New to coaching Coaching Girls 12u Fast Pitch..

[soxsfan09]

Hi I am coaching a girls 12u softball team. I have a full roster, I have had my first practice. I froze up. I hit some grounders to them, I stunk at it too so embarassing. Then I didn't no what else to do I had kids try out for pitching and catchers. I need advice. tips. HELP! Never coached before super nervous!!
thanks!

 

[2 DD Coach]

I will try to give you some good basic info to get you rolling. First, welcome to the wonderful world of coaching a youth softball team. It will absorb 3 times the amount of time that you think. The parents of the girls you are trying to help will do everything they can to undermine anything your trying to teach. You will see some of the worst behavior from adults you can imagine. DON"T GET CAUGHT UP IN IT!!!

PARENT MANAGEMENT: This is the most crucial part of coaching. Do this or it will come back to bite you. Have a parents meeting, outside of practice time. Go over the rules for YOUR team, what your expectations and goals for the season are, etc. Here are some that I consider mandatory.
1. Good news is that all you girls just got 10 new best friends! We play, win, lose as a team, and I will not tolerate anyone on this team mistreating anyone else, on the field or away from it.

2. We will be good sports. We will shake hands, not yell at umps, other players, etc. You dont do this you don't play. Parents included

3. Anyone on the coaching staff is unavailable for a discussion before or during practices or games. Afterwards We are always available. (Some perfer a 24hr rule here, your choice)

4. Positions played are up to the coaching staff. We will make these decisions on what is best for the team. We will not entertain any discussions regarding where other people think girls should be playing. Any discussion involving the skill level of a girl that is not your daughter is over immediatly.

5. NO cell phones in the dugout! 12u is the first time we had to institute this rule.

FOR YOU: 12u is a tough place to cut your teeth on the coaching thing. Get the rulebook and read it. then read it again. Pay close attention to the rules regarding dropped third strike, the lookback, interference and obstruction.

Take a look at how you do things when you play. Use this forum and the wealth of information to check and see if the way you do things is the right way to teach the girls. I know when I first started I had to take a lot of the things I was doing and was taught and throw them out the window. (I.e. squish the bug, throwing off the catchers mask, etc.)

Whew! Now its time to talk about actually stepping on the field: Plan your practices. The difference between having a well organized practice and one that is not is night and day. Use your assistant coaches. When you do drills, split the girls into smaller groups to allow for maximum reps and minimum standing.

This is a basic outline of our 12u fielding practice:
warm up and stretching
throwing after stretching
rapid fire grounder drill covering charging, right, left, and backhand(there is a great video from U of A doing this drill on youtube)
3rd to second drill. grounder hit to third, third fires to second. After everyone goes twice, switch bases.
Skill drill. We pick a specific skill to teach and work on. outfield drop step, backing up, pickle, proper way to tag out, bunt coverage, etc.
Live fire with runners. Girls in positions, coach hitting with girls and asst coaches running bases.

Batting practice is four stations. Tee work, soft toss, pitching machine, live pitching.

I dont always use forums to get my softball information, but when I do, I us DFP! Seriously, this is the best source for any kind of help softball related. There is a large group of people on here who know how to play and teach this game that just isn't available anywhere else. Use that available knowledge to it's fullest.

 

[02Crush]

2dd Coach is very accurate in all statements. I would also add the following. Get to know your parents as well as your players. i do not mean that you should be best friends but rather yu should know there personality well. it will help you know when things are off base. Also, remember this is for the players and not the adults. if your players feel you care about them as people then you will get their best. If not they will see you for what you are...
Skills - No matter what you think this is not baseball. the bases are shorter, the pitching is very different and the game is faster paced because of it. Do your research and you will find the resources available to you are great. especially here on Discuss Fastpitch.

 

[Goobie]

Hmmmm... I may have discovered the secret identity of "2 DD Coach"

 

[SBFAMILY]

There are many sites on how to run a practice. If you can obtain a pitching machine. Set it up for fly balls and it will put the fly ball where you want it each time. Next set it up for ground balls , form a line see who can field and who can throw to first. Get you a bunch of buckets. I like the large white plaster buckets, but you can buy them if needed. They will come in handy. This site has many drills. https://www.eteamz.com/ If you get hooked like some of us, you can spend money on many DVD's that cover any subject you like. I use to go to about 20 college camps a year , to view what drills they were using and let my dd at an early age check out a campus and a program. I was the one with a note book and a video camera. Plus many web sites like Bill Hillhouse: House of Pitching Softball Academy and Kabota's that you can read and get an understanding of drills. Ask a local high school or a travel ball player to help you. Many love to teach kids and they will hit better than many coaches.

 

[Sweet Lou]

Hi I am coaching a girls 12u softball team. I have a full roster, I have had my first practice. I froze up. I hit some grounders to them, I stunk at it too so embarassing. Then I didn't no what else to do I had kids try out for pitching and catchers. I need advice. tips. HELP! Never coached before super nervous!!
thanks!

Asking for help is a great sign.

One thing that helps me is write up a practice plan before hand of what you want to cover and how long you think it will take.

Over book your practice plan, much better to have 4 things you don't get to on your plan than to have time at the end of practice just standing around.

2 DD Coach has a lot of good stuff in his post above though some may or may not be applicable depending on the level of program you are in. From his "WHEW" down though is some great advice on a general practice layout.

 

[Coachmom]

This is a great use of about 20-30 minutes of practice time. No hitting needed just working on fundamental skills.
I use it at almost every practice.

 

[mad hornet]

Make a written plan for every practice and refer to it. Sometimes you will try stuff that doesn't work like you thought it would. Scrap it for that one that day and move on. As you get into scrimmages they will expose more things you need to work on with your team. Make notes after every game and incorporate drills into your practices to help them improve on those "problem areas" from the games.

Welcome to coaching. It can be more fun than a human being should be allowed to have. It's real easy for some parents to criticize a coach, but actually doing it is a LOT tougher than it looks.

 

[2 DD Coach]

The video coachmom posted was the one I was refering to. I forgot it was team USA and not U of A. Though in fairness, its got mike and jenny in it, and its filmed at hillenbrand stadium.

 

[Ivy's Dad]

I don't like pitching dimpled balls to kids FYI for fielding ground balls and limited for fly balls; they bounce high and have hit kids in the face, of which those parents you warn about get in your face. Old machines used to take real softballs (with NON-raised seams) and not cause ripping. Doubt they do today.

Does anyone have any experience with the Pronine LPM12 softballs? They have a cork center, Kevlar stitching, and smooth seams. They are supposed to be good for fielding practice using a pitching machine, but I haven't tried them myself. I also don't want to use dimpled balls for fielding practice.