big on post-game snacks, not necessarily the actual league, but the parent community. So, whoever is leadoff, it's his/her family's turn to bring post-game snack.

Click to expand...

I always tell the parents that if the kids are here to get a treat after the game, they are here for the wrong reasons. If some parent wants to organize a snack schedule, have at it, but I don't support it.

One less thing off the plate of a coach who doesn't need to worry about crap like that.

Coach pitch baseball? OK, maybe that is borderline, but it got to the point that my sons' 10U traveling soccer team had treat schedules. Friggin rediculous. I nip that in the bud ASAP.

Click to expand...

I appreciate the tough guy, toe the line attitude, but these are tee ball/ coach pitch players. I dont care for the treat routine myself, but 5 year olds? Whatever.

I coached boys baseball (10-12) for about 10 years and the one of the biggest keys I found was the talk we always would have at the beginning of the season which was directed toward the parents (but with the children listening).

1. Tell them all the children will play
2. Tell them if their child isn't behaving, their child WILL be pulled
3. Tell them if they (the parents) are verbally abusing ANYONE (their children, other children, coaches for either team or the umps), their child WILL be pulled

It's enough to do to manage the game and the children; you certainly don't want the parents to be setting bad examples.

Cjw_55106 said:

Bull Dozier said:

Bob Loblaw said:

Batting order: Use their jersey numbers, and bat in numerical order. Game 1: Player 1 is leadoff, Player 7 is last batter; Game 2: Player 2 is leadoff, Player 1 is last batter; Game 3: Player 3 is leadoff, Player 2 is last batter: etc.

Our league is big on post-game snacks, not necessarily the actual league, but the parent community. So, whoever is leadoff, it's his/her family's turn to bring post-game snack.

Click to expand...

I always tell the parents that if the kids are here to get a treat after the game, they are here for the wrong reasons. If some parent wants to organize a snack schedule, have at it, but I don't support it.

One less thing off the plate of a coach who doesn't need to worry about crap like that.

Coach pitch baseball? OK, maybe that is borderline, but it got to the point that my sons' 10U traveling soccer team had treat schedules. Friggin rediculous. I nip that in the bud ASAP.

Click to expand...

I appreciate the tough guy, toe the line attitude, but these are tee ball/ coach pitch players. I dont care for the treat routine myself, but 5 year olds? Whatever.

Click to expand...

So change the tone of the message to fit the parents. Be less harsh in the delivery. The main point is to make sure this isn't assumed to be a coach's responsibility.

At that age - if you accomplish these things over the course of the season you have done your job.

1. No one dies.

2. They still want to play baseball next year.

3. They know where the outfield is.

4. They have a general idea where 1B, 2B, 3B and home plate are.

5. They can throw a ball in the general direction they want to throw it.

6. They can catch a thrown or batted ball most of the time.

7. When they swing, they do not perform a pirouette and they have a reasonable (not cross handed) grip.

8. When they hit the ball they run toward 1B, not 3B.

Other than that have fun.

Bull Dozier said:

Bob Loblaw said:

Batting order: Use their jersey numbers, and bat in numerical order. Game 1: Player 1 is leadoff, Player 7 is last batter; Game 2: Player 2 is leadoff, Player 1 is last batter; Game 3: Player 3 is leadoff, Player 2 is last batter: etc.

Our league is big on post-game snacks, not necessarily the actual league, but the parent community. So, whoever is leadoff, it's his/her family's turn to bring post-game snack.

Click to expand...

I always tell the parents that if the kids are here to get a treat after the game, they are here for the wrong reasons. If some parent wants to organize a snack schedule, have at it, but I don't support it.

One less thing off the plate of a coach who doesn't need to worry about crap like that.

Coach pitch baseball? OK, maybe that is borderline, but it got to the point that my sons' 10U traveling soccer team had treat schedules. Friggin rediculous. I nip that in the bud ASAP.

Click to expand...

It's not mandatory, it's just what the parents usually do. I have a Team Parent (it's always a mom). So, I ask that she coordinate snacks and the team banner (collecting money).

swirvenirvin said:

Twins should only bring snack once right

Click to expand...

Only if they are conjoined twins.

swirvenirvin said:

So initially offered to help out and be an assistant but they said they needed another coach, so here I am. Problem is no assistant coach obviously since they were short. I'll ask the parents when I call them.

Anyways 5-6 year old.

Have 5 or 6 practices then the games start in early May.

Get to pitch to them from 20 ft or so if they can hit the ball for the games if not they get to use to tee.

No outs, everyone bats, etc etc.

Coach the 4 yr olds soccer team so fine with the kids, and know I need to keep them moving and make it fun for them, but need some ideas for baseball seeing I have never done it before and havent even watched any pee wee ball

Any good sites or links or games, or ideas on what to do out there to play with the kids.

Only have 7 on the team, if I can get a parent to help would ideally like to split them up and do different "stations"

Click to expand...

This was me last year. Chances are half the team won't even be able to throw much less catch. Keeping the kids attention is key. Have a number of drills to run and rotate them through it. Don't worry if you run the same drill twice in the same practice.

I even had them just practice running the bases. since it is one base at a time do the same in the drill, Have one kid run to first, then have the next will the first is running to second.

Even though it is coach pitch, have them all practice off a tee. Have the tee ready to go during the game.

One drill the kids seemed to like was a throwing drill. Lay a cooler or a 5 gallon bucket on the ground and have the kids try to throw the ball into it. This is a better throwing drill than having the kids play catch as most probably can't catch either.

Practice ground balls with the gator chomp drill.

Hopefully you can get some parents to help. It goes a long ways. They will most likely stay the whole practice anyway so why not help. We had one mom that ran the batting order and made sure the kids were ready when it was their turn. Tremendously helpful and not hard to do.

Good luck and try to have fun.

In my town they use team names from minor league teams and get a hat from that team. You can usually contact that team and get them to send some additional stuff such as trading cards, programs, pencils, etc. The kids love it. For flag football we even got some stuff from the new Orleans saints.

THROW THE BALL, JOEY

Cjw_55106 said:

Keerock said:

swirvenirvin said:

Twins should only bring snack once right

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Agreed.

Click to expand...

I concur. They each get their own at-bats, right. You have them play different positions. And if your league has a Snack Shack and requires each family to work a shift, the twins' family needs to work 2 shifts. And another family can work a second shift, 'cause my family already donates enough time with me coaching.

Bob Loblaw said:

Bull Dozier said:

Bob Loblaw said:

Batting order: Use their jersey numbers, and bat in numerical order. Game 1: Player 1 is leadoff, Player 7 is last batter; Game 2: Player 2 is leadoff, Player 1 is last batter; Game 3: Player 3 is leadoff, Player 2 is last batter: etc.

Our league is big on post-game snacks, not necessarily the actual league, but the parent community. So, whoever is leadoff, it's his/her family's turn to bring post-game snack.

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I always tell the parents that if the kids are here to get a treat after the game, they are here for the wrong reasons. If some parent wants to organize a snack schedule, have at it, but I don't support it.

One less thing off the plate of a coach who doesn't need to worry about crap like that.

Coach pitch baseball? OK, maybe that is borderline, but it got to the point that my sons' 10U traveling soccer team had treat schedules. Friggin rediculous. I nip that in the bud ASAP.

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It's not mandatory, it's just what the parents usually do. I have a Team Parent (it's always a mom). So, I ask that she coordinate snacks and the team banner (collecting money).

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Had a team mom for a few years (MILF, BTW) who owned a bakery. She would bring "leftovers" to every practice/game. I blame her for being fat.

dino259 said:

Even though it is coach pitch, have them all practice off a tee. Have the tee ready to go during the game.

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Every kid on my 15U travel team still spends 15-20 minutes per practice on the tee. Good habits are enforced and bad habits are broken on the tee...

Keerock said:

Bob Loblaw said:

Bull Dozier said:

Bob Loblaw said:

Batting order: Use their jersey numbers, and bat in numerical order. Game 1: Player 1 is leadoff, Player 7 is last batter; Game 2: Player 2 is leadoff, Player 1 is last batter; Game 3: Player 3 is leadoff, Player 2 is last batter: etc.

Our league is big on post-game snacks, not necessarily the actual league, but the parent community. So, whoever is leadoff, it's his/her family's turn to bring post-game snack.

Click to expand...

I always tell the parents that if the kids are here to get a treat after the game, they are here for the wrong reasons. If some parent wants to organize a snack schedule, have at it, but I don't support it.

One less thing off the plate of a coach who doesn't need to worry about crap like that.

Coach pitch baseball? OK, maybe that is borderline, but it got to the point that my sons' 10U traveling soccer team had treat schedules. Friggin rediculous. I nip that in the bud ASAP.

Click to expand...

It's not mandatory, it's just what the parents usually do. I have a Team Parent (it's always a mom). So, I ask that she coordinate snacks and the team banner (collecting money).

Click to expand...

Had a team mom for a few years (MILF, BTW) who owned a bakery. She would bring "leftovers" to every practice/game. I blame her for being fat.

Click to expand...

A buddy of mine says when he drafts his team (at older kids division), he drafts based on the looks of the kids' moms.

Lots of good suggestions in here already. I will add a few things....

Teach them the proper way to catch a thrown ball. We always talk about 10 fingers up 10 fingers down. To help with this we would have them take the glove off and use a tennis ball. Toss the tennis ball from a knee and have them catch it barehanded. Always with the fingers up. Helps to reinforce the proper way to catch a ball.

Teach them the right way to throw a ball. Start with progressions. Pair off - close together, both kids on one knee - the knee that is down is the throwing hand knee. Then have them place their glove under their throwing elbow. Essentially just the forearm moves and the wrist snaps. There are a ton of videos of this online you can find.

Teach the right way to field the ball. Proper glove positioning, feet positioning. One drill we do is where we have the kids take the bill of their hat and put it in their mouth. Then roll a ball to them and have them field it. Makes them have to field the ball in front of them to see it into the glove. Oh yeah - don't just start hitting ground balls to them. Work on proper technique with a ball that is rolled to them.

Teach them the right way to swing a bat. Again, lots of videos online to work with. We taught a 1,2,3 cadence at this age. 1 is loading, 2 is a forward stride or testing the ice and 3 is squishing the bug with the back foot. Hands inside, good posture up to, balanced lower half, finishing with 2 hands on the bat. Too much to explain typing but google some videos of it.

Have multiple hitting stations set up. If you have a hitting net you can work a tee there, wiffle ball station and a hitting taget(plastic ball on a stick. They sell them at ****'s). This makes sure that each kid can get maximum number of swing repetitions at practice.

Get some base running drills. Out of the box to first, 2nd to home etc. If you can get your kids to run the bases well they will be light years ahead of a lot of teams.

All of this, of course, works better in small groups. Take some time and plan your practice. Which groups start at what stations and how many repetitions you are looking to get out of each station. Keep it fun and build races or games out of it all.

Good luck.

walnutz said:

Teach them the proper way to catch a thrown ball. We always talk about 10 fingers up 10 fingers down. To help with this we would have them take the glove off and use a tennis ball. Toss the tennis ball from a knee and have them catch it barehanded. Always with the fingers up. Helps to reinforce the proper way to catch a ball.

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That's a lot of fingers!

walnutz said:

Teach them the right way to throw a ball. Start with progressions. Pair off - close together, both kids on one knee - the knee that is down is the throwing hand knee. Then have them place their glove under their throwing elbow. Essentially just the forearm moves and the wrist snaps. There are a ton of videos of this online you can find.

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GRIP! The #1 issue with kids throwing is a poor grip. Teach a 4-seam grip at this age. Should be comfortable gripping the ball with that every time they pick one up.