by Coach Kevin | Nov 23, 2016 | Uncategorized
Most coaches are aware that how well their catchers play their position will often make the difference between winning and losing a game. Being able to block a wild pitch, reduce passed balls, respond correctly according to the dropped strike three rule, throw out runners–all of these skills can prevent runs from scoring in virtually every game that is played. However, it has been my experience that at both rec and competitive levels, there is room for a great deal of improvement in training for youth catchers. At the rec level, many catchers have not even been trained in how to protect their throwing hand. When I coached rec, I often gave friendly advice to both the opposing catchers and their coaches, to help prevent injury. Other skills, such as being able to catch the ball consistently without dropping it–securely catching the ball so it stays in the glove–can still be a problem at the competitive level (again, based on what I have seen). Of course, blocking balls in the dirt can be really difficult at any level–even the pros let some get by them. So what it comes down to is: it’s a very challenging and responsible position, and the more effective your training for the catcher position, the better your chances that your catcher will be able to save games for you. If you’d like to improve your catcher training, I recommend Catching-101: The Complete Guide For Baseball Catchers. I really like this book by Xan Barksdale because it covers all the basics, from blocking wild pitches, tag plays, throwing to bases, etc. I never played in the catcher position myself, so I...
by Coach Kevin | Nov 22, 2016 | Uncategorized
Looking for the perfect gift for a special baseball-obsessed someone in your life? Or just like to buy baseball-theme gifts for whatever reason? Maybe your spouse needs a hint for what to get you? Here are a few ideas, from small to large, to satisfy the baseball niche on your Christmas list. The Greatest Baseball Stories Ever Told: Thirty Unforgettable Tales from the Diamond. You’ve got to check this out. Get one for a friend–and another for yourself! 365 Days Of Baseball Trivia! Page-A-Day Calendar 2017: The gift that keeps on giving! Quotes, numbers, stats, records, personalities, and trivia of all kinds. Warning: If someone is already obsessed with baseball, this will make it even worse! You someone you love will enjoy this gift every day of the year. Curious George at the Baseball Game: There’s no such thing as “too young to be fascinated with baseball”! Here’s a clever monkey to show us that we aren’t the only species with a love for the game. Grand Slam Mad Libs: Do you know a young baseball fan who is going through a “Mad Libs” phase as well? Satisfy two obsessions at once with this fun entertainment. And don’t be surprised if he or she sits you down to ask you for a verb, a number, a food, etc. Total Control Sports Baseball (3-Pack) This is a great training aid, and reasonably priced as well! These balls are heavy and squishy, so it’s hard to hit them very far. They can really help to develop your players’ load and follow-through. I have in the past given them out to a...
by Coach Kevin | Nov 20, 2016 | Uncategorized
I am kidding of course with the title of this post. I’m very much pro-parents. Parents do so much to support their young players, including financial support, transportation to and from practices and games, cheering them on, bringing snacks, encouraging them when needed, and on and on. I’m a parent myself, and I know it’s a big commitment from us parents to have our child on a team. And I’ve been very fortunate with an over-all great bunch of parents year after year. I feel very blessed, and really have nothing to complain about in the big picture. That said, it’s interesting that one of the topics that can really get the YBC coaches on a rant over on my Facebook page is parents. Parents who complain because their kid is not playing the best positions, is sitting on the bench too much, is not high enough in the batting order–that sort of thing. Or parents who yell at their kid in the middle of the game for making mistakes, rather than letting the coaches handle it. I have found that with rare exception, most issues with parents can be worked out just with good communication. Prevention can be the best medicine. I make a point of having a talk with all my parents about my philosophy and general expectations after the team is selected. Some coaches even have signed documents about expectations. I have not gone that far, but it is a valid approach. When parents have issues during the season, good communication can help here as well. For example, parents may be unaware of all that goes in to decisions...
by Coach Kevin | Nov 18, 2016 | Uncategorized
I have often heard parents or other coaches say, “I wish I had had a practice like this when I was a kid!” All too often, baseball practices are organized in ways that are ineffective, or unpleasant, or both. For example, we have a new player on our team who is very talented, and he and his parents both told me that the coach he had the previous year just had the players doing the same things over and over, without giving instruction. After awhile, no one wanted to show up for practices. And this was at the competitive level, where we’d expect to find better coaching. Boring practices can lead to kids wanting to try out for other active sports, like soccer. Let’s keep our kids interested in baseball. So, here are some tips for organizing practices that players will love, and that will improve your team more effectively: 1. Split into groups for drills, depending on how many coaches or dad-helpers you have. Have smaller groups of players at different stations, so you don’t have so many waiting to do something. Keep everyone busy as much as you can. 2. Give them something new from time to time. There are tons of baseball drills, and even if your old standbys are effective, they’ll have a better attitude if there’s a new challenge now and then. (For ideas, check out The Baseball Drill Book (The Drill Book Series). It has loads of useful drills to keep things interesting.) 3. For a new drill, make sure you explain in advance why they’re doing this, what they’ll be learning. It helps with motivation. 4. Don’t...
by Coach Kevin | Nov 17, 2016 | Uncategorized
I have been blessed with great assistant coaches. Last year, with my 13U competitive team, I had four assistant coaches, each with their own special expertise. They worked tirelessly and actually ran all the practices. I outlined the practices and what I wanted to accomplish, and they stepped in and made it happen. That left me free to work with individual players on pitching, hitting or whatever they needed. This year I have three assistant coaches, two of them returning from last year and one new one. The new one has been at every practice and is a real take charge guy. His expertise is in batting, plus general defensive fielding info. However, I know that things do not always go smoothly with assistant coaches. I know some head coaches who have complained that their assistants don’t add much value, don’t show up for practices, or aren’t very good at teaching kids the basics. Maybe I’ve just been lucky. However, here are some things I have done that I think have helped create an effective coaching team: I am clear about my coaching philosophy, starting at tryouts. I want to attract people who are like-minded. It’s easier if we start out on the same page, at least on general principles. I listen to their input. When they feel that their input is appreciated, they really blossom. While I have the final say on how things are to be done, I implement their suggestions much of the time. I find out their unique strengths, and try to find a role that suits them the best. Some coaches are just better at some...
by Coach Kevin | Nov 16, 2016 | Uncategorized
We recently had an excellent training for our team from professional coach Brett Manning. He gave us some excellent tips for how to adjust what you’re doing as a batter, when you already have two strikes, to avoid getting a third strike. Now, this is an advanced training, and it assumes your batters already have some basic and intermediate batting skills. First, change your stance in the following three ways: Step closer to the plate. Most young pitchers are afraid to pitch close to the batter, so this will effectively shrink the strike zone a few inches, while making it easier to hit the ones outside the plate. Widen your stance. This way your knees are more inside your feet, so if you get fooled by an off-speed pitch, your knees should still be positioned properly to hit with at least some power. Bring in your hands, maybe just a couple inches closer to the center of your body from how it is in your normal stance, so your bat will get to the ball quicker. It’s called “shortening up” or “shortening your swing”. This gives up some power, and increases your bat control, to make it more likely you’ll make contact. Second, you have to expand the strike zone that you’re going to swing at, depending on the umpire you have that day. If the umpire has a tight, consistent strike zone, then you don’t need to expand the strike zone very much. In youth sports, much of the time, the umpire has a wider or less consistent strike zone. So you’ll need to expand your strike zone...
by Coach Kevin | Nov 5, 2016 | Uncategorized
How about those Cubs! If you were as captivated as I was with this year’s World Series–and the entire post-season–this can be a good time to think about what this post-season can teach our players. I’ve got a few lessons below, and feel free to add in the Comments section. Always respect the umpires. You might occasionally see from their body language that a major league player disagrees with an umpire’s call, but they don’t get in the umpire’s face and they don’t argue with the umpire. They tend to keep their disagreement subtle. This is good. There was even a time when Anthony Rizzo had started toward first base, because he had thought he had gotten a walk, but he hadn’t. He came back and apologized to the umpire for heading toward first base before being sure of the umpire’s call. Never give up. The Cubs were down in the World Series three games to one, and they did not give up. They played their hardest and came back to win the series. So no matter how many games you’ve lost, or what else may have happened, don’t let it get you down. Just keep playing your hardest. (The Indians did not give up either. They made the Cubs work very hard for it.) I had a rec team once that lost the first game of a double-elimination playoff series, and they rallied and got fired up and came back to win. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Remember when the Cubs were playing in the World Series in Wrigley Field for the first time in 71 years, and the eyes...
by Coach Kevin | May 20, 2016 | Uncategorized
Right now, I’ve got one of my star pitchers on the DL because he’s got Little League Elbow. For four weeks, he is not allowed to do any over-hand throwing, so he isn’t even playing on the field right now. He is allowed to bat, and that’s it. (Treatment plans vary by the individual.) What is Little League Elbow and how does it happen? Little League Elbow is a repetitive throwing injury to the growth plate of the bone at the elbow. It can happen to any player whose bones are still growing who does a lot of throwing, especially pitchers, catchers, shortstops, and outfielders. Usually this condition effects players ages 8-15, although it just depends on how long the bones keep growing. If a player notices a pain or soreness in the elbow joint, it’s a good idea to get it checked out. This is a different injury from the one that leads to Tommy John surgery. However, Little League Elbow can also lead to permanent damage, so it is important to prevent and/or treat this injury. Repetitive throwing and hard throws–such as fastballs, pick-off throws, and long throws from the outfield–are stressful on the growth plate. According to our Team Physical Therapist, the arm motion for a standard curve ball would put even more stress on the growth plate. (Yes, our team has a Physical Therapist, in a manner of speaking. She’s actually the mom of one of our players.) To prevent Little League Elbow, it is wise to teach good pitching mechanics, avoid the standard curve ball, and maintain reasonable pitch counts. However, if a player...
by Coach Kevin | May 18, 2016 | Uncategorized
For me as a coach, there is always so much to work on, and so little time. I hate having kids just standing around, waiting for their turn at a station. So this is a solution I came up with, and it works great! One of my more popular and productive practices utilizes this 11-station batting and pitching practice structure. This particular format will give your kids lots and lots of batting reps, while also giving you time to work with pitching and throwing mechanics on an individual basis. This practice is an invigorating, non-stop, high-energy plan. It’s best, in my opinion, to follow this with a kid-pitch scrimmage, so they put it into action. Boy, were our kids hitting the heck out of the baseball when we did this! The upside of this practice structure is that the kids are busy constantly, with no one waiting for a station. The downside is: for best results, it takes 5 coaches and/or parent helpers. However, most of it could be implemented with fewer helpers. It will be essential for batting helmets to be worn throughout, and it’s up to you to evaluate your own situation, and modify as necessary to ensure safety is maintained. It takes about 5-7 minutes per player per station, so altogether it takes about 60-90 minutes. Here are the stations: Station 1. Bunting drill. Coach teaches proper bunting mechanics to the player and pitches to him, having him execute what he’s learned. You can have them practice bunting to the left, to the right, and slash/bunt. Stations 2-5. Batting Tee stations. Here we have four tees,...
by Coach Kevin | Jul 14, 2015 | Uncategorized
Can losing be a good thing for you? Well, I think so. If you can learn something from your loss and make the necessary corrections, then sometimes losing can be just what your team needs. Going into our league championship this year, my 11/12 yr old team had come off the season with a 9-3 record, and we were feeling pretty good about ourselves. As the top seeded team, we faced the team that had only 4 wins and 8 losses. While I was not feeling like anything was a sure thing, the players didn’t seem to feel the urgency. They were remembering early wins against that team, but had forgotten how much that team had improved over the course of the season. They also conveniently seemed to forget that the last time we faced this team, we lost. So, we lost the first playoff game, dropping us into the loser’s bracket. The other team dominated the game. We had only one hit for the entire game. One lousy hit! We did get on base with some walks, but we also had too many strike-outs, not to mention a slew of defensive errors. In our team talk after the game, we talked about how we didn’t have our heads in the game, how we took winning for granted, and how much effort it would now take to end up in the top slot. For our next game, I re-instituted my tried and true pre-game batting warm up regimen, which I go into here. For a variety of reasons, I hadn’t been using these consistently this season, even though I...
by Coach Kevin | May 23, 2015 | Blog
It’s really important for us coaches in all leagues, whether rec or competitive, to remember that coaching kids is about more than getting wins. First and foremost, it’s about developing character, learning life skills, and acquiring a love of the game of baseball. Now, I’m a competitive person at heart, and I have a very high ethic for helping my players be the best players they possibly can be. I coach every practice and every game with a win in mind, and I’m often successful. However, there are other considerations that come into play, that are even more important. The last time I completed my position charts, I took a look and saw that so-and-so was in the outfield the whole game. This is a kid who is very inexperienced, and has poor throwing and catching skills. However, he has his heart in the game, and he does his very best every time. So, I took a deep breath and put him in at second base one inning. It was hard for me to put him in at second. This wasn’t the best position for getting the win. But it was fair to my eager young player. (His reflexes are good enough that I’m not worried about him getting beaned.) And you know what? He rose to the occasion and stopped a ball from getting through into the outfield. Then he found the ball on the ground behind him, and made a decent enough throw to get the out at first. What a great experience for him! We know there’s a lot to teaching baseball to kids. It’s not...
by Coach Kevin | May 23, 2015 | Blog
A good catcher is a major key to winning ballgames, yet often, all the glory goes to the pitcher. The catcher is usually overlooked, underrated, and not given his due for the contribution he gives to the team. I can relate to this myself. When I have a pitcher who throws strikes, doesn’t give up many walks, and is difficult for the other team to hit, I walk away from this game thinking, “What a great game so-and-so pitched.” But someone had to catch every one of those pitches. He had to block balls, making sure nothing got past him. He had to make plays, with a fast and accurate throw to second, without being able to take his time on the throw. He was constantly involved in just about every play. He had to keep track of when the dropped strike three rule was in effect, and remember to make tags on dropped strike threes. He had to be ready to throw off his gear to go after a little pop fly. The catcher really does more for the team than he usually gets credit for. So just remember, when the pitcher pitches a great game, to also thank the catcher for doing his job, making it all...
by Coach Kevin | May 23, 2015 | Blog
I recently came across an article about a trend in some parts of the country for youth baseball to be shrinking, both in Little League and other leagues. No, no, tell me it isn’t true! Apparently, it is true. This is happening for a lot of reasons. In some areas, select teams are pulling away from rec side of things, and becoming competitive or travel teams. Now, some competitive teams provide a good opportunity for kids. However, often times, the competitive side is way overdone for the age of the kids. It’s too much pressure, and too tough a schedule for many of them. It just isn’t fun any more. So in some areas, there’s a small but steady stream of players moving from rec to competitive to quitting baseball. So this trend results in fewer coaches and players available for rec, and once a league starts this shrinking pattern, it keeps on going. Once they get down to 2-3 teams, no one wants to just keep playing the same teams over and over, so they lose interest. In some leagues, there is a lot of “daddy-ball”, where coaching isn’t as good as it should be. The head coach’s kid gets to play any position and never gets benched, regardless of talent, and his friends get to play in the field while others get overlooked. (I’m glad to say, I personally haven’t been seeing this in our local rec league.) Baseball also gets competition from faster-paced sports like flag football, soccer, and some others. Plus, with the advent of video games, some kids don’t do sports at all. They’re...
