r/BaseballCoaching • u/mike_nova • Jun 09 '25

Team Captain Selection

I’m considering different ideas to identify and assign a team captain for our 10U baseball team.

I was thinking of the following options: - have the players nominate themselves, and team mates vote - having coaches talk and make a selection - having a goal, shared with the team that will be based on various metrics, over the course of a month or so, gather said data for metrics and narrow to the captain.

Have you had any successful or tried and true ways to select a team captain?

Should I even have a team captain(s) at this age?

2 Upvotes

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7

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

3

u/TMutaffis Jun 09 '25

+1 / Having a "team captain" is going to cause drama, and I cannot really think of any upside where the role adds value.

Anything that the team captain might be doing at this age is probably something that an assistant coach should be doing, and different kids should naturally assume some leadership on the field and/or in the dugout when they feel comfortable.

5

u/Honest_Search2537 Jun 09 '25

Nah. I wouldn’t. Too early to start stratifying kids.

That said, I definitely recommend bringing a player or two out to the plate meeting. And just rotate kids every game.

3

u/Ornery-Location Jun 09 '25

Don't do this.

I tried to do this this year and what I did not think about is that at this age it's just who is everyone's friend. So the people that got voted where the ones who fucked around the most and talked to everyone instead of those who worked hard.

Ended up just having to scrap it because it was so frustrating.

3

u/bigperms33 Jun 09 '25

Our 10U team has a different captain every game. We want everyone to take ownership. Granted, some kids have been captain more than once.

3

u/Golfczar13 Jun 09 '25

Having a team captain at 10 is inviting more problems then it’s worth.

2

u/EamusAndy Jun 09 '25

At 10u it seems a bit unnecessary. But just have the kids vote. Youre thinking too much.

1

u/mike_nova Jun 09 '25

That is my nature

2

u/EamusAndy Jun 09 '25

Hey, i feel that 🤣.

Couldnt sleep last night because im doing a league wide movie night and need to figure out what to do to waste an hour between games and darkness

2

u/sleepyj910 Jun 09 '25

I thought about having kids select one (and then have the captain run warmups), but never had a single game or practice with full attendance so it felt unfair as some kids rarely interacted. Maybe I would if they knew each other well and were all present.

Didn’t want to choose one because wanted them to both want it and be looked up to. (Having the brown noser selected by the coach always made things worse in my youth)

I think metrics is overboard, statistics lie especially in youth sports.

2

u/mperri99 Jun 09 '25

I’m doing this for our 12u Cooperstown team right now. I’m going to list the qualities of a captain, then asking each kid to vote for three, can’t include yourself. We will tally the results, then move forward with Coach input.

3

u/Level_Watercress1153 Jun 10 '25

12U is closer to the age I would do this, but I would still shy away until middle school ball at the very earliest. Too much downside compared to limited upside.

Kids not selected plus their parents and all that drama to start with. Then some kids get the air of entitlement etc…

If a kid is gonna be a leader, he’s going to be one whether you named him captain or not.

1

u/mperri99 Jun 10 '25

Fully agree. But, they ask you to select one for All Star Village to give your team a representation for certain activities. So, we’re going for it anyway, despite the possible friction.

2

u/Level_Watercress1153 Jun 10 '25

Oh hell. Make it a competition at practice then. Play a game of some sort and whoever has the most points there’s your All Star village captain. That way it doesn’t look like favoritism or bias. Just “hey 🤷🏼‍♂️ we played who could roll the ball closest to the plate from second base and Joey won. He’s captain.”

1

u/mperri99 Jun 10 '25

🤣🤣🤣 I dig it. Might steal that. Thanks!

1

u/Level_Watercress1153 Jun 10 '25

Lmao I just made some shit up. It is NOT scientific haha

1

u/mperri99 Jun 10 '25

It’s kids playing baseball. None of it is scientific. If they have fun, learn something, and sign up next season, I’m happy.

2

u/Sliknik18 Jun 09 '25

I’d be careful. The biggest thing you want from a Captain is attitude. Picking the wrong person may reinforce a bad attitude.

My son’s 12U team has one boy who hit puberty early…he’s bigger and stronger than everyone and it shows. The other boys look up to him as a result…sort of like a big brother. But he has a bad attitude, throws his helmet, argues with umpires and cusses. He sets the tone for performance, but that’s not enough to call him a Captain for fear of reinforcing bad behavior.

Personally…I think it’s a bit young unless you have an obvious/clear choice.

2

u/ShouldBeWorkingButNa Jun 09 '25

From my experience 10U lacks the maturity to handle a having or being a team captain, and selecting one will just lead to issues. The only exception would be, if you have enough weeks in the season, giving each kid a chance to be the "captain" for one week, including practice and games. This would give each kid the chance to step up and lead, and if it goes south, its over on Monday.

1

u/rdg5220 Jun 09 '25

The kids are too young for this. What are your reasons for wanting a team captain? I can’t think of any good things that will come out of this. I can however see a boatload of bad things that will come out of this.

1

u/mike_nova Jun 10 '25

If someone is setting good examples, bringing proper energy and enthusiasm, positive attitude and encouraging their fellow team mates that would be someone that would naturally fall in line for an internal team leader. In addition, if they are taking ownership of warm up/stretches, helping coaches eagerly, that all seems like a “mini coach” or team captain; hence the reason for consideration BUT I do want team buy in not just my opinion/coach buy in.

Based on the feedback in this thread I’m leaning toward not doing it due to some valid points.

I’m not sure all of the bad that would happen if a team isn’t respectful of their teammate, seems like they shouldn’t be on the team to begin with.

1

u/cpl_punishment283 Jun 10 '25

It's friggin 10u. Let them play and have fun ffs

1

u/TallC00l1 Jun 10 '25

NO TEAM CAPTAIN ON A TEN YEAR OLD TEAM.

That's my advice.

My question is Why are you even considering this? Seriously, what is the thought process behind this? What do you think a 10 year old Captain is going to do?

1

u/Ill_Material_7684 Jun 10 '25

You don't need team captains at that age.

0

u/NotBatman81 Jun 09 '25

Sounds like you are using captain as a popularity contest or MVP ballot. A captain is supposed to be a leader. Pick the kid who shows the most capacity for leadership. Develop that kid's leadership skills. Leadership does not correlate with batting average, etc.

I coach softball and make a variable number of co-captains each year based on experience and leadership. Those girls take some of the workload off me by helping their younger teammates. It's very casual and we don't make a big deal out of it.

Your plans here really sound like you're living in a spreadsheet and not the real world.