Calling Pitches
Don't think I've blogged about this, but if I have it's always a good topic. I really like calling pitches when the kids are in the "majors" or 11-12 year old league. I do it in the 9-10 all stars as well. I remember asking high school coaches at a coaching clinic...
A Good Pitching Drill
Well last practice I ran a drill that I saw online and then in the game our pitcher who did the drill had a good outing. So what's the drill you ask? You hold a ball in front of the pitcher, they stand on mound. They stride and receive the ball in their glove. Thus...
Losing but still feeling good — perspective….
Well for many years, my teams would lose and I would be miserable for days. Today I am home from a loss and I feel great about it. Helping a new 13U team getting used to the big field and they are really coming along. We worked pitching and defense last couple of...
Jugs machine for fly balls
Well over the years I've seen other coaches do it, but at yesterday's practice we were using the pitching machine for fly balls. I also used a new toy I got over the weekend https://www.amazon.com/Accubat-Racket-Baseball-Softball-Training/ (it's an Accubat product)...
Preparing for a Tournament
Well only three weeks before a tournament and we have practice about every day before it. Let's see how it goes. Things I want to focus on are strength and conditioning -- I think three weeks we can see real improvements in 13 year olds and I want to improve accuracy...
Thoughts on an All Star Game
This could be a whole series. I volunteer every now and then to keep score and watch little league all star games. Some thoughts after one I just watched. One pitcher walked the first two batters. He was excited. You just can't start that way -- work with your...
Turning Pro
Well at long last I have been offered an assistant coaching job on a 13U team. We will see how it goes. The transition to older kids, the big field. After a couple of practices it feels like the same. I'm lucky that I worked with several of the players for the last...
Pre-game warmup
I have watched a lot of games, and not sure i have harped enough on the need for a good pre-game warmup. First of all, players need to stretch before they throw --- WARMUP to THROW, do not THROW to WARMUP. Next, it builds team chemistry to have a good warmup together....
Watching a Home Run Derby
And so I watched our league's home run Derby yesterday. So interesting to me to watch everyone's swing. Kids have same type of bats, have had the same coaches for years, all teaching the same basic mechanics and some kids hit the ball really far and some don't. So...
Getting ready for the ALL STARS — NEXT PITCH
Postseason baseball is one of the best classrooms kids will ever experience. The pressure, excitement, mistakes, momentum swings, and emotional highs and lows force young players to learn something far bigger than baseball: resilience. In youth sports, momentum can...
Playing Time: A Youth Baseball Coach’s Perspective
As a new baseball season begins, I thought I’d share my thoughts on one of the oldest debates in youth sports: playing time. If you’re a volunteer coach—especially a coach with your own kids on the team—it’s easy to feel like you’ve earned a little privilege. After...
Hitting with a swift stick and a whiffle ball
I hope I have this written up somewhere on the web site, but today at practice I brought a bucket full of whiffle balls and some pickle balls and some tennis balls and a Swiftstick and I threw to some of our players. I was just 15 feet away on one knee and it...
Should I Hire a Special Hitting Coach?
I’m on a coaches’ forum where people ask questions and coaches give answers in a very amicable way, but I just had to share more about a question I saw recently. It was something like, “I have a 7-year-old and I wonder if my son needs a special hitting coach.” I’m...
Infield In or Out?
And so it was at a game this week, we had a one-run lead going into the last inning. The home team gets a runner on third with one out. We brought the infield in and the next batter grounds out and the last batter strikes out and we win. But it is interesting to think...
One Pitch
So happy to get on a baseball field today after the long layoff from the end of the season in the Spring. I’m an assistant in our “Majors” and I think on a team of 11 I know a bunch — some of them I had years ago and now here they are all grown up. So I...
The “Mound Visit”
And so it was I was in a close game and the bases were loaded and our head coach was going out to the mound to talk to the pitcher about calming down and throwing strikes and that was all fine. Then we yelled out to the first baseman to be ready for a home to first...
Glove on the Roof
OK, a new thing happened. Over 25 years of coaching youth baseball and it’s really something when new things happen. I’m at practice and a player is throwing his glove up in the air. Alas, he was close to the dugout and the glove fell on the roof. Yes it did. He said,...
Starting a New Season with a Crisp, Fast-Paced Warmup
Well, a new season is underway and it’s way too much fun. I’m helping out with a AAA team (9, 10 and 11) and a Majors team (10, 11 12) and its really something to go from one practice / game to another and see the difference in almost real time. Kids really grow a...
Verbal Instructions vs. Learning by Doing
And so it came to pass that before our first game, I realized I hadn’t covered warmups between innings. For pre-game warmup, we had rehearsed in practice, as I wanted it to look like we had a clue. But the pre-inning warmup is a thing I usually forget about and just...
Baseball Is Around the Corner
As I’m watching snow outside, I know it's January, and January always gets my energy level up as I know BASEBALL IS AROUND THE CORNER. We have tryouts here in February, so it’ll be on us in no time. I always picture the first practice and what I’ll do. I just...
What Works and What Doesn’t at Batting Practice
So our team has had an optional batting practice the last couple of weeks and I thought it’d be interesting to share what works and what doesn’t. It hasn’t been a rushed batting practice before our game like the photo - if you watch a big league game the players go in...
Does Behavior Really Change After Introducing Mechanics?
I have had a few practices with my new team and I’ve had fantastic help from parents. I’ve had almost a 1-1 ratio of coaches to players on the field at every practice and it means I can do a LOT on 1-1 mechanics. Instead of just saying LINE UP FOR Grounders and me hitting a ground ball to the player in line — I can have 12 parents roll a ball to a player. In the same time of getting one good rep if I’m lucky as the player at the front of time would be distracted by the kids in the back of the line — I’m getting 12 reps.
Holding Back in Youth Baseball
Everyone wants the best for their child and no one wants their child to be left behind. I have heard parents say WELL so and so has extra batting lessons with this great coach — we better start them right away for our child. It...
Two-Player Knockout
And so it came to pass that I was asked to be an assistant for a fall majors team. I had just coached a AA team this spring, and I wondered how it would go—would I survive the sudden leap from 7-8-9 year olds to 10-11-12 year olds. Now that my own kids are off in...
Another Season in The Books
Well who's counting, but we just had the season ending party for my team. They finished below .500 but I thought they had a great season. The best part of the party was when I asked who was going to play again next season and everyone raised their hand (OK one or two...
Get the Book!
