New coach

[Cmancelet]

Hey ,

I got elcted to coach u6 girls because no other parents wanted to. I have played college baseball in my day. I also do seceral hitting lessons a week at a local facility. My question is about so of the nsa rules for theae little ones. I have never coaches at this age and not in softball either. So here i go. Its coach pitch, i get that no problems. How many kids on the feild at a time? Does the whole team bat ? Do they have a player next to the pitcher on the feild? Running the practices i will be fine . I asked the facilty director for a rule book i was told they didnt have one . I know the most important thing is that they have fun and want to play every week followed closely by mechanics.


Thank anyone in advance

 

[quincy]

You should have a set of local rules that define all that stuff, you are not going to find them in an official rule book.

 

[Eric F]

You should have a set of local rules that define all that stuff, you are not going to find them in an official rule book.

Yep. "Rules" (if you can call them that) can vary a lot at the 6U age, and are dictated by each league.

As for teaching the game, the single most important thing will be keeping it fun. The most challenging thing will be keeping their attention. Good luck!

 

[Rocketech1]

Also talk with the 8u and 10u coaches for advice. They have been there, done that and will be knowledgeable about the league politics, rules, practice plans, etc. These coaches are your mentors, ask lots of questions, befriend them.

At 6u, teach the basics: throwing, catching, fielding and hitting. After the season, if the players signed up for next season then you can say you were a successful coach at this level.

 

[Greenmonsters]

Don't let the name of the game impact your teaching. At that age throwing is far more easily learned with a baseball-sized ball. Fun and safe are the keys to ensure that that they will want to play again next year, but it doesn't mean that you can't start teaching them sound mechanics. Wasserman's water bottle drill (using the very small plastic bottles) can be entertaining and fun at least for a little while!

 

[BobInMadison]

I think back when DD 3 was that age.
She signed up for a soccer team made up of kids from her scbool. At that age coed.
Lots of herding cats. Main object was to have the girls at least face the correct direction.

Soccer was NOT her sport, but she signed up for another year because of the wonderful coaches and her teammates.

The very first game she refused to play, but the coaches persuaded her just to hang around the goal and play defensively when the other team got close. Next game she had a lot more confidence. Towards the end of the second year I got her to play with the deal that if she finished the season she would never have to play again. And she almost went back a third year just because of the coaches.

Why do I say this? Because you will deal with kids who just want to have fun. You will deal with girls who are too shy or scared or self conscious to want to get on the field, and the rules say quite correctly that they MUST play. (Start them in OF, and maybe an inning at 2B if the rules say they must play both IF and OF).

If years down the road someone says his DD was not a softball player at all, but enjoyed having you as a coach and at least learned something, you were a sucessful coach.