COMPLETED! RL Little League--Coaching the Cardinals

[Dutch]

Okay, I think this will be more of a journal and a self-serving plea for advice whenever possible... ...but I'll go ahead and start a mini-dynasty to cover the exploits of a rookie little league head coach. That rookie coach being none other than me, Dutch.

[Dutch]

A little background.

I have two boys, ages 12 and 11 playing ball. I've watched them play before from the bleachers and thought I could do a good job coaching. But in the States, Little League is very serious and coaches are generally the type that have been around the game for a long time and know how to deal with kids, parents, and the game at the youngster level.

I was never big into baseball as a child, moving around the country a lot and not being very outgoing, it tended to dampen my desire. But during my adult years, I've developed a new fondness for the game itself. It's a great game, really, that's only ruined from time to time by the antics of grown men that play the game for large sums of money.

Anyway, without much baseball playing or coaching background, I found the task of coaching to be intimidating and why look like a fool when there are plenty of qualified candidates to coach?

But last year I moved to Germany. I'm in the military and my kids are "military brats". The ammount of qualified coaches is much reduced. The ammount of qualified coaches that aren't always deploying is even less than that. As a comm troop in a static squadron (non-deploying) and being in a one-deep shop (nobody is around to back me up if I leave), I found myself in a position to coach baseball. And I think I would be doing the kids a disservice if I left the coaching up to somebody who was less interested in the prospects of coaching.

So without further ado, I'll get into what happens before, during, and after a season of coaching Little League baseball.

[Dutch]

Last month, I actually volunteered to be an "assistant coach" to a head coach. My plan was to get my coaching certification and learn from a veteran coach for a year before taking the reigns of a team next year.

After becoming a "certified coach" which basically was a background check, doing some paperwork, getting a Little League Rule Book, and watching a 2-hour video--I was off and ready to attend the "coaches meeting".

At the coaches meeting, which was for all ages, leagues, and split for boys and girls, I found myself in the midst of about 40 or 50 coaches. All waiting to be assigned teams for their respective leagues.

When the Majors came up (11-12 year old boys baseball) I waited for my name to be called. For our base, there were a total of five teams (which will play against teams from other local military bases). Team #1, 2, 3, and 4 all got and received their coaches...three of which were veterans from last season, one a young kid from Nebraska who played a lot of baseball.

But the fifth team had no coach named. The director of operations looked then to the assistant coach list and called out a name.

"How would you like to coach a team?" he asked somebody in the crowd.

"I kind of wanted to team up with one of the head coaches, we work together." Was the reply.

The directory of operations nodded, "Okay, no problem."

"Mike Cossaboom?"

That's me.

"Yeah." I replied.

"You want to be a coach?" he asked.

"Sure, but I insist on having the very best assistant coach you can offer." I responded.

"Okay, next on the list is Brennen. Are you a good assistant coach?"

"Absolutely."

The director of operations smiled, "Okay, it's settled, Cossaboom--you've been promoted."

And the next thing I knew, I was given some bats, some balls, catcher gear, and some batting helmets.

"Good luck!"

It was a good plan I had heading into that coaches meeting, but like all good plans, sometimes they are modified. But I am excited about coaching my first Little League team, even though I've never done it before and have little to no experience. I think ultimately, it will be a blast!

*****

I'll explain some of my preparation for the upcoming season next.

[Dutch]

The main thing I have done for preparing is to get some books to read. Some were recommended by FOFC'ers.

As it turns out, they are all from a series sponsored by Little League Baseball, which makes it a pretty cool set to have.

1. Coaching the Little League Fielder
2. Coaching the Little League Hitter
3. Guide to Correcting the 25 Most Common Mistakes (FOFC recommendation)
4. Making Little League Baseball More Fun for Kids (FOFC recommendation)

They are more of reference material than actual books. But it's pretty cool to read something, take my kids out into the field behind our house, and teach them something that I didn't even know 30 minutes before.

Easy stuff to learn, for both me and the kids. But will it translate to teaching a team of kids? I have no idea yet.

[Dutch]

PRESENT DAY!

28 March 07

I received an e-mail this morning from the director of operations.

"Uniforms are in. Pick them up between 12-3. First come first serve."

Rather threatening I thought, so I'll head over to his office and be there at noon.

Two of the coaches in my league had already come and gone when I arrived (@ 1215). They claimed the Yankees and the Red Sox uniforms.

So I was third to arrive and got to choose. My choices? St. Louis Cardinals, Baltimore Orioles, and the Chicago Cubs.

I was partial to the orange and black Orioles uniforms, but I figured most kids wouldn't be that quick to want that. And I never was much of a Cubs fan. And the Cardinals easily had the best baseball cap of the three.

So my choice was made on a purely cosmetic foundation. I would coach the Cardinals!

I let my assistant coach know and he was thrilled. And my kids love Albert Pujols, so it was a hit with them as well. Big cheers when I brought the box of Cardinals gear into the house today.

So far so good.

[Dutch]

Quick update on the league before I head off to do my homework (for school not baseball coaching, unfortunately).

31 March is the initial parents meeting when all the parents and kids will meet their coaches. That's a Saturday. I'll have some notes that I'll make sure I present to the parents at that time to describe the league and my expectations of the kids and the parents. I'm gonna lay down some ground rules and also explain I'm new to this. So their patience and their assistance will both be very welcome.

As for the kids, I'm looking forward to meeting them on Saturday, but I'll save my groundrules and speech for the first practice for them.

So the next update for this will probably be this weekend.

[Barkeep49]

I'm really happy to see this. I will be reading with interest.

[Dutch]

Thanks barkeep, hopefully this will be of some worth and not just a train-wreck story.

31 March 07

Parents meeting --

The bad news -- Not a whole lot of the parents even showed up today, so that's kind of dissapointing, and one already told me that his son has Boy Scouts on Monday and won't make those practices.

The good news is that I've identified one of my primary pitchers AND an experienced catcher....(the catcher is a bonus since I had no clue whether I'd have any experience there or not).

I landed 13 players on my team.

For reference, I'll go with first names only. But here is the squad. Sorry, no future or currents available.

1. Mike B.
2. Matt
3. Mike C.
4. Nick
5. Andy
6. Brandon
7. Aynsley
8. Nathan
9. Jacob
10. Simon
11. Joseph
12. Taylor
13. Zack

I'll try to better identify the players later. But for now--there's a team! Woot!

First practice (which will just be discussion and maybe throwing and catching) is Monday night @ 6PM (German time).

[Dutch]

01 April 07

Tommorrow is my first practice. I'm pretty excited, but I don't even know how to coach kids! So who knows how this will go. The first "practice" will actually just be orientation.

Things I have scheduled for the first practice.

1. Parent Meeting - While the kids are throwing to warm up their arms, I'll have a quick talk with the parents.

2. Players Meeting - After I'm done talking with the parents and answering questions, I'll then talk to the kids.

3. Identify Pitchers and Catchers. If we have good pitchers or catchers, I want to know about it today.

4. Hand out baseball pants and baseball caps. Discuss possibility of having names put on the backs of jerseys. I want them, assistant coach wants them, but it costs money. Hopefully the parents are cool.

I talked with the only shop I know of that puts names on jerseys - 75 cents per letter. So I'm gonna ask the parents to donate 10 bucks a pop if they want the jersey personalized with last names. If anybody objects, I'll probably just give them their jersey right there and let them get it put on later when they feel bad that their kid doesn't have a name on their jersey.

BTW - Opening Ceremony will be on the 21st of April. Then the games commence!

[Dutch]

02 April 07: First Practice

Okay, cool, our first practice has come and gone. It was basically an introduction day. I got to see the kids in action fielding, throwing, and hitting.

All in all, it was very successful. There are plenty of knowledable folks that are already stepping up to assist me, and for that I am grateful.

My assistant coach is probably more coaching material than I am, but that's okay, I'm learning.

My ultimate objective of the day was to identify pitchers and catchers. I did that, I have 5 players that will pitch. They are of differing skill level, but that's okay. I want two or three of them to see significant time and the other kids will get enough practice time to be comfortable if they are called.

I've identified two catchers as well. That should be enough, but I'll probably throw another kid or two into the catcher's gear to give them some reps in case of absences.

Let's go over a bit more of what I've learned. Some good clues into where I can play these guys.

Mike B - Makes good contact when batting; wants to pitch; has catching experience: C or P

Matt - Can pitch, has a good arm: 1B or OF

Mike C - Has a good glove: 1B or OF

Nick - Has a good glove: SS or OF

Andy - Never played before - Project player: OF (for now)

Brandon - Has a good outfield glove; has catching experience; some pitching experience: C or P

Aynsley - British kid - Hits with power at the plate - loves playing OF. (yeah!): OF

Nathan - Never played baseball before, but an athlete - Can hit with power and has a good glove: OF

Jacob - Has a good arm: 3B, IF or OF

Simon - Has a great arm, can play anywhere; experience pitching: SS, 2B, P, or IF

Joseph - Good throwing power, solid outfield play, has experience pitching and catching: P, C, IF, OF

Taylor - Excellent plate presence and form, hits with consistancy and power, our best hitter; pitching experience: P, IF

Zack - Decent bat at the plate: OF

[Izulde]

Brandon - Has a good outfield glove: P or C

This bit confuses me, I admit.

It'll be interesting to see how your lineup eventually shakes out. I assume your team is assigned to see you?

Oh and I look forward to this.

[Swaggs]

A couple of tips that you may know:

I would watch allowing a pitcher play catcher, as catching is very fatiguing and, if you have to bring him in to pitch in relief, he is going to be fried, both mentally and physically.

I would also throw SS in as a key, early position to get settled. In youth leagues, shortstops are generally the quarterbacks of your defense, so you should try to find a smart, athletic kid and teach him who (between the SS and 2B) covers the bag when the ball is in the outfield, who goes out for the cut-off throws, how to call off other fielders when there is an infield pop-up, and how to communicate all of the above to the other players in games.

[Dutch]

Originally Posted by Izulde

Brandon - Has a good outfield glove: P or C

This bit confuses me, I admit.

It'll be interesting to see how your lineup eventually shakes out. I assume your team is assigned to see you?

Oh and I look forward to this.

Sorry, I wasn't clear (at all). I have notes on players as I've watched them play, those notes are not related to the positions I'm considering them for. That is ALL the information I have.

For P and C, these kids were identified as having previous experience or a strong willingness to play at those positions. Sorry for the confusion.

BTW: I tried to clean up my initial impressions by adding notes about pitching and catching experience.

[Dutch]

Originally Posted by Swaggs

A couple of tips that you may know:

I would watch allowing a pitcher play catcher, as catching is very fatiguing and, if you have to bring him in to pitch in relief, he is going to be fried, both mentally and physically.

I would also throw SS in as a key, early position to get settled. In youth leagues, shortstops are generally the quarterbacks of your defense, so you should try to find a smart, athletic kid and teach him who (between the SS and 2B) covers the bag when the ball is in the outfield, who goes out for the cut-off throws, how to call off other fielders when there is an infield pop-up, and how to communicate all of the above to the other players in games.

That's a good point. I have my eye on Simon and Taylor as the two most athletic and fundamentally sound players on my team.

Related Note: My son Nick wants to play SS, and I'll let him see time there, but not the lions share. So this is where things will get tricky for me as coach/dad. Nick has skills that could back up both SS and 2B and he could also play 3B. Both my boys (Mike C and Nick) can play outfield very well. It's just a matter of convincing them they should play there.

[Barkeep49]

You guys sure do have a lot of practices before you start playing. I had a similar situation with basketball and keeping their focus for that time proved challenging.

I second the notion of having a good short stop. At the 5th/6th grade level I think the importance goes Catcher, Pitcher, 1B, and then SS just a hair behind 1B. Last year my team had a dearth of catchers and so our two best pitchers also caught regularly for us. This hamstrung us somewhat in games as they'd either have to only pitch for 1 inning (instead of the maximum 2) or they'd have to pitch early in the game so we could catch them later. What kind of rules does your league have about pitchers (and more generally about playing time)?

It sounds like you've got a great group of kids to work with and are off to a good start.

[Dutch]

04 April 07

Ack, injury!

Brandon, whom I projected as my starting catcher took a ball to the face while doing a 1B catching drill today. The sun was going down just behind 2nd and it's really hard to see there. So I don't blame him at all.

Eye swelling was pretty bad immediately and was black and blue. So off to the ER with Brandon, my starting catcher.

I'll call him tonight to see how he's doing...

[Dutch]

04 April 07

As for the rest of practice, things went pretty well.

I ran a drill for about 25 minutes where I broke the team into 4 groups, put a group on 1B, 2B, 3B, and outfield. Then had a dad hit grounders to the 2B, who would throw to first (where Brandon was injured) and another dad hitting flyballs to the outfield who would then catch/retrieve the ball and throw to 3B.

That went very well. After that was done, we played a little game that I got from the book recommended by FOFC (woot!) "Making LLB More Fun For Kids" where I split the team into 2 equal parts and put half in the outfield, and half at the plate for batting.

I did the pitching (and only hit one batter!) and the kids had a blast. So that was extremely cool for me.

I was very impressed with my backup catcher, Joseph. He takes the pitches and foul tips off the mask without blinking an eye. Tough kid!

However, I gave Simon a chance to pitch just before the end of practice, and his heat was skipping out of Joseph's glove. But Joseph is fearless! If Brandon comes back weary after the hit to the eye, I know I have at least one good catcher left (although I suspect Brandon will prefer to have the mask on!). I'll have to give somebody else a look at catcher at some point.

As for the sneak peak at Simon (who is one of my most talented players), he has some heat, so that is excellent news. It was a little wild, but it was cold and it was the first time he pitched this year (I suspect).

One last note: The baseball park is open after our practice on Monday's (no more teams are scheduled to use it, so practice can run long...) and on Wednesday night's, the sister field is open @ 7 when our practice ends.

So I will start to take advantage of that fortune and use it to practice pitchers and catchers who can stay later.

Barkeep - I have the bylaws at work, I'll have to forward them home to get more info to you on our league setup.

[finketr]

dutch,

you name your name should be spelled deutsch?

Anyway, i'm hooked on this dynasty...

Joseph: P, C, IF, OF ... Isn't that any position?

[Dutch]

Joseph: P, C, IF, OF ... Isn't that any position?

I guess that's another way of saying that.

Oh, and my ancestory is half-German vs maybe 1/4 Dutch, so maybe it should be deutsch...but I digress.

[Barkeep49]

The most important thing at this age, imo, is a catcher who doesn't let the ball get by hijm. It's been my experience that you get more calls if a catcher holds onto the ball, but if Simon is as good as you say the fact that Joseph can't catch him might be more an indication of how good Simon is than anything about Joseph. If both Joseph and Brandon are the real deal, you're blessed to have two good catchers. I wouldn't worry too much about Brandon coming back shy from being hit in the eye on a throw. If he's a catcher he's got to be used to things being thrown hard at him.

[Dutch]

Hey, I just realized you have a blog. I will definately have to kick back and check that out when I get a chance, I have it bookmarked now.

[Barkeep49]

Originally Posted by Dutch

Hey, I just realized you have a blog. I will definately have to kick back and check that out when I get a chance, I have it bookmarked now.

I hope you find it interesting. I've just finished putting up last season so you could check out the archives if you're interested in that.

[MIJB#19]

Originally Posted by finketr

you name your name should be spelled deutsch?

"Mihayell" Kirschenbaum!
Nah, I like the Michael "Care-san-boam" version.

I'll try to keep reading!

[finkenst]

Originally Posted by Dutch

I guess that's another way of saying that.

Oh, and my ancestory is half-German vs maybe 1/4 Dutch, so maybe it should be deutsch...but I digress.

likewise.. 1/2 german, 1/4 dutch, and some pole.

[Dutch]

09 April 07: Third Practice

Notes from today's practice. I ran some QB to WR tosses (to get kids catching on the run) and some grounders work (to get kids putting their gloves on the ground).

Coaching problem: I don't know how to teach pitchers or how to improve them....so I hope my parents can help step up.

Game strategy: I need to work on what my players need to know for the game. One of these practices, we're are gonna have to go over the most common situations for base running, and what kids need to do when running bases. Obviously, I don't have time to teach them everything about game situations, but I do what to impress upon them the most important aspects. I'm just not sure what those are.

The parents are really supporting me and helping me out (as opposed to criticizing my lack of experience) so....so far so good.



Format--("Practice Notes:Projected Fielding Position")

Mike B - Not present for this practice: OF, C or P

Matt - Pitched about 50 pitches tonight--fastball is good, a little wild: 1B or OF (2nd SP)

Mike C - Good day batting, needs to get in front of bad throws instead of "chopping/stabbing" at the ball. Did very well shagging fly balls: 1B, 3B or OF

Nick - Good day of batting as well: SS, 3B or OF

Andy - Andy is our "raw" recruit. However, he was the only kid who got a piece of Matt's fastball!: OF

Brandon - Has a black and blue eye (with some busted capillaries that turned his eye red...pretty gross) but he did a solid job catching today: C (or P?)

Aynsley - British kid - Not present: OF

Nathan - (another rookie) Was quiet today, but is doing well: OF

Jacob - Not present: 3B, IF or OF

Simon - Not present: SS, 2B, P, or IF

Joseph - Slow fastball, but very accurate. Lots of strikes and good control. However, I'm not sure if he's a really good pitcher or a meatball factory...good hustle and can play anywhere: (3rd SP) and 1st choice for C.

Taylor - Great mechanics at the plate, shows poor mechanics catching...but a solid all around player...could be more aggressive, he chose not to pitch today when I asked for volunteer pithcers: 2B

Zack - Not present: OF

[finketr]

don't take off running on a flyball to the outfield with less than 2 outs.

teach them how to slide safely.

[Barkeep49]

Dutch pages 14-21 and 41-42 of Coaching the Little League Pitcher go over the basics of how to pitch. Are you more concerned trying to teach your kids who know a bunch already or who are weaker fundamentally? For the beginner they should really master the grip and Stages 1 and 2 before worrying about anything else.

As for your more advanced pitchers? I wouldn't worry about them yet. Get yourself comfortable with teaching the beginners. Have even your good pitchers focus on these two stages, they'll still benefit, while you give yourself time to learn how to do the coaching.

[Dutch]

Originally Posted by finketr

don't take off running on a flyball to the outfield with less than 2 outs.

teach them how to slide safely.

Good point, and remind them to "run on anything" when there are 2 outs (especially if they are in forced positions).

[Dutch]

Originally Posted by Barkeep49

Dutch pages 14-21 and 41-42 of Coaching the Little League Pitcher go over the basics of how to pitch. Are you more concerned trying to teach your kids who know a bunch already or who are weaker fundamentally? For the beginner they should really master the grip and Stages 1 and 2 before worrying about anything else.

As for your more advanced pitchers? I wouldn't worry about them yet. Get yourself comfortable with teaching the beginners. Have even your good pitchers focus on these two stages, they'll still benefit, while you give yourself time to learn how to do the coaching.

That's a problem. I don't have that book.

I can order it and have it here in a week or so. My three pitchers seem to have quite a bit of experience, fwiw. Definately thanks for the advice-->once the book arrives, I'll take you up on it!

For now, I'll just let them get as much rep time as possible.

[Barkeep49]

Whoops. I had mentally changed how to coach the fielder into how to coach the pitcher.

In this case go here. Hover your mouse over the picture of the book. In the box that pops up for search inside the book do a search for the following terms
Four stages
Stage One
Stage Three
Stage Four
Get a Grip On It

That should get you pages 14-21 and 40-42 which is what you'll need.

[Dutch]

Stage Two gets cut off...but I plan on buying this anyway. As well as "Managing A Little League Team" which I discovered while visiting the site.

This is great information. I will refrain from offering corrective measures to pitchers that are doing well/pitching in their comfort zone. But I do want this information to help a pitcher who may be struggling. (Or, heaven help me, I find myself in a position where I need to bring a new player up to speed on pitching.)

[Dutch]

Game Rules:

Games are 6 innings, but games can only last 1 hour and 45 minutes. No new inning can start after 1 hour and 30 minutes have elapsed.

For participation, there is a 6 out and 1 AB rule. Meaning, each kid must participate in two defensive innings (roughly) and get at least one AB (plate appearance, I'm assuming is the more technically correct term.)

No sliding head-first, but dive-backs are allowed.

I have a parent who is spending the weekend working out some simply signs for game-time situations. We won't get complicated with signs, just simple things like steal, don't swing, swing away, bunt...

We'll start going over those at Monday's practice.

[Barkeep49]

Originally Posted by Dutch

Game Rules:

Games are 6 innings, but games can only last 1 hour and 45 minutes. No new inning can start after 1 hour and 30 minutes have elapsed.

For participation, there is a 6 out and 1 AB rule. Meaning, each kid must participate in two defensive innings (roughly) and get at least one AB (plate appearance, I'm assuming is the more technically correct term.)

No sliding head-first, but dive-backs are allowed.

I have a parent who is spending the weekend working out some simply signs for game-time situations. We won't get complicated with signs, just simple things like steal, don't swing, swing away, bunt...

We'll start going over those at Monday's practice.

I dunno what his signal would be but I've had a great deal of success using an "indicator" followed by two signs. So I point to either my eye (second sign) or nose (first sign) and then flash two simple signs. The kids like it and no opposing team seemed to pick it up.

[Dutch]

That's cool! Tommorrow, we are incorporating the signs into practice. I throw that at Jason (the signs developer guy).

-----

Working on lineups, the hardest part is getting playing time managed. I want my players that perform well in practice to play most. Of course, with the 6 outs and 1 AB rule, I'll probably go to my "2nd Half" lineup after the 2nd inning.

I'll need to sub in 4 players and move some other players around.

I don't know how long my pitchers will last, but for sake of ease, I'll rotate my pitchers after the 2nd inning is over. Until I get a better grasp of things, anyway.

[Dutch]

21 Apr 07 - Opening Day!

The opening ceremonies happened this morning @ 8:30. A lot of parents showed up. The baseball and girls softball leagues from t-ball up to the older kids included 85 teams! So it was a pretty big deal.

The only reason I really bring this up is the base chaplain gave the opening prayer and his PDA cut out on him in the middle of his "reading of the prayer". There is a long pause then, I paraphrase, "Hmmm, suddenly my screen went blank..."

Our heads are still down, nobody has any clue what he's talking about. "I've lost my prayer!"

And there were shouts from the crowd, "Tell us from the heart!" and "Preach it freestyle!" and finally after about 30 seconds of fiddling with his PDA....he shuts it off and does exactly that. Half chuckling he looks up into the blue sky and says, "Oh God!..." and while searching for the next words in his now completely impromptu, we are all cheering him on. Very entertaining stuff. He did fine without the PDA, btw.

[Dutch]

21 Apr 07 - Game #1 - Tonight @ 4PM

I'll let you know how it goes.

[Dutch]

Well, we lost our first game to the Tigers 6-2. We played really well defensively and our pitching was very good. The biggest trouble we had was our hitting. The pitcher we went up against was very good and accurate. He was the game difference. He pitched 4 innings and shut us out. But down 6-0, bottom of the 5th, they put in pitcher #2 and we got 2 runs off of him before the game was called due to time.

Pitching:
P Simon pitched first and did well, gave up 2 runs total in 3 innings pitched. Quite a bit nervous at the beginning and was pitching too high. But he settled down and was tough to hit. Picked up a few strikeouts.

P Matt came in and pitched three good innings as well. Defensively we made some silly mistakes, a late throw from the catcher to 3B on a steal that rolled into the outfield and a player stealing home while the pitcher walked lazily back to the mound with the ball. But he scored more K's than Simon and has a heckuva fastball when it's on.

Catching:
C Brandon caught first and did well, he's the kid who got popped in the eye. He did very well and was all over any PB's and he worked with P Simon. They work very well together and I'll probably keep it like that. A lob throw to 2nd had to be hidden...

C Joseph is one of those kids that if he lived in Canada would be a goalie. Just quick hands and great coordination. (quick witted too and was rattling off jokes all day). Threw a runner out sliding into 2nd. But he did throw and ill-advised throw to 3B that resulted in a run scored.

Infield:
1B Matt (the 2nd Pitcher) was solid but didn't get much work, and his backup 1B Mike C (my son) let a throw go into the outfield which cost some bases. They need to be better overall, and we can't rely on Matt since he will pitch quite a bit.

2B Taylor was too hesitant. He's got a lot of talent, but he just won't attack the ball. He's a bit afraid of it I think and he had a few roll right past him that he could've stopped.

SS Nick C (my other son) didn't see much action at SS but needs to be more commanding. Really gets down on himself. SS Simon (1st Pitcher) came in the 4th inning to replace Nick and did a fine job, being in perfect position to receive a throw from C Joseph to nail a base-stealer!

3B was Joseph (the 2nd catcher) and then Jake. Neither saw much action, and neither made any serious errors.

Outfield
Nothing really happened in the outfield. Anysley (my CF) dropped one, but he stopped a few base hits from rolling past him. Others seeing time out there were Zack, Andy (rookie), Nathan (rookie) and Mike B. Not much to report. I hope they weren't out there picking daisy's!

Batting
Aynsley (our British player) got a solid base hit by drilling one in the CF/RF gab for our first hit off the mad-skillz fastballer we were up against. But outside of the occassional walk, I don't recall many other hits until the 5th inning. The Tigers pitcher was really just shutting us down. Our batters were caught looking on called 3rd strikes quite a few times. In the 4th inning, we scored two runs after we got on base due to walks. Including Nathan who stole 2nd...the catcher threw the ball into the outfield and Nathan rolled around 3rd and home with ease which brought out the Cardinals rally-caps in the dugout. He scored one more run by error and then the game ended.

I think everybody had a great time, but we need to work on our batting. Our defense played as well as I expected them too.

Conclusion:

All in all, not a bad outing. I managed from the dugout and worked the lineup and substitions. My assistant coach worked the 3B line and Jason (Taylor's dad) has really stepped up and coached Wed practice (I was stuck at work) and coached 1B. They have a lot of experience and are very technically inclined, so I give them free reign as coaches to help the kids. The team chemistry and the coaching chemistry is very good.

We are sad only because we didn't win. But I don't think a super coached team could beat a dominating pitcher like that.

So far so good...

[Swaggs]

Giving up only six runs in a Little League game is an achievement in itself.

[Barkeep49]

Sounds like you guys are on the right track. You're absolutely right when you say that good pitching trumps pretty much everything at this level.

[Dutch]

Watching another teams practice, I saw this gadget that looked pretty cool. The coach would attach a cable to the fence and walk back about where the pitcher would stand. A ball was attached to the cable and he could release the ball at speed. The batter had to make contact with the ball. After every "pitch" the coach would retract the ball and do it all over again.

Made short work and gave players a lot of looks at a straight fast ball. What the hell is that thing and how much do they cost! (if it's a valuable tool that is...)

[Dutch]

Oh, one other thing I forgot to mention. Did I mention I have a team full of practical jokers?

During warmups, I am making sure my 2nd and 3rd inning substitutions are in order when C Brandon walks up and says, "Coach? What's that on your shoulder?"

I look at him with that look like I'm not falling for anything of his tricks and he says, "No really, what's that on your shoulder, Coach?"

And when I look, there is a pile of live worms on my shoulders. The little bastards. I just pulled them off my shoulder and fired it back into the crowd of heckling Cardinals standing behind me.

[Dutch]

23 Apr 07 - Monday Practice

Worked out a bunch of guys pitching today. Game 1 pitcher Simon took a break and he will play SS in Game #2 on Saturday. Joseph (our catcher) will start the game pitching (he's got a lot of control, but a bit slow), and he'll be relieved by Matt (fastball, sometimes wild).

Mike B got some reps and will be our emergency pitcher (as well as Simon, of course). Also spent some time with Zack, who's been out with a broken thumb. He's back in action and my assistant coaches worked with him a bit.

I ran some drills today, starting with a 3-man team relay competition. I put two baseballs on the outfield fence-line. Then had outfielders race to the ball, pick it up, and throw it to their cutoff man--who then fired the ball either to the 1B or 3B player. The first team to get the "out" got to play again, the other team had to sit down and a new team of 3 tried to knock of the winner.

That went pretty well, and the kids really enjoyed it. Plus they got to practice with a sense of competition.

Then we played some "Pepper", where 4 kids would work together, one tapping down bunted balls with the bat, the other three fielding the ball and then pitching it back to the batter.

That seemed like a clusterf***. But I made them keep with it.

After that was off to batting practice. Everybody went up and got to get a hit off the pitcher (me) and then we sent our pitchers for Game 2 up and we had a "speed" game. Every batter got three pitches to swing at and move to the back of the line. That kept everybody involved.

Wednesday we are going to go over some hitting drills. I want my kids to be a bit more aggressive at the plate. And to focus on stepping into their swings. Hopefully they will respond to that well.

[Barkeep49]

If you're going to use your real pitchers in there for batting practice, I recommend a game called 2-1. Just like the name implies every at bat starts with a count of 2 and 1. It forces your pitcher to make good pitches and also your batter to be up there swinging.

[Dutch]

Originally Posted by Barkeep49

If you're going to use your real pitchers in there for batting practice, I recommend a game called 2-1. Just like the name implies every at bat starts with a count of 2 and 1. It forces your pitcher to make good pitches and also your batter to be up there swinging.

That's a great idea. I will incorporate that the next time we practice with our pitchers. Thanks again for all your assistance and advice.

[Dutch]

28 April 07 - Game #2

Cardinals @ Red Sox

Today's game was a little bit better than the last game. We tied things up 3-3 in the top of the 5th with 2 runs scored, but gave up 4 runs in the bottom of the 5th which was the last inning of the game due to time being called.

The game started with our 2nd batter walking...then stealing 2nd....and then stealing 3rd. With 2 outs, a pop-fly to the pitcher was recorded as an error as it dropped to the field. Did my runner from 3rd score? Nope. Why not? I told him to stay. Argh....I'm gonna miss some sleep tonight over that one. A dumb mistake which brought some heckling from the Cardinals fan base!

2 outs...run on anything...good Lord, I learned that when I was 8 and I told the kid to hold. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

But I would redeem myself slightly as we scored 3 runs overall on very aggressive base running, taking advantage of the Red Sox poor fielding.

We still have a lot of problems at the plate. We aren't getting many hits at all. I think we got 3 hits in this game total. So we will continue to challnege the fielders of our opponents.

We did fine and pitched Matt (our fast baller) and Joseph (our good control pitcher) and Joseph was very good in 3 innings of work. Matt was good too and they complimented each other very well.

SS Simon (our main pitcher) made a great play to catch a line-drive to short, but ultimately he was bummed about not playing pitcher.

Because we were so close, I could sense the kids were somewhat upset that we lost the game. I just told them I was proud of them and told them to not get down on themselves. I gave the gameball to pitcher Joseph. Later in the day, my wife told me Joeseph had just received a verbal beating about how he lost the game in the last inning from his dad...he was our catcher the last two innings and had a few plays at the plate that resulted in Red Sox runs. So I found it funny that we gave him the gameball...hopefully that restored his confidence a bit.

Monday I think we need to focus no being aggressive at the plate and realize that the strike zone is very big. I think the kids are swinging "underneath" the pitches, which concerns me. Hopefully the time spent on batting practice will pay off.

After 2 games, here are my grades.

Batting - D
Base Running - B
Fielding - A
Fielding Awareness/Communication - C
Pitching - B

Of course, we're 0-2, but I still think we're doing a heck of a job, considering I'm making all this up as I go. I tell my parents that the kids are performing well in spite of the coaching and it's paying off!

[Dutch]

2 May 07 - Game #3
Braves @ Cardinals

Good news for the Cardinals. We won our first game of the season against the Braves, 7-4. We are all stoked about that!

We practiced only batting on Monday and today (a rare Wednesday game) we just went out and swung the bats. Admittedly the pitchers we faced were nothing like some of the pitchers we've seen, but that doesn't curb my excitement for winning the game.

The kids were obviously very thrilled and even doused me with ice water from the cooler.

Simon pitched 3 solid innings for us and only gave up one run while Wildthing Matt (fastballer) came in in relief and walked a three guys who all scored eventually on PB's before settling down and putting 6 K's over the last two innings to shut the Braves down for good.

Simon also belted a stand-up triple by firing a shot to the CF-RF gap during the game. My oldest son (Mike) had a forceful base hit and landed on 2nd after a CF error. My youngest son had one base hit and scored two-runs. (Props to the Cossaboom Boys!)

On the injury front - Brandon (who got popped in the eye in the pre-season practices) badly sprained his thumb in an off-field accident and was having a lot of problems just getting the ball back to the pitcher because of it. So we pulled him after the 2nd inning and put Joseph back there. (Good thing we didn't have Joseph pitching today.)

On the development front - Andy (never played before) has gone from a a kid who couldn't hold the bat correctly to now having a forceful swing. When he came into the game, he didn't swing the bat but once and ultimately was walked. But since he's a bigger kid, I like to pretend his great swing made the pitcher pitch around him.

Anyway, we aren't about wins and losses, but we couldn't help but be excited about winning a game. My assistant coaches and parents and I really wanted to emphasize to the kids that they are good batters, they just need to swing the bat more. Attack the pitches, not reel from them. And it paid off today. Maybe not tommorrow, but it did now. And we're all pretty happy about it.

Next game is Saturday.

[Barkeep49]

That first victory is always great to get. Congrats!

[Dutch]

5 May 07 - Game #4
Nationals vs Cardinals

We dropped the game today 10-5 to a non-regional team. The Nationals are a team made up of big hitters and one outstanding pitcher. We couldn't hit that guy (we managed a couple of hits, but that was it).

The hitters were very good and they nailed a couple of triples (among other things) off our starting pitcher (Simon).

Anyway, after they were up 10-1, they pulled their big hurler and put in some other kid. Our bats woke up and we scored 4 runs before they pulled that kid and put their starting pitcher back into the game.

At that point I protested to the Ump that he couldn't pitch again, but he didn't know, and the other coach insisted that as long as he didn't "leave" the game (he was put on 1B) that he could return to pitching. I disagreed, but since I didn't have a rulebook, I quickly folded my protest.

The game must go on. Needless to say, their starting pitcher quickly laid down our batters in order and the game was over.

Oh well. I haven't checked the rule book yet about that. But since he was an experienced coach, no doubt he was correct.

[Barkeep49]

Your writeups have made me so much more appreciative of the pitching restrictions my league places: no more than 2 innings a game, 5 a week, can't be put back in after being pulled, one pitch in an inning counts as a full inning, only two pitchers may pitch 2 innings.

[Dutch]

Last weekend we played an early game (9AM start) against the very well coached Yankees.

Zack, our lead-off hitter drilled a shot to RCF that got him all the way around 3rd...I sent him and he slid in just under the tag for an in the park homerun!

(aggressive base-running in little league is definately the way to go)

However, the bats died down after that and the Yankees tore us to pieces. 10-1 final. To make matters a little worse, while we were in the field during the 5th inning, the skies opened up and just doused our boys. They were shaking and shivering the rest of the game.

Anyway, 10-1 is actually not as bad as it was, it was probably a 4-1 ball game if you take away the errors, but we made some really dumb plays on the infield....chasing runners around the bag, rushing throws that should have been eaten....it was a mess at times.

The team was pretty demoralized, but I just told them to not sweat it. It was just one game and we'll be playing again soon.

At Monday's practice, we didn't do any drills at all. We played (ping: barkeep) "2-1" with the rule that the batting team get through their lineup once and get 3 outs before they sit.

They just had fun and hit the ball around off our pitchers.

Wednesday's practice was rained out.

Saturday game @ 2:30pm.