New to head coaching

[CoachK_KCShock]

Just need some helpful advice:

I’ll be brand new to head coaching this year with a 12u team. I’ve been an outfield asst coach and played high school and collegiate ball. I’ve been around softball since I was in middle school (early 90’s) and absolutely love the game.

What advice can you give a newcomer? I’m super nervous but excited. Are there coaching trainings I should attend? What should I expect in my first year? HELP!!!


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[lancer360]

I recommend Austin Wasserman's book High Level Throwing. Implement some of his drills as warm ups. InMotion Playbooks is another great teaching tool.

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[sluggers]

You have already overcome the biggest fault of newbie coaches...thinking they know everything.

1. There should be one clique: The team. God bless their little pointy heads, but the girls will try to create cliques. They will start pairing up with their BFF for all the drills. You have to stop them pairing up with their BFFs ASAP.
2. Keep the practice moving. "Idle hands are the devil's workshop." As soon as they look bored or confused, go the next drill.
3. Do a lot of station work.
4. You will need to balance out the innings between the girls.
5. You need to teach all the positions to all of the kids.
6. You are the coach. They are the players.
7. Keep parents in a hermetically sealed and sound proof booth as much as possible.
8. The kids will only work as hard as you do. If you are not sweating at the end of the practice, they won't be either.

 

[CoachK_KCShock]

You have already overcome the biggest fault of newbie coaches...thinking they know everything.

1. There should be one clique: The team. God bless their little pointy heads, but the girls will try to create cliques. They will start pairing up with their BFF for all the drills. You have to stop them pairing up with their BFFs ASAP.
2. Keep the practice moving. "Idle hands are the devil's workshop." As soon as they look bored or confused, go the next drill.
3. Do a lot of station work.
4. You will need to balance out the innings between the girls.
5. You need to teach all the positions to all of the kids.
6. You are the coach. They are the players.
7. Keep parents in a hermetically sealed and sound proof booth as much as possible.
8. The kids will only work as hard as you do. If you are not sweating at the end of the practice, they won't be either.

Thank you! I need to figure out how to keep practice moving and various drills to run. I know how the 11/12 year old girls mind works and I will be vigilant of other girls being excluded. Thank you for that advice.


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[lancer360]

Plan your practice before practice. Don't finish a drill and then pause trying to think what you want to do next. Go into practice knowing the warm up exercises, what drills you want to run, what conditioning exercises, etc and for how long you want to do each. Make yourself a schedule on your phone and use a timer/alarm to keep you on time. Doesn't mean you can't make changes during practice say if you see a common mistake and want to change the next drill to something specific to try and correct an issue.

Do a search on here for team letter or coach letter. You want to lay out your expectations of the girls and of the parents before getting started. One of the toughest things is handling the parents. Coaching the girls is the easy part. Make it crystal clear that parents are there to cheer and offer encouragement during the game, not to yell instructions, criticisms, sarcasm, ridicule etc.

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[CoachK_KCShock]

Plan your practice before practice. Don't finish a drill and then pause trying to think what you want to do next. Go into practice knowing the warm up exercises, what drills you want to run, what conditioning exercises, etc and for how long you want to do each. Make yourself a schedule on your phone and use a timer/alarm to keep you on time. Doesn't mean you can't make changes during practice say if you see a common mistake and want to change the next drill to something specific to try and correct an issue.

Do a search on here for team letter or coach letter. You want to lay out your expectations of the girls and of the parents before getting started. One of the toughest things is handling the parents. Coaching the girls is the easy part. Make it crystal clear that parents are there to cheer and offer encouragement during the game, not to yell instructions, criticisms, sarcasm, ridicule etc.

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Very helpful! I’m going to start working on my practice schedule now. For 12u B level, how long is good enough for practice?


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[testandor]

7. Keep parents in a hermetically sealed and sound proof booth as much as possible.

Pay strict attention to Rule 7 !!!!!

 

[lancer360]

Depends on your weather. Right now in SE Texas 1.5 - 2 hours in the evening has the girls (10u) pretty whipped, but DD's coach ends practice with a bunch of running. I wish my DD's team would do 2 hours twice a week at the field and batting is on your own time, but they do 1.5hr at the field once a week and 1 hr at the indoor batting cages once a week.

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[sluggers]

Thank you! I need to figure out how to keep practice moving and various drills to run. I know how the 11/12 year old girls mind works and I will be vigilant of other girls being excluded. Thank you for that advice.

As to the "no cliques"--at the first two practices, let the kids pair up with whoever they want. That will tell you who their friends are. Then, make sure they don't pair up with them again.

 

[CoachK_KCShock]

Depends on your weather. Right now in SE Texas 1.5 - 2 hours in the evening has the girls (10u) pretty whipped, but DD's coach ends practice with a bunch of running. I wish my DD's team would do 2 hours twice a week at the field and batting is on your own time, but they do 1.5hr at the field once a week and 1 hr at the indoor batting cages once a week.

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Ok cool!! I’m here in Missouri so we’ll have pretty warm weather through end of September. I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you so much!!


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