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First Time Baseball Coach

I was an assistant coach for my son's 11-year-old baseball team last year and had a BLAST! It was my first time doing anything like it.

Well, this year I volunteered to be a coach if they got really desperate. Well, last week I got the call and they ARE desperate!

Do you have any advice for a first-time coach? I am especially interested in trying to expose the boys to baseball so they can get an idea of team play and appreciation for the sport. I also remember last year how much of a pain some of the parents were.

Any advice would be most appreciated! Thanks!

As a youth coach there a number of important things to remember. I call them the seven P's for a positive season:

Priorities - For a successful season, you should commit to theses three priorities, in this order, for ALL players; 1) Safety 2) Fun 3) Development.

Players - You are likely to have a broad spectrum of talent on your team and you need to make sure each of the players, talented and less talented, have an enjoyable experience and receive the best instruction possible. You will need to have age appropriate expectations as well as individual-specific appropriate expectations. Remember that not all players are at the same level of maturity or development. For each player, try to achieve quick and realizable accomplishments in the simplest form to start out then increase challenges as appropriate. Above all, remember the advice of John Wooden, former UCLA basketball coach, who said "Young people need models not critics." In coaching, you should follow the 3 D's; Describe, Demonstrate and Drill. Try to use constructive criticism with positive reinforcement. Don't criticize the player, criticize the technique instead.

Preparation - Prepare for practice and games ahead of time. Make a detailed schedule of events for practice that involves all players. Before the games make a lineup that identifies how all players will be rotated into and out of the game to ensure adequate playing for all. It is a good idea to assign an assistant coach the responsibility to make your planned substitutions to ensure they are made, not forgotten in the "heat of battle."

Participation - Ensure a full and fair measure of play for all players during games and during practice. Allow all players to be starters at some time during the season. Try to have players spend some time at their favorite position, first in practice and then even in games. Keep kids involved when they are not in the game, possibly as first or third base coaches or by keeping a score book in the dugout. Give different kids a chance to make up the starting line up and the batting order throughout the season.

Practice - Conduct a well organized practice according to your prepared plan. Keep practices fresh and exciting. Avoid boring or repetitious drills. Keep all players involved and active, not standing around or waiting in lines. Helping all players to develop and improve and feel a part of the team is the key to their having fun. Practice game-like situations with base runners and fielders. Stress each players responsibility in given situations to help promote the team concept. Seek and/or devise and conduct effective and innovative drills. A number of books as well as the internet can provide plenty of specific information and advice in this regard. Great Practices, Great Games: Coaching Youth Baseball by Dr. John Mayer and Coaching Youth Baseball: The Baffled Parents Guide are two books among dozens you might look at. The web sites listed below have a variety of articles, drills, tips and products for coaches... some free and some for sale as video or in published form. Check them out and select what appeals to you. For just plain fun, enjoyment and background you should also read Joy In Mudville by Gregg Mitchell, a chronicle of the writer's two wild seasons coaching his son's little league team.

Playing - The game is for the kids, try to let them play it without over coaching. Instruct them during practices and let them play and produce in games. Avoid interfering with any players effort and participation. For example, there is a great tendency on the part of some coaches, trying to win, to "take the bat out of the hands of their weak hitters" by not allowing them to swing at any pitch, good or bad figuring the weak hitter is more likely to walk than the get a hit. They quote the old saying that "a walk's as good as a hit" to justify this action. But this is not helping the player develop or improve. Instead, teach and encourage your batters to swing the bat at good pitches and to lay off bad ones. They'll develop and will ultimately have a lot more fun and be more productive.

Parents - Parents are an important piece in the success puzzle. You must be pro-active in dealing with parents to avoid potential problems. Prior to the season hold a parents meeting and discuss what you believe your role as coach to be and what your objectives for the season are. Explain your philosophy and your priorities. Explain what you expect from the players and from the parents. Discuss how you will handle playing time and player substitutions, position assignments and the batting order. Recruit assistant coaches from attending parents whose philosophies, objectives and priorities are consistent with yours. Discuss your practice schedule, practice duration and practice plan and what procedures are to be followed if players must miss practice or if practice or games are rained out. Once you have established a schedule, do everything you can to stick to it. Try not to run late. Explain your philosophy about completing homework before practice. Find out if there are players with special needs or circumstances. Discuss special car pool or transportation needs. Make sure parents have your name and your phone number (and you, theirs) and encourage them to call you if they or their child has a problem. It is often helpful and fun to print a simple newsletter each week highlighting the previous week's game(s) and players' accomplishments and alerting parents to upcoming special team events.

The following web sites can provide specific help for drills, coaching tips and advice. I've briefly commented on what each site offers:

http://www.kidsource.com/kidsource/content/news/baseball.3.11.html
This site stresses safety which should be the top priority of any coach.

http://www.johntreed.com/bbmistakes.html
This site is an interesting list of the biggest mistakes youth baseball coaches make, compiled by John Reed. I agree with most if not all of it.

http://www.thecoachingcorner.com/baseball/default.html
This site contains drills and skills and strategy info.

http://www.baseball-excellence.com/GoodCoaching.htm
A site for general information and other stuff for coaches.

http://www.webball.com/
More specific skills and drills.

http://www.y-coach.com/CD/coaching.htm
More drills and skills and tips.

http://www.baseballtips.com/
General baseball info and stuff to buy.

http://home.pacbell.net/mdpowell/managing_coaching.html
Quite a bit of both good general and specific advice for coaches and players. Interesting philosophy and several good references.

Greg, I hope all of this helps you. In closing, let me say that kids should always try their best to win. Striving to win is the essence of sports competition. The coach also strives to win but he or she should do it by helping each player learn, develop skills, improve and enjoy the experience. If you can keep focused on your stated interests (trying to expose the boys to baseball so they can get an idea of team play and appreciation for the sport) and keep your own personal desire to win from interfering with any of the top three priorities for your players, you and the kids will have a great time this season.