Lessons from a Youth Baseball Coach: Lesson #1 First Steps in Coaching

I was a youth baseball coach for many years. I entered the coaching arena because my son started playing the sport late and I found that his first coach did not give him enough playing time to increase his skill set. I was also frustrated by the way his first coach ran practices. I found that he was only making progress when he worked directly with me. So, out of frustration, I became a head coach his second year in baseball.

The first thing I realized very quickly was my inability to transfer my knowledge to the players; I knew how to play the game, but I didn’t know how to teach the game. My assistant coach and I began to attend all the coaching clinics possible. Coaching clinics can be a little frustrating because you will find they are not consistent in the mechanics they teach. I found that the mechanics that came with the simplest instructions and the least amount of movement were the best; simple instructions alleviate frustration for both the coach and the player. In addition, simple translates into success faster. Success translates into fun.

The second thing I learned very quickly was the style of coaching has to be molded directly to the age group you are coaching. The younger the players, the shorter the attention span. For example, a coach should not spend more than 5 minutes on any one drill for 7 or 8 year old players. Show them the proper technique, let them practice that technique a few times, and then move them on to another drill. Do not be frustrated and think that there is no way they can pick up any technique that quickly. Young players will constantly amaze you if practices are organized, fast-moving, and fun.

The third thing I realized very quickly was the importance of having fun yourself. The more fun you have coaching, the better coach you will be. Fun is contagious; players will learn quicker if they see the coaching staff having fun teaching them. A coach’s job is to teach baseball, make the game fun, so players will stick with the sport, and to be fair with playing time. Youngsters practice to play; so, reward practice with playing time.

The last thing I learned very rapidly was fairness. Be fair with the players and be fair with your own son or daughter. Make an effort to treat your son or daughter no different than you would treat someone else's son or daughter. The easiest way to accomplish this is to have someone, not attached to coaching staff, observe, and give you feedback. In that respect, I was lucky. I had a spouse and grandparents that never missed a game. I had real time feedback immediately following every game. If I was too hard on my son, I heard about it after the game. Remember, you want your son or daughter to have fun and stick with the sport because of the fun and not because you want them to get a college scholarship. In addition, be fair with playing time for all of your players. Mistakes are a reality of baseball. The only way to alleviate mistakes is playing time. So be fair. Remember that it is not where a player starts that is important, it is where they finish.