First Time Coach Seeking Advise

Stanley wrote:

My 13yr old isn’t the best athlete and I know that and expected him to not play as much which was fine but this was his first year with travel baseball and what did it for me was when the head coach told him he was “sucking at batting” and he didn’t bat once in a 3 game tournament. Also his 14u team went 3-11 for the season so I would say there was lots of room for improvement with all the players. I know sports are competitive especially as the kids get older but I jut felt the coach handled the situation wrong.

This makes me so sad to hear. I thought it was an MBT rule that all players bat in youth ball, but that’s the way we always did it whether it be a tourney or regular game. You may not be in the field every inning but mostly because we had more than 9 kids so we took turns on the bench – even the good kids. That’s the bad side about it being all volunteer is that the Dad who probably could never play himself signs up as head coach tries to live vicariously through the kids. We always told our kids to high-five and pick your teammate up if he comes back to the bench after a strike-out. Makes it really hard to do when they might hear a coach tell a kid he sucks.

I think at a certain age they don’t have to bat the whole roster but I’m not sure. Like I said the 2 teams were just so different in coaching that I can see why numbers are down across the board at least at my kids school. My youngest had a great experience and the coaches encouraged and cheered all the kids regardless of skill level and shut down any negative talk right away. My oldest was at a game and when his brother struck out he gave him crap about it and one coach heard him and told him not to do that to his players and my son said that’s my brother and the coach said I don’t care.

that stinks Stanley… My points only relates to equal playing time….. not a complete benching… My oldest son isn’t the best player at either sport. I understand on a traveling team of 11-12 players he is going to bat near the end and rotate to positions that coaches try to hide players at. But he is involved. You are whole heartedly correct in making a change to a different situation for him..

Leagues like the MBL make continuous batting order rules for this exact reason.

My winning comments are again about the goal…. not at all costs or when your down 30 points in a 10 year old game. But it means when all kids have gotten in the game at 10 years old and the game is within reach in the last X number of minutes… you always should play to win.

^I don’t necessarily disagree with the “playing to win” statements. Kids want to win there’s no denying that. Kids who want to win will want to work hard to continue experiencing that feeling.

However, I would be 110% certain the expectations and objectives of the team are shared with every kid and parent upfront. In my opinion everyone should play at that age in fairly equal portions IF they all show up and have a positive attitude and work ethic. If a contest is close down the stretch and you choose to utilize your best 5 for the last few minutes, nobody should fault you.

Kind of off-topic but for parents interested in getting their kids involved in a team sport without some of this nonsense, consider Mountain Bike racing in the MN Cycling Association. They do grades 6-12. Most teams are associated with schools and varsity athletes can letter. It’s a team sport in that individual finishes contribute to overall team score. Anybody who wants to race gets to race, there are no try-outs. We also have kids who are on the team and show up to every practice but choose not to compete in the races and that’s not frowned upon either.

It’s been awesome for my kid who never showed interest in any of the “traditional” team sports. Here’s a statewide list if you’re looking to connect with the team in your area.

Just got an email from the league with way more details. looks like they have paid for a 6 hour coaches training session in Blaine and there will be other meetings and materials to help prepare me for it. Feeling a lot better about it and really excited for the opportunity to work with the kids. Should be a lot of fun.

The initial email just made it seem like they made me head coach and let them know if you have questions along the way lol. This will be great opportunity

Dutch advice is good, Grouses really good. At the parents meeting I would remind them. You were the only one willing to volunteer. If someone else believes they have better skill, it would be a good time to step forward.

crappie55369 wrote:

Just got an email from the league with way more details. looks like they have paid for a 6 hour coaches training session in Blaine and there will be other meetings and materials to help prepare me for it. Feeling a lot better about it and really excited for the opportunity to work with the kids. Should be a lot of fun.

The initial email just made it seem like they made me head coach and let them know if you have questions along the way lol. This will be great opportunity

Don’t over think it you will be fine. Only 7 kids I am guessing you will get to know all the parents.
Have fun it’s a blast at that age.

My family has coached since the early 1970’s are entering the third generation of coaches. The main thing to remember is that they are kids and the sun will shine tomorrow. Don’t get me wrong I am a competitive guy and like to win but there are always things to take into factor when coaching. What age are the kids you coaching? what kind of attention will these kids have? What drills and fundamentals can you do to keep them engaged. How is the best way to communicate with the kid? just cause you understand the game a certain does mean the kid does. also is this travel ball which is more competitive or a league used to build fundementals. all in all the kids should enjoy themselves along with you.

I coached youth soccer for 11 years. My goal at the beginning of each season was that every player enjoyed it enough that all of them would sign up the next year.

Be positive. I tried every year to find at least one time that a player would do something well, and I would stop practice and ask that player to show the team what they were doing. Those moments had a very powerful impact on less confident players.

Put players in spots where they can have some success. Not everyone can play point.

Finally, be first person to every practice. Informal practice starts the moment you arrive. Shot free throws. It keeps kids interested and there is no standing around. Same thing before games.

Good luck! It can be a lot of fun for you and the players.

Everyone on here has great input.
Coached for 14 years in travel and some house league – ran Legion for another 6.
One detail is did not see DETAIL: If I had it to da all over again I would NEVER pitch to the younger ones from my knee 20 feet in front of them trying to hit their bat. Have someone putting a ball on the tee and instructing about swing fundamentals. It gives the kids in the infield and the outfield something to do rather than picking at dandelions cause the batter ain’t hitting the ball. If you have enough help then have someone in the infield or outfield helping the kids with positioning at the same time.
If you have 12-15 kids spend time with one for 20 or so balls pitching as the rest are in the filed and if you are really stacked with help time on the catcher as well.
My two cents
Parents ARE the worst and COACHES who think they should be in the majors and that their kid is the best. FUNDAMENTALS at the expense of winning are the HOUSE rules in my book. Those kids will overtake the others in time.
My humble experienced position

I kept all of my drills and parent speeches electronically so I could learn and build from them.
Come to Practice PREPARED and ORGANIZED and BE ON TIME.
The kids will have more fun, time will be spent more valuably and parents will see you’ve got your poop together.
Incorporate something fun each time to keep them engaged at the end and wanting to come back.
There are TONS of activities for this.
They DON’T have to bat everyone at that age. More like a “real” baseball game scenario.
That’s why ALL of my kids learned how to bunt properly – good fielders don’t always bat well and vice versa but I wanted everyone to get in the game regardless. Every coach has different ideas about this unfortunately.
Bot a great set of catching gear ( very nice) sitting in a bag still. Would fit the average 12-14 year old nicely. Eagan Blue Catching helmet, chest, shin guards with knee savers ( in the proper position) for anyone for the taking for free.

Umy – agree that parents can be the worst but they can also be the best. When choosing players for house and traveling teams, parents was a key criteria. The longer I coached, the better I knew the families and better choices followed. Parents who helped with all of the non-coaching details – concessions, field cleanup, painting dugouts, etc. – were invaluable. I haven’t coached in 14 years but am still close friends with many people I met through baseball.

Preparation and organization is key. Come to practice with a script of drills and activities. Agree strongly on the incorporating a fun activity. Also remember that attention spans are short, keep drills to 10-15 minutes each.

I am pretty sure that for every sport I have enrolled my kids in over the past 5 years we have gotten a “we need coaches or we have to cancel some teams” email. It is unfortunate. I finally agreed to “help” coach t-ball and was paired with a guy who traveled for work more than half the time. At that age it worked out ok because I have experience teaching kids and I’m organized, but I know/care next to nothing about baseball, which certainly doesn’t seem ideal.

My biggest lesson learned from being involved in various things is to clearly set your expectations for parents right away. T-ball practice was pretty easy to run alone, but the parent just sat like lumps during games while their kids played in the dirt, chased each other with sticks, or generally misbehaved. Fourteen 4 and 5 year olds needed crowd control if the coaches were to actually run a game.

I also “coached” Lego league which made a big deal of scheduled parental involvement. It was a ton of work prepping the parents to help, and with few exceptions it made that part of the time awkward and unenjoyable. I learned after the fact that some of the seasoned leaders just axed the parent involvement.

I coached both of my kids in summer baseball for 10 years. The only advise I have for you is quit now. The parents become to unbearable to deal with.

many coaches know the skills of the sport. this is helpful.

but few coaches know how to reach 10 year old kid who gets distracted easily or breaks down in frustration during big moments. so many tournament games where i’ve seen a kid crying or act angry and he gets sent to the end of the bench and ignored because the coaches don’t understand what to do. making an effort on this part of coaching is what’s critical. yes, we all want to win but they’re still kids who are trying to figure things out – focus more on this.

Brad, right to an extent. ONE parent can ruin it for everyone.
They ARE invaluable and I took every opportunity to be gracious but there is always that element that thinks they or their spawn are more than anyone else.

I LOVED those years to be sure. They were fun, met LOTS of great people I too am still in contact with and learned alot about myself and kids as a result.

I would do it again I guess but with different expectations. It’s gotta be fun BUT productive and NOT everyone wins a trophy. Life lessons are hugely important.
Some of hte best kids were the hardest ones to reach ( one with a prosthetic leg, one who had severe emotional issues who made one play at 2nd base, made the scoop, knew where to throw it, the SS was at the right place, we won the game, the kid was a 11 year old hero and probably still smiles today when he thinks about it) all those parents who railed me saying he shouldn’t even be out there – BITE ME!

Coach AWAY AND ENJOY IT!

well the season is coming to a close this weekend. It was a lot of time and effort and we only won 2 games but at our last practice one of the kids came up to me and gave me a hug and a note. The note read “thanks for being a great coach and helping me with my shooting”. The parents gave me a note too that talked about how much this young boy loved showing up to practice and the games. Said it was the best part of his day.

Now if that doesn’t warm a mans heart i dont know what will. Coaching has been a great experience and one i hope to do again

Sounds like you did a good job . I used to be on a loosing little league team . Coach was a jack ass . One of them clowns that gave us the winning speeches , got kicked out of a baseball game for flying off the handle at the refs , played his kid exclusively , hard on certain kids . I quit that poop after a year and half . Quite frankly ruined me quite a bit of team sports . Trapped hunted and fished the rest of my youth . Don’t regret it a minute .

You stated that you only won 2 games, but I would say you won the championship!

crappie55369 wrote:

well the season is coming to a close this weekend. It was a lot of time and effort and we only won 2 games but at our last practice one of the kids came up to me and gave me a hug and a note. The note read “thanks for being a great coach and helping me with my shooting”. The parents gave me a note too that talked about how much this young boy loved showing up to practice and the games. Said it was the best part of his day.

Now if that doesn’t warm a mans heart i dont know what will. Coaching has been a great experience and one i hope to do again

That right there is what it’s all about. For 18 years I coached and it was these type of connections that made me do it. For the life of me I can’t remember a single season record, but I remember the kids I was around. Hope you continue to coach.

crappie55369 wrote:

well the season is coming to a close this weekend. It was a lot of time and effort and we only won 2 games but at our last practice one of the kids came up to me and gave me a hug and a note. The note read “thanks for being a great coach and helping me with my shooting”. The parents gave me a note too that talked about how much this young boy loved showing up to practice and the games. Said it was the best part of his day.

Now if that doesn’t warm a mans heart i dont know what will. Coaching has been a great experience and one i hope to do again

Well done sir…

Good job. I bet the kids had fun. That’s all that really matters. Not sure if anyone officially thanked you, so I will. Thank you.

All of this is great info!

I just finished my 2nd year of basketball coaching my sons 7th grade team.
I always loved basketball and was super competitive. I had so much fun coaching my 2nd year as I was more confident. They’re a plenty of practice plans, and drills to find on line to help you along the way. Definitely spend time to develop a practice routine to build stability as a team. A lot of these young kids need structure to keep them occupied and in line.
There are a lot that of life skills to teach these young people.
-accountability, hold them accountable for their actions.
-build a work ethic- this will be great for their life outside of sports.
-sportsmanship
-attitudes and body language, I would not play kids with bad attitudes or poor body language.
Sets standards and rules and keep to them.

Many of these things can be so important to build in a young man’s life.

There is nothing better as a coach and parent than the smiles on the boys faces when things go well.

Good luck and thanks for volunteering!

What a special day! The kids won the consolation championship at the state tournament in white bear lake today. Lost our first matchup but won the next 2 to match their win total on the season. It’s like a switch flipped and all the things we were preaching all season just clicked. They were rotating on defense like 2nd nature and swarming every shot. Man that was fun!!! Thanks for all the feedback. Was very helpful

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Heck yeah crappie bud. Great job. And what a great feeling. I hope that is a moment for you forever man. Coaching kids to success is a huge deal.

That’s awesome Crappie…
Sometimes just a little success helps the confidence and gives them that little lift to keep trying or trying harder. It is also an awesome feeling when it starts to click.

I coach 6-8 year old hockey and we had a little tournament thing this weekend. We played a huge association team yesterday and they just thumped us and the kids kind of gave up. I wasn’t disappointed they didn’t win because this team was really good was more bummed they kind of gave up. They haven’t done that all season.
Fast forward to today and we played them again after beating two teams in between and the kids were flying around and skated their buts off and beat this team. Every kid was encouraging each other to keep skating. Their coach who was a good dude just turns to me and said whatever you told those kids it worked. Great job.
Was a great feeling watching these kids give it there all and not give up.

Proud coach this afternoon. You should feel the same.

Well done on the year. Turning the light switch on is what sports is all about. You can teach, you can preach, but until they “get it” you won’t see it. When they do get it then they understand what all the practice’s and drills have been about. Just as all kids don’t grow at the same speed they don’t all absorb & dissect information at the same rate. Thats why IMO you have to play the kids all year and give them a chance. The physical skills and mental skills need to mature & mesh.

Keep at it and keep stressing the goal is winning as a team and getting each player better individually. Don’t let the other parents beat you down. Take a little bit of coaching from every coach you watch & listen too.

I once had a kid say to me 10 years after he graduated high school “thank you for what you taught me in little league I was able to make all conference as a junior in high school.” Those moments bring tears to your eyes, even all those years later.

Coaching is about what you can do for the kids, not what they can do for you.

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This course was the best perspective I ever gained for my career in coaching. It guides you to realize what is important and how you can affect that outcome. If you are serious about coaching for a while, it is worth the time and money. Wish I would have taken it back when I knew everything…. before that…lol
I do not know if it is still offered.