New Coach! 8u and I don't know what to do!

Ok, so I've read some threads and I'll start out saying I know very little about softball and I am a Mom that is volunteering because no one else would coach! I picked up a book on the basics and the other coaches lent me a book on drills. This is DD's 3rd year playing ball so I know a few things but our coaches haven't been the greatest either... I DON'T WANT TO BE LIKE THEM! The girls would never listen to them and goofed off more than practiced... They handed out awards on who built the best dirt castle during a game last year...

Anyways, I would like to TEACH the girls how to play! I am a teacher at a high school and I know almost all of these girls and parents from volunteering at the Elementary. I am on my own but there are some parents that might help at practice. These kids know squat about softball. I am having a parent-coach meeting soon on my expectations and to get them to sign the paperwork.

Here are my questions...

Besides a safety talk... Where do I start?

Whats the best way to teach them how to throw;batting stance;ready stance; rules; positions; bases?

How much should we practice a week?

We haven't started yet and I hope to have this figured out soon... I wasn't expecting to be a coach!

I saw the other forum on 8u drills and I LOVE the water bottle for throwing and I took a few of those and I'm going to try to work out practice routines.

This is great at any age:



He has some other ones on youtube I also like.

If you are organized and make the players there on time an hour twice a week is good. Encourage the players to play catch at home.

Since it was only an hour I also stayed about 1/2 an hour practice if anyone wanted to stay. It is a great way to get some at bats in if a player is interested.

(Also bring some tennis balls and tennis racket to hit them some fly balls, you should be able to find a volunteer to do this for you. )

Carriker this is how I got bit by the bug.

I signed my son up for T-ball, no one called me to tell me what team he was on, I called the league, they said they didn't have enough coaches, if I wanted him to play then I'd have to coach.
I was like Shultz, I KNOW NOTHING NOTHING! No assistants to help.

So I went to talk to the other coaches and got helpful hints from them, then got into every coaching clinic I could find. This site is wonderful (I didn't have it back then) as well. You can also get books and videos.

It's 8u, so keep it simple and keep it fun, make it so they learn something and want to come back next year. Don't get to hard on yourself, make sure it's fun for you to.
GOOD LUCK!

Thank you! I didn't think to look on you tube! LOL DH thinks i'm nuts but he has to know that he's going to have to help too... lol

Carriker said:

Thank you! I didn't think to look on you tube! LOL DH thinks i'm nuts but he has to know that he's going to have to help too... lol

Click to expand...

Yup, because when I branched off to coach DD's teams DH had to take over coaching for DS.

The key is keeping the girls moving and touching the ball A LOT.

Howard Kobata has a lot of interesting drills that keep the girls very busy.

What how he does one of them in this clip...

I agree that any player has to be "accountable" but you also have to remember they're 6-9 years old. Just getting them to pay attention for more than 5 minutes at a time is often huge.

Keep it fun. Drills are great as long as they're not just going through the motions. And everyone needs to remember that you're not coaching Team USA - if each girl is better on the last day of the season at basic skills (throwing, catching, hitting) than the first day of practice, I think that's success.

Also don't assume that they automatically know how to catch - that needs to be taught too (found that out after one of my girls complained that her fingers were cramping in her glove - she was trying to catch by flexing her fingers on the ball rather than closing the glove like the alligator ).

Agreed that you have to keep them busy. If not their mind will wonder and thats when things go in the wrong direction. At that age multiple short practices are better. My main thing would be to go in with a practice plan for every practice. Have the drills you want to work on laid out on paper and try to set the amounts of time you will work on these drill. You will find that ten minutes is a long time if the drill is going well and just because you alloted ten minutes for the drill doesnt mean you cant go for longer. It is just a guide to keep things organized and moving.

Besides learning all you can on how to throw, hit,etc the key that I've seen is getting parents involved.

Get a few that can help with drills.

Stress to them that this is a game that takes reps. Ask them to play catch with their DD's at least 2 night a week outside of practice. Many won't, but the ones who do will get to spend some QT with their daughters. It might only be 10-15 minutes, but you will quickly see who does it. Don't forget to that you are a parent and need to do the same.

Before the season if you can practice 2 times a week it's nice. Also before games is a good time to get a little work in.

In my opinion the key if you can is to practice sometimes during the season. You might find a situation you need some work on.

It sounds like the kids are lucky to have you as a coach. I coached (assistant) DD until she finished 10U from when she was 7. Every time a kids does something for the first time it's worth all the time you put in. We had a great coach and almost every girl is still playing (now all 13).

Sounds like the OP is starting from nearly scratch. IMO the single most important skill to learn first is throwing. Wasserman's water bottle drill and his $50 ebook is the best way to learn this - practice and understand it yourself before teaching the kids. If they learn to throw properly, the concepts and feel of resistance and lower/upper sequence carry over to hitting.

Good advice from prior posters re fielding, safety, practicing at home, and having fun, which is what really keeps them wanting to play and continue learning!