Posts Tagged ‘baseball cleats’

Lesson #4: Plan, Plan, Plan – Lessons from a Youth Baseball Coach

Monday, August 10th, 2009

For a youth baseball coach, one cannot emphasize enough the importance of a little bit of planning prior to a game or practice; it makes all of the difference for a smooth running event. A little bit of advanced planning for practices makes the time fly for the players. A little bit of good planning also makes it more fun; the players are kept busy and are not bored. Practices in youth baseball are notorious for one coach and one player going through a drill, while the rest of the team looks on in boredom. Game planning keeps players from being short changed on playing time and overlooked for the positions they might want to play. Moreover, it speeds up a game; coaches no longer have to gather the team outside the dugout to divvy up the positions every time they take the field.

Don’t be shy during practices – draft as many moms and dads as you can to be assistant coaches, then put them to work. Give each assistant a drill and teach them the way you would like it taught. Divide the team up into groups that will visit each drill station. Keep the stations busy and keep the players moving between stations. Normally coaches will see plenty of parents standing around watching their players practice. There are drills even the most inexperienced dad or mom can handle. And face it, the parents are probably bored also by just sitting around watching.

In addition to your practice parents, you will need two full time assistant coaches. The three coaches will have distinct and special roles: one coach will be the hitting coach, one coach will be the pitching coach, and the third coach will be in charge of teaching team defense, base running, and defensive scenarios. It is very rare a coach does not have two parents capable of filling those roles. As the head coach, assign each assistant to the duty he or she is most comfortable with, and take on the remaining duty, yourself.

To help keep games organized and running smoothly, splurge for two dry erase boards (8.5 X 11) to hang in the dugout. One board will have defensive positions for the upcoming inning and the other board will have the batting order, substitutions, and the score, by inning. It is hard to overemphasize how much this helps keep things organized and running smoothly. It eliminates the delays that occur when coaches change the defense. It also clears up any confusion regarding the player that batted last. Merely put a mark next to the next batter and the confusion is alleviated when your team returns to the dugout to bat.

I believe that dugout is the best place for the head coach. That is the only way he or she can truly control the game. Educate your assistants on how you want them to coach first base and third base. Delegate and put some faith in some of your parents; they won’t let you down and on the flip-side, the more your parents are involved in practices, the less complaining you will hear from the crowd at actual games.

We will include more details concerning game and practice planning in upcoming lessons.

The article “Lessons from a Youth Baseball Coach” contains many lessons – this is the third lesson. Future lessons will include detailed planning for practices and games, choosing the right glove and bat, fielding, base running, philosophy, and a myriad of baseball subjects. All of the lessons can be found at Baseball Armory – “The Baseball Blog”. Baseball Armory – “The Baseball Blog” is sponsored by Baseball Armory. Baseball Armory is an online store that contains quality Akadema baseball and softball gear. Akadema produces high quality baseball and softball equipment, including infield and outfield gloves, catcher’s mitts, metal and wood bats, cleats, turf shoes, youth batting gloves, sunglasses, apparel, equipment bags, glove care products, and miscellaneous baseball and softball accessories.

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Lesson #3: Practices are for Teaching Mechanics & Games are for Having Fun – Lessons from a Youth Baseball Coach

Wednesday, August 5th, 2009

Hitting a baseball is considered by many as the most challenging skill in sports. It’s cruel because even the most accomplished player, falls short most of the time. That’s why it is critical to let the kids play and allow the game be fun. At some point in a game there might be an opportunity to teach the mental aspects of the game. Mechanics, though, should be taught and corrected at practice (unless, of course, there are safety concerns). We’ll cover pre-game, soft-toss, and cage work, which should be considered an extension of practice, in future lessons. When it’s game time, let the players focus on what they have learned and try to put them in a position to succeed. Praise them on attitude, hustle, “keeping their head in the game”, and determination. Don’t be engrossed in the mistakes. Assist the players in getting past the mistakes; help the players have a “short memory”. Most mistakes in baseball are obvious to the players and the fans. As a coach, create a mental note of the mistakes and work on the solutions in practice. Every player knows when they have made an error or struck-out. Pitchers don’t need to be told to throw strikes. All pitchers want to throw strikes; that’s what they are trying to do on every pitch.

Baseball depends heavily on the concept of muscle memory. The more player’s practice their mechanics, the more they become second nature. They become part of the player’s muscle memory. Baseball players use repetition to hone their mechanics. Things happen quickly in baseball and a player will revert back to whatever mechanics are set in their muscle memory. That is why it is vital to save mechanics for practice and fun for the games. The entirely worst time to be coaching mechanics is when a player is up to bat during a game. At that point, muscle memory is going to take over. If a coach or parent tries to fix mechanics, it only distracts the player and ruins their concentration. I have had to control many a parent that tried to change mechanics while their son or daughter was at the plate during a game. I only try to convey positive expressions while a player is at the plate. My favorite expression is “it only takes one”. It means that out of a possibility of six, or more, pitches, it only takes one pitch to make contact and get a hit.

Players beat themselves up sufficiently after making a mistake on the field or at the plate. It is the coach’s duty to keep a positive attitude. It is a coach’s duty to let them know that strike-outs and errors happen in baseball and all players have to have a short memory. Coaches need to understand that baseball is very much a game of momentum. Skilled hitting and skilled fielding are contagious; mistakes are also contagious. The more a player dwells on past mistakes, the more they will be affected on future plays. It is crucial to let the players play and have fun; if players play not to make a mistake, then mistakes will happen and the fun will disappear.

The article “Lessons from a Youth Baseball Coach” contains many lessons – this is the third lesson. Upcoming lessons will include planning, choosing the right glove and bat, fielding, base running, philosophy, and a myriad of baseball subjects. All of the lessons can be found at Baseball Armory – “The Baseball Blog”. Baseball Armory sponsors Baseball Armory – “The Baseball Blog”. Baseball Armory is an online store that contains quality Akadema baseball and softball gear. Akadema produces high quality softball and baseball equipment, including outfield and infield gloves, catcher’s mitts, metal and wood bats, cleats, turf shoes, batting gloves, sunglasses, apparel, equipment bags, glove care products, and miscellaneous baseball and softball accessories.

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Youth Baseball – Lesson #2: The Right Rationale for Coaching Youth Baseball

Wednesday, August 5th, 2009

It is imperative that every youth baseball coach starts coaching for the appropriate reasons. Every youth baseball coach should have three primary goals: 1) increase every player’s skill set so they are better players by the end of the season; 2) strive to make every player’s time with the team a fun experience; and 3) be fair in both positions played and innings played. If a coach at the youth level can accomplish these three things, the season was successful.

As I said in Lesson #1, it is not the skills a player starts the season with that count, it is the skills a player finishes with that are important. It is a coach’s duty to make each player better. I have run into many coaches that use their talented players to win ballgames, but don’t necessarily put effort into improving the skills of any of their players. For example, if a ballplayer has problems swinging the bat, some coaches will put that player at the end of the order and have them only bunt. So, instead of spending the extra practice time trying to make the player a better hitter, the coach will put the player up there to bunt and hope for a walk. Also, these coaches will often times try to hide the player defensively. To put it in another way, they will try to position the player where they will not have to field a ball. This cheats the players and weakens the sport. This kind of thing takes us back to the old days when coaches assumed players either “had it” or didn’t. Those that didn’t played the minimum and sat on the end of the bench. But with today’s coaching techniques we know that players, given the chance, can improve; they can learn to hit and field, given the proper instruction and the opportunity. And they merit that opportunity.

Many coaches coach for two reasons: 1) for the ability to play their son or daughter for as many innings as they like at the positions they want and 2) to win ballgames. These are the wrong reasons. For some reason, there are many coaches at the youth level that only care about winning ballgames. Why? Maybe because these coaches feel like failures if they lose and, in addition to that, most youth leagues will pick the coach with the best overall record to coach the all-star team for that level of play. So, it comes down to prestige; it is more prestigious to win ballgames than to teach baseball. And it then comes down to maturity. How big of a deal is it to be the country’s youth baseball coach with the most wins (woo woo!), compared to being a coach who truly looks out for all of his players and their personal development?

Consequently, I am requesting that all coaches buck the system. I had a very simple system. I coached with the purpose of teaching baseball during the regular season. I coached tournament games to win. But, even when striving to win, I wanted to allocate fair playing time. Why shouldn’t all the teammates be able to participate in the challenge of play-off baseball?

I am also asking leagues to buck the system; leagues should make it more prestigious to teach baseball than to win ballgames. I want to win as much as anyone. But there is a right way and a wrong way. Coaches at the youth level shouldn’t have winning as their top priority. Prestige is determined at the group level; leagues determine what is prestigious within their ranks. If youth baseball leagues started recognizing their coaches as teachers, then teaching baseball would become prestigious, and a new trend in youth coaching would begin.

The article “Lessons from a Youth Baseball Coach” contains many lessons – this is the second lesson. All of the lessons can be found at Baseball Armory – “The Baseball Blog”. Baseball Armory sponsors Baseball Armory – “The Baseball Blog”. Baseball Armory is an online store that contains quality Akadema softball and baseball gear. Akadema produces high quality softball and baseball equipment, including outfield and infield gloves, catcher’s mitts, metal and wood bats, cleats, turf shoes, batting gloves, sunglasses, apparel, equipment bags, glove care products, and miscellaneous baseball and softball accessories.

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Lesson #2: Right Rationale to Start Coaching Youth Baseball

Friday, July 31st, 2009

It is imperative that every youth baseball coach starts coaching for the appropriate reasons. There are three primary goals every youth baseball coach should have: 1) increase every player’s skill set so they are better players by the end of the season; 2) strive to make every player’s time with the team a fun experience; and 3) be fair in both positions played and innings played. If a coach at the youth level can accomplish these three things, the season was successful.

As I stated in Lesson #1, it is not where the player starts, but where he/she finishes. It is a coach’s responsibility to make each player better. I have run into many coaches that use their talented players to win ballgames, but don’t necessarily put effort into improving the skills of any of their players. As an example, if a baseball player has problems getting hits, some coaches will put that player at the end of the line-up and only have them bunt. So, as an alternative to spending the extra practice time trying to make the player a better hitter, the coach will put the player up there only to bunt and hope for a walk. Also, these coaches will often times try to hide the player defensively. To put it in another way, they will try to position the player where they will not have to field a ball. This cheats the players and diminishes the sport. This kind of thing takes us back to the old days when coaches assumed players either “had it” or didn’t. Those that didn’t played the minimum and sat on the end of the bench. But with today’s coaching techniques we know that players, given the chance, can improve; they can learn to hit and field, given the proper instruction and the opportunity. And they merit that opportunity.

There are many youth baseball coaches that coach for two reasons: 1) for the capability to play their son/daughter for as many innings as they like at the positions they want and 2) to win ballgames. These are the wrong reasons. For some reason, there are many coaches at the youth level that only care about winning ballgames. Why? It might be that these coaches feel like failures if they lose and, in addition to that, most youth leagues will choose the coach with the best overall record to coach the all-star team for that level of play. So, it comes down to prestige; it is more prestigious to win ballgames than to teach baseball. And it then comes down to maturity. How big of a deal is it to be the country’s youth baseball coach with the most wins (woo woo!), in contrast with being a coach who truly watches out for all of his players and their personal development?

Subsequently, I am asking all coaches to challenge the system. I had a very simple system. I played my regular season games to teach baseball. I played my tournament games to win ballgames. But, even when attempting to win, I wanted players to get fair playing time. Why shouldn’t all the players on a team be able to participate in the challenge of play-off baseball?

I am also requesting that youth leagues to buck the system; leagues should make it more important to teach baseball than to win baseball games. Winning is as important to me as it is to anyone else. But there is a right way and a wrong way. Youth level coaches should not have winning as their top priority. Prestige is established at the group level; leagues establish what is prestigious within their ranks. If youth baseball leagues started recognizing their coaches as teachers, then teaching baseball would become prestigious, and a new trend in youth coaching would begin.

This is the second lesson, of many, contained within the article “Lessons from a Youth Baseball Coach”. All of the lessons can be found at Baseball Armory – “The Baseball Blog”. Baseball Armory sponsors Baseball Armory – “The Baseball Blog”. Baseball Armory is an online store that contains quality Akadema softball and baseball gear. Akadema produces high quality softball and baseball equipment, including outfield and infield gloves, catcher’s mitts, metal and wood bats, cleats, turf shoes, batting gloves, sunglasses, apparel, equipment bags, glove care products, and miscellaneous baseball and softball accessories.

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Lesson #1: First Steps in Coaching – Lessons from a Youth Baseball Coach

Saturday, July 18th, 2009

I was a youth baseball coach for many years. I became a coach because my son started playing the sport late and I found that his first coach did not give him enough playing time to increase his skill set. The way his first coach ran practices, also frustrated me. I found that his skills were improving only when he was working directly with me. Thus, out of frustration, I became a head coach his second year in baseball.

I knew how to play the game, but I didn’t know how to teach the game; the first thing I realized, very quickly, was my inability to transfer my knowledge to the players. My assistant coach and I began to attend all the coaching clinics possible. Coaching clinics can be a little frustrating because you will find they are not consistent in the mechanics they teach. I found that simple mechanics, with the least amount of movement, helped alleviate frustration for both the coach and the player. In addition, simple translates into success faster. Success translates into fun.

The age group you are coaching determines the coaching style. This was the second thing I learned very quickly. The younger the players, the shorter the attention span. For example, a coach should not spend more than 5 minutes on any one drill for 7 or 8 year old players. Show them the proper technique, let them practice that technique a few times, and then move them onto another drill. Don’t let frustration lead you to think that there is no way they can pick up any technique that quickly. The progress of your players will constantly amaze you if practices are organized, fast-moving, and fun.

The importance of having fun, yourself, was the third thing I realized very quickly. The more fun you have, the better coach you will be. Players will learn quicker if they see the coaching staff having fun teaching them; fun is contagious. A coach’s job is to teach baseball, make the game fun, so players will stick with the sport, and to be fair with playing time. Reward practice with playing time; youngsters practice to play.

The last thing I learned very rapidly was fairness. Be fair with the players and be fair with your own son or daughter. Try to treat your son or daughter no differently than you would treat every other player on the team. The best way to accomplish this is to have someone, who is not associated with the coaching staff, observe, and give you feedback. In that respect, I was lucky. My son’s grandparents and my wife never missed a game. I had immediate feedback after every game. If I was too hard on my son, I heard about it after the game. Please remember, getting your son or daughter a college scholarship should not be goal. It is important that your son or daughter stick with the sport because they are having fun. Additionally, be fair with playing time for all of your players. Mistakes are a reality of baseball. Playing time is the only way to alleviate mistakes. So be fair. Remember that it is not where a player starts that is important, it is where they finish.

This is the first in a series of lessons from “Lessons from a Youth Baseball Coach”. All of the lessons can be found at Baseball Armory – “The Baseball Blog”. Baseball Armory – “The Baseball Blog” is sponsored by Baseball Armory. Baseball Armory is an online store that contains quality Akadema softball and baseball gear. Akadema produces high quality baseball and softball equipment, including Infield and outfield gloves, catcher’s mitts, metal and wood bats, cleats, turf shoes, batting gloves, sunglasses, apparel, equipment bags, glove care products, and miscellaneous baseball and softball accessories.

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