To bat flip or to not bat flip! I coach 7-9 year olds in Little League and we try every practice/game to make baseball fun.
We added a little twist to practice - We had a bat flip contest yesterday afternoon and the kids loved it. Not only that, our practices now include a mock commentary by one of the coaches and we use it to coach situational baseball. (I'm sure folks in their late 30s-40s would remember imitating Mel Allen or Vin Scully.) Needless to say, we (coaches) try to put ourselves in our kids shoes whenever we are out there. With one goal in mind, make it fun.
In my younger days, adults were inside the house, not out monitoring every swing/throw/catch their kid was making. We had fun with baseball... whether it was with a tennis ball/stick, a wiffle ball/bat, 1-on-1 (playing strikeout) or a street game. Now it’s coached to a severe level of boredom. In fact, around here, if you want to play baseball, you better sign up. No more pick-up baseball games at the local park.
Specifically here in CA - There are a litter of kids at the skate park (lighting included) which is located right next to the empty, yet carefully manicured little league field. Oh and there’s a big sign on the pitchers mound telling kids to stay off the field.
I hope we see pick up games like this in the US one day again.
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/01LU2KQxh5A?rel=0&controls=0&showinfo=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Baseball is awesome, it's a freakin' blast when it's done for fun there's no better sport (IMO).
[end of rant]
Kudos to to Greg Eno on some good info. re: Sandlot baseball - http://www.baseballplayamerica.com/page8.html
We added a little twist to practice - We had a bat flip contest yesterday afternoon and the kids loved it. Not only that, our practices now include a mock commentary by one of the coaches and we use it to coach situational baseball. (I'm sure folks in their late 30s-40s would remember imitating Mel Allen or Vin Scully.) Needless to say, we (coaches) try to put ourselves in our kids shoes whenever we are out there. With one goal in mind, make it fun.
In my younger days, adults were inside the house, not out monitoring every swing/throw/catch their kid was making. We had fun with baseball... whether it was with a tennis ball/stick, a wiffle ball/bat, 1-on-1 (playing strikeout) or a street game. Now it’s coached to a severe level of boredom. In fact, around here, if you want to play baseball, you better sign up. No more pick-up baseball games at the local park.
Specifically here in CA - There are a litter of kids at the skate park (lighting included) which is located right next to the empty, yet carefully manicured little league field. Oh and there’s a big sign on the pitchers mound telling kids to stay off the field.
I hope we see pick up games like this in the US one day again.
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/01LU2KQxh5A?rel=0&controls=0&showinfo=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Baseball is awesome, it's a freakin' blast when it's done for fun there's no better sport (IMO).
[end of rant]
Kudos to to Greg Eno on some good info. re: Sandlot baseball - http://www.baseballplayamerica.com/page8.html
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