Coaching T-Ball

[Butter]

I am going to be head coach of my 5 year old's T-Ball team. I am expecting all of the kids to pretty much come in with no knowledge whatsoever of baseball, throwing, hitting, or anything. I imagine there will be a kid or two who are wizards (comparatively speaking), but I'm figuring that most will need to be taught most of the fundamentals.

I guess what I'm looking for a good ideas for training drills to be run that would be fun for kids this age without a high level of ability. Also looking for ideas about anything else to do with coaching at this level, since it is my first time.

I'm going to have 10 kids, and it looks like 2 assistant coaches, so I thought maybe splitting the kids up into groups would be best to help keep their attention.

Thanks!

[sooner333]

What are the specific rules? I umpired t-ball at about this level for pretty much three seasons. While I have no idea what to do to coach as far as drills, I would know the best strategies if the rules were similar to the ones we had down here.

[rkmsuf]

What are the specific rules? I umpired t-ball at about this level for pretty much three seasons. While I have no idea what to do to coach as far as drills, I would know the best strategies if the rules were similar to the ones we had down here.

You umpired t-ball? Give me a break.

[Butter]

What are the specific rules? I umpired t-ball at about this level for pretty much three seasons. While I have no idea what to do to coach as far as drills, I would know the best strategies if the rules were similar to the ones we had down here.

That's a fine question. Honestly, I don't know. It has been a tad bit disorganized, to tell you the truth. I didn't really get a set of rules with my team packet. I will ask the commissioner next time I talk to him.

[Subby]

Break them into groups of 3-4 and use stations - at least 3 different ones - and keep them rotating every 10-15 minutes.

Last practice we had a throwing station, a groundball station and a hitting station. The more adults you have at every station, the better.

Do a lot of running - we do baserunning drills a lot or we run to each of the positions and make it a little game - this helps calm them down a little.

Midway through the season I would recommend scrimmaging for at least half of practice because the drills can get old.

Maybe throw in some non-baseball games from time to time - duckduckgoose or something similar.

I also try and give out stickers or other trinkets after each practice and game - they are like racoons - they love shiney stuff - they are there more for the snacks and stickers than anything else. :D

[sooner333]

You umpired t-ball? Give me a break.

Yeah, the first two years it was slightly older kids. The city little league has t-ball through middle school. I usually ended up doing t-ball or machine pitch mainly because I didn't mind and others liked doing older kids. They assigned two umps per game, even in t-ball. The teams took it pretty seriously and there was a double elimination tournament at the end of the season with all 20-some odd teams.

[rkmsuf]

Yeah, the first two years it was slightly older kids. The city little league has t-ball through middle school. I usually ended up doing t-ball or machine pitch mainly because I didn't mind and others liked doing older kids. They assigned two umps per game, even in t-ball. The teams took it pretty seriously and there was a double elimination tournament at the end of the season with all 20-some odd teams.

well that's not t-ball I'm familiar with. t-ball here is 5 and 6 year olds.

then coach pitch. then actual games when they are 8 or 9.

[Subby]

That's a fine question. Honestly, I don't know. It has been a tad bit disorganized, to tell you the truth. I didn't really get a set of rules with my team packet. I will ask the commissioner next time I talk to him.
During games we break the team into two squads and play a game in the infield and a game in the outfield (with throw down bases). Each squad bats around twice and then the teams switch. Halfway through the hour, the outfield teams switch with the teams playing in the infield.

The advantage of this is kids get four plate appearances and the field is a lot less crowded because you don't have 10-12 5 year olds trying to play 5 or 6 positions. More chance to get the ball, less scrums, etc..

Hopefully you guys don't have umps for five year-old teeball. :)

[Subby]

DOLA

Make sure you don't set the tee on homeplate - that was one of the mistakes I made my first season. Set it in front of home and have them stand behind the tee, aligned with the plate. They'll get a much more natural swing that way.

Also - don't have them throw to each other yet in warmups. If they are going to warm up, have them throw with an adult - otherwise you'll just waste a lot of time with throw and chase.

[BYU 14]

Subby pretty much nailed it.

Small groups to maximize reps and keep them focused and having fun. I think the key thing at this level is to foster a love for sports in general so kids come back and play year after year. I know that seems like a no brainer but I am shocked at how often I have seen grown ass Men running a team of 5-6 yr olds in any sport like they were high school kids or like there was actually something at stake in the games.

[sooner333]

well that's not t-ball I'm familiar with. t-ball here is 5 and 6 year olds.

then coach pitch. then actual games when they are 8 or 9.

The t-ball was with 5 and 6 year olds (this past year I think it was only 5 year olds), then machine pitch (instead of coach pitch, we just have a machine the umpire puts a ball in that groves it down the middle, in theory), then kid pitch games at 8 or 9.

Personally, I enjoyed watching the tournament because the best teams would play at the end. At the same time, it is kind of over the top and over competitive to subject five-year-olds to a double elimination tournament. It also gets the parents very angry at times.

[VPI97]

I'm coaching my son's Shetland league team (5-6 years olds) and here are some things that have worked well (we're on a 25 game winning streak over two seasons, so I'd say they work very well).

Fielding
"Ball ready" stance - legs spread, knees slightly bent, both hands out in front (not resting on the legs). We get them in their stretching lines (six across, two deep) and they need to snap to that position when coach says "Ball ready". Make sure they have their gloves on so that they can get used to the feel.

Lateral movement
1 - In their stretching lines, have them shuffled right and left depending on where the coach is pointing.
2 - One at a time, six feet away - Roll a ball to the right and left and have them roll it back to you....shuffle left, field ball, roll it back -> shuffles right, get ball, field ball, roll it back -> etc
3 - Hitting grounders to infield positions...stress shuffling with no exceptions.

Throwing
In stretching lines, legs apart, step towards target, reach back with palm facing down (we use the phrase "like you're grabbing some candy"), throw over the top and follow through so that you hand ends up near your opposite knee.

We had some kids this season who had a tendency to throw "bloops" as a result of not following through with their throw. Just couldn't get any power on the throw no matter how hard they tried. A good drill to "teach" their arms to follow though has been to have them throw the ball straight down as hard as they can...directly straight down. By doing this, they never release the ball until they can't help but follow through. After a few minutes doing this, one kid's 'bloop" throws immediately went away. Will need to repeat a few times, though, especially if they've been playing catch for a while with an incorrect throwing style.

Arm strength
All you can really do is stress the throwing mechanics...you can't force kids to use arm strength that they don't have. But making sure their mechanics (step the right way, over the top, follow through) can do a world of good.

Throwing Accuracy
Again, goes back to mechanics...and repetition.

Hitting
The first step is to make sure their stance is correct. Feet spread, toes pointed forward, slight bend in the knee...tight grip on the bat, keep their hand & bat head high, swing level. Don't worry about whether or not their stepping into a swing at this age...not until they have a good grip on the basics.

Some of the biggest things we see are kids who hold the bat too loosely and have no control over their swing...or they are using a bat that's too big and they keep the bat head up.

Drill wise, just have them hit wiffle balls off of a tee into a screen...over and over and over. If your league is strictly tee-ball, then don't worry about soft toss or anything else, just make sure the tee is at a proper height for each kid and stress their mechanics.

Base running
Make sure they all know where to go and how to get there...don't assume they know where first or second base is located. It doesn't take much to get them motivated into running hard since their kids and racing is fun, but just make sure their not confused as to what they should be doing or where they should be going

[VPI97]

I am shocked at how often I have seen grown ass Men running a team of 5-6 yr olds in any sport like they were high school kids or like there was actually something at stake in the games.
I hope my last post didn't come across like that, but fwiw, down here 5-6 year olds are already past tee ball. That's 3-4 year olds in Georgia (or at least in Cobb county), so most (not all) are already past the "wandering around, playing with dirt" phase. Heck, Evan is six and has already played four seasons of organized ball. Preball was more about playing non-baseball games at practice to keep them interested past the 20 minute mark, etc, while Shetland league coach pitch (tee as a backup) and has already started to progress to the instructional side of things.

[Mustang]

There needs to be medicine balls involved for training. And alot of hup! hup! hup!

Randomly throw a ball at one of the kids hard. This will teach them to 'look alive'

[Scarecrow]

Just a couple of questions before I toss out my suggestions:

1. Is this boys, girls, or coed?
2. Is the organization running this league a competative league or a recreational league (meaning when he moves up to the next level will he be traveling to tournaments on a regular basis)?


I would suggest you memorize this book (http://www.amazon.com/Baseball-Skills-Drills-American-Association/dp/0736037381/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1207771770&sr=8-1), and check out this website (http://www.sportskool.com/sports/baseball).

[BYU 14]

I hope my last post didn't come across like that, but fwiw, down here 5-6 year olds are already past tee ball. That's 3-4 year olds in Georgia (or at least in Cobb county), so most (not all) are already past the "wandering around, playing with dirt" phase. Heck, Evan is six and has already played four seasons of organized ball. Preball was more about playing non-baseball games at practice to keep them interested past the 20 minute mark, etc, while Shetland league coach pitch (tee as a backup) and has already started to progress to the instructional side of things.

Cobb county, you should be playing Baseball right out of the womb :)

Your post was fine, I was thinking more of the yelling, flipping out and throwing their cap, "take out the baseman with your slide" kind of guys....

[Subby]

Good suggestions, Vippy - I am going to incorporate some of that at practice on Friday.

Thanks!

[Crim]

I'm coaching my son's Shetland league team (5-6 years olds) and here are some things that have worked well (we're on a 25 game winning streak over two seasons, so I'd say they work very well).

Fielding
"Ball ready" stance - legs spread, knees slightly bent, both hands out in front (not resting on the legs). We get them in their stretching lines (six across, two deep) and they need to snap to that position when coach says "Ball ready". Make sure they have their gloves on so that they can get used to the feel.

Lateral movement
1 - In their stretching lines, have them shuffled right and left depending on where the coach is pointing.
2 - One at a time, six feet away - Roll a ball to the right and left and have them roll it back to you....shuffle left, field ball, roll it back -> shuffles right, get ball, field ball, roll it back -> etc
3 - Hitting grounders to infield positions...stress shuffling with no exceptions.

Throwing
In stretching lines, legs apart, step towards target, reach back with palm facing down (we use the phrase "like you're grabbing some candy"), throw over the top and follow through so that you hand ends up near your opposite knee.

We had some kids this season who had a tendency to throw "bloops" as a result of not following through with their throw. Just couldn't get any power on the throw no matter how hard they tried. A good drill to "teach" their arms to follow though has been to have them throw the ball straight down as hard as they can...directly straight down. By doing this, they never release the ball until they can't help but follow through. After a few minutes doing this, one kid's 'bloop" throws immediately went away. Will need to repeat a few times, though, especially if they've been playing catch for a while with an incorrect throwing style.

Arm strength
All you can really do is stress the throwing mechanics...you can't force kids to use arm strength that they don't have. But making sure their mechanics (step the right way, over the top, follow through) can do a world of good.

Throwing Accuracy
Again, goes back to mechanics...and repetition.

Hitting
The first step is to make sure their stance is correct. Feet spread, toes pointed forward, slight bend in the knee...tight grip on the bat, keep their hand & bat head high, swing level. Don't worry about whether or not their stepping into a swing at this age...not until they have a good grip on the basics.

Some of the biggest things we see are kids who hold the bat too loosely and have no control over their swing...or they are using a bat that's too big and they keep the bat head up.

Drill wise, just have them hit wiffle balls off of a tee into a screen...over and over and over. If your league is strictly tee-ball, then don't worry about soft toss or anything else, just make sure the tee is at a proper height for each kid and stress their mechanics.

Base running
Make sure they all know where to go and how to get there...don't assume they know where first or second base is located. It doesn't take much to get them motivated into running hard since their kids and racing is fun, but just make sure their not confused as to what they should be doing or where they should be going

Thanks for this post, VPI. My 4yr old daughter is playing T-Ball, and I was genuinely having a hard time figuring out how to get her to throw like her arm isn't made of overdone spaghetti. :) I'll suggest some of this to our coach!

[Crim]

Randomly throw a ball at one of the kids hard. This will teach them to 'look alive'

I've been doing some of this, but the moms that show up for practice don't seem to "get it". Shurg.

[Barkeep49]

First make sure they're having fun. Even if they're as talented as VPI's player's they're 5. Let them enjoy baseball so they're still playing it when they're 12.

Here are the 13 things I would suggest you try and teach this season. I guarantee you that you likely will not be able to accomplish them all:
1. catching grounders and flies
2. throwing
3. run through first
4. run to second and third
5. run through home
6. sliding -- Seriously this is so poorly taught and is a safety issue for many many years. You give yourself a competitive advantage, and if you have your kids were adult elbow pads (as knee pads tend to be big) underneath their uniform there's a lot less hurt factor.
7. How to bat left handed. Every kid should be taught to bat left handed.
8. Where to go when a ball is not hit to you. Teaching how to properly back up means a lot less standing around. That's a good thing.
9. Caught fly is out whether fair or foul
10. What a force out is
11. What a tag out is
12. Running on anything with two outs
13. Run out all plays

Also when throwing to these kids don't short arm your throws, use a real motion just go very softly. Kids copy what they see adults doing, so demonstrate correctly.

[Ironhead]

Have you thought about using Tom Emanski's videos?

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g55/Vermigli/emanskiMCGRIFF.jpg

Major League Baseball player Fred McGriff says "This is a video that gets...results."

[tarcone]

Have them call out the base that they touch when they run the bases. 1st base, 2nd base, etc.

Dont let them grip the bat too tight. They tend to squeeze the handle and this is not conducive to a good swing. I have my kids take a deep breath if the are gripping the bat too tight. I, also, had my daughter name her bat. And tell her not to hurt "Batty"(squeezing too tight)

I would concentrate more on hitting then fielding. Fielding turns into herd ball no matter what you say at that age. Hitting, then throwing, then catching, then fielding is order of importance.

Teach them the basics. I coached varsity level softball and baseball. You would be amazed at how much time I spent trying to correct bad habits (throwing like a shot putter, stepping in a bucket). Basics, basics, basics.

With hitting. Teach them to "squash the bug" (pivot back foot to get hips thru swing)

Have fun

[tarcone]

First make sure they're having fun. Even if they're as talented as VPI's player's they're 5. Let them enjoy baseball so they're still playing it when they're 12.

Here are the 13 things I would suggest you try and teach this season. I guarantee you that you likely will not be able to accomplish them all:
1. catching grounders and flies
2. throwing
3. run through first
4. run to second and third
5. run through home
6. sliding -- Seriously this is so poorly taught and is a safety issue for many many years. You give yourself a competitive advantage, and if you have your kids were adult elbow pads (as knee pads tend to be big) underneath their uniform there's a lot less hurt factor.
7. How to bat left handed. Every kid should be taught to bat left handed.
8. Where to go when a ball is not hit to you. Teaching how to properly back up means a lot less standing around. That's a good thing.
9. Caught fly is out whether fair or foul
10. What a force out is
11. What a tag out is
12. Running on anything with two outs
13. Run out all plays

Also when throwing to these kids don't short arm your throws, use a real motion just go very softly. Kids copy what they see adults doing, so demonstrate correctly.

These are great suggestions. But he is dealing with 5 year olds. 9 year olds struggle with this stuff.

[Barkeep49]

These are great suggestions. But he is dealing with 5 year olds. 9 year olds struggle with this stuff.
That's true. It's cause they weren't taught right as 5 y/o. Most of that stuff is game knowledge and there's no reason it shouldn't be taught to 5 y/o. Realistically a 5 y/o won't catch a grounder or fly ball. But they SHOULD be taught how to do it.

[Butter]

Just a couple of questions before I toss out my suggestions:

1. Is this boys, girls, or coed?
2. Is the organization running this league a competative league or a recreational league (meaning when he moves up to the next level will he be traveling to tournaments on a regular basis)?


I would suggest you memorize this book (http://www.amazon.com/Baseball-Skills-Drills-American-Association/dp/0736037381/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1207771770&sr=8-1), and check out this website (http://www.sportskool.com/sports/baseball).

It is a coed league, but I only have 1 girl on my team.

The organization is a league that does field an all-star team that will play a couple of games against another local all star team. Yes, a T-ball all star team. I had no idea things were this serious this early. I think I will get to recommend a player or two to this team. But from what I understand, it sounds like they already have one team with most of the good players on it. Which is going to suck from a competitive standpoint when anybody else plays them. But I guess it's good for them.

[Butter]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions so far! Any others, I'm still interested to hear them.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions so far! Any others, I'm still interested to hear them.

You might find something of interest (or not) in my marvelously ridiculous thread from a few years back (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=26936&highlight=t-ball) over in the dynasty forum. While technically a coach-pitch league, there was probably some stuff that would carry over, moreso in terms of the little details that come up than specific to drills & instruction.

I will second the earlier comments about going with a station approach & having as many adults involved as possible. Biggest challenge with the kids was probably just keeping them paying enough attention to keep from getting bonked on the head (would have served 'em right but I digress). There are several good specific suggestions in the thread, but I don't think I liked any of them any better than VPI's comment about baserunning and how the absolute simplest things that we might take for granted turn out to be a complete mystery to kids today. That was something really amazed/disappointed me, how little of the most basic baseball info kids seem to have now. Very very different than the way it was when I was a kid some umpteen million years ago. Other than correctly identifying which item is a ball & which item is a bat, I'm not sure there's anything else you could assume that 100% of your players knows.

And in a really random bit of coincidence, a few days ago I stumbled across a piece of software that might come in handy (I sure wish I had found it when I was coaching). It's basically designed for t-ball aged leagues, just helps the manager keep track of who he wants to play where, subs, positions changes, etc. I thought it looked kind of cool for freeware & bookmarked it just in case something came up where it could come in handy ... and voila, here you are :)
Might be useful, might not, but I figured I should share.
http://www.ducksters.com/coaching/baseballrostersoftware.php

[Scarecrow]

Thanks for this post, VPI. My 4yr old daughter is playing T-Ball, and I was genuinely having a hard time figuring out how to get her to throw like her arm isn't made of overdone spaghetti. :) I'll suggest some of this to our coach!


Crim, one of the best instructional videos I have found for throwing is located here (http://www.sportskool.com/videos/throwing). My oldest daughter went from the worst thrower on the team to the best this past off-season (which is about 2 1/2 months) just by watching and implimenting these techniques.

Most important part of the throw is that initial step with the right foot pointed out.

[Butter]

Where should the tee be located for each player... as far as ball height. Waist high?

[VPI97]

Where should the tee be located for each player... as far as ball height. Waist high?
Around there...but I've always let each kid tell me. Have them hold their bat out and that's where you put the ball.

[Crim]

Crim, one of the best instructional videos I have found for throwing is located here (http://www.sportskool.com/videos/throwing). My oldest daughter went from the worst thrower on the team to the best this past off-season (which is about 2 1/2 months) just by watching and implimenting these techniques.

Most important part of the throw is that initial step with the right foot pointed out.

Thanks Scarecrow, I've got it favorited!

[Suburban Rhythm]

Don't be this guy

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06255/721174-100.stm

[BishopMVP]

Is it sad that even now at 22, I still can't hit a ball off a tee out of the infield to save my life? I have no problem hitting pitchers, and I can toss a ball up and crush it, but I swear I hit the tee 8 out of 10 times and the other 2 don't get out of the infield. :) It is a coed league, but I only have 1 girl on my team.Halfway to a winning season right there.The organization is a league that does field an all-star team that will play a couple of games against another local all star team. Yes, a T-ball all star team. I had no idea things were this serious this early. I think I will get to recommend a player or two to this team. But from what I understand, it sounds like they already have one team with most of the good players on it. Which is going to suck from a competitive standpoint when anybody else plays them. But I guess it's good for them.The stacking of one team is bush league, but having an "all-star"/travel team doesn't sound like a bad idea. 80-90% of kids who sign up will be complete newcomers or are just there because their parents signed them up. Let the 2-3 per team that can play a higher level play some decent competition.

[tarcone]

That's true. It's cause they weren't taught right as 5 y/o. Most of that stuff is game knowledge and there's no reason it shouldn't be taught to 5 y/o. Realistically a 5 y/o won't catch a grounder or fly ball. But they SHOULD be taught how to do it.

I agree it should be taught. Dont expect them to pick it up is what I was saying.
Ill tell you what, ive coached a couple 5 yr olds that could play 10 and under.