New Coach - Need Help!

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Aug 7, 2019
6
1
New to this thread. I am a New 8U rec head coach and I am so stressed out! I have age ranges of 6-10 on my team with all different experience/ability levels. Some have never played before and a couple that are really good. I also just found out one of my best players just broke her arm and is out for 4 weeks...ouch! I have really tried to be as organized as possible with practice plans but it is chaos in my eyes. My two main goals going into this season are to have fun and get better. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Also, does anyone have fun drills that can be for all levels?

Thank you so much!
 
May 6, 2015
2,397
113
my advice to you is to start drinking heavily (but don't trust me, I am not premed or prelaw)

seriously, that is an AWFUL big age range for players that young.

stress to parents to watch practice, and do the same drills with the girls at home 2-4 hours of practice a week is not going to show a lot of improvement if they do not practice at home.

do you have ACs? you might really need to group the girls according to physical size and ability. have one coach work with smaller girls on most basics (ie catching thrown ball, fielding batted ball, throwing). stress proper mechanics rather than results (ie no basket catching above waist, etc.). here is a thread about teaching proper catching of thrown ball (lots of bad habit develop early and are hard to break, ie basket catching)

is the pitching kid or coach pitch? in either case, lots of tee work and soft toss, focus on a good swing, eye on ball at contact. one thing I have them doo on tee work is start by looking out towards where P would be, then start swing and shift focus at same time to ball, simulates tracking of ball from release to contact. If they are staring at ball on tee when they start swing, harder for them (I think) to translate same swing when focusing on release, they end up staring at pitcher all the way through swing.
 
Dec 2, 2013
3,410
113
Texas
Above advice is good. Assuming it's coach pitch. The pitched ball must be flat that stays on plane which requires to throw a bit firm. No rainbow pitches!!! It is easier for the batter to hit a ball that doesn't change plane and they will hit it further. Have them focus on the hip where the ball will be coming from. You are always getting them ready for the next level.
 
Aug 7, 2019
6
1
my advice to you is to start drinking heavily (but don't trust me, I am not premed or prelaw)

seriously, that is an AWFUL big age range for players that young.

stress to parents to watch practice, and do the same drills with the girls at home 2-4 hours of practice a week is not going to show a lot of improvement if they do not practice at home.

do you have ACs? you might really need to group the girls according to physical size and ability. have one coach work with smaller girls on most basics (ie catching thrown ball, fielding batted ball, throwing). stress proper mechanics rather than results (ie no basket catching above waist, etc.). here is a thread about teaching proper catching of thrown ball (lots of bad habit develop early and are hard to break, ie basket catching)

is the pitching kid or coach pitch? in either case, lots of tee work and soft toss, focus on a good swing, eye on ball at contact. one thing I have them doo on tee work is start by looking out towards where P would be, then start swing and shift focus at same time to ball, simulates tracking of ball from release to contact. If they are staring at ball on tee when they start swing, harder for them (I think) to translate same swing when focusing on release, they end up staring at pitcher all the way through swing.


Thank you so much!!

I have three AC's but I have only had one practice when they were all there.

We are kid pitch for two innings and then coach pitch the rest of the game. Do you think I take time during practice to show pitching mechanics or just stay with the two girls I know want to pitch. I asked the parents to let me know if any of the girls were interested in pitching but I only received one responses.
 
May 6, 2015
2,397
113
work with whomever wants to pitch, but for very limited time at your practices. explain to girls and parents that pitching requires a lot of commitment outside of team practices, ie they really need to throw 5-6 days a week.

even if you only have one or two ACS at a given practice, split team into as many groups as you have ACs, and work on fundamentals. if you have girls that are a little more advance, you can make the drills a little more advanced or difficult.

when doing this, explain to the girls who are doing harder drills it is not punishment, it is so they get better as well (you should not try to catch rest of team up to them without advancing them as well).
 
Oct 4, 2018
4,612
113
Read this. I think it will help you:



Basically you need your best player at 1B. Making outs is important. Pitcher is next important. In 8U you'll have tons of dribblers to the pitcher. You want those to be outs. 2B is the third most important position to have a strong player, because these need to be outs as well.

Conversely, this is all about developing girls and letting them have chances at all positions. So perhaps follow the advice above for inning 1 (to get off to a good start) and inning 4 (usually the open inning where more runs can be scored).

Also, talk the girls and ask them what they'd like to try. Some will be scared to be pitcher. If so, best to chat with their parents to see if they want you to ease them into that position or keep their DD off the mound. Getting guidance on this can help, and can make your coaching life easier. In 8U rec, you won't have too many parents demanding their DD plays the "best" positions. At least I didn't. That tends to come in Travel ball.
 
May 2, 2018
200
63
Central Virginia
New to this thread. I am a New 8U rec head coach and I am so stressed out! I have age ranges of 6-10 on my team with all different experience/ability levels. Some have never played before and a couple that are really good. I also just found out one of my best players just broke her arm and is out for 4 weeks...ouch! I have really tried to be as organized as possible with practice plans but it is chaos in my eyes. My two main goals going into this season are to have fun and get better. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Also, does anyone have fun drills that can be for all levels?

Thank you so much!

Out of curiosity I have two questions.

First, how are 10 year olds allowed to play in 8U?

Second, why does your rec league think its a good idea to group 6 year olds with 10 year olds? That is a recipe for something bad happening.
 
May 2, 2018
200
63
Central Virginia
New to this thread. I am a New 8U rec head coach and I am so stressed out! I have age ranges of 6-10 on my team with all different experience/ability levels. Some have never played before and a couple that are really good. I also just found out one of my best players just broke her arm and is out for 4 weeks...ouch! I have really tried to be as organized as possible with practice plans but it is chaos in my eyes. My two main goals going into this season are to have fun and get better. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Also, does anyone have fun drills that can be for all levels?

Thank you so much!

Just to follow up, PLEASE make sure you are developing the young ones appropriately. In practice, ensure you have a plan for development for all the ages. You're in a tough spot here becasue the skill development is VERY different for a 6-7 year old than it is for a 9-10 year old.

IMHO, in no way, shape, or form should a 6-7 year rec girl who is just starting out be playing kid-pitch, especially against 10 year olds who can actually throw the ball. They are skipping the development part of coach pitch. Most (not all) 6 year olds can't react to a pitch thrown from a coach, let alone a 10 year old pitcher.
 
Aug 7, 2019
6
1
Just to follow up, PLEASE make sure you are developing the young ones appropriately. In practice, ensure you have a plan for development for all the ages. You're in a tough spot here becasue the skill development is VERY different for a 6-7 year old than it is for a 9-10 year old.

IMHO, in no way, shape, or form should a 6-7 year rec girl who is just starting out be playing kid-pitch, especially against 10 year olds who can actually throw the ball. They are skipping the development part of coach pitch. Most (not all) 6 year olds can't react to a pitch thrown from a coach, let alone a 10 year old pitcher.
I totally agree with you! I am not sure why they have rules like this, it is very hard to navigate.
 

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