How to Coach Youth Baseball

Baseball has long been called America's game. Every summer, millions of children play in youth baseball leagues across the U.S. and in many other countries. The coach can make or break a youth baseball team and impact each child's perception of baseball for many years to come.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Coach Youth Baseball Practice

1. Create a plan for every practice. Many teams use stations to practice various skills. Determine how much time will be spent warming up, at various stations and playing ball.
2. Start each practice with a series of dynamic stretches to limber the body for baseball.
3. Send players for a quick lap around the bases and throwing the ball back and forth with a team member as part of the warm-up exercises.
4. Set up stations to practice various skills if you have enough assistant coaches to help you.
5. Provide a hitting station for players to work on swinging the bat level to hit the ball. Teach players to watch the ball from the moment it is pitched until it is hit.
6. Set up a station to work on catching fly balls, throwing the ball to a cut-off man and getting into position as a cut-off man.
7. Spend time practicing base running and how to slide properly. Teach youth to slide with a foot forward, not hands first.
8. Use players to work on fielding in conjunction with the hitting station.

Coach a Youth Baseball Game

9. Choose which players will start the game at the nine different positions.
10. Set the line up of the order the players will bat in. Traditionally, the better batters will go first in the batting order.
11. Arrive for games early and warm the team up with stretches and throwing the ball.
12. Make player changes in the game as needed to give more players an opportunity to play.
13. Write down notes to remind yourself of what the team does not do well.
14. Give each player positive feedback for a job well done.

Tips & Warnings

• Make practice as much fun as possible for the team. A bored team will not improve.
• Start practice on time and end on time to make parents and players happy.
• Constantly watch players to make sure they are using the proper techniques in everything.
• Remember practice does not make perfect but perfect practice does make perfect. If players practice sloppy baseball, they will play sloppy baseball games.

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