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Where, oh where is ... My practice? And how many feet between the bases and to the mound? Then click on this.
Suggestions and Advise:Kids up to about 10yo play the game as an individual, while 11+ understand teamwork and, therefore, apply strategies and tactics. Coaching 6 and 7yo is like, well, herding cats. They will all run after a ball, wrestle over it, and then have no idea where to throw it. It's just that age. They're just having fun. The best way to learn is to be an assistant coach under one with experience and go to the Coaches Clinic held in early April.As head coach, have as many assistant coaches as possible, so get those parents involved !!!Have a game plan for each practiceBe early to practiceKeep the kids active all the time or boredom sets inHave idle time? Then have them practice throwing - simple toss, grounders, fly balls, and repeat, repeat, repeat the drillsTeach simple things for each position until they understand it, then proceed to the nextTeach by explaining, demonstrating, then have them do it again and againTeach as close to one-on-one as possiblePerhaps finish practice with either a race or a game to re-inforce the drills and to allow the kids to have some fun.
At the End of the Season... have a picnic for the T-Ball, Clinic and 8yo teams. The kids love it.
Umpires - That Love-Hate Relationship:
Treat them with care and respect. If there is a concern, talk it over privately and calmly between the innings. As a parent, please remember that your team sees you as a role model.Our players from 11/12yo division ump the 8yo division, and the 13/15 ump the 9/10. These are kids, not adults.Professional adult umpires oversee the 11/12 and 13/15 games.A good article on umping was written by George Will that can help to set our attitude towards them before the season begins.
Other Coaching Advise and Websites:
Cal Ripken Baseball
Perfect Practice Plan
Sports Psych
Workouts
Pitching
Throwing Various Pitches with free instructions
Art of Catching
Tips and Drills
FAQ on Rules
Rule Myths
Baseball Corner with free instructions under the "Coaches Corner"
Coaching Manuals:
There is some excellent material (which includes practice plans) that was created by the Fallston Rec Council in Maryland:for T-Ball. TRC Baseball has also created a TRC T-Ball manual from several sourcesfor Clinic and 8yo for 9/10for 11/12for 13/15.
Want to play more teams? - Sometimes the divisions have 6 or less teams, which can make it boring to play the same teams again and again. To help, contact one of the other rec councils found on Baltimore County Rec Councils and arrange some games. It's worked in the past. Try to make sure the age groupings of their division matches yours.
Field SetupT-Ball - Pitcher is 35 feet or less, Bases are 45 feet apart. A long striding step is about 3 feet.Clinic (7yo) – Pitcher is 35 feet, Bases are 50 feet8yo – Pitcher is 40 feet, Bases are 55 feet9/10 – Pitcher is 42 feet, Bases are 60 feet11/12 – Pitcher is 48 feet, Bases are 65 feet13/15 – Pitcher is 54 feet, Bases are 75 feet
How to Keep Score
Click here for instructions, courtesy of the O's, on how to keep score.
Field Positions and Numbers
Ever wonder what the sports commentator means by "That was a great 6-4-3 play". Well, have a look at this.
How are the players separated into teams? How come that team always wins?- For T-Ball, the selection is not by talent, but by the parent's preferences, grouping families who live close together (for carpooling) and by school
- Clinic is either like T-Ball, or the coaches send their preferences to the division president, or it uses a draft-like process where the coaches sit around a table and usually pick the players they've coached or know
- 8yo will use one of the Clinic methods
- For 9/10 and above, the players are evaluated on their skills, which covers some 15 categories. These evaluation are performed:
- At the end of the season on the players in 9/10 and up by the coaches based on the player's overall performance
- On Evaluation Day in early March for players that are moving up from 8yo to 9/10 or new to TRC
- Using the evaluations, the players are selected by the coaches via a draft
- For all divisions (except T-Ball), the intent is to evenly distribute the talent. But, no matter how hard we try, some teams will be better than others because some coaches are keenly aware of the talent, some coaches are just better coaches and/or more competitive, and some teams practice once a week (usually on a Saturday) along with their 2 games. So, you will probably notice a skew in the standings with a few teams winning a lot and the others spread between .500 and .000. This is the case no matter how hard we try to evenly spread the talent.
Suggestions for Selecting All-Stars
Let the players pick half of the selection (by secret ballot so as to not hurt feeling in front of the others) and the coach the other half. This removes politics with coaches possibly picking their own son, and the players with a possible popularity contest.Division Presidents should divide the players into teams by using the evaluations that were used in the draft and spreading around the travel team players.
Our Minor League Teams for 2009:- Bats – Located in Louisville, KY – Associated with the Cincinnati Reds
- Bees - Salt Lake City, UT - Angels
- Blue Claws - Lakewood, NJ - Phillies
- Bulls - Durham, NC - Tampa Bay Rays
- Look Outs - Chattanooga, TN - Cincinnati Reds
- Lugnuts - Lansing, MI - Toronto Blue Jays
- Muck Dogs - Batavia, NY -Cleveland Indians
- Raptors - Ogden, UT - LA Dodgers
- Sand Gnats - Savannah, GA - NY Mets
- Timber Rattlers - Appleton, WI - Milwaukee Brewers
- Volcanoes - Salem, MA - SF Giants
Game Schedule starting April 20th- T-Ball (6yo) - Wednesdays 6-8pm & Saturday mornings
- Clinic (7yo) - Wednesdays 6-8pm & Saturday mornings
- 8 yo - Monday and Thursday from 6-8pm
- 9/10 - Tuesday & Friday from 6-8pm
- 11/12 - Tuesday & Friday from 6-8pm
- 13/15 - Monday & Thursday from 6-8pm
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