Little League and parent arrogance

[Anonymous]

Lots of butt hurt former coaches in here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I doubt the dads have any regrets. They controlled for what they could to advantage their kids…

There will be hurdles along the way to make it to high school Varsity (if that is the goal, for example) in any organized team sport. Hurdles that are not related to a kid’s skills, desire, or work ethic. Generally

1) <12 “the daddyball years”
2) 12-15 “the puberty race”
3) 16+ “accepting physical limitations”

In baseball, kids fall off at all of the above stages. The stage one daddyball stuff mostly doesn’t matter. Kids can still play on a team (rec at least) and get in game reps- the defensive position or where they bat in the order really does not matter . Stage 2 puberty time really shakes things up- some kids mature/grow quickly and their stock rises dramatically, others lag behind in maturity and start to struggle and fall behind. Stage 3 most kids are well into puberty and can get some idea of their physical makeup. Many don’t end up having the foot speed, arm strength, size or athleticism they had hoped for. It doesn’t mean they can’t still play and contribute- heck some of these might even still get college offers - but their role will likely be different than they’d hoped. You can improve it, but you really can’t buy certain physical tools/attributes.

It isn’t surprising that dads try hard to advantage their kids in sports right out of the gate (they do a lot of good for other kids in the process along the way)- and without parent volunteers, there would be no youth sports. But the advantages end with youth sports. My advice is to let your kid have fun and play (never mention any real or perceived unfairness to him!), and work on some skills at home. Maybe some camps and lessons if he wants to, and it fits the budget. Being disfavored or ignored by youth dad coaches doesn’t mean a THING about a kid’s future in sports- truly.

-Just a mom who has watched several age groups of kids grow up and play sports- a lot of baseball/softball in particular.

Stage 2 can be cruel to talented, late bloomers. The kids move up to the 90ft field and start using BBCOR bats. The hits will dry up for the small kids. The late bloomers have to out work the big boys in this stage and create value until they get their growth spurt. This is the time to work on speed, bunt skills, and bat to ball skills. Live in the cage so that you are the toughest out on the team and drive up opposing pitch counts. This was my kid. He was passed over by many travel coaches in middle school for being only 100lbs in 8th, but is now the top hitter on his WCAC team. Trust the process.

This was an excellent description of the baseball years as we’ve experienced them. My son’s a 90 pound 5’2 8th grader. His Dad is 6’2, so his growth is coming. He has repeatedly been cut by multiple travel teams and is struggling at the bat. We’re encouraging him to keep playing rec and practicing, but I’m not sure the drive is there anymore. It’s sad to see as he loves baseball, had decent success in the “daddy ball years” (even without his Dad as the coach), but rec ends this year and he may not make the JV HS team.

It’s also frustrating to him that some early bloomers have switched to baseball and catch the coaches eye because they’re big and if they make contact, hit the ball far. But they don’t know the game. Meanwhile, some of the biggest beneficiaries of “daddy ball” have quit because they’re tired of Dad or Dad’s not able to control things anymore.

We try to stay positive about baseball while encouraging playing other sports that better fit his size. He’s a good tennis player and could make varsity as a freshman, but it doesn’t have the allure of baseball.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I doubt the dads have any regrets. They controlled for what they could to advantage their kids…

There will be hurdles along the way to make it to high school Varsity (if that is the goal, for example) in any organized team sport. Hurdles that are not related to a kid’s skills, desire, or work ethic. Generally

1) <12 “the daddyball years”
2) 12-15 “the puberty race”
3) 16+ “accepting physical limitations”

In baseball, kids fall off at all of the above stages. The stage one daddyball stuff mostly doesn’t matter. Kids can still play on a team (rec at least) and get in game reps- the defensive position or where they bat in the order really does not matter . Stage 2 puberty time really shakes things up- some kids mature/grow quickly and their stock rises dramatically, others lag behind in maturity and start to struggle and fall behind. Stage 3 most kids are well into puberty and can get some idea of their physical makeup. Many don’t end up having the foot speed, arm strength, size or athleticism they had hoped for. It doesn’t mean they can’t still play and contribute- heck some of these might even still get college offers - but their role will likely be different than they’d hoped. You can improve it, but you really can’t buy certain physical tools/attributes.

It isn’t surprising that dads try hard to advantage their kids in sports right out of the gate (they do a lot of good for other kids in the process along the way)- and without parent volunteers, there would be no youth sports. But the advantages end with youth sports. My advice is to let your kid have fun and play (never mention any real or perceived unfairness to him!), and work on some skills at home. Maybe some camps and lessons if he wants to, and it fits the budget. Being disfavored or ignored by youth dad coaches doesn’t mean a THING about a kid’s future in sports- truly.

-Just a mom who has watched several age groups of kids grow up and play sports- a lot of baseball/softball in particular.

Stage 2 can be cruel to talented, late bloomers. The kids move up to the 90ft field and start using BBCOR bats. The hits will dry up for the small kids. The late bloomers have to out work the big boys in this stage and create value until they get their growth spurt. This is the time to work on speed, bunt skills, and bat to ball skills. Live in the cage so that you are the toughest out on the team and drive up opposing pitch counts. This was my kid. He was passed over by many travel coaches in middle school for being only 100lbs in 8th, but is now the top hitter on his WCAC team. Trust the process.

This was an excellent description of the baseball years as we’ve experienced them. My son’s a 90 pound 5’2 8th grader. His Dad is 6’2, so his growth is coming. He has repeatedly been cut by multiple travel teams and is struggling at the bat. We’re encouraging him to keep playing rec and practicing, but I’m not sure the drive is there anymore. It’s sad to see as he loves baseball, had decent success in the “daddy ball years” (even without his Dad as the coach), but rec ends this year and he may not make the JV HS team.

It’s also frustrating to him that some early bloomers have switched to baseball and catch the coaches eye because they’re big and if they make contact, hit the ball far. But they don’t know the game. Meanwhile, some of the biggest beneficiaries of “daddy ball” have quit because they’re tired of Dad or Dad’s not able to control things anymore.

We try to stay positive about baseball while encouraging playing other sports that better fit his size. He’s a good tennis player and could make varsity as a freshman, but it doesn’t have the allure of baseball.

I’d encourage him to hang in if he really likes baseball- at the end of 8th grade last year my son was 5’4” 95. Less than a year later he is 5’9” 120- with almost all of that growth happening since school started. No signs of slowing down yet either. Husband is 6’1” so likely has at least a few more inches coming. He has caught up height wise to most of the other kids in a pretty short amount of time.

He did make the competitive JV team at our school- was not a starter but saw a good amount of playing time especially as the season progressed. Struggled quite a bit with BBCOR in middle school but hit quite well this Spring- lots of line drive singles -and it was nice to see. I think it is likely he makes the JV team again next Spring and he has every chance to earn a starting role if he keeps working hard in the weight room and on the field. Hopefully more power comes.

We moved him down to an absolutely terrible travel team in 8th grade- the only one that would take a kid his size. But he got reps and had fun. He also has been consistent with batting lessons and I think that has made a big difference.

But yeah- baseball is particularly rough on late bloomers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Years ago when my son was 8, he played Little League (Vienna) and had the misfortune of being on teams two seasons in a row where the dads/coaches really thought their sons were headed for the big leagues. The coaches barely played the lesser skilled kids (my son was in this group) and ignored all but a handful of players. The boys are all in high school now and the kids who were going to be Cal Ripken aren’t even playing baseball (or any sport, for some of them) anymore. I occasionally wonder if the dads ever think back on how they coached those teams and regret being so myopic. Just wishful thinking on my part?

Wishful thinking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Having a kid that is getting some interest from D1 schools in baseball, here is my $.02 on youth baseball:

1. I now appreciate the European soccer style of player development. They focus entirely on building fundamental skills until kids are like 13. They don't play any games, just do some scrimmages...often just internally, but sometimes against a different team. They don't keep track of score and may often stop the game in order to teach kids what they are doing right and wrong. Only at 14+ do they start playing real games.

2. Very few baseball coaches at any level try to develop players. I actually give credit to LL coaches (good ones)...they actually do try to teach some skills although their abilities may be limited based on their experience.

3. In my experience, travel coaches are just managers. They care far too much about winning games. Their teams may be different from season-to-season. My kid never played on a team that developed kids through the team...although the coaches were of course available for private lessons.

4. The older the kid gets and the better the travel team...the less any player development happens. At that point, you make the team because of your skills and coaches really only care about winning games and making sure college coaches scout and recruit from their teams. The best programs care more about the latter because honestly that is what truly matters. It is weird, but my kid is on a team where 2/3 of the team are D1 commits and their attitude is that once the college coaches are no longer at the tournament (those coaches tend to by 9-5 M-F people)...then they don't care much more about the tournament.

5. If you really want your kid to get better, find good private instruction and pay for that. It's harder to do than it sounds, but be picky. Try to find a flexible travel team that will let you play...again, just to see if your kid is getting better in true game day situations. Until your kid is 16, don't waste $$$s on travel programs that are going to crazy tournaments...unless it is one of these premier national teams...in which case, your kid is so good that these teams find your kid.

It is hard to go against the prevailing sentiment...and can't say I abided by my lessons above all the time...but I tried.

D1 Commit parent here too, and this is amazingly well said. It is hard to see this if your son is only 10 or so, but this is absolutely spot on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Having a kid that is getting some interest from D1 schools in baseball, here is my $.02 on youth baseball:

1. I now appreciate the European soccer style of player development. They focus entirely on building fundamental skills until kids are like 13. They don't play any games, just do some scrimmages...often just internally, but sometimes against a different team. They don't keep track of score and may often stop the game in order to teach kids what they are doing right and wrong. Only at 14+ do they start playing real games.

2. Very few baseball coaches at any level try to develop players. I actually give credit to LL coaches (good ones)...they actually do try to teach some skills although their abilities may be limited based on their experience.

3. In my experience, travel coaches are just managers. They care far too much about winning games. Their teams may be different from season-to-season. My kid never played on a team that developed kids through the team...although the coaches were of course available for private lessons.

4. The older the kid gets and the better the travel team...the less any player development happens. At that point, you make the team because of your skills and coaches really only care about winning games and making sure college coaches scout and recruit from their teams. The best programs care more about the latter because honestly that is what truly matters. It is weird, but my kid is on a team where 2/3 of the team are D1 commits and their attitude is that once the college coaches are no longer at the tournament (those coaches tend to by 9-5 M-F people)...then they don't care much more about the tournament.

5. If you really want your kid to get better, find good private instruction and pay for that. It's harder to do than it sounds, but be picky. Try to find a flexible travel team that will let you play...again, just to see if your kid is getting better in true game day situations. Until your kid is 16, don't waste $$$s on travel programs that are going to crazy tournaments...unless it is one of these premier national teams...in which case, your kid is so good that these teams find your kid.

It is hard to go against the prevailing sentiment...and can't say I abided by my lessons above all the time...but I tried.

Why would you think European kids don’t play soccer games and keep score? Here is a link to Barcelona youth academy 9 and 10 year olds playing a match against another club.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-3B9IQDfD7A&pp=ygUJQmFyY2EgdTEw

And youth academy soccer is subsided by professional clubs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Having a kid that is getting some interest from D1 schools in baseball, here is my $.02 on youth baseball:

1. I now appreciate the European soccer style of player development. They focus entirely on building fundamental skills until kids are like 13. They don't play any games, just do some scrimmages...often just internally, but sometimes against a different team. They don't keep track of score and may often stop the game in order to teach kids what they are doing right and wrong. Only at 14+ do they start playing real games.

2. Very few baseball coaches at any level try to develop players. I actually give credit to LL coaches (good ones)...they actually do try to teach some skills although their abilities may be limited based on their experience.

3. In my experience, travel coaches are just managers. They care far too much about winning games. Their teams may be different from season-to-season. My kid never played on a team that developed kids through the team...although the coaches were of course available for private lessons.

4. The older the kid gets and the better the travel team...the less any player development happens. At that point, you make the team because of your skills and coaches really only care about winning games and making sure college coaches scout and recruit from their teams. The best programs care more about the latter because honestly that is what truly matters. It is weird, but my kid is on a team where 2/3 of the team are D1 commits and their attitude is that once the college coaches are no longer at the tournament (those coaches tend to by 9-5 M-F people)...then they don't care much more about the tournament.

5. If you really want your kid to get better, find good private instruction and pay for that. It's harder to do than it sounds, but be picky. Try to find a flexible travel team that will let you play...again, just to see if your kid is getting better in true game day situations. Until your kid is 16, don't waste $$$s on travel programs that are going to crazy tournaments...unless it is one of these premier national teams...in which case, your kid is so good that these teams find your kid.

It is hard to go against the prevailing sentiment...and can't say I abided by my lessons above all the time...but I tried.

Why would you think European kids don’t play soccer games and keep score? Here is a link to Barcelona youth academy 9 and 10 year olds playing a match against another club.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-3B9IQDfD7A&pp=ygUJQmFyY2EgdTEw

And youth academy soccer is subsided by professional clubs.

I will admit, I remembered the article differently for kids 12 and under.

NY Times Article on Ajax Soccer Club in the Netherlands:

"Americans place a higher value on competition than on practice, so the balance between games and practice in the U.S. is skewed when compared with the rest of the world. It’s not unusual for a teenager in the U.S. to play 100 or more games in a season, for two or three different teams, leaving little time for training and little energy for it in the infrequent moments it occurs. A result is that the development of our best players is stunted."

“As soon as a kid here starts playing (in the US), he’s got referees on the field and parents watching in lawn chairs,” John Hackworth, the former coach of the U.S. under-17 national team and now the youth-development coordinator for the Philadelphia franchise in Major League Soccer, told me. “As he gets older, the game count just keeps increasing. It’s counterproductive to learning and the No. 1 worst thing we do.”

During training sessions at Ajax, I rarely heard the boys’ loud voices or laughter or much of anything besides the thump of the ball and the instruction of coaches. It could seem grim, more like the grinding atmosphere of training for an individual sport — tennis, golf, gymnastics — than what you would expect in a typically boisterous team setting. But one element of the academy’s success is that the boys are not overplayed, so the hours at De Toekomst are all business. Through age 12, they train only three times a week and play one game on the weekend. “For the young ones, we think that’s enough,” Riekerink said when we talked in his office one day. “They have a private life, a family life. We don’t want to take that from them. When they are not with us, they play on the streets. They play with their friends. Sometimes that’s more important. They have the ball at their feet without anyone telling them what to do.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A glorified babysitter for a baseball or softball little kid team is NOT going to teach your kid how to hit, or throw the ball, or catch the ball. You need to do that. Yep - you. Don’t know how? Figure it out. Plenty of instruction on YouTube. Or, hire someone to do it for you.

Figure it takes 100 hours of practice on each of those skills to get decently competent for a kid who has average athletic ability and pays attention. A coach with say 12 kids on a team and 4-5 preseason practices is NOT going to do anything to make an individual kid “better”.


The practices are for is to figure out the skill level of the kids. Knowing that, I can make up a lineup and get kids into positions where they are less likely to get hurt. No - if your kid sucks - he/she is not going to pitch, or play first base. Depending on who is pitching, I can put a kid who sucks at 2nd or SS or 3rd. Most teams will have 1 “good” pitcher. If kids hit the ball it is more likely to be on a late swing so I need a decent fielder at 2nd base. That means kids who are not very good can play SS. 3rd is pretty much always for weak players. I could put the best fielder with a decent arm at 3rd and they still will be unlikely to get an out on a ground ball.

When a weaker pitcher is in - batters at the top 1/3 of the order will be less likely to swing late so now I need a better fielder at SS. Outfield I always need a decent center fielder to chase down balls the right fielder and left fielder miss. Faster pitcher - right fielder has to be better. Slower pitcher - left fielder. But, still dependent on batting order.


It’s fine if your kid sucks. As long as he/she tries and is reasonably happy to be playing it’s cool. The only thing parents did that really ticked me off when coaching is be late, or a no show, and not tell me. I cured that after a couple years. Email - if you’re late and don’t let me know, or if your kid is a no show without letting me know. You are making the lineup for that game or next game if no show.

Try it. 12 kids - get them in positions they can play. Outfield/infield. Now pull out one kid. Re-adjust everything in 15 minutes.

Yes the coaches kid gets some benefits. But, they also get the fun of racking up puddles on the field 3 hours before the game. And, picking up trash before and after the game, and laying the bases, and getting the equipment ready. Always fun going under the stands to grab the dirty diaper and candy wrappers. Want your kid to have those benefits? Volunteer.

FIFY

So pathetic for a grown adult to blame little kids because he thinks coaching a little kid’s team is basically picking players in a fantasy league and moving them around the field to show off how well he strategizes.

I’m so thankful my son has only had two coaches like you in all his years of rec and travel sports.

The “glorified babysitter” part came on a bit strong, but did you read the rest of his post? He’s not saying that he doesn’t try to teach the kids things at practice, but that it takes more time than is available during a little league season. He’s also explaining how he moves kids around the infield and outfield to let kids play different positions while also being strategic about it. Many of the things he described a parent wouldn’t pick up on unless they know the game. They just see that Larlo’s getting a chance in the infield. I’ve seen it done well sometimes during my son’s LL years. After the game, the “worst” kid is excited that he played LF and 3rd even though he didn’t touch the ball.

I’m the PP of the softball player who’s not getting much of a chance to pitch because the coach is putting everyone in even if they’re not interested or ready. I’d much rather have this guy coach my kid. The games would be more fun for everyone and she’d learn something.

I think maybe YOU didn’t read his post. He explicitly said that practices were for him to *assess* the skill level of the kids, but that the kids on his team will only *learn* skills through parents and youtube…

If you read the parent of the kid who might play D1 above, it seems like showcase teams work this way. It is insane to me that some coaches try and take that attitude to rec. Where, exactly, do they expect 7 year olds will learn anything if not at practice? Even if you expect parents to practice with their kids, they have to learn the drills to practice from, you know, practice.

Right? I feel like I’m taking crazy pills. We’re talking about little kids here - what the heck is there to assess? God forbid you don’t have a “decent” fielder at 2nd base and some 8 year old on the opposing team makes it all the way to first base…

PP, though to be fair with situations like the softball pitcher above there is some breakdown. At some point kids/parents do need to practice outside of practice, especially if they want plenty of playing time at prime positions. But to expect kids only to learn outside of practice in Little League or rec ball at really any level of those? Crazy talk. At least go over the drills in practice so the kids can take them home.

It’s baseball. Guess what? You have to work with a kid for them to get better. Yes. You. Yes - that means you can’t go play golf on Saturday morning. You need to be at the field at 8 am.

Let’s say you have an 8-10 year old. Get up, dress, grab breakfast. Has to be a decent breakfast because your kid is going to be working. Get to the field. Don’t forget your tee and buckets of balls.

Warm up. Stretch and jog then run. Then slow throw 10-15 minutes. Then grab the tee and work on stance and swing form. Figure 40-60 swings tops. As you get tired the form will deteriorate. So it is not 40-60 swings in 10 minutes. Correct swing errors.

Take a break and then grab gloves. For an 8-10 year old - throw (rather than hit) ground balls. Watch their footwork and form. It’s all about speed to get there first so fielding the ground ball is easier. Work on movement direction so they can start body momentum towards the base they are throwing too. That’s not necessarily an 8 year old thing other than emphasizing speed to get to fielding position fast. Figure 20-25 grounders to each side.

At this point the arm is decently warmed up. Long toss would be good now. Work up to it, and judge your distances of course. For an 8-10 year old - 1st to 3rd would likely be a good start. Watch form. You can throw pop ups to practice catching.

Take a break - then finish with batting. Work on stance and swing form. Maybe 30-50 swings depending on how well he/she keeps form.

Do that 2/3 times a week. Note: nothing about pitching or catching. Those are other skill sets. You need to work on those separately.

Figure 2.5-3.0 hours for a full session. But, you can divide things up, and you can do most things at home. Buy a net batting cage and you can do everything but pitched batting practice.

Your little league coach isn’t going to be doing that with your kid. You are. Do it. “What? That means I have to do stuff with my kid. I’m not doing that.” Okay. Don’t do, but understand that some parents are doing that. And, you want your kid to learn by osmosis to do what others are spending actual time on learning. Guess what? That’s not going to happen. Your choice.

Incidentally that goes for every other thing your kid does. Want to play an instrument? Play chess? Dance? Run cross country? Sing? Act? Paint? There are no short cuts.

What? Your kid isn’t going to get better by attending 4-5 pre-season practices with 12-14 other kids? How could that be? Must be a bad coach. Oh well - you can pick him up late. The coach won’t mind babysitting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A glorified babysitter for a baseball or softball little kid team is NOT going to teach your kid how to hit, or throw the ball, or catch the ball. You need to do that. Yep - you. Don’t know how? Figure it out. Plenty of instruction on YouTube. Or, hire someone to do it for you.

Figure it takes 100 hours of practice on each of those skills to get decently competent for a kid who has average athletic ability and pays attention. A coach with say 12 kids on a team and 4-5 preseason practices is NOT going to do anything to make an individual kid “better”.


The practices are for is to figure out the skill level of the kids. Knowing that, I can make up a lineup and get kids into positions where they are less likely to get hurt. No - if your kid sucks - he/she is not going to pitch, or play first base. Depending on who is pitching, I can put a kid who sucks at 2nd or SS or 3rd. Most teams will have 1 “good” pitcher. If kids hit the ball it is more likely to be on a late swing so I need a decent fielder at 2nd base. That means kids who are not very good can play SS. 3rd is pretty much always for weak players. I could put the best fielder with a decent arm at 3rd and they still will be unlikely to get an out on a ground ball.

When a weaker pitcher is in - batters at the top 1/3 of the order will be less likely to swing late so now I need a better fielder at SS. Outfield I always need a decent center fielder to chase down balls the right fielder and left fielder miss. Faster pitcher - right fielder has to be better. Slower pitcher - left fielder. But, still dependent on batting order.


It’s fine if your kid sucks. As long as he/she tries and is reasonably happy to be playing it’s cool. The only thing parents did that really ticked me off when coaching is be late, or a no show, and not tell me. I cured that after a couple years. Email - if you’re late and don’t let me know, or if your kid is a no show without letting me know. You are making the lineup for that game or next game if no show.

Try it. 12 kids - get them in positions they can play. Outfield/infield. Now pull out one kid. Re-adjust everything in 15 minutes.

Yes the coaches kid gets some benefits. But, they also get the fun of racking up puddles on the field 3 hours before the game. And, picking up trash before and after the game, and laying the bases, and getting the equipment ready. Always fun going under the stands to grab the dirty diaper and candy wrappers. Want your kid to have those benefits? Volunteer.

FIFY

So pathetic for a grown adult to blame little kids because he thinks coaching a little kid’s team is basically picking players in a fantasy league and moving them around the field to show off how well he strategizes.

I’m so thankful my son has only had two coaches like you in all his years of rec and travel sports.

The “glorified babysitter” part came on a bit strong, but did you read the rest of his post? He’s not saying that he doesn’t try to teach the kids things at practice, but that it takes more time than is available during a little league season. He’s also explaining how he moves kids around the infield and outfield to let kids play different positions while also being strategic about it. Many of the things he described a parent wouldn’t pick up on unless they know the game. They just see that Larlo’s getting a chance in the infield. I’ve seen it done well sometimes during my son’s LL years. After the game, the “worst” kid is excited that he played LF and 3rd even though he didn’t touch the ball.

I’m the PP of the softball player who’s not getting much of a chance to pitch because the coach is putting everyone in even if they’re not interested or ready. I’d much rather have this guy coach my kid. The games would be more fun for everyone and she’d learn something.

I think maybe YOU didn’t read his post. He explicitly said that practices were for him to *assess* the skill level of the kids, but that the kids on his team will only *learn* skills through parents and youtube…

If you read the parent of the kid who might play D1 above, it seems like showcase teams work this way. It is insane to me that some coaches try and take that attitude to rec. Where, exactly, do they expect 7 year olds will learn anything if not at practice? Even if you expect parents to practice with their kids, they have to learn the drills to practice from, you know, practice.

Right? I feel like I’m taking crazy pills. We’re talking about little kids here - what the heck is there to assess? God forbid you don’t have a “decent” fielder at 2nd base and some 8 year old on the opposing team makes it all the way to first base…

PP, though to be fair with situations like the softball pitcher above there is some breakdown. At some point kids/parents do need to practice outside of practice, especially if they want plenty of playing time at prime positions. But to expect kids only to learn outside of practice in Little League or rec ball at really any level of those? Crazy talk. At least go over the drills in practice so the kids can take them home.

It’s baseball. Guess what? You have to work with a kid for them to get better. Yes. You. Yes - that means you can’t go play golf on Saturday morning. You need to be at the field at 8 am.

Let’s say you have an 8-10 year old. Get up, dress, grab breakfast. Has to be a decent breakfast because your kid is going to be working. Get to the field. Don’t forget your tee and buckets of balls.

Warm up. Stretch and jog then run. Then slow throw 10-15 minutes. Then grab the tee and work on stance and swing form. Figure 40-60 swings tops. As you get tired the form will deteriorate. So it is not 40-60 swings in 10 minutes. Correct swing errors.

Take a break and then grab gloves. For an 8-10 year old - throw (rather than hit) ground balls. Watch their footwork and form. It’s all about speed to get there first so fielding the ground ball is easier. Work on movement direction so they can start body momentum towards the base they are throwing too. That’s not necessarily an 8 year old thing other than emphasizing speed to get to fielding position fast. Figure 20-25 grounders to each side.

At this point the arm is decently warmed up. Long toss would be good now. Work up to it, and judge your distances of course. For an 8-10 year old - 1st to 3rd would likely be a good start. Watch form. You can throw pop ups to practice catching.

Take a break - then finish with batting. Work on stance and swing form. Maybe 30-50 swings depending on how well he/she keeps form.

Do that 2/3 times a week. Note: nothing about pitching or catching. Those are other skill sets. You need to work on those separately.

Figure 2.5-3.0 hours for a full session. But, you can divide things up, and you can do most things at home. Buy a net batting cage and you can do everything but pitched batting practice.

Your little league coach isn’t going to be doing that with your kid. You are. Do it. “What? That means I have to do stuff with my kid. I’m not doing that.” Okay. Don’t do, but understand that some parents are doing that. And, you want your kid to learn by osmosis to do what others are spending actual time on learning. Guess what? That’s not going to happen. Your choice.

Incidentally that goes for every other thing your kid does. Want to play an instrument? Play chess? Dance? Run cross country? Sing? Act? Paint? There are no short cuts.

What? Your kid isn’t going to get better by attending 4-5 pre-season practices with 12-14 other kids? How could that be? Must be a bad coach. Oh well - you can pick him up late. The coach won’t mind babysitting.

Questions foe bolded:

1) WTF not? Seriously, “coach”, what on earth are YOU doing if not this very specific practice that you have laid out?

2) Actually my kids’ coaches/teachers in all other activities DO teach them how to do said activities. For example: My kid wanted to play piano so I signed him up for lessons. Why bother instead of just teaching him myself? Because I don’t know how to play piano! I also don’t know how to teach my daughter gymnastics, but somehow she is magically learning at her weekly practices. I assumed her coaches were teaching her but I guess it must be through osmosis?

You are a coach in name only, and an incredibly lazy and entitled one at that. It’s also weird how apparently you don’t practice during the season. Is that because you’re too busy running three hour private practices with just your own kid? If the kids on your team are just bad at the end of the season as they are at the start, it’s not because their parents suck. It’s because you suck.

[Anonymous]

And how much do you pay for piano lessons? My kid’s studio charges $100 per hour for youth lessons. Gymnastics training? My daughter did TOPS and trained through age 13. Fifteen years ago that was $120 a week.

Hmmmm - I wonder what the difference could be?

[Anonymous]

My DS is a recruited college athlete. Started playing his sport at 5 years old. YEARS of dealing with and hearing parents go on and on about their kid's playing abilities. YEARS of watching the cliques and how those parents tried to maneuver their kid's path. My DH and I just stayed off to the side. Our role was paying team fees, contributing to a coaches gift and washing their uniforms. Let our DS enjoy their sport.

The best thing happened as the later years occurred. All of the "noise", especially from those parents, became less and less as they realized that their child was skilled but not going all that far after all.
The quiet that developed at that point was welcomed and lovely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A glorified babysitter for a baseball or softball little kid team is NOT going to teach your kid how to hit, or throw the ball, or catch the ball. You need to do that. Yep - you. Don’t know how? Figure it out. Plenty of instruction on YouTube. Or, hire someone to do it for you.

Figure it takes 100 hours of practice on each of those skills to get decently competent for a kid who has average athletic ability and pays attention. A coach with say 12 kids on a team and 4-5 preseason practices is NOT going to do anything to make an individual kid “better”.


The practices are for is to figure out the skill level of the kids. Knowing that, I can make up a lineup and get kids into positions where they are less likely to get hurt. No - if your kid sucks - he/she is not going to pitch, or play first base. Depending on who is pitching, I can put a kid who sucks at 2nd or SS or 3rd. Most teams will have 1 “good” pitcher. If kids hit the ball it is more likely to be on a late swing so I need a decent fielder at 2nd base. That means kids who are not very good can play SS. 3rd is pretty much always for weak players. I could put the best fielder with a decent arm at 3rd and they still will be unlikely to get an out on a ground ball.

When a weaker pitcher is in - batters at the top 1/3 of the order will be less likely to swing late so now I need a better fielder at SS. Outfield I always need a decent center fielder to chase down balls the right fielder and left fielder miss. Faster pitcher - right fielder has to be better. Slower pitcher - left fielder. But, still dependent on batting order.


It’s fine if your kid sucks. As long as he/she tries and is reasonably happy to be playing it’s cool. The only thing parents did that really ticked me off when coaching is be late, or a no show, and not tell me. I cured that after a couple years. Email - if you’re late and don’t let me know, or if your kid is a no show without letting me know. You are making the lineup for that game or next game if no show.

Try it. 12 kids - get them in positions they can play. Outfield/infield. Now pull out one kid. Re-adjust everything in 15 minutes.

Yes the coaches kid gets some benefits. But, they also get the fun of racking up puddles on the field 3 hours before the game. And, picking up trash before and after the game, and laying the bases, and getting the equipment ready. Always fun going under the stands to grab the dirty diaper and candy wrappers. Want your kid to have those benefits? Volunteer.

FIFY

So pathetic for a grown adult to blame little kids because he thinks coaching a little kid’s team is basically picking players in a fantasy league and moving them around the field to show off how well he strategizes.

I’m so thankful my son has only had two coaches like you in all his years of rec and travel sports.

The “glorified babysitter” part came on a bit strong, but did you read the rest of his post? He’s not saying that he doesn’t try to teach the kids things at practice, but that it takes more time than is available during a little league season. He’s also explaining how he moves kids around the infield and outfield to let kids play different positions while also being strategic about it. Many of the things he described a parent wouldn’t pick up on unless they know the game. They just see that Larlo’s getting a chance in the infield. I’ve seen it done well sometimes during my son’s LL years. After the game, the “worst” kid is excited that he played LF and 3rd even though he didn’t touch the ball.

I’m the PP of the softball player who’s not getting much of a chance to pitch because the coach is putting everyone in even if they’re not interested or ready. I’d much rather have this guy coach my kid. The games would be more fun for everyone and she’d learn something.

I think maybe YOU didn’t read his post. He explicitly said that practices were for him to *assess* the skill level of the kids, but that the kids on his team will only *learn* skills through parents and youtube…

If you read the parent of the kid who might play D1 above, it seems like showcase teams work this way. It is insane to me that some coaches try and take that attitude to rec. Where, exactly, do they expect 7 year olds will learn anything if not at practice? Even if you expect parents to practice with their kids, they have to learn the drills to practice from, you know, practice.

Right? I feel like I’m taking crazy pills. We’re talking about little kids here - what the heck is there to assess? God forbid you don’t have a “decent” fielder at 2nd base and some 8 year old on the opposing team makes it all the way to first base…

PP, though to be fair with situations like the softball pitcher above there is some breakdown. At some point kids/parents do need to practice outside of practice, especially if they want plenty of playing time at prime positions. But to expect kids only to learn outside of practice in Little League or rec ball at really any level of those? Crazy talk. At least go over the drills in practice so the kids can take them home.

It’s baseball. Guess what? You have to work with a kid for them to get better. Yes. You. Yes - that means you can’t go play golf on Saturday morning. You need to be at the field at 8 am.

Let’s say you have an 8-10 year old. Get up, dress, grab breakfast. Has to be a decent breakfast because your kid is going to be working. Get to the field. Don’t forget your tee and buckets of balls.

Warm up. Stretch and jog then run. Then slow throw 10-15 minutes. Then grab the tee and work on stance and swing form. Figure 40-60 swings tops. As you get tired the form will deteriorate. So it is not 40-60 swings in 10 minutes. Correct swing errors.

Take a break and then grab gloves. For an 8-10 year old - throw (rather than hit) ground balls. Watch their footwork and form. It’s all about speed to get there first so fielding the ground ball is easier. Work on movement direction so they can start body momentum towards the base they are throwing too. That’s not necessarily an 8 year old thing other than emphasizing speed to get to fielding position fast. Figure 20-25 grounders to each side.

At this point the arm is decently warmed up. Long toss would be good now. Work up to it, and judge your distances of course. For an 8-10 year old - 1st to 3rd would likely be a good start. Watch form. You can throw pop ups to practice catching.

Take a break - then finish with batting. Work on stance and swing form. Maybe 30-50 swings depending on how well he/she keeps form.

Do that 2/3 times a week. Note: nothing about pitching or catching. Those are other skill sets. You need to work on those separately.

Figure 2.5-3.0 hours for a full session. But, you can divide things up, and you can do most things at home. Buy a net batting cage and you can do everything but pitched batting practice.

Your little league coach isn’t going to be doing that with your kid. You are. Do it. “What? That means I have to do stuff with my kid. I’m not doing that.” Okay. Don’t do, but understand that some parents are doing that. And, you want your kid to learn by osmosis to do what others are spending actual time on learning. Guess what? That’s not going to happen. Your choice.

Incidentally that goes for every other thing your kid does. Want to play an instrument? Play chess? Dance? Run cross country? Sing? Act? Paint? There are no short cuts.

What? Your kid isn’t going to get better by attending 4-5 pre-season practices with 12-14 other kids? How could that be? Must be a bad coach. Oh well - you can pick him up late. The coach won’t mind babysitting.

Questions foe bolded:

1) WTF not? Seriously, “coach”, what on earth are YOU doing if not this very specific practice that you have laid out?

2) Actually my kids’ coaches/teachers in all other activities DO teach them how to do said activities. For example: My kid wanted to play piano so I signed him up for lessons. Why bother instead of just teaching him myself? Because I don’t know how to play piano! I also don’t know how to teach my daughter gymnastics, but somehow she is magically learning at her weekly practices. I assumed her coaches were teaching her but I guess it must be through osmosis?

You are a coach in name only, and an incredibly lazy and entitled one at that. It’s also weird how apparently you don’t practice during the season. Is that because you’re too busy running three hour private practices with just your own kid? If the kids on your team are just bad at the end of the season as they are at the start, it’s not because their parents suck. It’s because you suck.

The piano lesson example is the equivalent of paying for private coaching.

I doubt anyone’s kid would be able to play the piano if you sent them to group instruction for just $150 total for 10 weeks, they were one of 12 kids, they only actually were able to use the piano for say 5-6 minutes each week (because there is only one) because there are 12 kids and the piano teacher was just a volunteer that may or may not really know how to play the piano themselves.

Also, think of how much time pianists (or any instrument players) practice on their own to get better…you pay a piano teacher a lot of money for each lesson for the teacher to also expect your kid to practice one to two hours each day on their own.

Yeah…your baseball player kid will be much better if you apply the above to baseball.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A glorified babysitter for a baseball or softball little kid team is NOT going to teach your kid how to hit, or throw the ball, or catch the ball. You need to do that. Yep - you. Don’t know how? Figure it out. Plenty of instruction on YouTube. Or, hire someone to do it for you.

Figure it takes 100 hours of practice on each of those skills to get decently competent for a kid who has average athletic ability and pays attention. A coach with say 12 kids on a team and 4-5 preseason practices is NOT going to do anything to make an individual kid “better”.


The practices are for is to figure out the skill level of the kids. Knowing that, I can make up a lineup and get kids into positions where they are less likely to get hurt. No - if your kid sucks - he/she is not going to pitch, or play first base. Depending on who is pitching, I can put a kid who sucks at 2nd or SS or 3rd. Most teams will have 1 “good” pitcher. If kids hit the ball it is more likely to be on a late swing so I need a decent fielder at 2nd base. That means kids who are not very good can play SS. 3rd is pretty much always for weak players. I could put the best fielder with a decent arm at 3rd and they still will be unlikely to get an out on a ground ball.

When a weaker pitcher is in - batters at the top 1/3 of the order will be less likely to swing late so now I need a better fielder at SS. Outfield I always need a decent center fielder to chase down balls the right fielder and left fielder miss. Faster pitcher - right fielder has to be better. Slower pitcher - left fielder. But, still dependent on batting order.


It’s fine if your kid sucks. As long as he/she tries and is reasonably happy to be playing it’s cool. The only thing parents did that really ticked me off when coaching is be late, or a no show, and not tell me. I cured that after a couple years. Email - if you’re late and don’t let me know, or if your kid is a no show without letting me know. You are making the lineup for that game or next game if no show.

Try it. 12 kids - get them in positions they can play. Outfield/infield. Now pull out one kid. Re-adjust everything in 15 minutes.

Yes the coaches kid gets some benefits. But, they also get the fun of racking up puddles on the field 3 hours before the game. And, picking up trash before and after the game, and laying the bases, and getting the equipment ready. Always fun going under the stands to grab the dirty diaper and candy wrappers. Want your kid to have those benefits? Volunteer.

FIFY

So pathetic for a grown adult to blame little kids because he thinks coaching a little kid’s team is basically picking players in a fantasy league and moving them around the field to show off how well he strategizes.

I’m so thankful my son has only had two coaches like you in all his years of rec and travel sports.

The “glorified babysitter” part came on a bit strong, but did you read the rest of his post? He’s not saying that he doesn’t try to teach the kids things at practice, but that it takes more time than is available during a little league season. He’s also explaining how he moves kids around the infield and outfield to let kids play different positions while also being strategic about it. Many of the things he described a parent wouldn’t pick up on unless they know the game. They just see that Larlo’s getting a chance in the infield. I’ve seen it done well sometimes during my son’s LL years. After the game, the “worst” kid is excited that he played LF and 3rd even though he didn’t touch the ball.

I’m the PP of the softball player who’s not getting much of a chance to pitch because the coach is putting everyone in even if they’re not interested or ready. I’d much rather have this guy coach my kid. The games would be more fun for everyone and she’d learn something.

I think maybe YOU didn’t read his post. He explicitly said that practices were for him to *assess* the skill level of the kids, but that the kids on his team will only *learn* skills through parents and youtube…

If you read the parent of the kid who might play D1 above, it seems like showcase teams work this way. It is insane to me that some coaches try and take that attitude to rec. Where, exactly, do they expect 7 year olds will learn anything if not at practice? Even if you expect parents to practice with their kids, they have to learn the drills to practice from, you know, practice.

Right? I feel like I’m taking crazy pills. We’re talking about little kids here - what the heck is there to assess? God forbid you don’t have a “decent” fielder at 2nd base and some 8 year old on the opposing team makes it all the way to first base…

PP, though to be fair with situations like the softball pitcher above there is some breakdown. At some point kids/parents do need to practice outside of practice, especially if they want plenty of playing time at prime positions. But to expect kids only to learn outside of practice in Little League or rec ball at really any level of those? Crazy talk. At least go over the drills in practice so the kids can take them home.

It’s baseball. Guess what? You have to work with a kid for them to get better. Yes. You. Yes - that means you can’t go play golf on Saturday morning. You need to be at the field at 8 am.

Let’s say you have an 8-10 year old. Get up, dress, grab breakfast. Has to be a decent breakfast because your kid is going to be working. Get to the field. Don’t forget your tee and buckets of balls.

Warm up. Stretch and jog then run. Then slow throw 10-15 minutes. Then grab the tee and work on stance and swing form. Figure 40-60 swings tops. As you get tired the form will deteriorate. So it is not 40-60 swings in 10 minutes. Correct swing errors.

Take a break and then grab gloves. For an 8-10 year old - throw (rather than hit) ground balls. Watch their footwork and form. It’s all about speed to get there first so fielding the ground ball is easier. Work on movement direction so they can start body momentum towards the base they are throwing too. That’s not necessarily an 8 year old thing other than emphasizing speed to get to fielding position fast. Figure 20-25 grounders to each side.

At this point the arm is decently warmed up. Long toss would be good now. Work up to it, and judge your distances of course. For an 8-10 year old - 1st to 3rd would likely be a good start. Watch form. You can throw pop ups to practice catching.

Take a break - then finish with batting. Work on stance and swing form. Maybe 30-50 swings depending on how well he/she keeps form.

Do that 2/3 times a week. Note: nothing about pitching or catching. Those are other skill sets. You need to work on those separately.

Figure 2.5-3.0 hours for a full session. But, you can divide things up, and you can do most things at home. Buy a net batting cage and you can do everything but pitched batting practice.

Your little league coach isn’t going to be doing that with your kid. You are. Do it. “What? That means I have to do stuff with my kid. I’m not doing that.” Okay. Don’t do, but understand that some parents are doing that. And, you want your kid to learn by osmosis to do what others are spending actual time on learning. Guess what? That’s not going to happen. Your choice.

Incidentally that goes for every other thing your kid does. Want to play an instrument? Play chess? Dance? Run cross country? Sing? Act? Paint? There are no short cuts.

What? Your kid isn’t going to get better by attending 4-5 pre-season practices with 12-14 other kids? How could that be? Must be a bad coach. Oh well - you can pick him up late. The coach won’t mind babysitting.

Questions foe bolded:

1) WTF not? Seriously, “coach”, what on earth are YOU doing if not this very specific practice that you have laid out?

2) Actually my kids’ coaches/teachers in all other activities DO teach them how to do said activities. For example: My kid wanted to play piano so I signed him up for lessons. Why bother instead of just teaching him myself? Because I don’t know how to play piano! I also don’t know how to teach my daughter gymnastics, but somehow she is magically learning at her weekly practices. I assumed her coaches were teaching her but I guess it must be through osmosis?

You are a coach in name only, and an incredibly lazy and entitled one at that. It’s also weird how apparently you don’t practice during the season. Is that because you’re too busy running three hour private practices with just your own kid? If the kids on your team are just bad at the end of the season as they are at the start, it’s not because their parents suck. It’s because you suck.

The piano lesson example is the equivalent of paying for private coaching.

I doubt anyone’s kid would be able to play the piano if you sent them to group instruction for just $150 total for 10 weeks, they were one of 12 kids, they only actually were able to use the piano for say 5-6 minutes each week (because there is only one) because there are 12 kids and the piano teacher was just a volunteer that may or may not really know how to play the piano themselves.

Also, think of how much time pianists (or any instrument players) practice on their own to get better…you pay a piano teacher a lot of money for each lesson for the teacher to also expect your kid to practice one to two hours each day on their own.

Yeah…your baseball player kid will be much better if you apply the above to baseball.

Baseball is an incredibly difficult sport. Unless you are a freakish athlete you need to do a ton of training on your own away from the team. Like about a 3-1 or 4-1 ratio individual to team training. Deion Sanders who was a generational freaky athlete said football was “easy” compared to baseball. The team training is mainly to practice skills that you can’t do on your own e.g, bunt defense, relays, double plays etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A glorified babysitter for a baseball or softball little kid team is NOT going to teach your kid how to hit, or throw the ball, or catch the ball. You need to do that. Yep - you. Don’t know how? Figure it out. Plenty of instruction on YouTube. Or, hire someone to do it for you.

Figure it takes 100 hours of practice on each of those skills to get decently competent for a kid who has average athletic ability and pays attention. A coach with say 12 kids on a team and 4-5 preseason practices is NOT going to do anything to make an individual kid “better”.


The practices are for is to figure out the skill level of the kids. Knowing that, I can make up a lineup and get kids into positions where they are less likely to get hurt. No - if your kid sucks - he/she is not going to pitch, or play first base. Depending on who is pitching, I can put a kid who sucks at 2nd or SS or 3rd. Most teams will have 1 “good” pitcher. If kids hit the ball it is more likely to be on a late swing so I need a decent fielder at 2nd base. That means kids who are not very good can play SS. 3rd is pretty much always for weak players. I could put the best fielder with a decent arm at 3rd and they still will be unlikely to get an out on a ground ball.

When a weaker pitcher is in - batters at the top 1/3 of the order will be less likely to swing late so now I need a better fielder at SS. Outfield I always need a decent center fielder to chase down balls the right fielder and left fielder miss. Faster pitcher - right fielder has to be better. Slower pitcher - left fielder. But, still dependent on batting order.


It’s fine if your kid sucks. As long as he/she tries and is reasonably happy to be playing it’s cool. The only thing parents did that really ticked me off when coaching is be late, or a no show, and not tell me. I cured that after a couple years. Email - if you’re late and don’t let me know, or if your kid is a no show without letting me know. You are making the lineup for that game or next game if no show.

Try it. 12 kids - get them in positions they can play. Outfield/infield. Now pull out one kid. Re-adjust everything in 15 minutes.

Yes the coaches kid gets some benefits. But, they also get the fun of racking up puddles on the field 3 hours before the game. And, picking up trash before and after the game, and laying the bases, and getting the equipment ready. Always fun going under the stands to grab the dirty diaper and candy wrappers. Want your kid to have those benefits? Volunteer.

FIFY

So pathetic for a grown adult to blame little kids because he thinks coaching a little kid’s team is basically picking players in a fantasy league and moving them around the field to show off how well he strategizes.

I’m so thankful my son has only had two coaches like you in all his years of rec and travel sports.

The “glorified babysitter” part came on a bit strong, but did you read the rest of his post? He’s not saying that he doesn’t try to teach the kids things at practice, but that it takes more time than is available during a little league season. He’s also explaining how he moves kids around the infield and outfield to let kids play different positions while also being strategic about it. Many of the things he described a parent wouldn’t pick up on unless they know the game. They just see that Larlo’s getting a chance in the infield. I’ve seen it done well sometimes during my son’s LL years. After the game, the “worst” kid is excited that he played LF and 3rd even though he didn’t touch the ball.

I’m the PP of the softball player who’s not getting much of a chance to pitch because the coach is putting everyone in even if they’re not interested or ready. I’d much rather have this guy coach my kid. The games would be more fun for everyone and she’d learn something.

I think maybe YOU didn’t read his post. He explicitly said that practices were for him to *assess* the skill level of the kids, but that the kids on his team will only *learn* skills through parents and youtube…

If you read the parent of the kid who might play D1 above, it seems like showcase teams work this way. It is insane to me that some coaches try and take that attitude to rec. Where, exactly, do they expect 7 year olds will learn anything if not at practice? Even if you expect parents to practice with their kids, they have to learn the drills to practice from, you know, practice.

Right? I feel like I’m taking crazy pills. We’re talking about little kids here - what the heck is there to assess? God forbid you don’t have a “decent” fielder at 2nd base and some 8 year old on the opposing team makes it all the way to first base…

PP, though to be fair with situations like the softball pitcher above there is some breakdown. At some point kids/parents do need to practice outside of practice, especially if they want plenty of playing time at prime positions. But to expect kids only to learn outside of practice in Little League or rec ball at really any level of those? Crazy talk. At least go over the drills in practice so the kids can take them home.

It’s baseball. Guess what? You have to work with a kid for them to get better. Yes. You. Yes - that means you can’t go play golf on Saturday morning. You need to be at the field at 8 am.

Let’s say you have an 8-10 year old. Get up, dress, grab breakfast. Has to be a decent breakfast because your kid is going to be working. Get to the field. Don’t forget your tee and buckets of balls.

Warm up. Stretch and jog then run. Then slow throw 10-15 minutes. Then grab the tee and work on stance and swing form. Figure 40-60 swings tops. As you get tired the form will deteriorate. So it is not 40-60 swings in 10 minutes. Correct swing errors.

Take a break and then grab gloves. For an 8-10 year old - throw (rather than hit) ground balls. Watch their footwork and form. It’s all about speed to get there first so fielding the ground ball is easier. Work on movement direction so they can start body momentum towards the base they are throwing too. That’s not necessarily an 8 year old thing other than emphasizing speed to get to fielding position fast. Figure 20-25 grounders to each side.

At this point the arm is decently warmed up. Long toss would be good now. Work up to it, and judge your distances of course. For an 8-10 year old - 1st to 3rd would likely be a good start. Watch form. You can throw pop ups to practice catching.

Take a break - then finish with batting. Work on stance and swing form. Maybe 30-50 swings depending on how well he/she keeps form.

Do that 2/3 times a week. Note: nothing about pitching or catching. Those are other skill sets. You need to work on those separately.

Figure 2.5-3.0 hours for a full session. But, you can divide things up, and you can do most things at home. Buy a net batting cage and you can do everything but pitched batting practice.

Your little league coach isn’t going to be doing that with your kid. You are. Do it. “What? That means I have to do stuff with my kid. I’m not doing that.” Okay. Don’t do, but understand that some parents are doing that. And, you want your kid to learn by osmosis to do what others are spending actual time on learning. Guess what? That’s not going to happen. Your choice.

Incidentally that goes for every other thing your kid does. Want to play an instrument? Play chess? Dance? Run cross country? Sing? Act? Paint? There are no short cuts.

What? Your kid isn’t going to get better by attending 4-5 pre-season practices with 12-14 other kids? How could that be? Must be a bad coach. Oh well - you can pick him up late. The coach won’t mind babysitting.

Questions foe bolded:

1) WTF not? Seriously, “coach”, what on earth are YOU doing if not this very specific practice that you have laid out?

2) Actually my kids’ coaches/teachers in all other activities DO teach them how to do said activities. For example: My kid wanted to play piano so I signed him up for lessons. Why bother instead of just teaching him myself? Because I don’t know how to play piano! I also don’t know how to teach my daughter gymnastics, but somehow she is magically learning at her weekly practices. I assumed her coaches were teaching her but I guess it must be through osmosis?

You are a coach in name only, and an incredibly lazy and entitled one at that. It’s also weird how apparently you don’t practice during the season. Is that because you’re too busy running three hour private practices with just your own kid? If the kids on your team are just bad at the end of the season as they are at the start, it’s not because their parents suck. It’s because you suck.

The piano lesson example is the equivalent of paying for private coaching.

I doubt anyone’s kid would be able to play the piano if you sent them to group instruction for just $150 total for 10 weeks, they were one of 12 kids, they only actually were able to use the piano for say 5-6 minutes each week (because there is only one) because there are 12 kids and the piano teacher was just a volunteer that may or may not really know how to play the piano themselves.

Also, think of how much time pianists (or any instrument players) practice on their own to get better…you pay a piano teacher a lot of money for each lesson for the teacher to also expect your kid to practice one to two hours each day on their own.

Yeah…your baseball player kid will be much better if you apply the above to baseball.

Let’s see… my kid also learned to play trombone in the school band. Zero private lessons, just group instruction where all the kids are playing different instruments! It’s incredible how much a passionate, motivated teacher can accomplish.

[Anonymous]

Listen, no one is saying kids shouldn’t practice on their own or with their parents on their own time. Obviously they should. But there is one “coach” on this thread who thinks it’s ridiculous that parents expect their kid to learn ANY skills during their Little League practice sessions. Which is obviously a stupid position.

If he doesn’t want to coach any kids but his own, he should simply bow out. Lots of Dads are eager to volunteer, and he is not doing these kids any favors by refusing to even TRY to help them get better at baseball. If he wants to get paid for his incredible coaching program, he shouldn’t VOLUNTEER to coach and then not do it.