Youth Coaching (sports)

[Road Guy]

anyone here coach baseball or softball??

Well I became the head coach of my daughters 10U Fast Pitch Softball Team this spring, I thought it would be pretty smooth sailing, but damn we are getting our asses handed to us!

Were 1-4 and I think the parents are about to set my car on fire during practice.......

My main problem is the girls dont seem to want to "swing the bat" this is there first year of "kid pitch" so they are taking some getting used to a kid pitching, versus the coach pitching....

I have probably also been "too nice" by giving the girls with less talent the opportunity to play some infield positions, not the full game but I always fealt bad for some girl playing LF every inning of every game... I have had several "suggestions" by the parents that I am rotating the players too much, probably true, I've been giving the girls one infield and one outfield position and rotating them that way, so for example if you play 3B, you also play LF (that way you learn how back ups are supposed to work). Of course these are the parents of the "better" kids who probably dont want them to play outfield.. I try and tell them that some MLB Players make a pretty good salary playing RF!

Were not getting hurt defensivly, its hard to win without base runners! I've done extra hitting practices, hitting machines, etc, and they all seem to go to the plate and watch the ball go bye, then the ump calls strikes,, 3 up 3 down...

very dissapointing!

Any words of wisdom!

Also It doesnt help that I dont have any assistant coaches on my team, I have lots of parents who help out when they are there, but no consistency........

 

[wilheldp_PE]

I have had several "suggestions" by the parents that I am rotating the players too much...
...It doesnt help that I dont have any assistant coaches on my team.

Tell them to become a reliable assistant coach or STFU.

 

[momech]

I'm not a head baseball coach, just an assistant, but I'm a head soccer coach for U6. I think there is a lot of value in teaching each kid a "primary" position. My son's t-ball coach last year rotated the kids every single inning. So pretty much nobody had a clue what to do, ever. It's great to try to let them experience different positions at practice in order to find a better fit, but they still should have a primary position. As far as rotating better players to the outfield, so the weak players' parents are happy; I'd only do that when we're winning easily to give the other team mercy. If the parents don't like it, encourage them to take their kid out in the yard and practice with them so they can compete for an infield position. Most parents don't want to make that effort.

 

[Road Guy]

that was sort of what I was doing, I had the best players as a primary position, for 2 innings, and then one inning, they would play their backup position. so no one was playing more than two positions....

I only have 2 pitchers, and when one of them isnt pitching they play 2B or SS... One of my pitchers doesnt ever seem to practice on her own, I tried to encourage her by trying out a lot of other girls for pitching positions last friday practice...

And what is interesting to me, my sons play baseball at a fairly competitive baseball park, and there, maybe its boys, you dont questions what position your kid is playing, and you are told bluntly, look if you want to play XX position you better hit the practice fields every day due to the competition level, no one questions "the coaches"

But for some reason, maybe because its girls, its overly rampart at the girls park, a friend of mine is the leaugue director so he sends me the parents emails bitching about the playing time and rotation, luckily I dont have any of those yet, more or less "friendly suggestions" from parents as I walk back to the car....

If I do this again I must have assist coaches as the beginning, I have plenty of help for weekend games but not enough during the week games, for some reason I'm the only dad that doesnt travel to Vegas every week or something...

 

[MA_PE]

With your scouting experience, I'm sure you are well aware of dealing with parents that always have something to say but never any time to offer.

I only had boys and helped as an asst coach one year in Little League (that's all I could stand). However, my kids were pretty active in the youth sports programs (baseball, soccer and hockey) and were pretty good, too. You need to tell these parents that THEY need to practice with the girls or at least encourage the girls to practice ont heir own. You can't make stars out of them with an hour a couple of days a week and they're not going to learn it at the games. That being said, don't focus on giving everyone a chance at every position at every game. League rules probably mandate minimum playing time. Make sure everyone gets her minimum time but give some preference to the girls that are really trying and want to play the game. If parents b&^tch tell them that their child needs to want to play to get more time.

First time "kid" pitching can be scary because the pitcher often doesn't have a lot of control. Exposure to it is the only thing that will promote more confidence.

Get a Hit-a-way batting practice tool to help thenm with their swing.

Alternately tell them every game was a tie and "that's ok you tried your best, we'll get the same trophies at the end of the season"

 

[momech]

RG, good point about fathers and their sons vs. mothers and their daughters. Right after I graduated from college my wife took a job as a high school cheerleading coach at a very large school in our area. What a freaking nightmare! For the most part, she had no problems with the girls, but their moms....I'm kinda sick to my stomach just thinking about it. Virtually every night when I got home from work there were 5-10 messages on our answering machine with questions, comments, concerns from moms.

As far as batting practice goes, that's a tough one too. It just takes lots of repetition. More than you can possibly get in 1-2 practices/games per week.

 

[Road Guy]

I actually do private hitting lessons with my boys once a week, I'm sure they have them in your area, basically ex minor league players that teach lessons for $30/ half hour.. I;ve been doing that for years to get my boys to be able to hit better, my daughter does pitching lessons which are not cheap either so I am only doing pitching lessons with her (but we practice on our own a lot) its a major time committment and financial one as well..

The last game they did a little better with the hitting, I had orchestrated some hitting practices with the machine that I think worked ( for the ones that showed up) I know with baseball some kids it took them getting some confidence that once they made contact once they seemed to be able to repeat...

 

[ALBin517]

anyone here coach baseball or softball??

Well I became the head coach of my daughters 10U Fast Pitch Softball Team this spring, I thought it would be pretty smooth sailing, but damn we are getting our asses handed to us!

Were 1-4 and I think the parents are about to set my car on fire during practice.......

My main problem is the girls dont seem to want to "swing the bat" this is there first year of "kid pitch" so they are taking some getting used to a kid pitching, versus the coach pitching....

I have probably also been "too nice" by giving the girls with less talent the opportunity to play some infield positions, not the full game but I always fealt bad for some girl playing LF every inning of every game... I have had several "suggestions" by the parents that I am rotating the players too much, probably true, I've been giving the girls one infield and one outfield position and rotating them that way, so for example if you play 3B, you also play LF (that way you learn how back ups are supposed to work). Of course these are the parents of the "better" kids who probably dont want them to play outfield.. I try and tell them that some MLB Players make a pretty good salary playing RF!

Were not getting hurt defensivly, its hard to win without base runners! I've done extra hitting practices, hitting machines, etc, and they all seem to go to the plate and watch the ball go bye, then the ump calls strikes,, 3 up 3 down...

very dissapointing!

Any words of wisdom!

Also It doesnt help that I dont have any assistant coaches on my team, I have lots of parents who help out when they are there, but no consistency........

Be sure to juggle your batting order.

When I got out of little league, I used to coach my little brother's team, along with my stepdad. Our order 1-7 would stay pretty much the same. But we'd juggle the bottom so the same kid was not batting last, two games in a row.

Usually the kid I put dead last would suck but be fairly quick. You don't want a "road block" getting on in front of the top of the order. So I'd usually pull the kid aside and say, "We are going to bat you last. But don't think it's because you stink - we want a fast runner in front of Tommy and Bobby. You get on base and you'll score." Kids like to think they run fast, so it plays to that.

Also, can you set a standard rule on swinging the bat? I remember frequently getting directions for the whole team:

"Jump on the first pitch if it's a strike."

"Do not swing until you get a called strike."

etc

Maybe in your case, you need to have them take a strike (to get comfortable) and then swing at the next pitch, no matter what.

 

[DVINNY]

I am coaching two teams this year.

My 9th year as a Challenger baseball head coach (manager) and also am the head coach (manager) of my son's T-ball team.

Both start this week.

I just had the T-ball "draft" over the weekend. I had ZERO assistant coaches, so I was not able to draft players based on ability, but rather my first 3 picks were players that had Dad's that I knew I could arm twist into helping as an assistant.

My team may not be that great, but I now have help. That's more important.

 

[Road Guy]

your right DV, thats where I screwed up with my draft, I should have taken that into consideration.

I do also like to juggle up the bottom 3 or 4 of the batting order, I am not mean enough to make the same girl bat last every game,. but again, at the baseball park for boys, if you deserve to bat last, you will bat last..

 

[Slugger926]

anyone here coach baseball or softball??

Well I became the head coach of my daughters 10U Fast Pitch Softball Team this spring, I thought it would be pretty smooth sailing, but damn we are getting our asses handed to us!

Were 1-4 and I think the parents are about to set my car on fire during practice.......

My main problem is the girls dont seem to want to "swing the bat" this is there first year of "kid pitch" so they are taking some getting used to a kid pitching, versus the coach pitching....

I have probably also been "too nice" by giving the girls with less talent the opportunity to play some infield positions, not the full game but I always fealt bad for some girl playing LF every inning of every game... I have had several "suggestions" by the parents that I am rotating the players too much, probably true, I've been giving the girls one infield and one outfield position and rotating them that way, so for example if you play 3B, you also play LF (that way you learn how back ups are supposed to work). Of course these are the parents of the "better" kids who probably dont want them to play outfield.. I try and tell them that some MLB Players make a pretty good salary playing RF!

Were not getting hurt defensivly, its hard to win without base runners! I've done extra hitting practices, hitting machines, etc, and they all seem to go to the plate and watch the ball go bye, then the ump calls strikes,, 3 up 3 down...

very dissapointing!

Any words of wisdom!

Also It doesnt help that I dont have any assistant coaches on my team, I have lots of parents who help out when they are there, but no consistency........

If they aren't swinging or hitting, focus on that. They need to learn to hit and swing. If they swing and learn to hit now, they will be winning in due time (maybe a year or two) while other teams are striking out from "walk-a-thon" coaching that usually happens in early years when the kids start pitching for themselves.

Get on the kids for not swinging at the third strike. I would rather see the young kids swing at a bad pitch on third strike than strike out watching.

One thing that helps with hitting fast pitch or baseball is get a screen setup between the pitching rubber and home (maybe 15 feet) with a lawn chair and a bucket of balls. It is easy to toss overhand pitches all day long, and works on quick reactions for the hitters.

Also use smaller and smaller whiffle balls when doing tosses from the side, down to hitting golf whiffle balls. We used to use a hoe handle cut off with a knob of tape on the end while hitting golf whiffle balls which really works on eye hand accuracy. When tossing from the side, sit back 45 degree angle in front of the batter and the plate. Toss at the front knee of the batter to simulate an inside pitch to be pulled, back knee for outside pitch to be hit other way, and in between for down the middle pitches. You can toss higher and lower to work on different heights of strikes.

Have the girls work on their power base, and no hitches in the swings. Think of a stick shift vehicle that needs to shift in order. Step forward, first gear. Rotate hips = 2nd gear (belly button taking picture of ball). Third gear = dropping hands to center of body or slot/decision time. 4th gear = releasing swing , contact before back wrist is popped, and popping wrist on contact. On contact, think of hitting nail with hammer. If you break wrist before hitting nail, the wrist goes back and not much power delivered to nail. If you break wrist after initial contact, you really drive the nail. Let the bat do the work.

To prevent hitches or bat going backward which kills valuable time, I like to teach using touch points like having the bat touch the back shoulder, or the helmet for higher styles, or grabbing the center of the shirt for very short swing styles. The power comes from the legs and not where the bat is started. I also like elbows down since having them up is an added motion since you have to drop them down as your swing goes into the "slot".

Another way to prevent hitches or upper cutting is have a cloth put between the upper arm and body. Doing this with the front arm helps stop drastic upper cutting (slight is okay since this is the path of the ball). Using the cloth in the back arm and body helps break the habit of bad hitches in the swing.

So the swing should be 1-step, 2-rotate hips/take picture of ball, 3 -arms dropping to slot, 4- swing and follow through. Doing this out of order is like skipping gears in a stick shift, and you will tell when someone is doing this after thinking about it, and watching good hitters.

Parents of little leagers can be difficult.

Let me know if you need more help. It is harder to get through to young girls (8-10 years old) on the physical stuff of hitting than it is with 5 year old boys.

A guy I taught while I was in college on these principals is now a freelance hitting coach making more $$$ than I am as an engineer.

Also, those that are great young may not be that good later due to losing passion, and the worst kid on the team may be the best college player. I wasn't any good till about age 14, and almost was drafted in college if it weren't for defense which may have been caused by an astigmatism found later in life.

 

[DVINNY]

^^^ Some damn good stuff right there.

thanks

That relates to everyone, my swing was never perfect, and playing softball last year, it was even worse. I sometimes pop the wrist right before or at impact and end up dribbling a ball that is lucky to make it to 3rd base. REAL IMPRESSIVE for a guy that bench presses 540+. Teammates expect me to hit 500 ft, and I pull a number like that more often than not.

All in fun though. (that's why I competed in powerlifting and bodybuilding vs. baseball)

 

[ALBin517]

My grandpa had one son (my uncle) and gramps was one of the original overbearing sports parents. He would rip his boy's backside for dropping a pass, throwing to the wrong base or missing a free throw.

It was always cool to strike out SWINGING though.

By the way, my uncle ended up getting a D1 football scholarship.

 

[MA_PE]

My grandpa had one son (my uncle) and gramps was one of the original overbearing sports parents. He would rip his boy's backside for dropping a pass, throwing to the wrong base or missing a free throw.
It was always cool to strike out SWINGING though.

By the way, my uncle ended up getting a D1 football scholarship.

good for your uncle. Often times the brow beating will just turn the kid off sports completely. Like all things..moderation is the key. Just my 0.02

 

[Road Guy]

good info slugger thanks! (you in the Atlanta area any time soon?)

And we are in the first year of kid pitch, our leaugue doesnt do walks at 10U. so what happens is say the girl pitching has 1 strike and gets to 4 balls, then the coach comes in and pitches the delta (2 pitches in this case)

What one of my parents told me is that she hears the other teams coaches say dont swing at any of the kid pitches and then wait on the coach to come lobb you a soft pitch... which IMO is totally wrong, I encourage my team to swing at the kids pitches if they look good and NOT to wait on me to pitch to them, apparantly it does win games at this level though, but I think its piss poor...

the one game we won our pitcher was on fire for that game so she had 5 strike outs,,,

spring break is next week and were going to serioulsy work on hitting and Im hoping my other pitcher isnt going on vacation cause she needs the work as well..

 

[csb]

I like that you're encouraging the kids to play the game correctly and with each other, rather than just trying to win. We had our son in wrestling this year and it was an eye-opener for sure. There's definitely a loser and a winner in a wrestling match and it was hard for my son to go out there and lose. We eventually got him to really see that you give it your all and sometimes there are kids tougher than you, but when you come off the mat you did your best. That's what life is about.

 

[willsee]

I like that you're encouraging the kids to play the game correctly and with each other, rather than just trying to win. We had our son in wrestling this year and it was an eye-opener for sure. There's definitely a loser and a winner in a wrestling match and it was hard for my son to go out there and lose. We eventually got him to really see that you give it your all and sometimes there are kids tougher than you, but when you come off the mat you did your best. That's what life is about.

Probably the best sport I had ever done. I wish I did it for longer though because as a senior in hs wrestling your first time isn't very fun.

I think you really learn alot about yourself wrestling in that you have no one else to point the finger at for winning/losing except the one you see in the mirror.

 

[Road Guy]

our football coach made us all join the wrestling team during the off season, I was pretty terrible at it, but it was defin one of those gut wrenching sports where its not all about size, I was a defensive lineman and would generally get "whipped" by someone much quicker and more determined than me..

 

[ALBin517]

I like that you're encouraging the kids to play the game correctly and with each other, rather than just trying to win. We had our son in wrestling this year and it was an eye-opener for sure. There's definitely a loser and a winner in a wrestling match and it was hard for my son to go out there and lose. We eventually got him to really see that you give it your all and sometimes there are kids tougher than you, but when you come off the mat you did your best. That's what life is about.

Wrestling is a tough sport to start. Everybody gets their tail kicked the first season.

My brother ended up being a 4-year varsity wrestler. He certainly won more than he lost at the high school level.

But when he first started (he was probably about 8 or 9) the kids who'd been wrestling since kindergarten wooped him pretty good for a year or two.

 

[Road Guy]

well we lost again last night, 8-2!

My pitcher (daughter) has 5 strikeouts in the first 2 innings, I still dont remember how exactly we can only play 3 innings, have 5 strikeouts and still manage to lose so badly..

oh yeah, no one wants to hit the ball!

Well at least it appears my daughter is set for the all star team, but damn losing is sucking so badly right now