by J Richard Karlsson

Created on: April 09, 2009

Coaching Little League

Baseball is a sport that is played using both mental and physical talent, having the great opportunity to be a little league coach for the past five years, mostly with the same players on our team as we grew from tee ball to now the 9-10 year old little league, I have learned tremendous experience both on and off the field in becoming a better coach.

The most important factor is teaching the rules of the game, conduct expected of a team mate and player, how to efficiently practice, play positions and hitting. As in any time you are looking to gain their attention, you must have skills in wanting them to be there. Children are young and eager to please, however at the younger ages they are looking to please themselves, by any means available. Some will play in the dirt, others may try for the attention of his mates and some thinking of his game stations at home, it is your job to get them involved. Let's be honest, when you were a kid, you just wanted to have fun, while coaching the younger ages, have fun teaching.

As the team grows, so should be the purpose of being on the little league team, to play baseball, so as us coaches yell out at the beginning and every inning, "BASEBALL READY". It is a good idea during the winter to find an indoor batting cage, unless you are lucky enough to live in Florida or Arizona, and organize the parents to bring their child at least once a week, when a player is swinging good, they are hitting good. In my early days of coaching I was given advise on how to be a good coach, he said, "Practice makes Permanent". It had taken me a few years to understand the value, if you teach a player to do something, make sure they are practicing the correct way.

Ok, my favorite time of the year, the first coaches meeting and depending on your townships organization, there can be a lot of politics involved, remember it is all for the kids, this is time well spent to assure the season will be a success. The season is underway, you pick your players and you have your "team". I can remember back when I was young, the players had to try-out, not only for a position but even to make a team, I like it much better now, every child has the opportunity to play.

First practice, I like to just run them, around the bases, into the outfield and than to home. We than line the players at second and divide into to teams one relaying from second, third and home while the other team runs from second, first and home and back. And a final drill

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