by B. B. James

Created on: January 17, 2007   Last Updated: April 26, 2007

I have coached my son's baseball team and my daughter's softball team. Here are a few practical tips that I don't think are in the other articles. (And those articles have lots of good advice).

1. Keep things moving quickly during practice. Baseball is much slower than soccer or basketball, and kids' attention wanders. The problem is that just when a kid isn't looking... that is exactly when the ball will be hit to him. So you must keep everyone involved.

2. Teach them to think ahead. As you learn to play the game, you learn what to do in each situation. So quickly ask every kid on the field what they would do if the ball is hit to them. Let's say there is a kid on first base. Go around to your infielders and ask them what they would do if they got a ground ball (throw to second) or a fly pop (catch it and throw to first). Ask the outfielder where he or she would throw the ball. And so on. It helps kids with the boredom problem to think about each play in advance.

3. Don't be afraid to be enthusiastic.

4. Get the other parents involved. When parents come to a game, ask them to help. Don't let them just sit there on their cellphones. There are many more opportunities for help in baseball than in soccer, where the coach can basically handle everything. In baseball, you need a first-base coach, third-base coach, a person to make sure the on-deck hitter is careful about swinging the bat, a person to play catch with the pitcher, etc.

Learn more about this author, B. B. James.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.