Talk about taking the sting out of last night's Pats loss...
So, this morning, we're sitting in the truck at the bus stop waiting for the bus (No word on whether or not Jesus had left Chicago tho').
My son asks if we can toss the football around before the bus comes. I tell him the football's not in the truck, that football season is over. He responds, "oh, yeah, the Patriots lost". Switching gears, I remind him that we just signed him up for baseball, and we should really be throwing a baseball around to get him ready.
He climbs between the two front seats so he's looking right at me, and asks with all sincerity, "Daddy, can you sign up to be a coach for baseball?".
Then he paused for a moment and added, "Please?".
I very nearly vanished in a perfect flash of light, that's how great I felt.
So... I need to learn something about coaching baseball. All I remember from my (very) brief time in Little League is that it hurts like hell when you swing the bat around, miss the ball completely, and whack yourself in the forehead with the bat...
That is all...
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6 comments:
that is precious - you're a lucky guy Jay. =)
also, we have a lot of books at our library about coaching kids teams, you might want to try that route. Good luck!
"...and whack yourself in the forehead with the bat."
Well, that explains a lot.
You'll do fine. I never played at a higher level than semi-amateur sandlot but when my kids started playing, they needed coaches and I volunteered (or got volunteered, I don't remember which). 12 years later when my youngest moved on to high school ball, I feel like I was a fairly accomplished coach.
There are volumes and volumes out there about drills, the fundamentals, mechanics and such...as a previous commenter said, visit the library.
The most difficult thing about the younger ages is keeping their interest enough for them to actually pick up the basics.
I'd suggest starting out as an assistant to an experienced coach for a couple of seasons...get a little league rule book and read up on the fundamentals. By the time you're in your third season, you'll be ready to take a team on your own or with an assistant.
In future years, it would behoove you to study up on pitching mechanics and fundamentals. One of the major failing points of little league and city league ball is that there are very few effective pitching coaches and some who fancy themselves as such but do more harm than good.
Speaking from my own experience: I can think of very few more rewarding things in my life than the time I spent with my kids and their teams coaching and playing baseball. There are many many valuable life lessons that kids can learn out on those fields if they just have caring, competent coaches there to guide them.
Kudos to you and good luck. I hope you'll keep us up to date on your experiences.
We've had good experiences and bad experiences with baseball... First one was fantastic, second was a nightmare. So we've seen both extremes.
If memory serves, your lil-tyke is 5 or 6-ish? At that age focus on the fundamentals, and that's not too different that at the range. At older ages/higher skill levels that's the time to work on finesse/tactics at the different positions. For now you just want to get across the fundamentals of the game.
Here are the priorities I work with:
1. Safety first. No one touches a bat except when handed over by the coach. (Bad experience - 7YO's taking full speed practice swings within inches of other 7YOs.)
2. Fundamentals of the game. Running the bases and scoring runs. Fielding, throwing, outs (even if we don't keep count). Basics of hitting, eye on the ball, swinging through the ball.
3. Sportsmanship/team play. Everyone has a job to do, sometimes your job is to back up the guy next to you. No primadonnas. No bad mouthing other players (especially team mates). Primadonnas who don't show up for practice don't start the game. Any player exhibiting poor sportsmanship (throwing bats, running over players, tantrums, etc.) have to sit out and watch the team play.
4. Everyone plays, every position regardless of ability/skill. I'm sure we're all familiar with the "coaches kid" problem where the coach thinks his kid is the next Babe Ruth. So his kid automatically plays first base (or shortstop). Instead come up with a plan to move each player through each position.
Involve the parents... perhaps the don't want the responsibility of coaching, but they can help in so many ways besides yelling on the sidelines. If you have some good ones, you can break into two teams and double up on batting practice.
Finally, go into each practice and each game with a plan. Know what warm up/drills/scrimmage/running you want to accomplish.
Notice what's missing from these guiding principles? Winning. If every player goes home without a detour through the ER, if every player plays, and every player has fun, I have achieved my goal as a coach. I don't care if we win or lose.
I didn't go into details but danno is right on the money.
If there is one thing I would add to that...
Teach them the fundamentals, teach them teamwork, teach them sportsmanship, and winning will take care of itself.
Thanks everyone. Right now, I don't even know if they need or want coaches. I'm guessing, just from my experience with the Cub Scouts, that any assistance will be gratefully accepted.
I'd have to start out as an assistant coach, IMHO, because I don't think I can adequately convey the basics at this point, let alone finer points.
We'll see, though. There's a good deal of time before they hit the parquet. (Oh, wait...) ;)
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