Coach Training for Leagues
Volunteer coaches are vital to youth baseball, but many are first-timers who can get easily overwhelmed or frustrated. Training your coaches is crucial to your players’ development and happiness, as well as the success of your league.
Provide the coaches in your league with all the tools they need to succeed. Baseball Zone’s League Packages are customized from the following available options:
How to Talk to Umpires
Umpires are a special breed. The very nature of their job requires them to be right all the time. They’re not. However, their personality has to match their job description. They have to be confident and decisive in their calls and believe they are correct every time. You will rarely if ever change an umpire’s mind on a call, unless you can convince him that another umpire had a better view as maybe his was obstructed or he was out of position. Again, hard to do, but sometimes it happens.
How to Manage a Game
Probably the most scrutinized aspect of coaching is how much does a good manager affect the outcome of the game? Managers play a critical role in all phases of the game; from the lineup to making all position changes to strategy.
How to Make a Batting Order
Certain spots in the lineup are reserved for certain types of hitters. The easiest way to figure out how to make an order is to define the type of hitters you have.
1. Base stealer. Good contact hitter. Good eye. Highest on base percentage hitter.
2. Goes to the right side well (either lefty or righty). Good contact hitter. Can bunt. Can run.
3. Normally reserved for the best all around hitter on the team. Hits for power and average.
4. Best power hitter on the team. Best RISP hitter.
5. Second best power hitter on the team. Good RISP hitter.
How to Create and Give Signs
Creating signs does not have to be complicated. Most coaches use an indicator
sign which alerts the player that a sign will be put on after that. For instance,
the indicator may be touching the bill of the cap or the left elbow. The sign that
comes directly after the indicator is touched is what the coach wants to put on.
Communicating With Parents
One of our recommendations is to send out an email as soon as you get your roster. We recommend something like this:
Individual Practice Plans
Having a well thought out individual practice plan is important. Players need reps and having a plan to get those reps efficiently can make for very productive workout.
Download these individual practice plans and practice planners if you are serious about getting your reps.
Practice Station Cheatsheet
This chart will help you quickly decide how many stations you want to do based on how many parents show up to help.
Download the Practice Station Cheatsheet here (PDF).
Fun Warmups for Baseball Teams
Here are some fun things to put in your warmup to get your players warm and stretched out.
- Arm Circles
- Rockets
- Stars - Jump up and put arms and legs out like a star
- Run the bases
For Older Players
The First Day of Practice
Wow. It’s finally here, the first day of practice. We’ve waited all winter for this. For some of us, we’ve been practicing for months. For others, we’ve just begun. Either way, that first outside practice is exhilarating. The sound and feel of being cooped up in a cage for seemingly weeks on end hitting into nets, off tees and from coaches throwing from 25’ is over and the world has now opened up. For us Midwesterners, the world is now in equilibrium. Before we begin, it is important to understand a few things to make the transition seemless.
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Working with young players is a constant challenge. Baseball Zone helps you plan practices quickly, giving you a solid practice plan in no time. These are some of the same drills we used at the major league level.
Mike MacFarlane
Former Catcher
Kansas City Royals
Owner, Mac-N-Seitz Baseball Academy
Baseball Zone is a fundamental but advanced approach to the game of baseball and its endless preparation. This program is as good as there is, the passion shows.
Jim Benedict
Special Assistant to
the General Manager
Pittsburgh Pirates
Baseball Zone's drills and techniques are what every player needs to master to get to the next level.
Lee Driggers
Head Baseball Coach
Wheaton College