Tips for Coaching Little League Baseball
March 9, 2010
This is a guest post authored by Kevin O’Connell. Kevin has coached baseball both at the scholastic level and the collegiate level, and has been involved as an instructor in clinics, baseball schools, and providing individual lessons. Currently a public high school administrator, Kevin has been involved in public education for more than 24 years. Kevin also has extensive experience in the collegiate recruiting process, including enrollment, scholarships, the Clearing House.
Whether you’re coaching your first baseball team or have several years under your belt, we can all learn to improve our skills. The following topics are tips for coaching little league baseball, intended to provide a structure and an understanding for the coaching process.
While these tips will not detail everything, I am confident that there is enough information to point a coach in the direction of further research if necessary.
Teach the Basics
Baseball has three basic physical skills: catching the ball, throwing the ball, and hitting the ball. The capabilities that provide for these skills may seem genetically gifted to some youngsters, but the techniques must be taught and practiced. As a coach you are accountable for understanding these techniques, analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of your players, and providing for improved proficiency.
Structure Practices to be Drill Oriented
Drills are simply physical routines that break down the range of any baseball skill to its varied components. Through drills, the young player receives the opportunity to isolate and reinforce these pieces, and then progressively combines them to gain proficiency throughout the full range of motion. There are drills to practice every skill in the game. Coaches with extensive experience and an advanced grasp of the game’s concepts can design their own drills to serve the needs of their players. For those who are less advanced, there are commercial videos and DVDs that are available for reasonable cost.
All practices should be drill oriented. This is not only the best strategy for allowing the players to come to the skills through their individual learning styles, but everyone is active at all times, which minimizes boredom, distraction, and behavioral issues.
Keep Practice Length Around One Hour
Practice usually begins to break down and lose intensity as the players tire and their attention span wanes. A well designed, drill oriented practice is fast paced and effective. As long as the drills spiral from the general to the more specific, and move logically from one skill set to the next, the players will continue to develop those skills. Keep in mind, most athletic movement requires muscle memory, and this takes place over time. Each successive practice should incorporate some repetition of drills, with the time dedicated to each becoming more brief as the players increase their proficiency.
Practice must also allow time for the introduction, demonstration, practice, and reinforcement of team plays such as bunt defenses, pick-off plays, and general ball movement on the field. Individual positional play also needs time, as does batting practice. A productive practice design that works through stations, is position specific, and is routine in structure can meet these needs in a one hour time span.
Organize Batting Practice Into Groups
Taking batting practice with individual players is a waste of time and one of the reasons why younger players find baseball boring. There is logical rationale for employing this structure, for example to simulate live play, but it is not the best structure for batting practice.
Organize live batting practice into groups. Most little league teams consist of an average of twelve players. Divide the team into four groups and employ a rotation. As one group bats, the group to follow chases down the foul balls and takes phantom swings, or hits off batting tees or via soft-toss. The other two groups are deployed strategically throughout the field to retrieve batted balls. The players in the field are encouraged to address each batted ball as an opportunity to practice their skills.
As per the group hitting, each batter should receive 5-7 pitches, and all three hitters bat twice each in rotation. The hitting group then changes place with one of the fielding groups, which assumes the foul ball duty. The foul ball group takes batting practice. And so on proceeds the rotation. If time allows, the rotation can repeat itself, with each batter hitting one time more.
Have at Least as Many Practice Days as Game Days
The players do not get better playing games alone. Granted there is much to be said for the game experience; however, with practice game situations can be controlled and repeated, identified weaknesses can be addressed, and plays that broke down can be re-taught and reinforced. Baseball is a game of repetition, and the games themselves often do not provide the necessary degree of opportunity for each player. Ideally, practices should at the very least be scheduled a day or two prior to a game and then a day or two after.
Talking is Not Teaching
Young players do not learn by verbal explanation alone. Telling is not showing. To encourage learning, a coach must create a physical learning environment. Simulate game situations and walk the players physically through the desired mechanics of the play. As the players demonstrate increased understanding of the strategy, its concept and physical movement, continue to modify the environment until it replicates game speed. In this way, when the strategy actually comes into play in a game situation, the necessary points of reference have already been established and the verbal cues will have cognitive connections.
Keep Winning and Losing in Perspective
All competitive games are played with a score in mind, and no one sets out to lose. However, keep winning and losing in perspective. The inescapable truth of the matter is that the odds against any little league ball player achieving professional status are astronomical. In fact, most step away from the game prior to high school. Encourage those moments that feed into positive self-esteem or that provide for personal growth. Condition yourself as a coach to find learning and teaching moments that advance your players appreciation of the game and proficiency in the game. Nothing a coach does or says should ever demean a player or reduce a player in his own eyes or the eyes of his teammates.
There cannot be any little league players without little league coaches. At the same time, it is not enjoyable or positive to either if the experience is poor. To this end, I offer the tips above to serve as beginnings of a plan and a structure. Though as a whole it is but a sketch, the kernels scattered throughout can lead you to a field of know-how.
Hopefully you find these tips useful for coaching. For those who’ve been coaching for awhile, what else would you suggest to new youth baseball coaches? Let us know in the comments!
Today (February 3) marks the 24th annual 
