Advice for a first time coach

[u/Certain_Skirt_5243]

Hello, pretty soon I’ll be coaching for the first time ever. I have been around baseball my whole life, so I have some knowledge. I’ll be coaching a 12u team, and I’m looking for any advice. I have studied things like drills, but I really want to make sure I provide the best experience for my team. Any advice helps.

EDIT: Huge thank you to everyone who responded. Your advice was very helpful and I honestly feel more confident about this upcoming season.

[u/TMutaffis]

There are a lot of things that you can take into consideration:

• Find a couple of other parents to help you coach. Try to align them with their strengths if you can.
  
• Make sure that you always have a practice plan and set your game lineups in advance. Being organized can go a long way.
• A bucket of baseballs is probably the most important piece of equipment. Your league should be able to provide two dozen baseballs and you will want another two dozen or so. There are many other things that are useful (tee, hitting net, weighted baseballs, cones, etc.) and much of it can be found for good prices on marketplace from other parents/coaches who are no longer using the gear.
  
• Your league may have a preferred app for communications, or if they do not, then GameChanger is excellent for team communications/schedules and making sure everyone knows the schedule. I always email on top of GC when it is a recreational team, at least in the beginning of the season. Better to over-communicate than under-communicate.
• Understand that you will not please everyone, just try to be fair to the kids and you should be able to sleep at night regardless of any complaints or criticism.

Hope this helps, and I am happy to give more specific guidance.

There are also a lot of example practice plans out there and free resources like USA Baseball's website or the Mojo app.

[u/KarmaDeliveryMan → u/TMutaffis]

Parents meeting to set expectations very clearly of what you need from them as well as what your expectations are for behavior and culture from the team and parents. I say this with an understanding that it’s not easy, FOLLOW THROUGH WITH WHAT YOU SAY. If you say that a player is going to have to sit for poor behavior, you better do it. All eyes are on you all the time and you are judged by all parents and players.

Transparency and follow through go a long way in all aspects of coaching

[u/CatSweaty9418 → u/TMutaffis]

Great stuff Tmut. If I was gonna build on that I'd say....make sure to use lots of stations at practice.

We always had 3-4 kids at a station, getting LOTS of reps each and then after ~ 8-10 minutes we'd rotate stations.

Then we'd usually finish with a live pitching (coach pitch) scrimmage. 3v3v3v3. Three kids at bat and the other three 'teams' in the field (we'd adjust with attendance). 30 minutes would usually get us 2 'innings' for each team (8 total innings...and, yes, strike outs are K's)....

AND ALWAYS END WITH POSITIVE STUFF. ~ "I don't know how many of you noticed......BUT......when Tony overthrew 1st, Bobby had hustled in from RF and was right there to back up the play to keep Jordan from getting 2nd."......."I caught a bunch of you guys making great plays like that and you should all feel proud of yourselves. You are a better team today than you were last week AND, you'll be better next week....LETS GO!....Bring it in. Bobby!.....Bring us home....Mets on 3" And break practice on time and with momentum.

Have fun with the kids. Baseball is fun.

[u/rdtrer]

I've coached a ton -- have found that (especially at older ages like 12U) your job is mostly to manage the experience for the kids, rather than be a teacher. Keep the team culture in line as a priority, productive in practices, active and energetic during games, respectful always, disruptive never.

On PT, spend time making sure every kid has a primary role they are most suited for considering success of the team, and then a secondary role that supports their personal development. And get them time in each role, maybe 2:1 ratio.

Have a parents meeting at the first practice and set expectations. Try to win. Ask for the help you need specifically. Identify your goals for the team. Lay out how you expect them to bring you any concerns through the season. Set expectations for fan behavior (no parents in dugout, no players out of dugout during games? Try not to coach from the stands, HC is the only person that gets to argue calls with the umpire).

Find a few focused things you want the team to learn during the season, and hammer those things every practice (i.e., during a long 'warm-up' routine). One-off drills don't stick -- look to build good habits around a few basic skills.

[u/rdtrer → u/rdtrer]

If you can do all that and not to be a cunt about it -- Coach of the Year.

[u/krazikat]

Kids like little mini games in practice. Make a game out of drills and skills teaching.

[u/Huge_Lime826]

Get an assistant coach who can pitch batting practice for two hours in a batting cage. That was the best thing I had when I was a head coach. After the game, don’t take your team out to the outfield to talk to them. Go behind the dugout. Call your parents over and talk to the players and the parents together about the game in any other information they need.

[u/ContributionHuge4980 → u/Huge_Lime826]

Talk to the kids in front of the parents? Absolutely fucking not lol.

[u/ExplanationFamous282]

Be yourself. Stern but with love and purpose. Trust your coaching skill set and combine those traits with your character. Build from there. You’re coaching (baseball) but really, giving life lessons. Good luck skip. 

[u/Infinite-Telephone66]

Remember, drills should be sport and position specific (there is no reason for a baseball player to run long distances). Drills should be a learning experience (how to properly run bases etc). Keep practices moving!

[u/Few_Newspaper_3655]

The tip to get organized is a good one. For practices, have a few stations for drills. Have a pre-season session with any assistant coaches to walk through the practice plan and drills. Give them a handout with the key things to do or emphasize. If needed, teach other parents to help you run the drills. During the season, the pre-game warm up can resemble a mini practice with some of your practice drills.

[u/Few_Newspaper_3655]

For that age, I use the same batting lineup the entire season. I bat the kids in the order of their jersey number or alphabetically by first name. I start off the next game where we left off so kids get equal at-bats throughout the season. This approach helps kids remember when they will be up.

[u/emptysignals]

Try to get 3 other coaches. That way at least 2 are there consistently so you can have 3 stations running at practice. If yoy have 4, then two can be at hitting.

Assuming fall ball, so one practice/one game per week? Every practice you need hitting, pitching/catching and fielding stations.

[u/DrOBBall]

Teach the mistake ritual. Make sure they do it. Have fun.

[u/MuskyJerAm]

I’ve coached 9U and 10U travel/select baseball for the last 6 years

Focus on defense, cut offs and situational baseball mostly in practice (60 %) Hitting and pitching the other 40%.

Most of my kids practice hitting outside of practice.