First time baseball coach

AlNipper49

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Any suggestions for baseball bags? My kiddo is a small 10 year old but has quickly outgrown in bag in terms of storage space. In an ideal world I’m thinking of one of the rolling ones that can convert to a backpack. That was he can use it as a backpack on normal days but also roll it when he needs to bring extra gear.

it’s crazy how much crap we need to put in there. Helmet, two gloves, batting gloves, two bats, two water bottles, snacks, extra clothes, non-cleat sneakers, etc
 

tonyandpals

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Any suggestions for baseball bags? My kiddo is a small 10 year old but has quickly outgrown in bag in terms of storage space. In an ideal world I’m thinking of one of the rolling ones that can convert to a backpack. That was he can use it as a backpack on normal days but also roll it when he needs to bring extra gear.

it’s crazy how much crap we need to put in there. Helmet, two gloves, batting gloves, two bats, two water bottles, snacks, extra clothes, non-cleat sneakers, etc
We just got my 8yo this one to grow into, so I think it would be good for a 10yo as well. Holds his helmet, glove and water bottle + gatorade w/ room to spare in main compartment. His previous one we had to shove the glove in the helmet to get it to fit. Bats go on the side. Can throw it on his back and lug it around. We had a tourney this weekend and I threw my catchers mitt in there for me and it fit on top of his stuff just fine.

We got it at a local shop but I'm 99% sure this is it:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/EASTON-2022-GAME-READY-Bat-Equipment-Backpack-Baseball-Softball-Bag-Charcoal-White/359253090
 

AlNipper49

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I just picked him up from camp and paid attention to what the 13 year olds had. This more than I figured a silly bad would be but there were enough of them that I figure it would be worth it

https://amzn.to/3IBKpSb

(TP that’s actually the one that we have now! It’s really awesome but now that we have extra gear that I never would have previously planned on. It’s last four years without a single rip!)
 

jayhoz

Ronald Bartel
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I just picked him up from camp and paid attention to what the 13 year olds had. This more than I figured a silly bad would be but there were enough of them that I figure it would be worth it

https://amzn.to/3IBKpSb

(TP that’s actually the one that we have now! It’s really awesome but now that we have extra gear that I never would have previously planned on. It’s last four years without a single rip!)
I bought both my son's this Demarini backpack. This model seems to be discontinued, but there are newer models from Demarini that look very similar. I can't imagine my soon to be 10 year old needing much more space.

shorturl.at/gmopv

That being said, my older son's club team "gives" them these Easton bags. The helmet on the outside, plus the exterior cleat clips frees up a ton of room. I highly recommend.

https://easton.rawlings.com/product/A159059.html
 

OCST

Sunny von Bulow
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I bought both my son's this Demarini backpack. This model seems to be discontinued, but there are newer models from Demarini that look very similar. I can't imagine my soon to be 10 year old needing much more space.

shorturl.at/gmopv

That being said, my older son's club team "gives" them these Easton bags. The helmet on the outside, plus the exterior cleat clips frees up a ton of room. I highly recommend.

https://easton.rawlings.com/product/A159059.html
this is what my daughter uses ,it’s great. and 100% on the helmet thing.

She’s a catcher though, so that’s another bag. Does anyone have a good catchers gear carrier recommendation? Helmet, chest protector, shin guards. The set came with a plain old duffel bag which lasted one season. Would love a backpack if there’s a good one.
 

jayhoz

Ronald Bartel
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this is what my daughter uses ,it’s great. and 100% on the helmet thing.

She’s a catcher though, so that’s another bag. Does anyone have a good catchers gear carrier recommendation? Helmet, chest protector, shin guards. The set came with a plain old duffel bag which lasted one season. Would love a backpack if there’s a good one.
All the catchers I know have a roller bag. My son used this one for one season. Got the job done.

Easton | Dugout | Baseball & Fastpitch Softball | Wheeled Bag | Multiple Colors https://a.co/d/aEu5I0M
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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In my experience, bags are a baseball product people should avoid paying up for along with Evo shields (when the kid wants it as a baseball fashion statement - they are legit a protection for injured areas), Phitens etc. The obvious answer is whatever bag will minimize lost or forgotten gear. There can be trauma from such an outcome...

The non playing gear may be cool when you are 10 or even 12 but its all but in my experience its all but obsolete by time kids hit middle school. Its gathering dust by Freshman year.

Maybe its Bay Area baseball culture but most HS players I see used a standard one shoulder strap athletic bag like the one Nike produces for basketball or soccer - they zip the bat(s) in as far as they can go and that's it.

Most non catchers with roller bags were quickly shamed into adopting the bare aesthetic, including losing all their unnecessary Evos, bracelets etc etc. In HS baseball, most players want to look like they belong.

Maybe this isn't the case where you live but unless you get a team discount on those nice Boomba bags or something similar, go as cheap as the kid will let you. I have several hundred dollars of baseball equipment in my garage that only gets use because I needed something to do and coaching baseball is more fun than golf for me. This sport will drain anyone dry if you let it - don't get me started on the slimy business of youth bats. What a scam...
 

jayhoz

Ronald Bartel
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don't get me started on the slimy business of youth bats. What a scam...
This has been a rough year bat-wise for us. Older son graduated to the big diamond this past fall. Town league allows 13U players to use USA or BBCOR bats. We bought my son a drop 5 USA bat to help transition to the drop 3 BBCOR which would be required when he hit 14. His club league then decided to allow USSSA bats for the 13U season to help with the lack of offense typical for the first year on the big diamond. So we bought a USSSA. He then had a tournament this summer which was wood bats only. So we bought him a wood bat. He's now heading into his 14U season so we are in the market for a BBCOR. The two USA bats and USSSA will now collect dust in the garage. Ugh!!
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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This has been a rough year bat-wise for us. Older son graduated to the big diamond this past fall. Town league allows 13U players to use USA or BBCOR bats. We bought my son a drop 5 USA bat to help transition to the drop 3 BBCOR which would be required when he hit 14. His club league then decided to allow USSSA bats for the 13U season to help with the lack of offense typical for the first year on the big diamond. So we bought a USSSA. He then had a tournament this summer which was wood bats only. So we bought him a wood bat. He's now heading into his 14U season so we are in the market for a BBCOR. The two USA bats and USSSA will now collect dust in the garage. Ugh!!
See if he can find buyers. The secondary market for still legal bats is decent. But the overall market is terrible for consumers especially with the repeated "updating" of standards (which I am pretty sure most bat makers love).

Shelling out ~$500+ for a bat that may be used for just 40-60 PAs per season seems suboptimal, especially since baseball isn't typically a rich sport. And how many kids below HS are seeing good pitching to hit? In our middle school league (LL Juniors) we had 104 kids play. Only a handful of those could pitch consistently and even fewer had control. A lot of the time, those expensive bats are not even swung. We had so many bad hitters missing meatballs with their fancy DeMarinis and Makos. Of course I happen to live in an affluent place so they can afford it. But why?

That said, I feel your pain. So much gear laying around...
 

OCST

Sunny von Bulow
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In Brooklyn we don’t have a car and the fields are a 5-10 minute walk into Prospect Park, so it’s a subway ride up and down stairs* and then a long walk. I’m concerned that a rolling bag would hold up so if there’s a good catcher gear backpack it really would help even if we needed a second bag/pack for the other helmet.

-*in theory. More often I say screw it and get an Uber although with practice 2x/wk And a game that adds up quick, the good pack would help.

otherwise yes, the $ I’ve spent on training stuff that’s gathering dust…
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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In Brooklyn we don’t have a car and the fields are a 5-10 minute walk into Prospect Park, so it’s a subway ride up and down stairs* and then a long walk. I’m concerned that a rolling bag would hold up so if there’s a good catcher gear backpack it really would help even if we needed a second bag/pack for the other helmet.

-*in theory. More often I say screw it and get an Uber although with practice 2x/wk And a game that adds up quick, the good pack would help.

otherwise yes, the $ I’ve spent on training stuff that’s gathering dust…
Once again, if your kid isn't too worried about what they carry their stuff in (I realize that many kids care very deeply about this) , this is what my kid and all his knuckleheaded HS teammates used from freshman year on. The beauty of it is that if anyone has had the privilege of forking over their money for a sports camp or a club team, you likely got one of these as part of your swag. But if not, they are relatively inexpensive and can be reused for a wealth of other things including by others.

Again, glove, cleats, half empty old water bottles, dirty balled up old socks, wrappers, change, seeds, wads of chewed gum, copious amounts of infield dirt and missing howework goes inside and then you slide the bats inside the top and zip it up.


53294
 

AlNipper49

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We got that bag I listed above and honestly it’s really, really nice. My main concern was getting something huge - we are forever checking and double checking things. Since I coach as well if we don’t have it I can’t turn around and go home to grab it. The separate compartments in the main area are clutch. It’s nice to be able to throw a bunch of balls, heavy balls, tennis balls, etc in there without having to root around for them when we need them. That area has mesh over it so you are visibly assured that it’s in there.

Having it on rollers is great too. We play in a complex of 4 fields that also has a big recreational area attached and there are times the little guy has to carry a heavy bag 800 meters or so. Not the end of the world but the rollers are an appreciated luxury.

The bat storage is great - we can put 4 bats in there but has a cinch on it so you can go down to 1 per side. It’s good to be able to bring more bats - there are always kids of different sizes and swing types who appreciate someone bringing them a few options to test / borrow
 

Archer1979

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I wish that you had asked this in the winter.

Way back when, we had made it to the State's Finals in Hudson. Our town's organization was in its relative infancy so our uniforms were basically whatever we could pull together from the tops that had been returned at that point. Team bags were all ratty and holdovers from the previous organization. Only half the team had individual bat bags.

The teams that we were playing were decked out. Unis, coaches, team bags, individual bags were all same style and color. We were able to find out that these orgs were able to get customized bags, embroidered with the names of the player on the for about the same cost as if you picked up a similar bag at Dick's.

If I remember correctly, we got league/team bags in the same style. Got enough orders from the parents to be able to place the order. Also ordered individual bags without the embroidering for those kids that missed the order. Sold those out during our opening day ceremonies.

Worked out great for everyone.
 

Cumberland Blues

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My kid uses the Easton wheel bag for his catcher's gear. 4 seasons in, it smells terrible but has otherwise held up well, will likely need to be replaced next summer but I am hoping it can survive one more year. Agree on the insanity of gear prices...I have probably spent two semesters college tuition on gear and travel ball fees. I'd do it all again cuz the kid absolutely loves playing, but damn, he better be nice to me when I'm old.
 

AlNipper49

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Does anyone have suggestions for taking and retaining video of the players? Ideally I'd love an online database. I've found a few for-pay ones but I'd rather just buy something and use it for ever. The for-pay ones seem to have a lot of hidden charges, drastic differences in functionality and upsells for things like specialized equipment. CoachNow for mobile seems to be the leader at the moment.
 

Trapaholic

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Does anyone have suggestions for taking and retaining video of the players? Ideally I'd love an online database. I've found a few for-pay ones but I'd rather just buy something and use it for ever. The for-pay ones seem to have a lot of hidden charges, drastic differences in functionality and upsells for things like specialized equipment. CoachNow for mobile seems to be the leader at the moment.
There is an app I use called Visual Eyes. I coach 13U travel, and I usually try to take video of swings during practice. The app is free. You can edit the video and slow it down to about 1/8 speed. I use my iPhone and bought a small adjustable phone tripod from Amazon for less than $20.

Parents also like Using Gamechanger for the video. You can record entire games and save them. We had one parent who would attach their phone to to the backstop and record the entire game. You can clip individual plays as well.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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There is an app I use called Visual Eyes. I coach 13U travel, and I usually try to take video of swings during practice. The app is free. You can edit the video and slow it down to about 1/8 speed. I use my iPhone and bought a small adjustable phone tripod from Amazon for less than $20.

Parents also like Using Gamechanger for the video. You can record entire games and save them. We had one parent who would attach their phone to to the backstop and record the entire game. You can clip individual plays as well.
Thank you for this.

Question about logistics - is it simply that your travel practice schedule affords you the time to go over videos with each player or do you do it via email/text etc?

We effectively coach the kids you left behind - little league juniors division which are 13-14 year olds - and we are only supposed to practice two times a week though given that this is little league, we don't have much demand for more than that. We also deal with heavy demand for field and cage time so using that for video in lieu of drills seems inefficient.

Finally, how effective is video review for kids of that age? Given their ages as well as the media they consume, my experience is that these kids aren't devoid of attention spans but you lose them quickly. In recent years, we have adopted being less verbose in our instruction and it seems to work. I can see some kids studying a swing video obsessively while others might not even bother to look - and the latter might even include talented travel kids.
 

Trapaholic

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We have 2 practices a week. One hour during the week night and 2 hours on the weekend. Usually I will set up my phone during BP and take video of several swings. During the week, when I have downtime in my day job, I will clip the video and chop it up a bit. During the weekend practice, there is usually some down time in between rounds and drills. I like to approach each guy and go over 1 or 2 good swings and ask what they felt, what their focus was, and what they would like to work on this week. To be clear, I dont set aside a formal time with each player, I do it kind of ad-hoc based on time and who shows up.

Were lucky to have a good indoor facility - nothing huge but a great space to work. Going over 1 or 2 swings is useful because it gets a conversation started with the kid and you can understand what they felt v. what really happened.

The kids like reviewing the video. Sometimes I bring my laptop so I can share it on a bigger screen. I take a good swing and slow it down as much as I can to focus on what we did well. Personally I focus more on "external" cues - like I will say, I want you to try and hit this one over the 2nd basemens' head. I do my best to keep it simple and focus on the good. Even a 1 minute conversation is a good way to build some rapport when we do not have time to build those relationships.

I also bought a small Coachs' Radar (pocket sized radar gun) and just see how hard the kids can hit it off a tee. They like the "gamification" of putting up a high number and seeing a result. Video is handy but the most productive thing that I have done is try to make as many "mini games" throughout practice as possible. We want them to compete against each other and have some fun when were stuck inside.
 

AlNipper49

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Thank you for this.

Question about logistics - is it simply that your travel practice schedule affords you the time to go over videos with each player or do you do it via email/text etc?

We effectively coach the kids you left behind - little league juniors division which are 13-14 year olds - and we are only supposed to practice two times a week though given that this is little league, we don't have much demand for more than that. We also deal with heavy demand for field and cage time so using that for video in lieu of drills seems inefficient.

Finally, how effective is video review for kids of that age? Given their ages as well as the media they consume, my experience is that these kids aren't devoid of attention spans but you lose them quickly. In recent years, we have adopted being less verbose in our instruction and it seems to work. I can see some kids studying a swing video obsessively while others might not even bother to look - and the latter might even include talented travel kids.
We recently started going to a new trainer for my son. He is Venezuelan and English is very much not his first language. My son absorbs what he says by orders of magnitude versus "verbose" coaching. For example, he was hitting down into the ball so Coach Sammy started started saying "like airplane" and moving his hand like a whoosh. I must admit it beats "you need to drive the ball". Like I barely understand what that translates into mechanically.
 

Saints Rest

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We recently started going to a new trainer for my son. He is Venezuelan and English is very much not his first language. My son absorbs what he says by orders of magnitude versus "verbose" coaching. For example, he was hitting down into the ball so Coach Sammy started started saying "like airplane" and moving his hand like a whoosh. I must admit it beats "you need to drive the ball". Like I barely understand what that translates into mechanically.
My son's goalie coach is a recent immigrant from Brazil. He speaks very little English, so the verbal part of his coaching is mostly "Good!" or "C'mon!" Sometimes I think it might be a better approach than all the words.
 

AlNipper49

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I'm out of ideas on how to handle parents. I have one who is a true piece of shit. She talks bad about other players and encourages her son to be a similar piece of shit. I am trying to do something about it but the reality is that she has more time than I do, she knows this, and any small action myself and the rest of the coaches need to spend time dealing with her than coaching the kids. I'd love the kid off of the team but it's a school team and I'd need to take a week off to jump through the hoops.

I have two parents who are not bad people and really pitching in and help. The problem is that their kids really are not that great. That's fine - player development at the 5th grade level is important, but I also can't be getting multiple texts a day from those parents suggesting places that their kids should play. I'm a blunt guy and I'd love to be able to say that "games are where we put the players that earned it, practice we'll get them reps at different positions". I've said versions of that (way softer than that) and, again, I have parents with more time than I spending hours to make their case that their kid is the best option. (there is not a universe that exists where their kids are the best options). I would like a way to make a more firm proclamation about playing time, but everything that I write comes of sounding like an asshole (shocker, I know). We are governed by the varisty coach - a super good guy. The issue is he can't be spending half his week on a middle school team, and I understand part of why I'm here is to shield him from this junk.
 

Just a bit outside

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I'm out of ideas on how to handle parents. I have one who is a true piece of shit. She talks bad about other players and encourages her son to be a similar piece of shit. I am trying to do something about it but the reality is that she has more time than I do, she knows this, and any small action myself and the rest of the coaches need to spend time dealing with her than coaching the kids. I'd love the kid off of the team but it's a school team and I'd need to take a week off to jump through the hoops.

I have two parents who are not bad people and really pitching in and help. The problem is that their kids really are not that great. That's fine - player development at the 5th grade level is important, but I also can't be getting multiple texts a day from those parents suggesting places that their kids should play. I'm a blunt guy and I'd love to be able to say that "games are where we put the players that earned it, practice we'll get them reps at different positions". I've said versions of that (way softer than that) and, again, I have parents with more time than I spending hours to make their case that their kid is the best option. (there is not a universe that exists where their kids are the best options). I would like a way to make a more firm proclamation about playing time, but everything that I write comes of sounding like an asshole (shocker, I know). We are governed by the varisty coach - a super good guy. The issue is he can't be spending half his week on a middle school team, and I understand part of why I'm here is to shield him from this junk.
Sorry you are going through this. As a teacher/coach for 30 years there are always a few parents that monopolize your time.

I don’t know how much time there is left in your season but I would put together a player/parent handbook with your philosophy, rules, and expectations and have the players and parents sign it. This will hopefully make it easier if you can refer back to it when parents have questions. I would also include a section on how and when parents can contact you.

As far as the two coaches go I would call them aside individually and let them know you have seen the texts and that right now you are making the best decisions you can for the team but that things can change. Maybe even throw them a bone in a blowout if the the kids are working hard.

As far as the mom goes I have a lot of questions. Is she doing this during practice? If this is a school team is there an athletic director? A few more specifics would be helpful because it seems she and her kid are crossing lines that shouldn’t be crossed.
 

AlNipper49

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As far as the mom goes I have a lot of questions. Is she doing this during practice? If this is a school team is there an athletic director? A few more specifics would be helpful because it seems she and her kid are crossing lines that shouldn’t be crossed.
She is doing this during both practice and games. The kid:

- we had a scrimmage a few weeks ago and I called him out at 3rd. It was by a mile. He had a full-fledged tantrum in the field. I had him leave the game to cool down. Reported it to the head coach and varsity coach (they were there, but lots of things going on at once)
- game a few days ago he got a call at the plate he didn't like. He proceeded to yell about the umpire and sat there slamming his bat against the ground.
- he monopolizes every practice, jumps in line, skips warmups, etc.

My hope is that my method of just removing the problem isn't one that works and that folks have noticed the same things that I had. I've talked to the coaches about it, but anything more is going to be me getting "involved", and I'm already topped out as far as baseball goes.

A good example of the mom: for rec league we were in the finals last year. We knocked their team out the game prior (our stud pitcher threw a no hitter). She proceeded to shit on every player that took the field. These are 9 and 10 year olds that we are talking about. None of them are Mike Trout to start with. Nobody can fucking stand her, but it's the same enabling method (that I'm probably facilitating). Nobody wants to spend the weeks that it would take to do something about her. Another story - we have free use of the school's batting cages. Everyone who plays does. A few weeks ago I was in there pitching to a few of the kids, it was just a regular saturday so completely not-team related. She went on to invite her shitty kid to hit with us, he refused to get out of the cage after getting the 10-15 pitches everyone was getting, and when he had a meltdown his mom said it was because I was pitching in a way that he didn't like. I don't like my weekends to be shit so I just said ok, then you pitch to him then. She went in there and started throwing to just him, and both basically ignored us waiting in line to get back in. We stood there for a good 15 minutes waiting for them. (he threw a few tantrums on her too).

As far as the two coaches go I would call them aside individually and let them know you have seen the texts and that right now you are making the best decisions you can for the team but that things can change. Maybe even throw them a bone in a blowout if the the kids are working hard.
That's what we've done thus far. The issue (And not a huge one) is that it then becomes a discussion point. "so and so played first the other day and did better than XX". Well, no he didn't. It was garbage time, but I can't say that. SO now anytime we go back to the way that it should be, there is just more fodder that I need to explain. FWIW, the main issue is 1st. it's not a huge skill position and we generally use it to put our high baseball IQ / good hitters at. They all handle the position extremely well and are by any measure superior players (hitting/defense/baseball iq/attitude). This coaches kid is a quiet kid, not a bad kid. Can kind of hit. 5/10 defensively. Slow as molasses and a bad arm. His hitting is really what got him on the team, but anywhere but right and maybe left he's a massive liability.
 

Just a bit outside

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The mom is a nightmare and whoever is in charge of this program needs to send out a list or rules and consequences. There is no way you or any of the coaches should have to put up with her crap.
Kid: 1st violation warning
2nd sit a game
3rd sit two games
4th off the team
Parent: 1st given a warning
2nd sent away from field
3rd kid off for a week
4th off the team

It needs to come from the varsity coach and be clearly stated that being a good teammate and team parent is the expectation. If he is going to be the leader of the program then sometimes you get to deal with the shitty situations just like the principal of a school. He should have a vested interest that his coaches don’t get treated like shit.

The other one is harder. A dad not having a proper view of his kid is not unusual. It seems like all you can do is give a standard answer about putting the best team on the field.
 

Bongorific

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I’m coaching my daughter’s softball team in “A” division. 2nd and 3rd graders (mostly 8 year olds).

This is our town rec league. There is quite a disparity of skill between some 3rd graders who played U8 travel and have the basic skills down, and some 2nd graders who have never put on a glove before. So I have some girls that can really rip a throw and others trying to catch it that…let’s just say it’s a good thing fielding masks are required

A is the first division with rules more closely resembling “real” softball/baseball. Coach pitched first half of year but girls can strikeout if they don’t hit in 7 pitches; they can catch or field a ball and throw to a base for an out, we keep score, etc.

I played travel baseball through 17 but that was 20+ years ago. So I hardly remember practices and have been pulling drills from YouTube. I’m really focused on teaching the girls where to throw the ball, how to run bases, and most of all have fun. But I have a feeling we are going to get smoked by teams with the coaches wearing the joggers and wind shirts to an 8 years old softball game.

I’ve read this entire great thread so far. Would welcome any other tips for this age group.
 

jayhoz

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I’m coaching my daughter’s softball team in “A” division. 2nd and 3rd graders (mostly 8 year olds).

This is our town rec league. There is quite a disparity of skill between some 3rd graders who played U8 travel and have the basic skills down, and some 2nd graders who have never put on a glove before. So I have some girls that can really rip a throw and others trying to catch it that…let’s just say it’s a good thing fielding masks are required

A is the first division with rules more closely resembling “real” softball/baseball. Coach pitched first half of year but girls can strikeout if they don’t hit in 7 pitches; they can catch or field a ball and throw to a base for an out, we keep score, etc.

I played travel baseball through 17 but that was 20+ years ago. So I hardly remember practices and have been pulling drills from YouTube. I’m really focused on teaching the girls where to throw the ball, how to run bases, and most of all have fun. But I have a feeling we are going to get smoked by teams with the coaches wearing the joggers and wind shirts to an 8 years old softball game.

I’ve read this entire great thread so far. Would welcome any other tips for this age group.
First of all fuck those dudes.

When I coached 2nd grade it was 90% fundamentals. And by fundamentals I mean the basic mechanics of throwing, catching, hitting and running the bases. I'd demonstrate the mechanics (starting body position, movement, etc.) of each to the kids, get them to mimic those mechanics back without a ball involved and then do a basic drill with a ball. During the drill we'd stop frequently and point out adjustments the kids needed to make to get the mechanics right. After the mechanics start to take hold then they can graduate to such complex concepts as throwing to first from the infield and second from the outfield. You just can't introduce too much at one time or none of it will sink in.

I would always end practice with a fun contests based on the aspect of the game we spent the most time on that day. A bag of Big League Chew was the coveted prize for the winner. Before each contest I would reinforce everything we had worked on and stress that executing on that would help them win. Some favorites:

  • Survivor - Ground balls to the infield. Player must field the ball cleanly and make a good throw to coach to stay in to the next round. Hits get a little more challenging each round.
  • Throwing Accuracy - Player must throw a ball into a power net to move on. Each round is from farther away
  • Baserunning - Timed run around the bases. Stressing that taking the proper route is just as important as the overall speed.
  • Baserunning Relay - Two teams. One at home plate and the other at second. Each player runs the bases and tags the next player on the team. First team to finish wins.
  • Long ball - Players hit off a T at home plate. Ball that travels the farthest wins.
  • Outfield Throw Relay - Two teams in lines. Ball starts at one end of each line. Players need to make a clean throw to the next player in line. That player then has to turn glove side and throw to the next player. If the ball hits the ground then that team has to start over. This continues until the ball has traveled down and back. First team to finish wins.
 

Bongorific

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First of all fuck those dudes.

When I coached 2nd grade it was 90% fundamentals. And by fundamentals I mean the basic mechanics of throwing, catching, hitting and running the bases. I'd demonstrate the mechanics (starting body position, movement, etc.) of each to the kids, get them to mimic those mechanics back without a ball involved and then do a basic drill with a ball. During the drill we'd stop frequently and point out adjustments the kids needed to make to get the mechanics right. After the mechanics start to take hold then they can graduate to such complex concepts as throwing to first from the infield and second from the outfield. You just can't introduce too much at one time or none of it will sink in.

I would always end practice with a fun contests based on the aspect of the game we spent the most time on that day. A bag of Big League Chew was the coveted prize for the winner. Before each contest I would reinforce everything we had worked on and stress that executing on that would help them win. Some favorites:

  • Survivor - Ground balls to the infield. Player must field the ball cleanly and make a good throw to coach to stay in to the next round. Hits get a little more challenging each round.
  • Throwing Accuracy - Player must throw a ball into a power net to move on. Each round is from farther away
  • Baserunning - Timed run around the bases. Stressing that taking the proper route is just as important as the overall speed.
  • Baserunning Relay - Two teams. One at home plate and the other at second. Each player runs the bases and tags the next player on the team. First team to finish wins.
  • Long ball - Players hit off a T at home plate. Ball that travels the farthest wins.
  • Outfield Throw Relay - Two teams in lines. Ball starts at one end of each line. Players need to make a clean throw to the next player in line. That player then has to turn glove side and throw to the next player. If the ball hits the ground then that team has to start over. This continues until the ball has traveled down and back. First team to finish wins.
Thanks, those are some great game ideas. At this age, need to make it as fun as possible to keep them engaged. Last week I had them stand on second base and throw to a bucket I placed on home plate. First girls to hit the bucket would get their uniform first when we hand them out.
 

AlNipper49

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I think for rec league you have to ignore the noise and try to get every player individually better. Like Jay says, it's developmental. Some kids may come in with more skills, and they can become better leaders. I’ve had a few good players become great players by teaching others. It’s a tough line to balance as personalities can be fickle.
 

jayhoz

Ronald Bartel
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I think for rec league you have to ignore the noise and try to get every player individually better. Like Jay says, it's developmental. Some kids may come in with more skills, and they can become better leaders. I’ve had a few good players become great players by teaching others. It’s a tough line to balance as personalities can be fickle.
Yes. I usually ask that the upper grade kids talk about their experience last year and help out the younger guys just entering the level. It acknowledges that it will take a bit of time for the younger guys to acclimate, it gives the older guys an ego boost, and it gets the players to start talking and supporting each other.
 

steveluck7

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Kind of a weird question here…
Been coaching my older son from Tball and up now into majors (he’s10). Last summer, we coached is 10u all star team. That group played in a few other tournaments over the summer and played together for fall ball. One thing we noticed was that, as an all star team, none of them had a lot of experience in the outfield. We’ve tried a bunch of different drills with them to hone their OF skills but my issue is how do I coach them to track a fly ball?
It’s one of those things where, the more you do it, the more natural it becomes but it’s hard as a 43 year old who’s seen thousands of fly balls to say “just look at the ball n the air and run to where it’s gonna drop.”
We’ve tried a few different things but none have really stuck
 

AlNipper49

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The first step is always back. At 10u the ball can be a run in but you still need to get the instincts going back instead of forwards.

Next step is getting the ball out as fast as possible. It needs to touch their glove and be on the way to cutoff in an instant.

I think beyond that everything is just reps. At 10u you just want them not letting the ball get behind them.
 

steveluck7

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Oh yeah, we preach “first step is back”… I’ve also tried a drill where I have them put their glove down and we throw (or hit) a flyball and they literally just focus on running to the spot they think it’ll drop. I figure eliminating the “I have to catch this” component will help them focus on tracking the ball.
Just frustrating that something so intuitive to us (due to reps) is tough to articulate

and, yeah. We always tell them, especially, on base hits that their first job is to keep the ball in front of them.
 

Just a bit outside

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We always did a drill where the player faces the coach about 3 feet away in outfield ready position and the coach tosses the ball over either shoulder forcing the kid to drop step with the proper foot. The ball is only tossed high and far enough for the kid to take 3-5 steps and make the catch. The player then tosses the ball to the coach as he returns to the starting place and the coach throws again. We used to do about 5 or so tosses and then switch players. As the kids improve you can start to throw the ball higher and further to help them track the ball for longer distances.
 

Trapaholic

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I don't know your situation so take this with a grain of salt. On-field BP is a great way to practice fly balls. Doing a round of fungo fly balls is great, but the ball does not spin the same when you throw it up and hit is as opposed to hitting a pitched ball. Fly balls during BP will give the fielder a more "game like" feel and help with tracking the spin and flight.

If that is not an option, set up a tee at the plate and have 1 kid hit while the rest are in the field. You may even want to set up the tee at 2nd base if you have younger guys. Bottom line is that a live batted ball from a hitter is the best type of practice rep for both fly balls and ground balls. This will also help them react to a swing and "get a good jump".
 

jayhoz

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Some great points made already. I would just add

- Don't drift. Sprint to the spot you think the ball is going to be and wait under it.
- Don't backpedal ever. Turn your hips and run to the spot behind you.
- Never assume someone else has it. Off the bat sprint toward the ball and only back off when called off.
- Get the ball to the infield as fast as possible. Hopefully that is to the cutoff man, but if they aren't there do not hold the ball. Get it in to someone.
 

AlNipper49

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I don't know your situation so take this with a grain of salt. On-field BP is a great way to practice fly balls. Doing a round of fungo fly balls is great, but the ball does not spin the same when you throw it up and hit is as opposed to hitting a pitched ball. Fly balls during BP will give the fielder a more "game like" feel and help with tracking the spin and flight.

If that is not an option, set up a tee at the plate and have 1 kid hit while the rest are in the field. You may even want to set up the tee at 2nd base if you have younger guys. Bottom line is that a live batted ball from a hitter is the best type of practice rep for both fly balls and ground balls. This will also help them react to a swing and "get a good jump".
We used this drill for that, the kids loved (love) it.

https://coachingyourkidsblog.wordpress.com/2013/06/18/team-drill-tuesday-27-outs/

We'd have coaches hit and make it into a game of us vs. them when we needed the outfielders to get some work. We'd just short toss to each other.
 

jayhoz

Ronald Bartel
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We used this drill for that, the kids loved (love) it.

https://coachingyourkidsblog.wordpress.com/2013/06/18/team-drill-tuesday-27-outs/

We'd have coaches hit and make it into a game of us vs. them when we needed the outfielders to get some work. We'd just short toss to each other.
Our practices would be 4 hours long if we did 27 outs with our town 10u teams. ;) :)

Edit - To add some pressure I've had the kids count how many consecutive pop ups they are able to catch. They seem to enjoy that one too.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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The football drill (described upthread) isn't just something we do as part of the practice plan. I will grab any idle players and run that during any downtime we have.

I also hit flys any time kids are milliing about. And as our weakest fielders become more competent at catching, we will challenge the team to make it through a flyball drill at least once without anyone dropping it - its imperative that you only do this with cohesive groups as the really competitive types are apt to get angry at their teammates rather than cheering them if it doesn't work.

Finally, with youth baseball I've found that hitting fungos with an aluminum bat vs a fungo model gives kids a truer read on how the ball comes off in games.

Our level - Little League Juniors - is the last stop before high school and most of our players, including the best of them, generally suck at OF. We make OF play a priority simply because for many of these kids, its their only shot at seeing the field when they get to the next level.
 

AlNipper49

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Yeah we had an optional practice today with no school which gave me a chance to send our usual infielders / best players some deep balls in the OF using the machine. It’s pretty amazing how awful they were.
 

Trapaholic

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Yeah we had an optional practice today with no school which gave me a chance to send our usual infielders / best players some deep balls in the OF using the machine. It’s pretty amazing how awful they were.
Once the kids get to the "big diamond", outfield play changes dramatically. There is more space to cover (a lot of the fields simply do not have fences) and a lot more "tweeners" hit to that no mans land beyond the infield in the shallow outfield. You're lucky as a coach if you can scrounge together 3 guys that can catch a routine pop up. I have found that most of my better athletes have not really played the outfield when they get to the 13U level.

If they can run, have a strong arm, and are willing to leave their feet and dive, we can figure out the rest in practice. I am a big fan of getting my guys reps at many different positions and then see what sticks.
 

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Today was my first official game as a head coach of a rookie league coach pitch team. The kids were so great. It went so well.
 

AlNipper49

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that's great! Coach pitch is super fun, and it does get old but by the time it gets old they're moving onto kid pitch.

My son hasn't been hitting for a year. He went from a season of Gwynn-like not swinging and missing once to just not hitting in games. He was and never will be a power hitter, but he went from the default answer to a leadoff hitter on his teams to now dwelling low in the order. He looks fine in the cage, as far as 11 year olds can look. I've had him to plenty of lessons. It has to be mental and I've laid off completely as to not increase pressure, but it's not getting much better. I do not know what to do to help him. He's solid, solid in the field and pitching but his slump (or not being able to handle the different competition.... it may just not be his thing) is starting to impact where he plays. I fear that will all compound. Simply, I kind of don't know what to do.
 

jayhoz

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that's great! Coach pitch is super fun, and it does get old but by the time it gets old they're moving onto kid pitch.

My son hasn't been hitting for a year. He went from a season of Gwynn-like not swinging and missing once to just not hitting in games. He was and never will be a power hitter, but he went from the default answer to a leadoff hitter on his teams to now dwelling low in the order. He looks fine in the cage, as far as 11 year olds can look. I've had him to plenty of lessons. It has to be mental and I've laid off completely as to not increase pressure, but it's not getting much better. I do not know what to do to help him. He's solid, solid in the field and pitching but his slump (or not being able to handle the different competition.... it may just not be his thing) is starting to impact where he plays. I fear that will all compound. Simply, I kind of don't know what to do.
When was the last time you had his eyes checked?
 

AlNipper49

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lol probably about a year ago. Man, if it's that I'm so fucking stupid.

I'll get it lined up. But to play devil's advocate, he seems to have pretty good eyesight. Never squints, seems to have decent vision. Problems seemed to have started within a month or two span when I gave him a winter off.
 

jayhoz

Ronald Bartel
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lol probably about a year ago. Man, if it's that I'm so fucking stupid.

I'll get it lined up. But to play devil's advocate, he seems to have pretty good eyesight. Never squints, seems to have decent vision. Problems seemed to have started within a month or two span when I gave him a winter off.
My older son has a prescription (+2.50 in each eye I think). He never wears his contacts and never has any issue seeing things. I forced him to start wearing them to baseball and I noticed an improvement. Could easily be coincidental, but as I say to him "why not do that one small thing to put yourself in the best position to hit?"

Good news for you is, whether its his vision or the time off, it's all your fault either way. :)

Edit - can you get him on slow-mo video during a game? Would be interesting to know whether it is a timing thing or if he just isn't getting the bat on plane with the ball.
 

Bongorific

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Had our first game tonight. The girls had a lot of fun. Thankfully, we seemed to be on a similar level as the other team. Certainly a wide range of talent/softball knowledge on both sides. The other team was a little better knowing what to do with the ball. My girls were defaulting to just throwing to first in the beginning. But we only had 5 practices so it was hard to work on skill drills while also spending a lot of time on that. We can have a couple coaches on the field so we started telling the infielders at least what to do if the ball came to them and they were starting to get the hang of it.

Rather than game ball, I decided to do two hustle awards. Winners got a box of sour patch kids. I’ll rotate so everyone wins at least once.

Thanks for the earlier suggestions on lineup generators.A great tool for automating how to play 12 players at 10 positions and make sure everyone gets an equal amount of infield/outfield/bench.
 

AlNipper49

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My older son has a prescription (+2.50 in each eye I think). He never wears his contacts and never has any issue seeing things. I forced him to start wearing them to baseball and I noticed an improvement. Could easily be coincidental, but as I say to him "why not do that one small thing to put yourself in the best position to hit?"

Good news for you is, whether its his vision or the time off, it's all your fault either way. :)

Edit - can you get him on slow-mo video during a game? Would be interesting to know whether it is a timing thing or if he just isn't getting the bat on plane with the ball.
It's both. He was a contact hitter his first five years. Last spring he really only struck out twice and usually put the ball into play. Mind you, he'll never be a risk to hit one out. The reason I lean towards it being mental is once we joined a more competitive travel team it's like it changed over night. It's not like the level of competition was significantly higher, but that there was a very high floor of what was out there.

He hits fine in the cage... My arm chair hitting coach analysis is he's pressing and leading with his front arm. He's saying his hands hurt on a lot of contact which means he's not getting square on the ball. I probably didn't help matters much by coaching him, lessons, extra reps. After this season is done I'm going to have him just play for fun with his friends. My gut is I think that'll fix any real mental challenges that he's having.
 

AlNipper49

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Had our first game tonight. The girls had a lot of fun. Thankfully, we seemed to be on a similar level as the other team. Certainly a wide range of talent/softball knowledge on both sides. The other team was a little better knowing what to do with the ball. My girls were defaulting to just throwing to first in the beginning. But we only had 5 practices so it was hard to work on skill drills while also spending a lot of time on that. We can have a couple coaches on the field so we started telling the infielders at least what to do if the ball came to them and they were starting to get the hang of it.

Rather than game ball, I decided to do two hustle awards. Winners got a box of sour patch kids. I’ll rotate so everyone wins at least once.

Thanks for the earlier suggestions on lineup generators.A great tool for automating how to play 12 players at 10 positions and make sure everyone gets an equal amount of infield/outfield/bench.
Don't sleep on the baseball cards too! I use them for everything - a good practice all the kids will get one. It allows us a chance to say something nice about them and to send them home with a card that will hopefully tether that nice thing to a physical object that'll let them remember it. That's the hope anyways.
 

OCST

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Kind of a weird question here…
Been coaching my older son from Tball and up now into majors (he’s10). Last summer, we coached is 10u all star team. That group played in a few other tournaments over the summer and played together for fall ball. One thing we noticed was that, as an all star team, none of them had a lot of experience in the outfield. We’ve tried a bunch of different drills with them to hone their OF skills but my issue is how do I coach them to track a fly ball?
It’s one of those things where, the more you do it, the more natural it becomes but it’s hard as a 43 year old who’s seen thousands of fly balls to say “just look at the ball n the air and run to where it’s gonna drop.”
We’ve tried a few different things but none have really stuck
One thing that worked for U12 softball was to get a couple dozen smush balls- check Amazon, they’re sponge rubber. I’d put the girls at IF/OF positions, stand on the mound, and throw pop ups. The girls had to get underneath and try to have the ball bounce off the top of their head. Made it a competiton, last one not to miss won a prize. They thought it was a blast and it helped them get the sense of “get yourself under where the ball is going to come down.” Skill of using hands came later. Didn’t work so much for balls in the gap, overhead etc but that’s intermediate/advanced skill. For the simple idea of getting your body underneath the spot where the ball is going to come down on a pop up it works better than anything else I tried.