We've already started here in Florida. We're two games into the schedule already. My team this year is 10U, Babe Ruth 9-10 year olds. I know different coaches have different approaches for practices. We have one practice a week on the field and one in the batting cages. Especially this time of year, until March 12th anyway, there is barely an hour of daylight available to work with. So the time is precious.
I have historically coached older kids (15U, 18U) and since I started working with the younger kids, I note they bring their own challenges. Attention span and retention being the most notable.
Though I know it as a legitimate approach, it is not my style to plan out a practice like a project management event. I am aware of the primary skills challenges the kids have and try to have activities touching on improving these. Other than those, I observe game performance note deficiencies and select some key activities to work on those deficiencies. I'm still thinking about what I'm going to do first and how long I'm going to spend doing it as I'm driving to the field.
For example, a light went on for me during the game this past Saturday when we were telling 2-3 different kids to backup certain plays. Then they simply didn't do it. I realized some of the kids didn't know what the word 'backup' even meant in a baseball context. So it became my first topic of practice and I spent a decent amount of time explaining what it meant and using a few simple examples of when to do it.
I'm having quite a heated debate with one of my assistants about the length of a given activity during practice. He insists nothing should go on more than 10 minutes because there is not enough time and the kids need reps in so many different things.
My view is to let the game performance deficiencies be the primary decider of time spent. I'd rather skip a particular throwing drill in favor of more time on something which needs strong reinforcement (such as my above example of the concept of backup). I might go longer than 10 minutes if I have their attention and they are engaged, shorter if it is clear I'm losing them, regardless of the activity.
I'm interested to hear others' thoughts on the topic of practice organization. My approach is to have an outline in my head, start the work, and adjust as execution observation and attention span are assessed.
I have historically coached older kids (15U, 18U) and since I started working with the younger kids, I note they bring their own challenges. Attention span and retention being the most notable.
Though I know it as a legitimate approach, it is not my style to plan out a practice like a project management event. I am aware of the primary skills challenges the kids have and try to have activities touching on improving these. Other than those, I observe game performance note deficiencies and select some key activities to work on those deficiencies. I'm still thinking about what I'm going to do first and how long I'm going to spend doing it as I'm driving to the field.
For example, a light went on for me during the game this past Saturday when we were telling 2-3 different kids to backup certain plays. Then they simply didn't do it. I realized some of the kids didn't know what the word 'backup' even meant in a baseball context. So it became my first topic of practice and I spent a decent amount of time explaining what it meant and using a few simple examples of when to do it.
I'm having quite a heated debate with one of my assistants about the length of a given activity during practice. He insists nothing should go on more than 10 minutes because there is not enough time and the kids need reps in so many different things.
My view is to let the game performance deficiencies be the primary decider of time spent. I'd rather skip a particular throwing drill in favor of more time on something which needs strong reinforcement (such as my above example of the concept of backup). I might go longer than 10 minutes if I have their attention and they are engaged, shorter if it is clear I'm losing them, regardless of the activity.
I'm interested to hear others' thoughts on the topic of practice organization. My approach is to have an outline in my head, start the work, and adjust as execution observation and attention span are assessed.