Our rec league does that for 8U, but just for the first half of the season. Second half is all kid-pitch. 10U is kid-pitch, D3K, and open bases. This is pretty common for So Cal ASA rec leagues.
Problem coaching little kids
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Our rec league does that for 8U, but just for the first half of the season. Second half is all kid-pitch. 10U is kid-pitch, D3K, and open bases. This is pretty common for So Cal ASA rec leagues.
obbay
Banned
Thanks, this has all been very helpful! Now im wondering about base distances- ideas?
8U.. keep them at 60'. Gives fielders time to make a couple of mistakes and still make a play (and probably another mistake).
It is important to also have rules that get players rotating into different positions so the two advanced kids on each team don't dominate. I also HIGHLY encourage teams be allowed to put in extra infielders.
We are lucky enough to have a 6U t-ball division that we just don't worry about outfielders or a catcher, so team size is 8 or 9 (we allow them to have 2 players play pitcher). That allowed us to have more teams and more time for every player in positions where the ball could come to them. Outfield hits were just doubles.
It is all about keeping kids moving and engaged. The less standing around doing nothing you can get into the game, the better.
obbay
Banned
. 8U.. keep them at 60'. Gives fielders time to make a couple of mistakes and still make a play (and probably another mistake).
It is important to also have rules that get players rotating into different positions so the two advanced kids on each team don't dominate. I also HIGHLY encourage teams be allowed to put in extra infielders.
We are lucky enough to have a 6U t-ball division that we just don't worry about outfielders or a catcher, so team size is 8 or 9 (we allow them to have 2 players play pitcher). That allowed us to have more teams and more time for every player in positions where the ball could come to them. Outfield hits were just doubles.
It is all about keeping kids moving and engaged. The less standing around doing nothing you can get into the game, the better.
I agree with everything except the extra infielders- one team had one extra IF the other night and it made things more confusing for the players. Im thinking IF playing and learning the actual positions.
If im still around next year i intend to change this division around so the teams are more like your 6U Tee ball in the field.
Thanks!
I agree that the biggest error here is your age gap. Standard operating procedure from everywhere I've ever seen is 8u, 10u, 12u, etc. 9 year olds should be facing other kids pitching, 6 year olds strike out against coaches more than 50% of the time.
I am softball commissioner of a very small area (3 8u teams, 2 10u teams) so our 8u technically goes from 5-8 years old but we have T-Ball that runs through age 6. 8u is for kids that have done T Ball and are bored with it already.
We play 11 in the field with a catcher, so 5 OFers. 3 strikes or 5 pitches max, with the coach pitching. 5 runs or 3 outs per inning, 6 inning games, takes no more than 90 minutes.
I am softball commissioner of a very small area (3 8u teams, 2 10u teams) so our 8u technically goes from 5-8 years old but we have T-Ball that runs through age 6. 8u is for kids that have done T Ball and are bored with it already.
We play 11 in the field with a catcher, so 5 OFers. 3 strikes or 5 pitches max, with the coach pitching. 5 runs or 3 outs per inning, 6 inning games, takes no more than 90 minutes.
We started a 10u team at the school this year. Low level rec. Only 3 teams in the league. We have more 7-year-olds than 10-year-olds playing.
In this league, they do 4 OFs, coach pitch after a walk, continuous lineup. No strict rules about playing time, but it's a close-knit league and the guy who runs it basically said "Don't let your one star dominate every game." My favorite rule is the one that has every coach pitch count as a strike. Really speeds up the game, and it allows me to make fun of the high school players who help coach when they pitch poorly.
But, at this level where, yes, it's 10u, but even most of the 10s barely know what's going on, one thing I wish they would allow is a coach in the field. It would be so much more helpful if a coach would wander out there reminding the girls what to do (and keep them from playing in the dirt) than just having a coach yell from the dugout. These games should be entirely about development, and though we keep score (and should, because getting kids to understand winning/losing and that losing a game isn't the end of the world is important), nobody there is too focused on winning. They're basically glorified practices, so why not have a coach floating around in a live game situation to help the kids learn and understand?
In this league, they do 4 OFs, coach pitch after a walk, continuous lineup. No strict rules about playing time, but it's a close-knit league and the guy who runs it basically said "Don't let your one star dominate every game." My favorite rule is the one that has every coach pitch count as a strike. Really speeds up the game, and it allows me to make fun of the high school players who help coach when they pitch poorly.
But, at this level where, yes, it's 10u, but even most of the 10s barely know what's going on, one thing I wish they would allow is a coach in the field. It would be so much more helpful if a coach would wander out there reminding the girls what to do (and keep them from playing in the dirt) than just having a coach yell from the dugout. These games should be entirely about development, and though we keep score (and should, because getting kids to understand winning/losing and that losing a game isn't the end of the world is important), nobody there is too focused on winning. They're basically glorified practices, so why not have a coach floating around in a live game situation to help the kids learn and understand?
6-9 is too great a maturity difference to effectively run this. I've always seen U8 and U10 splits, and that's what our league does.
U6-U8
- Coach Pitch, with Tee if necessary.
- Everybody hits
- Mob ball on the field (I dislike this personally when they are older.)
- 1 base per hit/last hitter it's a home run.
U10
- Tier 2, kid pitch 4, coach pitch 3, tournament half way and then it's kid pitch the entire way.
- Tier 1, kid pitch entirely.
- 5 runs or 3 outs
- Steals are 1 base per pitch to encourage the catcher to throw the ball.
- Play stop when ball gets back to the pitcher. So rather than over throws and chasing the batter all the way to home a confused team can throw the ball back to the pitcher and halt the runner.
- 9 on the field and a coach is allowed on the outfield.
- 3 innings max per position, 2 for pitcher, no kid sits more then 1 inning before the entire team has sat.
It work pretty well in my experience. The kid pitch can make for a painful game when you run into teams with pitchers who can't throw strikes. It does tend toward batters not bothering to swing because they can get on base for certain. But pitchers need to be developed as well so... I don't have an answer to that. Umpires do give generous strike zones so that does help getting them to swing.
U6-U8
- Coach Pitch, with Tee if necessary.
- Everybody hits
- Mob ball on the field (I dislike this personally when they are older.)
- 1 base per hit/last hitter it's a home run.
U10
- Tier 2, kid pitch 4, coach pitch 3, tournament half way and then it's kid pitch the entire way.
- Tier 1, kid pitch entirely.
- 5 runs or 3 outs
- Steals are 1 base per pitch to encourage the catcher to throw the ball.
- Play stop when ball gets back to the pitcher. So rather than over throws and chasing the batter all the way to home a confused team can throw the ball back to the pitcher and halt the runner.
- 9 on the field and a coach is allowed on the outfield.
- 3 innings max per position, 2 for pitcher, no kid sits more then 1 inning before the entire team has sat.
It work pretty well in my experience. The kid pitch can make for a painful game when you run into teams with pitchers who can't throw strikes. It does tend toward batters not bothering to swing because they can get on base for certain. But pitchers need to be developed as well so... I don't have an answer to that. Umpires do give generous strike zones so that does help getting them to swing.
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