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Coaching a Mixed Group

Here are some questions from Donna McCracken:

We are coaching 5-8 year olds baseball. We basically know the fundamentals but how do we keep it fun and interesting so the kids will want to continue on. Their attention spans are short. Are there any fun things we can do for practices, games etc. Also how much warm up etc. should these youngsters be doing. We do not want to go to extremes.

Answer: The baseball season is almost here and the letters to Ask Coach Jerry reflect that. Yours was the second question I received this week from a baseball coach asking for advice. The first letter was from a dad who volunteered to coach his son's 12-year-old team. I have included his question and my response to it at the end of this e-mail since the information may be a help to you also.

Before I answer your question, however, I need to ask a question of my own. You indicated that you are coaching 5-8 year olds. That is a very large age spread. The physical and emotional differences in development of 5 year old kids and 8 year old kids can be enormous and putting them together can create problems for each. It wasn't clear whether this was a single team or two teams one for 5-6's and another for 7-8's. I would hope that it is the latter. 5 year old kids should not be playing in the same program as 8 year olds. In youth sports, the level of play should be commensurate with the physical and emotional development of the children. Competitive balance is important. Children should be grouped accordingly. The game as played by 5-6 year olds requires a simplified approach, one that stresses participation and meaningful play. The adults involved with this age group need to have minimum performance expectations and should focus not on outcome and results but on participation and enjoyment. Improvement and development will come but don't expect it after a few practices or games or even by the end of the season.

As you indicated in your letter, kids, especially 5-6 year olds, usually have short attention spans. They also don't deal well with the more intense instruction, the drills and the training routines that adults want to use to teach sports skills. For 5-6 year olds, the experience should be mostly an introduction or first exposure to the game. You should try not to make it more than that. Most kids this age will will not execute very well and should be encouraged to play and to have fun. Special guidelines are needed for these little kids including special rules (coaches on the field and coaches as pitchers, everybody bats and plays in the field, etc), special playing fields (shorter baselines, double first base bags, etc) and special equipment (softer baseballs). Competition should be minimized by the adults. Final scores and standings should be given little attention, nor should there be league championships, All Star selections, batting champions or Most Valuable Player Awards. Instead, at the end of the season, I've always had a team party at which each player is recognized for his or her improvement, participation and contribution to the team with a small token item like an inexpensive baseball key ring with a home made cardboard name tag. At the party, I read a poem I've written for the occasion about the team that mentions each player by name and something special they each did during the season. Kids, parents and coaches all enjoy that.

Here a few more suggestions for making and keeping the game fun, that are appropriate for most age kids:

	Give players creative, positive nick names - this will make them feel extra special. Use their nick names often especially as a way to praise an accomplishment or something they've done well. Make plenty of references to major league players' names such as referring to a batter as "the next Mark McGwire"
	As kids come to bat in practice and even in games, have a coach play the role of a baseball announcer and announce the players name including their nick name and position - for example, "Now batting for the Mudcats, the second baseman, Joey "Gold Glove" Smith.
	Kids love to run bases so, during practice, put kids on every base and let them run the bases as the coach hits or throws balls to different fielders. Give them all lots of opportunities to score runs (scoring runs is definitely FUN).
	Get each player to name his or her favorite baseball team, favorite player and favorite position. After learning the player's favorite position, allow them to play those positions both in practice and in games. Don't make the same player play right field all the time.
	At practice, keep kids busy doing something, not waiting in lines or standing around. Simple warm-up throwing (underhand and overhand) and catching in small groups is better than doing nothing and makes for a good warm-up routine. So does a jog around the bases.
	Let kids be involved in making decisions - for example, each week let a different player make up the line-up and the batting order. You can also explain to the players what you will be doing in practice on a particular day and let them decide on the order of events. Make them feel they are involved and contributing.
	Play "Pickle" games - two fielders (they could be coaches or kids) and a base runner (a kid or a coach) caught between them in a rundown. Rotate positions frequently.
	Arrange a group of players in a circle and have them roll the ball to each other in a simplified game of pepper. This is a good way to warm up too.
	Don't do repetitious and boring drills or extensive calisthenics.
	After practice, one day early in the season, read "Casey At The Bat" to your team.
	If available, have players hit from a batting Tee instead of from a real pitcher. They are more likely to make contact. If no Tee is available have the coach pitch. In most leagues for very young players, pitches usually do not pitch, batting Tees are used instead and pitchers just field the position. In some leagues, the adults pitch in games.

If you observe what the kids enjoy most at a practice, then incorporate those things with variations into future practices, the kids will enjoy it and have fun. Let the kids be your guide and use your imagination to keep things new and exciting. Don't worry too much about teaching fundamentals, techniques and skills. Most kids at this age aren't ready for that yet. Praise is something that cannot be overdone but you should certainly try to with little kids.

Please tell me more about your team, the ages and skill levels of the players. If you do in fact have 5-year-olds and 8-year-olds playing together, I would strongly recommend that the league with which you are associated change its age alignment or you change leagues to one that has a more appropriate program. I hope this helps you and I look forward to hearing from you again soon. Thanks for visiting the web site.