after game thoughts, ideas, etc

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Sep 29, 2020
42
8
New to the HEAD coaching game, But extremely optimistic and excited.There are a few things i have in my mind but wanted to get ideas and opionions from everyone.
1. What types of awards,achievements,etc do ya'll do that is neat for the kiddos(10U) after games? my previous team would place stickers on helmets for certain achievements.
2.I had an idea for our practices.I understand some kids have off days, some may shine brighter than others at certain times.But i was thinking on choosing a kid after 2 wks of practice to be a Captain for game days, They would help me with coin flips, Starting the chants, and helping with communication of other players on the fields during defense. whats ya'lls thoughts on that?
3. What other awesome ideas do ya'll do that can uplift a kid during practices or game days
 
May 6, 2015
2,397
113
New to the HEAD coaching game, But extremely optimistic and excited.There are a few things i have in my mind but wanted to get ideas and opionions from everyone.
1. What types of awards,achievements,etc do ya'll do that is neat for the kiddos(10U) after games? my previous team would place stickers on helmets for certain achievements.
2.I had an idea for our practices.I understand some kids have off days, some may shine brighter than others at certain times.But i was thinking on choosing a kid after 2 wks of practice to be a Captain for game days, They would help me with coin flips, Starting the chants, and helping with communication of other players on the fields during defense. whats ya'lls thoughts on that?
3. What other awesome ideas do ya'll do that can uplift a kid during practices or game days
1. What types of awards,achievements,etc do ya'll do that is neat for the kiddos(10U) after games? my previous team would place stickers on helmets for certain achievements.
I like stickers, just make certain that in addition to cut and dried ones (DDs 1st team did diamonds with superimposed 1, 2, 3 or 4 for various hits, or diamond with SAC or RBI on it, and skull and crossbones for P/Cs if it was a shutout, diamond with MVP on it (normally for a great defenseive play), you have ones that are totally at discretion of you, so that you can make certain no one is walking around with an empty helmet after a few weeks.
2.I had an idea for our practices.I understand some kids have off days, some may shine brighter than others at certain times.But i was thinking on choosing a kid after 2 wks of practice to be a Captain for game days, They would help me with coin flips, Starting the chants, and helping with communication of other players on the fields during defense. whats ya'lls thoughts on that?
at 10u, I would pick two girls each day you have games to be captains, go to coin toss and exchange of lineups, etc. mix it up so they all get a feel.

as for anything else, make certain one coach is constantly praising whomever got into backup position for a play, irregardless of if b/u was needed. recognize the little things. Also praise failure if they did something right (got under fly ball but muffed it, dove for ball and missed, etc.), this encourages that kind of effort in the future.
 
Jan 5, 2018
385
63
PNW
1. What types of awards,achievements,etc do ya'll do that is neat for the kiddos(10U) after games? my previous team would place stickers on helmets for certain achievements.

Knew a 10u coach who gave out beads and each girl had a lanyard on their bat bag to put the beads on. Each coach had a bead to award and hand out. They made sure every girls was included along the way. obviously some got more than others but no one was left with just "one" bead at the end of the season. It was engaging to the girls. Not the highlight...but the post game talk focused on outstanding things and acknowledging those.

On my team we gave out out "Huckleberries" they were laminated cards. Earn 3 huckleberries and you either got a drink of your choice from the "popular" coffee place or your favorite candy bar. Huckleberry you say? From the movie Tombstone, where Doc Holiday said to Johnny Ringo; "I'll be your huckleberry". We talked as a team about having a huckleberry attitude...one that one back down from any fight any situation and approach it with a swagger of confidence.

Game day...rotate who goes to plate for team meeting. Make sure everyone gets in on the action. if you play 4 games in a weekend that's 8 girls, 2 per game.

I can't stress enough positive feedback. There's enough mistakes, let down, errors etc to go around. Praise the good plays....but also praise the things done right regardless of outcome. Praise effort and good decision making.
 
May 24, 2013
12,461
113
So Cal
10U and 12U TB, we did helmet stickers for hits, and for the "rockstar" award (outstanding defensive play). We also picked 2 captains for each weekend. Captains were responsible for picking uniforms, leading pre-game stretching, attending the coin flip, etc. Coaches picked the captains, usually based on effort in practice, but we tried to make sure everyone got a turn.
 
Apr 25, 2019
285
63
Even though our younger divisions weren't hitting HR's, the org had some bomb squad shirts and if one of the girls in the younger divisions went 5 for 8 in tourney with some extra base hits, they got a bomb squad shirt. Also, $5 gift cards to a local fro yo joint also work as a great motivator. These were given to the girls leading cheers in the dugout, rooting for their team, giving it all they got, etc.
 

sluggers

Super Moderator
Staff member
May 26, 2008
7,132
113
Dallas, Texas
1. What types of awards,achievements,etc do ya'll do that is neat for the kiddos(10U) after games? my previous team would place stickers on helmets for certain achievements.

I didn't do too much after the game. When the game was over, we packed and left. I'm not big on post-game speeches.

The praise came during the game. Stickers are probably OK...kids might like them.

But i was thinking on choosing a kid after 2 wks of practice to be a Captain for game days, They would help me with coin flips,

Terrible idea.

At that age level, your biggest problem is the formation of cliques. You pick one kid to be "leader of the pack", and you are inviting the kids to create cliques.

Explain what a captain does. Pick two for each game. Rotate who is captain for each game.

What other awesome ideas do ya'll do that can uplift a kid during practices or game days

Anyone who coaches deserves respect. So, don't take this the wrong way.

You want to elevate a kid? Teach the kid how to hit. Teach the kid to field correctly. Teach the game. Teach them to be athletes. Teach them to be aggressive.

The kids really don't need the rest of the stuff. They have been given stickers and participation awards forever. They don't need more--the parents might need them, but the kids don't. The kids are there to play the game.

The kids get the real, meaningful reward when the fans applaud and cheer when they do something great.
 
Jun 26, 2019
256
43
3. What other awesome ideas do ya'll do that can uplift a kid during practices or game days

One thing I pointed out to my daughter when she was having a bad day was the fact that multiple things have to go right to get an out most of the time. You need to know what the situation calls for, feild the ball, throw it, catch it, and tag the runner. There are times that they feel like they are not getting better because when any one of these things goes wrong the runner is safe and the result is the same as was yesterday. But if you point out and explain tbe progress they made, it gives them some confidence which is big at that age. Maybee they fielded a grounder and made a bad throw, you did this right, we work on the throw, after that they make a play clean but the runner beats it out, next time we k ow to charge it harder, get a quicker transfer. Simply knowing a path to getting better helped her feel like it’s manageable. She stressed and pouted a lot her first few years, and got pretty down at times then all the sudden some things just came together for her, and knowing she was making progress when the results really had not shown up in games made tough times bearable
 
Sep 29, 2020
42
8
I didn't do too much after the game. When the game was over, we packed and left. I'm not big on post-game speeches.

The praise came during the game. Stickers are probably OK...kids might like them.



Terrible idea.

At that age level, your biggest problem is the formation of cliques. You pick one kid to be "leader of the pack", and you are inviting the kids to create cliques.

Explain what a captain does. Pick two for each game. Rotate who is captain for each game.



Anyone who coaches deserves respect. So, don't take this the wrong way.

You want to elevate a kid? Teach the kid how to hit. Teach the kid to field correctly. Teach the game. Teach them to be athletes. Teach them to be aggressive.

The kids really don't need the rest of the stuff. They have been given stickers and participation awards forever. They don't need more--the parents might need them, but the kids don't. The kids are there to play the game.

The kids get the real, meaningful reward when the fans applaud and cheer when they do something great.


The captain idea is just another way of trying to get the girls to give it there all every second they are on the field.There hasnt been a single practice ive been to the past few years where some kids play at 100% from start to finish,Some do, some dont.
.Maybe some hopeful goals for the captains.
1.Building communication skills between the players
2.Leading chants, encouraging others
3.Reminding others of where the play will be
4.Helping coaches with line up(gotta remember these are 8yr olds)
5.Lead in pre game stretches,warm ups, etc
6.Try to keep others moral up after some bad plays
7.WILL KEEP coaches from speaking loudly to the players during game time, Keeps them hush hush on the side to make strategic moves instead of worrying about having to uplift the players who are down from a bad play,Let the Captain try to take that over.
Again it sounds like something that can be used to improve a player OVER ALL,After all not all Travel/select players turn out to be made for it.If the girls want it bad enough, they'll do what it takes.Then you'll know within a season or 2 exactly which players will make it to the following season.
 

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