How to Build a Competitive Youth Baseball Team

One of life’s simplest joys is helping children learn to play sports. Not only do they have a good time, but they learn lessons to benefit them in the long term, including the value of honorable competition. The sense of community that players feel can help them form lifelong bonds and understand how much they rely upon others. The boys and girls on your team want to succeed, but don’t yet know how. That’s where the coach comes in. These tips will help you field the best team possible and bring home the big trophy.

Instructions

    • 1

      Lay down the law as soon as possible. Let your players know that they need to take the game seriously, as there’s no point in doing something unless you try hard. Begin to instill the values that lead to success. Arguably the most important thing you can teach your players is that they need to hustle.

    • 2

      Emphasize the fundamentals of good baseball. The mental game is as important as the physical. Players need to concentrate through the entire game and cheer on their teammates during critical at-bats. Mental mistakes need to be eliminated. Be sure the players know when to hit the cutoff man and when to throw directly to home plate.

    • 3

      Put your players through skill-building drills. This includes calisthenics, practicing getting out of a rundown and more. Even though these can get repetitive, this is the point. You’re building the players muscle (and mental) memory so they’ll get the play right in the game. Tailor these to your team’s needs. If the pitchers are making a number of mistakes on balls bounced right to them, make them perform fielding drills until they get it right.

    • 4

      Reprimand students for breaking the rules. If a player doesn’t run out a lazy fly ball, make him run laps around the outfield the next day in practice. When a shortstop doesn’t put his glove to the dirt when feeling a grounder, make him take twice as many grounders in fielding practice. Punishments should always be impersonal and related directly to the game.

    • 5

      Point out good role models in the game of baseball. This is somewhat subjective. Who is a professional player who possesses the qualities you want your players to emulate? On those hot days, when the kids might not want to run yet another drill, remind them that the baseball role model wouldn’t miss the opportunity to build his skills. Be careful when you select a role model; it might be problematic should the player become implicated in a scandal, something that happens too frequently.