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Beginning Baseball Fundamentals for T-Ball and Machine Pitch

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Beginning Baseball Fundamentals for T-Ball and Machine Pitch Beginning Baseball Fundamentals For T-Ball and Machine Pitch Coaching and Practice Guide 1 Table of Contents General Coaching Tips --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3 Basic Practice Set-Up ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4 Stretching Exercises ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5 Teaching Baseball Fundamentals -------------------------------------------------------------- 6 2 General Coaching Tips So you have volunteered to be a youth baseball coach… CONGRATULATIONS! Working with our youth to learn the game of baseball in a safe, positive, constructive way can be one of the most rewarding and fulfilling opportunities a coach can have. Since Tee-Ball and Machine Pitch Baseball are the entry levels of youth baseball, what the kids experience in these first few years will have a substantial impact on whether they continue to participate in any youth sports in the future. The bottom line is we want the kids’ entry level baseball experience to be pleasant. What do kids look for in a sport? FUN and ACTION are the keys. Even in the early stages, kids can have fun learning throwing, catching, fielding and hitting. At this age, simple games, drills and shorter practices are often more successful at teaching the basics, keeping their attention and make for an enjoyable experience. Keeping the Big Picture Coaching young children can be difficult at times because as adults we set unrealistic expectations for ourselves and likewise for the kids. As coaches, we need to remember the young kids we coach have a shorter attention span, less physical abilities, less physical endurance, less motivation, and a lower tolerance for discomfort (heat, dirt, bumps and bruises). Be realistic in your expectations. If by the end of their first season, they can field a simple ground ball, know where to make a throw to get an out or can make contact with the ball and know when and where to run. Maybe that is what winning looks like in their first few years. As they grow up, it is important to begin to teach kids the value and the fun of healthy competition (i.e. the rules of the game, 3 outs, keeping score). Along with competition, we should teach resiliency when failure occurs in the game (strike outs, ground outs, fly outs, throwing errors) and how to appropriately celebrate success with their teammates. It is important to emphasize that each player should build each other up regardless of what happens on the field. Good sportsmanship and a good attitude must be taught from the very beginning. In the end, whatever you do as a coach… keep it fun! After all… it is just a game. Practice Guidelines 1. Have a plan for practice, even a simple plan – don’t show up and make it up on the go 2. Set out the equipment before practice is to begin – don’t waste your players time 3. Have a safety mindset – young players minds often wander, teach players to pay attention to the ball and beware of swinging bats 4. Plan short drills with many repetitions – getting reps at simple tasks builds good habits 5. Every child should be doing something at all times – pair up, one watching, one doing 6. When talking to your players, get down to their eye level – in their eyes you 7. Don’t use negative criticism, hostility, abuse or anger – everyone will make mistakes, it is part of the game, teach resiliency (try again… keep at it… be positive) 3 8. Remember the 4 P’s a. Preparation – Plan for meetings and practice, respect players’ and parents’ time b. Patience – Take the time to build self-esteem and confidence in each player c. Poise – Ensure you and your players maintain their composure, mistake will happen d. Praise – Recognize effort, praise success and performance verbally Basic Practice Set-Up There are a number of ways you can set up a practice. Depending on the number of coaches (if you have none, enlist the help of parents), each basic baseball skill can be practiced at a station led by a coach/parent. Divide the team up into even groups (preferable in pairs if you have enough stations). Rotate each group/pair through each station each lasting about 10 minutes each. Remember as a rule, practices should only be a long as the game they typical play… approximately 1 hour. It is often found that after 1 hour, young kids get tired and lose focus. After that, the value of continued practice begins to lose its value. An example of a basic practice plan: - Team Meeting - 5 minutes - Warm-up and Stretching - 5 minutes - Throwing and Catching Activities - 10 minutes - Fielding Activities - 10 minutes - WATER BREAK - 5 minutes - Base Running - 10 minutes - Hitting - 10 minutes - Closing Remarks / Relay Game info - 5 minutes There are many references on line to obtain ideas for practice. Here are just a few to check out and plan your own practices which are tailored to the needs of your team. http://www.helpful-baseball-drills.com/coachespitchdrills.html http://www.baseballpositive.com/tee-ball/ https://www.littleleague.org/university/articles/the-complete-little-league-tee-ball-program/ https://www.littleleague.org/play-little-league/coach-pitch/ 4 Stretching and Warmup Exercises Stretching and warmup exercises are important habits to get your kids into. While most children are very flexible and may not seem like the need stretching and warming up, it is a good habit to get into in order to prevent injuries as they grow. Here are a few recommended simple stretching exercises for young players: 1. Jumping Jacks (20) - Feet together, hands by their sides. When jumping, legs come apart and hand touch overhead. This is a good exercise that will get their bodies warmed up and is a good precursor to a proper athletic throwing position. 2. Arms - Rolls arms in a ‘windmill type’ action. Rotate one arm around 10 times and then switch arms, 10 more times and then reverse directions 3. Quadriceps - These muscles are the big muscle that cover the front of you thigh. Stand straight, bend one leg and hold your ankle or the top of your foot. Pull the bent leg until your heel is close to your bottom. Try to maintain balance without using someone else or a wall to balance. Maintaining balance is important in throwing and hitting. Hold for 10 seconds. Switch 4. Hamstrings - These muscles are at the back of your thigh. In a sitting position with your left leg straight, place the sole of your right foot inside your left thigh. Touch your toe, keeping your knee straight and foot in a relaxed position. Hold for 10 seconds. Switch. 5. Groin (Butterfly stretch) - In a sitting position with your back straight, bring both feet together so that your soles touch each other. Pull your feet toward your groin. Place elbows on your knees and gentle push down. Hold for 10 seconds, rest and repeat. 6. Light running - Standing on a foul line, have the players all face in one direction and then perform a jog towards 2nd base (it is not a race). Line up and return back to the foul line. 5 Teaching Baseball Fundamentals THROWING Throwing is a fundamental skill of baseball. Teaching young kids should be through a building block approach. It may take a majority of your first few practices to get the kids familiar with the drills. Use as many parents/coaches as possible to give one-on-one instruction if possible. Advancing too quickly through the basic drills will likely evolve into bad throwing mechanics and later lead to frustration during games. Here are a few recommendation to teach the basics of throwing. 1. The 4-seam Grip - The thumb should be under the ball, two or three fingers across (perpendicular) the 4 seams, preferably with the horse to the outside and the pinky off to the side 2. The Throw - Sitting (The Flip) • Players sit cross legged on the ground with multiple balls. Pick up the ball in the throwing hand and apply the appropriate grip. Raise the ball out in front of the player, elbow bent at 90 degrees. Have the player flip baseball using mostly their wrist and very little arm movement below the elbow. If your players can catch proficiently, have them play catch with a partner. If you kids have difficulty catching, have your players play catch with a coach/parent. - The Gather and Separation • Have players pick up a ball (no gloves), apply the appropriate grip. Bring both hands together in front of the player’s chest (this is the “gather” position). Upon the command, “separate”, players with separate their hands apart to a position similar to that of a jumping jack. After this movement the glove hand should be pointing at the target, the ball hand bent at 90 degrees and at approximately ear level (this is called the “equal and opposite” position). You should be able to see the back of the ball hand at this position and the thumb should be at the bottom of the ball and point away from the body. - One Knee 6 • The One Knee drill isolates the throwing mechanics of the upper body. Have the player, pick up a ball, establish the appropriate grip and perform the gather and separate drill while kneeling on the same knee as the throwing arm. Slowly go through the throwing motion also ensuring the hand ends up near the outside of the opposite knee. This ensure teaches proper arm mechanics and proper pronation of the hand and arm after release. Perform multiple repetitions also throwing at a specific target. - Standing • Same drill as the One Knee drill expect perform the drill standing.
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