What's new
Fantasy Football - Footballguys Forums

Welcome to Our Forums. Once you've registered and logged in, you're primed to talk football, among other topics, with the sharpest and most experienced fantasy players on the internet.

First time little league manager- need tips (1 Viewer)

shadyridr

shadyridr

Footballguy
First year my son is in kids pitch. Most kids are 8. Need advice in how to run practices. I should have 2-3 other coaches helping me. Figure start with run around bases and then split the kids up, some taking infield, some in the batting cage, and some practicing pitching and catching. Practices no longer than 90 minutes. 

Will also take above in managing games. 

One other question, is it common that the coaches have to pay the umpire fee? I find it a little ridiculous I pay the league fee plus volunteer my time and in top of all that I have to come out of my own pocket to pay the ump. 

 
shadyridr said:
One other question, is it common that the coaches have to pay the umpire fee? I find it a little ridiculous I pay the league fee plus volunteer my time and in top of all that I have to come out of my own pocket to pay the ump. 
Click to expand...
Absolutely not

Will add more later

 
shadyridr said:
First year my son is in kids pitch. Most kids are 8. Need advice in how to run practices. I should have 2-3 other coaches helping me. Figure start with run around bases and then split the kids up, some taking infield, some in the batting cage, and some practicing pitching and catching. Practices no longer than 90 minutes. 

Will also take above in managing games. 

One other question, is it common that the coaches have to pay the umpire fee? I find it a little ridiculous I pay the league fee plus volunteer my time and in top of all that I have to come out of my own pocket to pay the ump. 
Click to expand...
Learn your players names and then get to know them on a personal level, do this before anything else.

I would also suggest having a parents meeting with codes of conduct explaining what will be expected of them as parents spectators and have each sign it.

As far as practice/drills, I'd concentrate more on the fundamentals, how to field a ground ball, how to throw properly, how to track a fly ball and so on.

One thing of note, a kids attention spand is typically 1 minute for each year of age so if your drills are longer than say 8-10 minutes long then you are losing them

Good Luck

 
And this was after both tryouts were canceled due to weather and I was basically picking names blind while others have coached in this league the year before (my son was in Coach pitch the year before).

 
shadyridr said:
First year my son is in kids pitch. Most kids are 8. Need advice in how to run practices. I should have 2-3 other coaches helping me. Figure start with run around bases and then split the kids up, some taking infield, some in the batting cage, and some practicing pitching and catching. Practices no longer than 90 minutes. 

Will also take above in managing games. 

One other question, is it common that the coaches have to pay the umpire fee? I find it a little ridiculous I pay the league fee plus volunteer my time and in top of all that I have to come out of my own pocket to pay the ump. 
Click to expand...


You're in NY, I'm sure the $ is for some "administrative fee"
I'd pay it, keep my mouth shut and hope no one busts my kneecaps

Make the practices fun.
They are 8. Half the kids won''t know where 3rd base is.

Play a game at practice.
Instead of just running...
Time them running from home plate back to home plate.
Tell each kid you will keep track of their times all year long and see if each kid can beat his/her own record.

 

 
Create lots of games/competitions out of fundamental skill work.  Make it fun.  Rotate kids through stations so they are not waiting 12 deep in line for a turn at something.

As far as ump pay, that is absurd to ask a volunteer to pay.  Our league supplies the fees for umpires.  Coaches simply deliver it.

 
Cjw_55106 said:
Apparently.

For an "in house" league, as it sounds like this is, you could easily have high school kids umpiring for $25 a game at that age. 
Click to expand...
This is the way we do it.  I coach a 14u travel team and our umpires are getting $45 per game.  Lower level rec league uses high school age kids to ump.

 
Tell the parents to tie their kids right hands behind their backs at home. Make the kids all lefties.

And sprints. Lots of sprints.

 
For future reference, pay attention to the families during the game.  Always draft players based on the hotness of the moms.  Nothing else really matters at this age.

As other have said, get to know the kids, but don't make it cheesy.  I had a lot of fun coaching this age (won my league tournament, look at me), and coached a lot of those kids for many years.  

To me, this is a transitional age.  Some of the kids are still there because parents are making them.  Others are learning that they actually love the game.  Make sure your expectations are appropriate for each kid.  Getting to know the kids individually, and what makes them tick is one of my favorite parts of coaching.

Agree that each coach should be doing something different.  We ran stations, did each station for a certain number of minutes, then everyone rotated as a group.  At least one of these stations should be a "game" of some sort, hiding a fundamental.  One of the favorites when I coached this age was hitting a deflated ball off a T (like one of those red four square balls, or the like).  Three kids on a team, play in one corner of the outfield.  Place the fielders so the kids have to struggle to hit it over their heads.  Teaches the kids to swing through the ball.  Games like that.

Throat punch any parent that suggests a snack schedule.  That stuff drove me nuts.  If the kids need a treat to play a sport, maybe its not for them.  Realistically though, if a parent ever brought that up I always said "if you want to organize that, go ahead.  However, I don't want to be involved at all."

 
I would think your district rep would give you check for all the ref fees from the dues.  You would then use those funds to pay the refs at each game.

 
shadyridr said:
And this was after both tryouts were canceled due to weather and I was basically picking names blind while others have coached in this league the year before (my son was in Coach pitch the year before).
Click to expand...
Your team is going to take their lumps this year if that's the case. Expect it. And prepare your parents for it. Youth parents expect you to win games, even if you and I know that at this level winning isn't important.

A team rule for teams that I coached..If you have a bat in your hand you have a helmet on. A couple kids (especially at this age) grabbing bats and swinging them is an accident waiting to happen.

Basic fundamentals. Throwing (correctly) and catching (correctly) at this point is crucial. Playing catch to warm up before practice is important, it's also important to do it correctly, this is where bad habits get started if allowed. Getting under fly balls and catching with 2 hands. Fielding ground balls correctly (footwork). Understand that this is going to be a long process for some kids.

Also understand that some of them are only there because their parents want them to play. :)

Good info above regarding parents. Get something written down about how parents will be expected to act towards umpires, kids , coaches and other parents and have them sign it at a mandatory parent meeting. Do this before your first practuce. Explain to them all that youre planning to teach their kids the fundamentals of the game, that playing time will be as equal as you can manage and that your emphasis will not be on winning games, but that it will be on them learning and having fun

 
Bull Dozier said:
For future reference, pay attention to the families during the game.  Always draft players based on the hotness of the moms.  Nothing else really matters at this age.

As other have said, get to know the kids, but don't make it cheesy.  I had a lot of fun coaching this age (won my league tournament, look at me), and coached a lot of those kids for many years.  

To me, this is a transitional age.  Some of the kids are still there because parents are making them.  Others are learning that they actually love the game.  Make sure your expectations are appropriate for each kid.  Getting to know the kids individually, and what makes them tick is one of my favorite parts of coaching.

Agree that each coach should be doing something different.  We ran stations, did each station for a certain number of minutes, then everyone rotated as a group.  At least one of these stations should be a "game" of some sort, hiding a fundamental.  One of the favorites when I coached this age was hitting a deflated ball off a T (like one of those red four square balls, or the like).  Three kids on a team, play in one corner of the outfield.  Place the fielders so the kids have to struggle to hit it over their heads.  Teaches the kids to swing through the ball.  Games like that.

Throat punch any parent that suggests a snack schedule.  That stuff drove me nuts.  If the kids need a treat to play a sport, maybe its not for them.  Realistically though, if a parent ever brought that up I always said "if you want to organize that, go ahead.  However, I don't want to be involved at all."
Click to expand...
Good info here

 
Regarding the ump fees, just calculate it into your team fees across all the parents. You know how much you owe per game and how many games you will have. We do this for basketball (where we pay the scorekeepers each game).

So if you have to pay $25/game and will have 20 games, that's $500 towards the team fees, If you have 12 kids on the team, that's another $42 per player. I assume you probably have other fees that most leagues don't cover (ie getting names added to jerseys, sponsorship fee, maybe contribution to players gifts at end of season, team party, etc.). Just about every league any of my kids have been involved in have quite a few additional fees that are not part of the sign up fee.

As for paractice, if you've got 2-3 coaches that can help and a 90 minute slot, at this age:

10 minutes for warm up - jogging, stretching, etc.

set up 3 stations, split kids across them - say hitting, fielding grounders, throwing - say 10 minutes per station then rotate, so this takes 30 minutes of practice.

3 minute water break while you and coaches set up next batch of stations

repeat the above 3 station thing - maybe now you do fly balls, pitching and baserunning - another 30 minutes

3 minute water break

Something fun to wrap up the last 10-15 minutes of practice - maybe a simulated game (if you have enough field space to work with - put kids in the field, rotate batter to runner to field  positions until everyone has had a chance to bat, rotating the kids through the field positions - though this could take more than 15 minutes), base running relay race (have stopwatch out as they will get competitive to beat their own time and their friends times).

And remember that they are 7 and 8 years old so the focus should be on having fun and developing fundamentals.

 
Bull Dozier said:
Throat punch any parent that suggests a snack schedule.  That stuff drove me nuts.  If the kids need a treat to play a sport, maybe its not for them.  Realistically though, if a parent ever brought that up I always said "if you want to organize that, go ahead.  However, I don't want to be involved at all."
Click to expand...
Tagging on to the whole parent thing, I let the parents know from the start that email is the only way we can communicate to respect that I have a job, family, etc.  Any changes in games, practices and such will only be communicated by email and if you show up at either that has been changed without checking email, this is on you, parent.  If you open yourself to calls and texts you'll be getting both all day and night.  Plus, email gives you the chance to read what you are about to send (or let someone else read it first) before you let a parent know their kid just might not be as good as they think.  My "kid" is 19 now and I coached for years.  Its is the ultimate good deed that won't go unpunished, but totally worth it in comparison to those parents who will dump their kids on you as a cheap babysitter.  

 
Ump fees out of your own pocket is the most insane thing I've ever read on here.   That should only apply if you are a club type team where kids are payin X amount of dollars directly to the team fund to fund everything for the year 500-1000 etc.

Not signing up through the league.

That said.

Stations stations stations

More practice >> games gets kids more reps.

They are 8 make it fun too.

Always end pracitce with some type of,  race, oppo game, etc

 
acarey50 said:
Regarding the ump fees, just calculate it into your team fees across all the parents. You know how much you owe per game and how many games you will have. We do this for basketball (where we pay the scorekeepers each game).

So if you have to pay $25/game and will have 20 games, that's $500 towards the team fees, If you have 12 kids on the team, that's another $42 per player. I assume you probably have other fees that most leagues don't cover (ie getting names added to jerseys, sponsorship fee, maybe contribution to players gifts at end of season, team party, etc.). Just about every league any of my kids have been involved in have quite a few additional fees that are not part of the sign up fee.

As for paractice, if you've got 2-3 coaches that can help and a 90 minute slot, at this age:

10 minutes for warm up - jogging, stretching, etc.

set up 3 stations, split kids across them - say hitting, fielding grounders, throwing - say 10 minutes per station then rotate, so this takes 30 minutes of practice.

3 minute water break while you and coaches set up next batch of stations

repeat the above 3 station thing - maybe now you do fly balls, pitching and baserunning - another 30 minutes

3 minute water break

Something fun to wrap up the last 10-15 minutes of practice - maybe a simulated game (if you have enough field space to work with - put kids in the field, rotate batter to runner to field  positions until everyone has had a chance to bat, rotating the kids through the field positions - though this could take more than 15 minutes), base running relay race (have stopwatch out as they will get competitive to beat their own time and their friends times).

And remember that they are 7 and 8 years old so the focus should be on having fun and developing fundamentals.
Click to expand...
League fees are $350 already paid to the league. I don't handle any money and I'm not about to ask every parent to chip in an extra $10

 
Last edited by a moderator:
shadyridr said:
Apparently is in my stupid league. $45 a game split among the coaches. So ridiculous.

Plus one of the coaches called me and asked me why i took a 7 yr old with the first pick and what my connection to the family was. I took him because he was on my son's team last year and he was pretty good.

Makes me wanna quit already. 
Click to expand...
WTF to all of this. 

 
acarey50 said:
Regarding the ump fees, just calculate it into your team fees across all the parents. You know how much you owe per game and how many games you will have. We do this for basketball (where we pay the scorekeepers each game).

So if you have to pay $25/game and will have 20 games, that's $500 towards the team fees, If you have 12 kids on the team, that's another $42 per player. I assume you probably have other fees that most leagues don't cover (ie getting names added to jerseys, sponsorship fee, maybe contribution to players gifts at end of season, team party, etc.). Just about every league any of my kids have been involved in have quite a few additional fees that are not part of the sign up fee.
Click to expand...
Every league we have ever been a part of does not charge extra above the signup fee.

The only exception is if you make the travel team.  You don't pay into the general league fee.   You operate "independently"  with the benefits of field use and town insurance.

But playing in the general league there are no extra fees

 
belljr said:
Ump fees out of your own pocket is the most insane thing I've ever read on here.   That should only apply if you are a club type team where kids are payin X amount of dollars directly to the team fund to fund everything for the year 500-1000 etc.

Not signing up through the league.

That said.

Stations stations stations

More practice >> games gets kids more reps.

They are 8 make it fun too.

Always end pracitce with some type of,  race, oppo game, etc
Click to expand...
Insane to me too but don't really think I have a choice. 

 
Cowboysfan8 said:
A team rule for teams that I coached..If you have a bat in your hand you have a helmet on. A couple kids (especially at this age) grabbing bats and swinging them is an accident waiting to happen.

Good info above regarding parents. Get something written down about how parents will be expected to act towards umpires, kids , coaches and other parents and have them sign it at a mandatory parent meeting. Do this before your first practuce. Explain to them all that youre planning to teach their kids the fundamentals of the game, that playing time will be as equal as you can manage and that your emphasis will not be on winning games, but that it will be on them learning and having fun
Click to expand...
Good stuff here.  Also, to improve on the first, my rule was that only two kids ever had a bat in their hand, the kid up to bat, and the kid on deck.  The last thing you want is to turn your back for a second and have a lightsaber fight break out with the bats.  Also, teach the kids to "clear their space" before they start to swing.  Just because they are in the on deck circle, or whatever, they should always look before swinging.

This is speaking from experience, being the parent of a girl who was swinging her bat (in the designated circle mind you) and hit another girl squarely on the nose as she was walking through.

 
Well Buttermaker, make sure you bring a cooler of beers to each practice and games. You can also soak your stud pitchers arm in there after you've thrown her for 174 pitches.

 
shadyridr said:
Lol no
Click to expand...
I assumed not, then why do you think this is a cost to come from your own pocket?  Look, I get it, you don't want to ask parents for more money.  However, you appear to play in the only league that requires the coaches to pay the umps directly.  It seems logical that you would also be coaching in the only one to ask the parents for more money after signing up.

I have to believe this is some sort of miscommunication.  I've never heard of something like this, especially if the parents already paid $350.  What are they paying for for that cost if it doesn't include umps?  Do all the kids get MLB replica uniforms?

 
$350 for fees and they don't cover the ump costs?  That's insane to me.  

If every kid isn't getting a new Mako Beast bat from the league it's time to ask to see the books.  It's $75 for my kid to play in our little league. Ump costs, jersey, and hat included. 

 
$350 ?@#$?@$?@?#$@?  

We charge $500 for our travel team and that include - 2 jerseys, 2 pair of pants, 2 pair of socks, a helmet and a team bag.

Plus all our tournament costs for the year.   We are playing in 10 this year.   We do a little fund raising but 350?@#$?@#?

Our rec league charges like 100 a kid

 
$350 league fees that dont include umpires is nuts. I think I paid $300 for my traveling daughter and that includes 2-3 tournaments. We do an out of town tournament as well, but we pay for that as a team. 

 
Bull Dozier said:
I assumed not, then why do you think this is a cost to come from your own pocket?  Look, I get it, you don't want to ask parents for more money.  However, you appear to play in the only league that requires the coaches to pay the umps directly.  It seems logical that you would also be coaching in the only one to ask the parents for more money after signing up.

I have to believe this is some sort of miscommunication.  I've never heard of something like this, especially if the parents already paid $350.  What are they paying for for that cost if it doesn't include umps?  Do all the kids get MLB replica uniforms?
Click to expand...
Definitely not a miscommunication. I'm 100% positive the league expects coaches to come out of their pocket for ump fees. This is my first year with umps but apparently that's how they've always done it. I find it just as ridiculous as everyone else in this thread. I don't know what choice I have other than reaching out to every parent but I feel very uncomfortable doing that. I don't know most of them. There are 20 games which means our team would owe $450 by the end of the year. I'm very unhappy about this. 

 
belljr said:
$350 ?@#$?@$?@?#$@?  

We charge $500 for our travel team and that include - 2 jerseys, 2 pair of pants, 2 pair of socks, a helmet and a team bag.

Plus all our tournament costs for the year.   We are playing in 10 this year.   We do a little fund raising but 350?@#$?@#?

Our rec league charges like 100 a kid
Click to expand...
South Shore of staten island is pretty rich area (I'm not) and the league has been in the LLWS before. 

 
shadyridr said:
South Shore of staten island is pretty rich area (I'm not) and the league has been in the LLWS before. 
Click to expand...
Not sure what this means? Whether people have money or not, the fees should all be accounted for. No way they can justify (in my mind) $350 fees without everything being paid. 

Side note: Nothing Im stating is an attack on you. 

 
shadyridr said:
South Shore of staten island is pretty rich area (I'm not) and the league has been in the LLWS before. 
Click to expand...
That's great and all - we won the USSA 10u regional/nationals last year.

What are you getting for 350.  Are your fields immaculate? astro turf?

THis is not schtick.   I help maintain our fields, am on the board of directors,   we have a surplus now in our league funds charging 100 a kid. I can't imagine what you gusy are getting for 350.  Everyon get a bat?  Do you guys have like 6 batting tunnels.?

And our fields are ok but not great

ETA: I'm not attacking you shady - this sounds crazy to me :unsure:

 
Last edited by a moderator:
As far as coaching goes, like others have said, keep the drills short and fun, with solid fundamental work as the base. 

Try to let everyone play as many positions as you can.  Kids at that age are just discovering what they like and what they are good at.  Don't let the parents pressure you into only having Johnny play 1B all season because he's a "natural" at the position.  Obviously you don't want to put a kid at 1B who can't catch or is scared of the ball (for his own safety), but move kids around as much as you can. 

Have fun yourself.  The kids will feed off your attitude and enthusiasm. 

 
Cjw_55106 said:
Not sure what this means? Whether people have money or not, the fees should all be accounted for. No way they can justify (in my mind) $350 fees without everything being paid. 

Side note: Nothing Im stating is an attack on you. 
Click to expand...
They have very nice fields (some turf) with lights.  They give a jersey, pants, and only have team helmets and catching gear. I dunno. I'm not disagreeing with you.  I'm not about to start an investigation lol. I signed him up under my own will bit the ump fee is rubbing me the wrong way. 

 
A couple others I was reminded of based on an email I sent to a friend of mine a few years back on the same topic:

-Assuming you are moving kids around and not sticking them at one position, teach every position to every kids.  Teach them which foot to put on first when taking a throw, teach them how to cover second, etc.  Instead of going from grounder to short, throw to second, then throw to first to make a double play, break it down.  Start with a grounder to short and have second cover.  Stop there.  Then have a coach toss it to the player covering second (so they get a good throw) and throwing to first.  Hit balls between 1st and 2nd basemen and work on who gets the ball.  Details.  Run everyone through these drills (not all at the same time, these can be stations).  Don't run infield/outfield hitting the ball to one person while everyone else waits their turn.  Break it down, high reps, rotate to something else.

-Have a routing to practice.  Most likely playing catch to warm up.  Teach them to warm up with light toss with just the wrist first, then flick with wrist and elbow, then short catch, then "regular" distance, then long toss.  Their little rubber arms might not need it all at this point, but everyone develops at a different pace, so it is a good habit to get into.

I also think kids do better when they know what to expect.  Warm up, then team drill, then stations, then team game.  Whatever it is, I find predictability gets good results.

-Might be a no brainer, but plan the practice beforehand.  Don't get to the field, then start to figure out what you are going to do.  This seems obvious to me, but I've seen so many coaches with no idea what they are going to do.  Put a timeline in for the practice, and overplan.  If something isn't working, move on to something else.

 
shadyridr said:
They have very nice fields (some turf) with lights.  They give a jersey, pants, and only have team helmets and catching gear. I dunno. I'm not disagreeing with you.  I'm not about to start an investigation lol. I signed him up under my own will bit the ump fee is rubbing me the wrong way. 
Click to expand...
So its 350 but if you want to coach 750? :lol:

 
My son isn't that good. If he wants out after this year I'm ok with that. I just wanted him to try one year with kids pitching. 

 
Agree with Dozier - have a written practice plan.

Even though "warming up and stretching" sounds dumb with 8 year olds - it gets them in a routine

 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

rustycolts
For I am rustycolts lord of the idiots.
Replies
16
Views
822
Chemical X
Chemical X
ChiefD
First Time Sending Kid To College Panic Thread
Replies
21
Views
1K
Brunell4MVP
B
glvsav37
Uber/Lyft driving
Replies
13
Views
449
BassNBrew
BassNBrew

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Top