Lesson #4: Planning is Important - Lessons from a Youth Baseball Coach

For a youth baseball coach, one cannot emphasize enough the importance of a little bit of planning prior to a game or practice; it makes all of the difference for a smooth running event. A little bit of advanced planning for practices makes the time fly for the players. Good planning also makes it more fun; the players are kept busy and are not bored. Practices in youth baseball are notorious for one coach and one player going through a drill, while the rest of the team looks on in boredom. A little planning prior to a game keeps players from being short changed on playing time and overlooked for the positions they might want to play. It also speeds up a game; coaches no longer have to gather the team outside the dugout to divvy up the positions every time they take the field.

During practices, don’t be shy – draft as many dads and moms as you can to be assistant coaches, then put them to work. Each assistant should be given a drill and taught how to teach it. Break the team up into groups that will visit each drill station. Keep the stations active and keep the players transitioning between stations. Normally coaches will see plenty of parents standing around watching their players practice. But, there are drills even the most inexperienced mom or dad can run. And let's face it, the parents are probably bored also by just sitting around watching.

You will need two full time assistant coaches in addition to your practice parents. The three of you will have separate roles: one coach will be the hitting coach, one coach will be the pitching coach, and the third coach will be in charge of teaching team defense, base running, and defensive scenarios. Every coach usually has two parents capable of filling those roles. As the head coach, assign each assistant to the duty he or she is most comfortable with, and take on the remaining duty, yourself.

To help keep games organized and running smoothly, buy two dry erase boards (8.5 X 11) to hang in the dugout. One board will will have the batting order, substitutions, and the score, by inning; the other board will have defensive positions for the upcoming inning. It is hard to overemphasize how much this helps keep things organized and running smoothly. It eliminates the delays that occur when coaches change the defense. It also gets rid of the confusion regarding the player that batted last. Merely put a mark next to the next batter and the confusion is alleviated when your team returns to the dugout to bat.

I think that the head coach belongs in the dugout. That is simply the best way to control the game. Educate your assistants on how you want them to coach first base and third base. Delegate and put some faith in some of your parents; they won’t let you down and on the flip-side, the more your parents are involved in practices, the less complaining you will hear from the crowd at actual games.

We will include more details about game and practice planning in future lessons.

This is the third lesson, of many, contained within the article "Lessons from a Youth Baseball Coach". Future lessons will include detailed planning for practices and games, choosing the right glove and bat, fielding, base running, philosophy, and a myriad of baseball subjects. All of the lessons can be found at Baseball Armory – “The Baseball Blog”. Baseball Armory sponsors Baseball Armory – “The Baseball Blog”. Baseball Armory is an online store that contains quality Akadema baseball and softball gear. Akadema produces high quality baseball and softball equipment, including infield and outfield gloves, catcher’s mitts, metal and wood bats, cleats, turf shoes, youth batting gloves, sunglasses, apparel, equipment bags, glove care products, and miscellaneous baseball and softball accessories.