gantrules Posted May 12, 2005 Posted May 12, 2005 Tonight is my first night of coaching my son's instructional tee ball team. 10 boys and me. I'm prepared in my head...but seeing this is my first time I'm looking for ideas of what works or has worked for you if you've coached little guys before. Any input is greatly appricated!
The Poojer Posted May 12, 2005 Posted May 12, 2005 mental abuse builds good character and steroids make them better players....push those issues and you will be a huge success! Tonight is my first night of coaching my son's instructional tee ball team. 10 boys and me. I'm prepared in my head...but seeing this is my first time I'm looking for ideas of what works or has worked for you if you've coached little guys before. Any input is greatly appricated! 334505[/snapback]
gantrules Posted May 12, 2005 Author Posted May 12, 2005 mental abuse builds good character and steroids make them better players....push those issues and you will be a huge success! 334508[/snapback] Problem is I can't decide whether to introduce the clear or the cream first.
justnzane Posted May 12, 2005 Posted May 12, 2005 Tonight is my first night of coaching my son's instructional tee ball team. 10 boys and me. I'm prepared in my head...but seeing this is my first time I'm looking for ideas of what works or has worked for you if you've coached little guys before. Any input is greatly appricated! 334505[/snapback] For kids that age, make sure it is more about fun and less emphasis on winning. You don't need the kids taking it too hard when they lose since they are so young. Also, make sure you are doing more drilling and less gameplay simulation at that age as they need to learn the fundementals. I just basically copied from my notes in my coaching class with a guy that is considered a coaching guru. He continually emphasized that kids at that age tend to quit because they don't have fun.
CajunBillsBacker Posted May 12, 2005 Posted May 12, 2005 Make it fun and exciting. At the T-ball level, the biggest challenge is just helping them learn the rules of the game of baseball. Become their friend. Take time to talk to each one of your players 1 on 1, it will help them open up to you. Kids that age usually like to hit more than play in the field, so let them do more batting and running than anything. Also, reward the players after practice/games. Give them candy. I knew the owner at the local McDonalds here, so after each game, I took all my players to McDonalds for a free ice cream. We threw a big party at the end of the season.
30dive Posted May 12, 2005 Posted May 12, 2005 I pretty much go by the philosophy of my high school wrestling coach: "If it doesn't bleed, it doesn't hurt" But really.......Teach them the game, remember they are kids and keep one word in mind for the parents......."Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh"
taterhill Posted May 12, 2005 Posted May 12, 2005 Ice Cream after...you will be their best coach ever
stevewin Posted May 12, 2005 Posted May 12, 2005 It is about fun, but no one will have fun if the kids don't understand that proper behavior is an essential part of participating in organized sports. I always start the season by sending a note to parents before the first practice including all the rah rah priority is kids have fun stuff, but also make it a point to state my philosophy that kids need to understand there are behavior requirements when they sign up for an organized sport - and they must treat their coaches, officials, and other players with respect and behave properly during practices and games - and request that the parents talk to their kids and reinforce this with their kids throughout the season. Of course some kids are still going to screw off, but the important thing is to set the expectation initially. For me it is important to gently but firmly get in the face of the kids who are disruptive right away to let them know what they are doing is not acceptable - you have to let them know what they are doing will not be tolerated. It sounds harsh - but the bottom line is the experience will be so much more enjoyable (FUN! ) for everybody when the kids are respectful towards each other (and you) and behave properly. You will also be much more effective teaching the kids the skills and the game itself - which is (should be) another priority/benefit of organized sports at that level. If you don't have an assistant I would also suggest inviting parents to participate in practices to help out. T-ball especially I think is good for having more than one person out there (as opposed to basketball where one is probably all you want). This also makes it more enjoyable for the parents who are participating and can build more comraderie on the team both kids and parents. You can also design practices so that there is more individual attention for certain drills/skills (also helps keep little Johnny in line if his Dad is there on the field). For T-ball I would suggest mixing in activity like running around the bases, relay races around the bases etc. to get the kids running periodically during the practice - since there can be a lot of stationary instruction and the kids will need to let some energy out and just running around is fun for them. Kids love it too if the coach is out there every once in a while 'racing' them. For T-ball too - let the kids know off the bat that Coach doesn't allow his players to "play in the dirt" (kids will constantly be wanting to kick and play in the dirt) - and keep re-emphasising it - eventually they will start paying more attention to you than the inert matter on the field. When I talk to kids as a group, whenever possible I always gather them around and get down on a knee so that I am looking right in their eyes. You need to have their attention - and it is easier if you are at their level and can make eye contact with all of them. Another important thing is to make sure you understand if any kids have development issues right away - you may have to deal with them a little differently than the other kids.
gantrules Posted May 12, 2005 Author Posted May 12, 2005 Great input guys. I'm really absorbing all of this. Thanks for the time in writing this up.
The Poojer Posted May 12, 2005 Posted May 12, 2005 in all seriousness, teach them that the game is supposed to be fun! but also emphasize that the game is meant to be won, so they need to work as hard as they can to achieve success. winning has been de-empasized so much as to save hurt feelings, but it needs to be empasized that winning with grace is the key! Have fun, and "....teach, your children well...."
HopsGuy Posted May 12, 2005 Posted May 12, 2005 "Baseball is a simple game. You throw the ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains."
crazyDingo Posted May 12, 2005 Posted May 12, 2005 The most important thing at that level is to properly break their spirit. Humiliation of the fat kid in front of whatever girls happen to be around is a good start. Also, if anyone quits, make sure you rag on that loser, momma's-boy until everyone else on the team understands quitters get punked all season, even if they're not on the team anymore. The other kids'll be petrified of quitting. THEN THEY'RE YOURS! ...And rubber hose beatings rarely leave marks.
pkwwjd Posted May 12, 2005 Posted May 12, 2005 I got my last job because I told my interviewer that whiffle bats don't leave marks ... and I'm a Youth Pastor
MichFan Posted May 12, 2005 Posted May 12, 2005 I'm helping with my son's T-Ball team that has 5-7 year olds. It is my first experience with the whole thing. I'll back up what everyone has said about keeping it fun and also add to keep it simple. Here are some observations to help you prepare for your practice if you are dealing with the same age group: - Most if not all of the kids cannot catch. (If you have any who can, put them at first base.) - Most if not all of the kids cannot throw far or accurately. - Kids would rather swing bats than field balls. - Rugby was probably invented watching a T-Ball team react when a ball is hit. (Once your kids learn to hit and throw, you'll need to work on getting them to stay in position.) - Chasing bugs is much more interesting than running from 1st base to 2nd base. (We ended up using a second base coach when we are at bat to keep the kids more alert.) - 5 year olds cannot comprehend situation-centered decisionmaking in the field. 6 year olds occasionally can with help from coaches. Simply instruct these kids to throw the ball to 1st (infielders) or 2nd (outfielders) base if they get the ball. 7 year olds can be coached prior to the play to possibly tag a runner or step on 2nd/3rd base. I say step on because if you have a 5 or 6 year old at these bases, they won't comprehend covering the base let alone be able to catch a throw from a 7 yr old. Our league limits the number of at-bats per inning because it is very rare that a team sides-out by making 3 outs. - Kids need to eat dinner before practice. Otherwise they'll complain through the whole practice that they are hungry. - As much as you want kids to practice at home, they probably already have more activities than their parents can keep up with or would rather watch SpongeBob when they are home. I try to get my boy to practice every night and his attention span is about 10-15 minutes before he runs off to some other activity. I keep reminding myself he's only 5 and that I didn't play baseball to any level of competency until I was 9.
gantrules Posted May 13, 2005 Author Posted May 13, 2005 So how did practice go? 335522[/snapback] It went well, I think.... We started by just running the bases. Most knew where to go everyone who didn't followed behind me. Then we did some hitting off the tee. After that there wasn't much time left so I had my stepfather take four of the boys and we worked on pop flys and grounders. I thought they had the most fun doing that because I made it random by calling out the kids name so they all were paying attention. There is one kid on the team that is six but signed up at the last minute so he had to play with the five year olds. Honestly, I don't think it fair b/c the kids skill level is way above the rest of the boys. Amazing what a difference a year makes. Everyone seemed to have fun, I didn't hear anyone complaining for the most part. I've got one of the fathers who is going to help me because when they are working on hitting the guys in field seem to get bored. So I figure if he takes half of the boys and works on something else while I work on their hitting, or vice versa, then we'll be able to keep their attention longer. I'm still very self concious about the entire thing.
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