Coaching Youth Baseball - Preventing Injuries

Coaching Youth Baseball - Preventing Injuries
by Guest Author Jake Wyatt

Youth baseball coaches have many duties. An important one is to reduce the risk of injury to players during practice and games. There are several things a youth baseball coach can do to help prevent injuries in their players. Some involve practice and pre-game routines, other involve teaching the players what they can do on their own time to keep their injury risk low.

The coach should require the following before all practices and games:

1. Significant stretching. The coach should establish a stretching routine for his team early in training so that players will know what to do before practices and games. The coach should ensure that adequate effort is put into the stretching routine by all players.

2. Running. The coach should require a certain amount of running at every practice and before every game. This cardiac warm-up will get the players ready for the physical activity that is to come.

It is important that the warm-up routine be well defined and communicated to the players. All players should start at the same time. The coach needs to be involved in these activities, not spending this time visiting with parents.

During practice, the coach should always watch a player's form in all activities. Improper form should be addressed and worked on until corrected. Proper form in pitching, hitting and throwing the ball will substantially reduce the potential for injury.

The coach should encourage, and perhaps require, the players to do some training on their own. This could involve the following:

1. Age appropriate weight training or band work.

2. Calisthenics, such as sits up, pull ups and push ups.

3. Cardio work, such as jumping rope or bicycling.

4. Yoga. Most kids will think this is silly, but yoga can increase flexibility and therefore reduce the risk of injury.

If a coach is diligent, he can reduce the risk of injury to his players significantly. This will lead to more enjoyable games for all involved - players, coaches and parents!

In order to be the best possible baseball player, training should happen year-round and be a joint effort between the coach, the player and the parents. Get more free tips to improve baseball performance, reviews of e-products related to baseball, and links to training resources at http://youth-baseball-training.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jake_Wyatt

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"Daddy Ball" - And Other Youth Sports Sins

"Daddy Ball" - And Other Youth Sports Sins
by Guest Author Doug Rogers


It seems that every corner of our society has its own lingo. During a recent ski trip with my teenage sons I discovered my ignorance of an entirely new foreign language, that of the snowboard subculture. I was ashamed to ask for clarification of such (apparently) basic terms as "dropping in" (i.e., starting downhill), "throwing down" a trick (i.e., doing a trick), "knuckling" a jump (landing on the hump instead of the down slope), or "rag-dolling" (falling severely, with arms and legs wildly flailing). Fortunately, none of these terms had application to my own skiing style anyway, since I wasn't about to "thrown down" anything, at least not on purpose.

As spring approaches and our kids are about to begin another sports season, I began thinking about the many catchy terms I've heard used in reference to the sometimes wacky world of youth sports. Some have been around forever, some are recent creations and some I may have even made up myself. But the more terms I recalled, the more they collectively started to represent another "lingo" of their own. As I started to write them down I could see that they were slanting towards a particular theme; a theme that represented an over-zealousness and loss of perspective from which most of us have probably suffered at some time. In the spirit of sharing, I thought I would list the index of our many "sins" defined by this lingo. Here goes:

The Crazies -- Those who engage in any manner of overzealous behavior with respect to youth sports, segmented as follows:

Vocal Crazies -- Inclined to yell, scream, insult, criticize, argue or complain.

Physical Crazies -- Inclined to spit, throw stuff, slam stuff, shove or engage in fist-a-cuffs.

Obsessive Crazies -- Inclined to be constantly thinking about, constantly talking about and constantly worried about anything having to do with our kids' sports (especially how our own kids stack up against the other kids).

Daddy Ball -- Dads who coach teams on which their own children just happen to be the starting shortstop, point guard, quarterback, lead-off batter; not to mention, annually selected for every all-star roster.

Daddy Vision (or Mommy Vision)-- Parents who see their children as the next coming of Derek Jeter or Mia Hamm when the rest of the world sees a very nice kid with average athleticism.

"Duh" Coaching -- Describes any painfully obvious coaching directives shouted towards players on the field. Common examples include:

(e.g., after a dropped fly ball,) "Ya' gotta catch that, Jimmy!".....Duh.

(e.g., to a pitcher on the mound,) "C'mon Jimmy, throw strikes!".....Duh.

(e.g., to a pitcher who was up 0-2 in the count, but just threw two balls,) "Don't lose 'im, Jimmy!".....Duh.

First Son Syndrome (FSS)-- A condition suffered by parents of first-born sons in youth sports, marked by symptoms of obsessive worry over every bobbled ground ball, and excessive celebration over every successful journey to first base. (Symptoms diminish significantly with each successive sibling born.)

Glory Days Disease (GDD) -- A sad and pathetic disorder among parents who live vicariously through the athletic exploits of their children. Tell-tale symptoms include statements like, "Hey, when I was 12 years old we won the District 3 championship," while believing that others are actually emotionally moved by such information.

Kids as Commodities -- The practice of parents engaged in analytical commentaries about the relative athletic abilities of 8 to 12-year-old "players" (aka, kids), wherein their various skill-sets are compared and dissected in a manner fitting for ESPN SportsCenter.

Only Child Syndrome (OCS) -- A more severe form of FSS with no hope of diminishing symptoms over time.

"Oh C'mon!" -- A term used by Dads to express great exasperation over any bad call, missed tackle, dropped ball, or anything else they find irksome on the field of play (best delivered with head thrown back and arms thrown in the air).

"Heyyy!" -- A term used by Moms to express great indignation any time their son or daughter gets, bumped, checked, fouled or has the ball taken away (legally or otherwise, it doesn't matter).

"You gotta' be kidding!" -- A term used by parents to articulate their disagreement with an official's ruling on the field of play.

"Get your head in the game!" -- A term used to motivate a player who is perceived to be playing below par.

The chances are we are all probably guilty of one or more of these sins at least to some degree. As I list them in print, some of them are actually pretty hysterical when you think about it. Of course, I guess it becomes less funny to think that all of these terms represent words that are actually said and events that actually happen - all the time. The kids probably don't think they are too funny. So as we head off to those first lacrosse and baseball practices of the season it's probably good to look at this self-deprecating "lingo" and laugh. Because if we do, it means we realize how ridiculous we can all behave when it comes to our kids and sports. Better still, we might be able to catch ourselves the next time we start to transform into any version of....."The Crazies!"

Share your own "Crazy lingo" by sending to: stories@niceguysfirst.com
Doug Rogers is a retired corporate executive who now devotes his time to speaking and writing about Nice Guys.

http://niceguysfirst.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Doug_Rogers

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How to Coach T-Ball

How to Coach T-Ball
By Jack Perconte

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I realize that kids who play T-ball are very young, so T-ball coaches do not have to be experts in the game of baseball. However, when you realize that most kids will be making decisions on which sports they like and will want to continue playing, there is a big responsibility on T-ball coaches. Unfortunately, many good athletes are lost to other sports because of inadequate T-ball coaching.

It is important to realize that T-ball coaches are often at a disadvantage because baseball is a slower moving sport than many of the other sports. By its nature, baseball involves more standing around and inactivity than other sports, with soccer being a prime example of a higher activity sport. Therefore, the first thing that T-ball coaches should understand is that kids at these ages have a ton of energy and that they love to run around and expend that energy. With this in mind, it is important that T-ball coaches learn ways of making practice energy-packed so kids do not experience the boredom that is often associated with baseball. Using practice time wisely is a necessity when dealing with such young players.

Secondly, T-ball coaches have the responsibility to know the basics of baseball. Learning a few basics of how players catch, field, throw and hit is a must for the T-ball coach. Not only is the knowledge of these basics important, but also learning ways of teaching these basics is equally important. This is where T-ball leagues have the responsibility of providing coaches with pre-season coaching training, coaching resources and with on-going training in the fundamentals of baseball. Additional training for how to work with kids of these ages (and their parents) should also be provided..

With this as a backdrop, following are tips for how to coach T-ball:

Coaches should:

1. Get help from other parents (coaches) whenever possible and teach the untrained helpers what to look for when working on baseball fundamentals. This allows coaches the opportunity to have players work in small groups (stations), which will keep them in the aforementioned active mode.
2. Remember the K.I.S.S. method - keep it simple, stupid - extended talks and explanations are not necessary in T-ball. The basics of hitting, throwing, base running and fielding should be constantly demonstrated and practiced.
3. Give homework. Kids this age need a lot of work on the basics so explaining to them and their parents exactly what they can be doing between practices can help player development.
4. Keep games moving. Remember, practice is for teaching and games are for playing. This is so important so kids do not become bored. Watch for bored players (playing in dirt kids) and get them involved. Teaching players what to do on batted balls, how to cover bases and how to back up plays is important. Of course, this is an advantage of T-ball, where the ball is usually put in play more often than with coach or kid pitch, at the younger levels of baseball.
5. Watch for and point out any little improvement in players. For example, making a big deal of players even catching balls at this age is good and can help spur players on with confidence building comments.
6. Have little contests. It may be necessary to handicap the little competitive contests so all players have a chance of winning. The good news is that kids like to pick up balls so rounding up balls after drills is often the most fun part for young players. Eventually, kids grow out of this and it is more difficult to get them to pick up the baseballs after drills.
7. Assume nothing. Even little things like where each position is located and where players position themselves at each position must be taught.
8. Know where to properly place the batting tee so hitters are hitting the ball out front and not even with their body. Moving the height of the tee each time up is always a good idea so hitters learn to adjust and hit different pitch locations.
9. Emphasize the importance of all defensive players getting into ready positions before each swing. Explaining the necessity to move to batted balls in their area as well as communicating with fellow players is also good T-ball coaching.
10. Teaching basic base running techniques, as well as when to run on batted balls is a constant chore of the T-ball coach, too.
11. Using as soft a ball as possible is always advised so kids avoid the pain that harder balls provide. Eliminating fear of the ball is crucial to player's development.

Once again, I cannot emphasize enough the responsibility that t-ball coaches have to make practice time fun, energy-filled, positive and engaging. And as mentioned, coaches should keep games moving at as fast a pace as possible to prevent wandering minds. Of course, many of these coaching tips apply to coaching kids at all levels of baseball. Even major league players have to be reminded of some of these things, believe it or not. Finally, as kids get the hang of using the tee and as the season progresses, it is a good idea to begin to prepare players for the next step of facing live hitting. Gradually moving into some coach pitched batting practice is a good idea.

Former major league baseball player, Jack Perconte gives baseball hitting tips, batting practice advice and baseball instruction for ballplayers of all ages. His baseball playing lessons, books and advice, as well as his positive parenting in sports tips can be found at http://www.jackperconte.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jack_Perconte

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