New to 12U coaching - tips needed

[fairlaniac]

Hello folks,
I think this is my first post, joined about a year ago. A quick brief about me. I have coached t-ball and 10U girls as my daughter has grown. This year we have started 12U. This year I am the 12U rookie coach so I need to learn the differences from 10U to 12U. I have no problems with mu confidence to lead these girls as we have been pretty successful in 10U. Being the rookie coach, there are two coaches/teams for our “school district”. The other team has a veteran coach and the majority of the girls that have been with 12U last year are on that team. The other team has a few girls from 10U last year. On my tem that gave me three 12U girls that played 12U last year. I’ve had two parents want their girls on the other team. One was pretty bitter about not having his girl on the other team so I helped him get his daughter to switch if he thought it was best for her. I really like the guy but am glad he is going to the other team to eliminate that tension. So now I think we have a “happy” team and I can now concentrate on the team we have. Unfortunately the one parent that left was my assistant who had some 12U coaching experience. I was getting some good tips from him on the differences from 10U to 12U. I have not had much time to search out any good drills geared to 12U due to the drama we had the past 3 weeks. So now I’m in need of some drills for practice and game. Off hand I’m looking for drill tips on:

A good stretching routine
Bunting (does 12U just need to learn one basic bunt?)
Sliding
Eliminate the “shot put” throw as some girls have that.
Stealing
Good and simple stealing defense (I need to develop a catcher quick)

That’s it for now. We have 9 practices until our first game.

Thanks!

 

[Amy in AZ.]

I tell all rec coaches that ask me, to do sliding, either the first practice or the second. If I can get them dressed in ball pants the first practice, I would do it then. This eliminates, the fear factor that spreads from girl to girl.

There are lots of good resources in books. I will look through mine for you.

As far as the shot put goes, look at the video that I posted of the new 20 YO girl that came to a lesson last night. She had a hard time eliminating it, too.

PM me and I will help you, with other resources.

 

[PA SB Dad]

I agree with Amy, sliding is important. Once they become afraid, it is hard to get them to slide. Make it fun for them.

Here is a site I posted on our Little League site to help our coaches. The entire series can be found on the links below.
Softball Skills - Introduction to Basic Fast Pitch - MonkeySee. Another good resource is to go through the ACE certification.

Make sure you also understand some of the rule differences that your local league uses, particularly with respect to stealing (when they can leave the base and stealing home), infield fly, pitching limits (if any), run limits (if any), walk limits (if any), etc.

 

[dadonachair]

I like the triangle drill for ground balls. They won't want to get there butts down or glove down. Running the bases. Taking a lead. I like the rocker step. Throwing the ball correctly it the hardest thing you will teach. Do all the throwing drills you can think of. Teach them that as they warm up to work on throwing correctly. If you can get every girl on your team to do this let me know your secret. Teaching one way to bunt is good for starters. No need to confuse them. Work on hitting. Use stations ask parents to help, but make sure the parents know what YOU are teaching. Nothing worse than a kid going from station to station and getting changed every time. Keep them moving. Make your drills fast paced. 4 corners drill. Throw to a base and chase it. Once you get the drill down than work on infield. That is where you can teach them to cover for steals, back up bases, cover a bunt. There is no need to work on infield for an hour. The girls will just get bored. You can only hold there attention for about 10min at a shot so do a drill then go to the next one. The game the girls seem to like best is pop fly hero. I throw a tennis ball in the air like a pop fly. The girls have to catch it with bare hands. If they drop it they are out. Throws get harder and harder, last one standing wins.

Getting rid of your bad parent was your best move.

 

[Ken B]

Found this in a search:
12u Defensive Strategy for Fastpitch Softball
Importance of a Dynamic Warmup From Our Friends at AB Athletic Development | The New England Catching Camp
Youth Fitness Magazine | Warm-Up
S B Coaches College - Mizzou Softball Dynamic Warm-Up
Girls Fastpitch Softball: Old/New School Stretching

 

[fairlaniac]

I like the triangle drill for ground balls. They won't want to get there butts down or glove down. Running the bases. Taking a lead. I like the rocker step. Throwing the ball correctly it the hardest thing you will teach. Do all the throwing drills you can think of. Teach them that as they warm up to work on throwing correctly. If you can get every girl on your team to do this let me know your secret. Teaching one way to bunt is good for starters. No need to confuse them. Work on hitting. Use stations ask parents to help, but make sure the parents know what YOU are teaching. Nothing worse than a kid going from station to station and getting changed every time. Keep them moving. Make your drills fast paced. 4 corners drill. Throw to a base and chase it. Once you get the drill down than work on infield. That is where you can teach them to cover for steals, back up bases, cover a bunt. There is no need to work on infield for an hour. The girls will just get bored. You can only hold there attention for about 10min at a shot so do a drill then go to the next one. The game the girls seem to like best is pop fly hero. I throw a tennis ball in the air like a pop fly. The girls have to catch it with bare hands. If they drop it they are out. Throws get harder and harder, last one standing wins.

Getting rid of your bad parent was your best move.

Forgive me for not knowing these drills. How do the following work or how are they executed?

Triangle drill for ground balls
Throw to a base and chase it, could you elaborate?


On Pop Fly Hero, do you spread the girls out and throw at one direction? I don’t envision a ball thrown up in a croud, that would be disastrous?

I have also reviewed some of the Monkey See videos. Thanks to the poster for those tips.
Thanks to all posters for the ideas. I have a lot to read up on.

 

[Rooster98]

1st year 12U coach.......keep your fridge stocked with beer and keep away from all the parents. They will let you know every mistake you made and how they would of done things different. You will need that beer after every tournament while you are going over every play in your head, and be saying.....if Sally only knew how to take a line on a flyball.....why was my 2nd baseman not playing back with a runner on 1st to cut the angles.....why did Suzie blow off my bunt sign two times in a row.....Then just remember they are 12 and learning. During this process you will probablly go through six beers. Good luck

 

[KCM]

Very wise words.

 

[Rooster98]

Oh, I almost forgot to mention when Suzie does blow off your bunt sign two times in a row......and she will.....don't let her swing away. Yell it out so the whole complex can hear you "Suzie BUNT!!!!!!" And when your in a close game with less than two outs and you have your #3 hitter coming up with a runner on third.......your going to tell yourself to let her hit away and blow this game open.....don't make her bunt!!!!! And also while speaking of close games.....don't be afraid to pinch run for your slowest girl on the team becasue chances are she is not going to make it to the base you want her too. Never bat your lineup in a tournament......only bat 9. You will need those substitutions.....believe me....that was a 8 beer night.....Now I could go on and on about all my mistakes if everyone would like.....But I will say this.....I never made the same mistake twice.....so don't be afraid to make mistakes....everyone does, thats how we learn how to coach the game. Most of all enjoy yourself and don't stress about anything......

 

[dadonachair]

Fair I will send you a PM