Pray for Rain

I’m sure the idea of “negative attention” is a very old one for school teachers, and perhaps many parents, but as a baseball coach, I first learned this a few years ago when I was conducting batting drills with one of my players. Here’s the story.

One day when one of my assistant coaches was running fielding drills with the team in the main field, I decided I would pull one kid at a time to work on hitting. Each kid would hit 10 balls from a T into a chain link fence, and I would work with him or her on the proper stance and swing. I told them that they each would “get to hit 10 balls cleanly from the T.”

When it came time for my best hitter to take his swings, he appeared to be in a deep baseball funk. His bat struck the T time after time. He couldn’t seem to get his swing right. His feet were in the wrong position. His bat wasn’t even coming close to the ball. I was stunned. In the games, this was my best hitter…by far. Why was my coaching making him worse? After spending 10-15 minutes with this one kid (all the others averaged about 3-4 minutes), I told him that I was going to have to move on to the next batter. I gave him three more swings, but “Even if you hit the T,” I told him, “I need to move on.”

BAM! BAM! BAM! Three of the best hits from anyone all day.

I’m not sure whether he was conscious of it or not, but he obviously had been playing me for the extra attention. Looking back on it, it was almost sweet. This terrific 7 year old kid, who didn’t have a father at home, had been messing up to get extra time at the plate…and extra time with the coach.

It’s a lesson I’ve tried to remember.

This year, at the very last game, I assigned the kids’ their fielding positions for the inning (in T-Ball, we rotate positions every inning) , and I asked them to run out to their positions after we counted to three. “1-2-3, Angels!” All of the kids ran out but one girl lingered behind…and told me that she didn’t know where shortstop was. Could I please take her there? I was sure she was seeking attention, so I told her that if she didn’t know where shortstop was, after an entire season of 12 games, she needed to stay in the dugout. She ran straight to shortstop.

What’s the lesson here? What these experiences have taught me is that the kids really crave attention from the coaches. And while each of the coaches with whom I have ever worked has been happy to give that attention, it’s important to give it at the right time and not at the expense of the other kids. When my best hitter wanted extra hitting attention, I asked his mother to bring him to practice early, or stay with him late after practice, so we could work a bit one on one. And I heaped praise on my lost shortstop after she came in from the field. I’ve tried to listen to what the kids are really saying though, despite what their words might suggest.

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The first year I coached 7- and 8-year olds, I ran many of the same pre-season drills I ran when I was coaching T-Ball. Then at our first game, I noticed that almost all of the outs recorded against our team came on base-running errors. Or, to be fair to the kids since I had not actually coached any base-running yet, pre-season coaching errors.

“Run or Hold” is one of the games I implemented at our next practice to correct our early season problems.

Run or Hold? You can play this game on the regular baseball diamond, but to get everyone involved at the same time I like to lay out as many bases as I have players into a giant circle. Since most practice fields don’t have an unlimited number of bases, you’ll probably need to use paper plates, rags, cones, or some other marker to be the “base.” One coach/parent stands outside the circle and another coach/parent stands in the middle of the circle, and each player stands on a base.

The purpose of the game is to teach the kids when to run and when to hold on a base. Players run on a grounder or a missed fly ball, and they hold when a fly ball is caught. The coach/parent on the outside of the circle is the “batter” and the coach/parent on the inside of the circle is the “defense.” If the “batter” rolls a grounder to the “defense,” all players run to the next “base.” If the “batter” throws up a pop fly and the “defense” misses it, all players run to the next “base.” If the “batter” throw up a pop fly to the “defense” which the “defense” catches, all players hold on their base.

‘Musical Chairs’ Variation. After your team gets used to this drill, you can vary the game by making it like “Musical Chairs.” Any player who makes a mistake in running or holding picks up his base and leaves the circle. How many players will be left after five minutes?

One of the hardest things to teach young players is to run through First Base instead of stopping on the bag. Even for young kids who routinely watch professional baseball — and see every player run fast through and past First Base — their initial instinct is to slow down as they approach the base and gently touch the bag. I had some extra time at last week’s practice, so I improvised this quick drill. It worked well, and I plan to make it a regular part of my practices.

Running Through First. This is easy to set up. The team lines up at home plate, while I set up two orange cones (or you can use a brightly colored rag or any other “target”) about ten feet beyond first base. I stand to the side of the cones. When I clap my hands, simulating the sound of the bat hitting the ball, the player runs along the first base line, touches the base, and runs past the “target” marked by the cones. Since the kids’ natural inclination is to slow as they approach the base, I’ve simply given them a different target, well beyond the base, at which to aim. It works.

Anytime I coach one of the instructional divisions of Little League, I try to make sure that each child plays every position a couple of times during the season. At the beginning of the season, however, I only play the most experienced players at First and Second Base. This isn’t a competitive issue; it’s a safety issue. Children who haven’t learned to react to a quick throw to the base are just as likely to have the ball hit them in the face as land in their glove. By the fourth or fifth week of the season, everyone is usually ready to play any of the hot positions of the infield. Over the course of a season, it all evens out.

Parents usually like to buy a baseball or two to play with at home, but when they go to the Sporting Goods store they see a wide variety of baseballs on the shelves. So, as a coach, one of the questions I often get is “which baseball should I buy?”

In my local league, we play with the Worth RIF Level-5 in all divisions T-Ball through Minors. This ball is slightly softer than a real baseball.

While it’s nice to practice with a real game ball, at the beginning of the season, especially for kids 5-8, I prefer practicing with Easton’s Incrediball. The Incrediball is significantly softer than a real baseball. I don’t worry as much about kids injuring each other when we’re playing with the Incrediball.

These aren’t the only brands by any means. I encourage parents to feel the baseballs at the store and see which ones they think are best for playing at home.

One of the most common concerns raised by parents is about playing time. Fortunately, Little League has a firm rule that everyone plays in every game.

Exactly what “everyone plays” means evolves as kids move from division to division, up the age ladder from T-Ball to “Majors” and beyond. Regardless of the age brackets, you can think of Little League as having two divisions: instructional divisions and competitive divisions.

The instructional divisions are “T-Ball” (5-6 year olds), “Coach or Machine Pitch” (7-8 year olds), and “Minors” (9-12 year olds). In the instructional divisions, “everyone plays” means everyone plays an equal amount of time and typically shares an equal amount of time at each position.

The competitive divisions are “Majors” (10-12 year olds), “Juniors” (13-14 year olds), “Seniors” (14-16year olds), and “Big League” (16-18 year olds). In these competitive divisions, “everyone plays” means that each team must adhere to Little League Regulation IV(i): “Every player on a team roster will participate in each game for a minumum of six (6) defensive outs and bat at least one time.” So in these six inning games, every player plays for at least 1/3 of the game.

Sadly, some über-competitive coaches try to game even this Little League rule. The “How To Manage” books about Little League devote entire chapters to implementing Rule IV(i) and catching cheaters who don’t play all their players enough….or at all.

For the last few days, my kids and I have been playing with something called the “Solohitter.” It’s simply an amazing tool. (We have the Solohitter Tournament 3000.) It solves a problem that every backyard baseball player discovers soon after developing a love of the game: how do you practice hitting when you’re by yourself? It’s pricey, but probably on par with the costs of putting a basketball goal at the end of your driveway. I’ve enjoyed playing with it as much as my kids have.

As practices start for the new Little League season, I typically explain to parents those things I can teach their children in our weekly practices and those things I can’t. After several years of coaching, I know I can teach hitting, base-running, fielding ground balls, and the rules of the game. The thing I can’t teach in my one hour each week is catching. The only way to learn how to catch a ball consistently, whether it’s a gentle toss from a nearby teammate or a high fly ball to the outfield, is practice, practice, practice.

The nice thing about practice is that it’s a wonderful time for parent and child to play together. I tell my parents that if they didn’t buy a baseball glove for themselves too, they should go back to the store and find one they like. New Little League parents are usually surprised at how quickly their child learns how to throw and catch by just a week of daily play together. And the parents will enjoy the time too.

All Little League baseball coaches are supposed to emphasize the “Three Fs” of Fun, Fitness, and Fundamentals. As I’ve discovered over the last few years of coaching, however, the definition of “fun” is open to wide interpretation. On one extreme, you have those who believe that youth baseball should be like school recess, a time for kids to run around outside, lightly supervised, while they play games. On the other extreme, you have those who find “fun” only when the last out is recorded in a game in which their team is victorious. As with most things, the truth lies somewhere in between, in finding the right balance between play and the development of athletic skills.

We’ve been debating this balance within our Little League’s Board of Directors over the last few years. It’s easy to find the balance with T-Ball. We don’t keep score and everyone plays. T-Ball is all about teaching the rules of the game and trying to impart an enthusiam for team sports and a love, in particular, for baseball.

It’s trickier in the upper divisions. By “coach pitch,” for 7- and 8-year olds, the kids are aware of the score, even when it’s not emphasized. They can see the differences in skills between the best players and themselves. They grin when they get on base, and they’re disappointed when they’re sent back to the dugout. Kids in the “Majors” and “Minors” Divisions, ages 9-12, are in competitive games in which the best players are selected for “All-Stars” and the best teams move into tournament play.

In just a few short years, the kids move from an upbeat organized play environment, in T-Ball, into competitive leagues in which the best teams move into the nationally televised Little League World Series. Making youth sports “fun” means something different at each point along that wide spectrum.

I say all this as a bit of background for a quote I read last night that I thought was worth sharing. It’s from Dusty Baker’s book, You Can Teach Hitting, which I was reading in preparation for the season.

“[B]aseball is only a game and is meant to be fun, but at the same time it’s important to define what ‘fun’ means in this competitive sport. For most players and coaches, true fun in baseball lies in working hard, improving one’s game, and playing with others as a well-coordinated team. Having a winless season isn’t fun. Trying to convince your team otherwise is not being honest with yourself or your players. Working hard toward the goal of improving one’s skills, and then achieving that goal whether the team wins every game or not, is not only enormously satisfying, but makes the ‘work’ of team practice seem like ‘play.’

Sometimes ‘fun’ is confused with ‘no effort.’ It’s often a challenge to ensure that players have fun and work hard at the same time. But in order to truly enjoy the game and have the opportunity to improve, players need direction and discipline, including a schedule of well-run, organized practices. Without these, players won’t be able to focus and concentrate on their goals and play well. When players are motivated to devote their time and energy in organized practice, they will be able to perform well both individually and as a team.”

I like that quote quite a bit.

I always set my batting order by the order in which the kids arrive at the park to start warming up. I leave my line-up sheet blank, clipped to the side of the dugout, and allow the players to write their own names in as they arrive. It’s a great motivator to arrive at the park on time to begin warm-ups.