Running Player Clinic

[Arm and Hammer]

Need some advice on running a players clinic for 10-U rec ball. Has anyone done this before? How do you handle 25-35 kids of various abilities, knowledge, maturity and experience? How many instructors per kid should there be? How long should the clinic be? Are there typical basics that should be taught and in what priority? Are there typical drills that support these basics? Should it be primarily run by stations, if so, what kind of drills would be best to use? How does one structure a clinic so it is appealing to all levels of skill, too easy you lose the skilled players interest, to hard and you lose the novice. What’s the difference between a “practice” and a “Clinic”.

I have all the gear I need but assistance is a little problem, I have 3 committed people (including me) that I can continually depend on. I have a few others that can assist from time to time, I think most of the time I’ll have 4 total. If I do this I am planning on holding these clinics every other week through a good portion of the rec. ball season. They will be 2-3 hours long. While I would like to do this, I can’t help but feel a little intimidated by the scale of it.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[darken]

I would suggest more volunteers, specifically older players if you can. The older players can greet the younger ones and lead them through warm up exercises and throws. Then, you can split the larger group into smaller groups of 5 to 10 by age or experience. Then, assign an older player, usually high school aged, to each group. Then rotate the groups through stations (fielding, throwing, baserunning, hitting, pitching, etc). Each station is run by either adult coaches, older players, or both. It works out real well. The main thing to keep in mind is to minimize standing around time. Keep the kids hustling in and between stations and you'll have a successful clinic that the girls will love.

Having the older players around either at a station or in the group is a huge help in engaging the players in the drills. Many high school students can use this as volunteer time for their college applications or even extra credit for some of their classes.

Good luck.

 

[quincy]

Rambling Parents’ perspective:

Like you mentioned the scale is an Issue but apply the same principals as running a practice.

Organize and organize some more, have a consistent message on skills. You do not all have to agree but settle the disagreements before the clinic and teach the same things. It is less about the Team in a clinic; it’s about the individual player.

There will be a wide variety of skill levels and it can be hard to pair the Players up correctly. I have found this is to be more an indication of Players personalities then abilities. You need to shuffle players around to get the correct pairings. You can also run most drills where you can take the worry about players getting hurt out of the equitation. If you are working on grounders volunteer a parent to play 1st, worse case put a target up so you do not have to worry about someone getting hurt on the throw.

More doing then listening to speeches, keep them busy.

Something new every Clinic, with the focus on individual skills that are common to all the Players. Throwing, ground balls, fly balls, hitting, base running, etc. Did I mention throwing?

 

[Sweet Lou]

I've never run a clinic but the sucessful ones I've seen my daughter go to have a few things in common most of which darken touched upon.

1. Good organization.
2. Lots of help. Either coaches, older players or both.
3. Moving to stations frequently. Rotate every 10 - 20 minutes depending on size of groups, number of stations and duration of clinic.
4. Keeping groups at stations smaller - 10 or fewer per station is best.
5. Minimal "talking" by coaches. A short overview/introduction at the beginning, quick instructions at each station, short wrap-up at the end.

The poor ones are disoganized, don't have enough help, have too many kids, and/or have long winded speeches where the girls are just standing around.

 

[Axe]

I assume that these are in addition to the regular team practices?

I would focus on the most fundamental things, especially at first. Throwing, grounders, hitting stations, throwing. It doesn't matter their playing level, they will benefit from more reps and instruction. Having been involved in Rec for a while now, kids can always bolster their fundamentals, especially throwing.

If you find after a while that a certain group seems to be coming (stronger players or weaker players), you can tailor what you are doing to fit them.

 

[PA SB Dad]

I've run an indoor LL skills clinic for softball the past 2 years. I break them up into 1st and 2nd graders the first hour, 3rd and 4th graders next, then 5th grade and up (I break them up by grade so they can come with their friends).

For the young ones, you need to teach the parents as much as you teach the kids. I spend the first half hour concentrating on how to throw and catch. I get the parents to come out, show them the proper grip and motion for a 4 seam throw, and what they should be stressing to the kids (striping the balls with tape along the 4 seams provides good visual feedback). Each parent takes 2 or 3 girls and throw balls against the wall, one knee drills, "hand to the sky", etc. I then move to grounders, starting with the girls sitting on a bucket in the "ready" position with an oven mitt on the hand instead of their glove, and stress coming off the bucket and fielding with 2 hands. That gradually progresses to "pretend to sit on the bucket" and field with their gloves, then side to side grounders. The last 15 minutes or so we will play a fielding game, and then end with the girls lined up and "running through" first base to touch the wall.

The important thing is to make it fun and relaxed, even silly for the younger kids to keep them engaged, and stress to the parents what these drills are meant to teach so they can work on them at home.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

I write it out, like a lessons plan.

6PM Kids arrive, dress, fix hair and I introduce myself. - 5 mins

6:06 Pair the girls up, by age and size for overhand throw. Give each girl the appropriate sized ball. Explain and demonstrate 4 seam grip. Spread the girls out and have them throw into the fence. "Do not go pick your ball up, until I tell you to." Demonstrate overhand throw. Repeat throws into the fence. - 10 minutes

6:17 Line the girls up, 10 feet from each other and have them follow me, through each step of the overhand throw. Keep the balls on the same side of the line and throw at the same time. - 10 minutes

6:18 water break

If you need structured help like this, PM me. I do these little clinics all of the time.