Coaching Youth Baseball - Coaching Youth Softball - What Every Youth Coach Should Know

Coaching Youth Baseball - Coaching Youth Softball - What Every Youth Coach Should Know
By guest author: Steve Polk


If you are coaching youth baseball, coaching youth softball, or coaching youth basketball, there is one thing you need to know before you begin coaching youth sports no matter what the sport.

You Could Be Sued

Did you hear the story of the guy coaching kids baseball that was sued because of an injury that took place during a practice? Seems a 12 year old baseball player was injured during a drill to teach the kids how to catch a fly ball. The player couldn't find the ball due to the sun getting in his eyes and the ball hit him in the head.

Not only did the coach get sued but also the league the kid played in. In another story a softball coach who got sued when a player on his team slid into 3rd base and tore her meniscus. The parents claimed the coach didn't teach their daughter how to slide properly. The parents won the case and $125,000.

It really doesn't matter what youth sport you coach. You could be a soccer coach for youth, or any of the others mentioned here. You could be sued for the seemingly most innocent of things. An off the cuff remark or joke could be interpreted as being harassment or an innuendo of some kind. A kid not paying attention gets hits by a ball, or as kids sometimes do play practical jokes on one another and someone gets hurt. You end up getting sued.

Insurance Doesn't Solve The Problem

Your team or league may have insurance, but that doesn't stop a parent from filing a law suit against you. You could be totally not at fault and end up getting the case dismissed, but still have a bill from your attorney.

The Solution

There are a few companies that provide a low cost what is best referred to as a legal insurance plan. Such a plan will cover most if not all your legal expenses should you ever be sued. Such plans range from $17-$36 per month depending on what state you live in.

In The End It Doesn't Matter

In conclusion it really doesn't matter whether you are coaching youth baseball, softball, basketball, or soccer. If you are a coach you run the risk of being sued. It's becoming common place in this crazy world of ours. You just may want to look into a legal insurance plan.

Coaches You Run The Risk Of Getting Sued

Go right now while it's on your mind to http://coachyoucouldbesued.blogspot.com/ to find a low cost plan to cover legal expenses should you be sued so you don't have to worry and can get back to doing what you love most, coaching youth sports.

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Teaching Softball Drills To Win

Teaching Softball Drills To Win
By guest author: Becky Wittenburg


In softball, a coach cannot afford to underestimate the other team; they can only prepare their own team to be the best. As a coach, it's important to set the standards for your team. Along with setting an example of the right attitude, you are responsible to make sure that the players' skills and overall game improve over time. Therefore, teaching softball drills should always be a vital part of practice.

The most effective way for teaching softball drills is through hands-on demonstrations. For example, it's obviously necessary to teach softball players the correct batting stance. While they'll learn from your example, it is more valuable if you show them the way and then allow each member of the team to try it themselves. After you show them the ropes, allow them to use what you have taught to try hitting the ball themselves. As the coach, you should assess the placement of their feet, their knees, their hips, their shoulders and their eyes. Following that, you will know what the team needs to work on when it comes to batting stance and hitting the ball.

Videos are useful to give the team a visual of different strategies and skills. However, videos are even more effective if the team is interactive while it's playing. For example, the team can watch the video of a pro-game. You can show them part of an inning and then ask them to explain the different plays that they could execute. Therefore, you can make sure that they know the best actions to take in different situations. Teaching softball drills like this gives the team a chance to think logically and work out different strategies in their heads.

Another classic method for teaching softball drills is using a chalkboard, dry-erase board, or poster to work out different plays. This is one of the most important ways to coach the team because it gives you the chance to explain the ins and outs of different plays. Plus, during this time you can assign different players to practice different positions. Drawing out different plays is also an important part of tracking the improvement of the team. Having records of each play allows you to mark the ones that the team has mastered and to mark the ones that the team still needs to work on.

Teaching softball drills is one of the most vital tasks of a coach. All of the different drill methods are necessary to master the entire softball game. Using a variety of ways of teaching ensures not only that the team will perform well but they will know exactly what they are doing and why they are doing it. It's important to remember that the quality of your coaching directly affects the quality of your team.

Becky Wittenburg is a softball coach, softball blogger, and author. If your looking for more tips on teaching softball drills, please visit her softball drills library here.

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Coaching Youth Softball on How to Run a Successful Practice

Coaching Youth Softball on How to Run a Successful Practice
By guest author: Marc Dagenais


It's a headache to be a softball coach, especially if you're coaching youth softball players. Kids can be very undisciplined, their skills unpolished, and you also have to deal with their parents who watch their every game.

But kids are kids, and you can never change that. What you can change is the way you handle them. And that's what I'm going to share with you here. I'll show you how you can run a successful practice with your young players.

Get Some Experience

If you're an inexperienced coach, then I imagine how tough it is for you to handle this coaching job. But believe me, it will only get better with time.

Experience teaches you the best way to deal with young players and how to organize everything so your team runs smoothly like a well-oiled engine.

Reading books on coaching will also help you with the basics of coaching when you're just starting out. You'll need that if you don't want to walk out of the team because of frustration.

Organize Everything

You may not be the type who likes organizing things, but you will have to force yourself to learn this skill as a coach. Being organized with your schedule, how you will conduct drills, etc. keeps things easy to manage. You'll always know what you should do at a certain time.

Here's a suggestion: map out your team's schedule for the rest of the year. Include the pre-season, the in-season, and the post-season in the entire calendar. Then divide them into more manageable pieces and create mini-schedules.

An example: you'll spend the first 2 weeks of the year auditioning your players to see which positions you can assign them, as well as giving them time to get to know each other better. Then on weeks 3 and 4, you'll start teaching them the basics of the game, from throwing to batting. You get the idea.

Before you know it, you'll have the entire year completely mapped out. You'll know what to do, and you can track the progress of your team based on the schedule.

Know How to Deal with Youth Softball Players

You won't read it in a lot of books, but here's something you should know: coaching young players is different from older ones.

Unlike adults, kids can mostly grasp only the most general ideas about certain concepts. So when you're teaching them about batting, for example, just teach them the general idea of swinging the bat first before delving into the mechanics involved in it.

When you teach them the general idea first, they'll understand what you're telling them much easily, and that's key to running a successful practice session.

Another thing you should remember is that softball is still just a game for kids. And as a game, they're meant to enjoy it. So let them have fun when they're practicing. They'll be able to remember concepts of the game easier when they're having fun.

Again, it can be a nightmare coaching young softball players, but only if you don't know what to do. That's why I recommend you to invest in softball coaching books to give you an idea of what to do as a softball coach. Aside from that, keep everything organized during practices, and learn how to deal with kids, so you can ensure a successful practice session every time.

Marc Dagenais is a Softball Peak Performance Coach that helps softball players turn their athletic talent into extraordinary performances and help coaches get more out of their players, turn their struggling team around or get an edge over their opponents.

Visit us to sign-up to get our free softball pitching tips!

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