r/BaseballCoaching

We use game changer clips for learning sessions (Errors, hits, base running, etc.). It' been great.

I've been using my Iphone, connected to a large TV. It works great, but a little cumbersome using my fingers to move back and forth, frame by frame, stopping/starting, etc. Maybe I need an iPad ? iPhone keyboard or stylus?

Looking for alternatives. iOS or PC.

Requirements: Pan/Zoom (Iphone touch screen is great for this), frame by frame movement (forwards and backwards), easy stopping/starting.

TIA

Context: losers bracket, potential championship game (we have to win to force the "if needed" the next day) and my coaches are hemming and hawing about how to manage pitchers with pitch counts and rest days. Our biggest strength compared to the other team is depth of pitchers - our #4 pitcher is probably just ahead of their #2.

Offensive strategy is to keep it close against their #1 pitcher (kid is a stud), and pour it on late game.

Currently running with two ideas: either a) run our #1 and #2 guys for the bulk of the game. Then run #3 and #4 game 2 against their weaker pitchers. Or b) run #1 and #3 or #4, save #2 for game 2.

Caveat here is that with 20 pitches, there are zero days of rest. So if someone seems way off game 1, we pull them before that and bring them the next day.

We've all managed pitchers before, just not quite this exact scenario. Curious what folks think. MY thought (manager) is balls to the wall game 1 and throw EVERYTHING against them. Gotta win that first one and don't want to second guess saving someone

Hey everyone,

I’m a freshman in the Crofton area in Maryland, and I want to try out for the baseball team at my school, Annapolis Area Christian School (AACS).

Here’s the catch: I have literally never played baseball before. I know there is a huge skill gap compared to football or basketball, but I have a 30 inch vert and am 6'1 and want to put in the work to make the roster and help our team rebuild.

Our school plays in the MIAA B Conference, so the competition is pretty high. Since I'm starting from zero, how do I get better?

• What exercises/drills should i do so i can learn the fundamentals
• Are there any low competition teams near me I can join before HS baseball season
• What position is the easiest to learn for an athletic beginner with Cornerback/Safety in football o?
• How can I impress the coaches at tryouts even if my skills aren't goodyet?

Appreciate any advice have!

I’m an assistant coach of a rec. league 12U squad. My kid is on the team and so is the head coaches kid. We have a small core (6 kids) that has played with us for three years and we supplement with kids from the community that sign up. We don’t have tryouts, we just do our best to teach the kids that are there to love baseball and have fun while developing solid fundamentals of the game.

One of our kids this year has had a pretty poor attitude about the team all season. He is barely coachable and I feel like he doesn’t really want to be there most of the time but his parents make him. Tonight, in the third inning he was up to bat. He was called out on strikes and he just stood in the box and glared at the ump. I’m coaching first, so I say “okay Timmy (not his real name), hustle back to the dugout.” He doesn’t move. Ump tells him he’s out and to go back to the dugout, and he still doesn’t move. I clap and tell him a little louder something to the effect of don’t worry, just hustle back in. Doesn’t move, still glaring at ump. Ump tells him again he’s out and to go to dugout. I take a couple steps toward him and more forcefully tell him to hustle back to the dugout. He finally starts to move at a snails pace back to the dugout. I exhort him to hustle if he wants to play defense next half inning. He glares at me. Mind you, this all happens over the course of about 30-45 seconds.

Finally gets in the dugout, slams his batting helmet down followed by his bat, both in the middle of the full dugout. Could have hit any number of his team mates with either one. His parents are sitting close to the end of the dugout, so at this point, I look at dad and say “you need to get him and take him home.” Dad gets super pissed, has some choice words, but gets him and his stuff and leaves. Did I make the right call?

I've dealt with struggles my whole career. From little league, high school, D1, and now as a professional baseball player.

Failure never goes away in baseball, it is a distinct part of the game that makes it so difficult but so rewarding.

I don't have it all figured out, but I've learned some things that I do wish I knew when I was coming up. I wish I had learned how to handle the failure, how to be a little more resilient, how to talk to myself.

If you or your child is experiencing some of these difficulties, having trouble handling failure, not bouncing back after a bad game, not knowing what to do next to continue their development, this is an area where I can help.

I would like to offer a free chat. Just a conversation to understand what you are going through and provide some perspective from someone who has walked the path most kids hope to walk. Essentially providing what I wish I had.

Comment below or send me a DM and I'll send you my name and baseball reference page so you know who I am.

My son is trying out for 11U baseball teams. He plays in a house league now and I coach his team. He’s very good. Not one of the top-tier players in the league but still very good and, in my opinion, as good as some of the kids on the league’s travel teams. He’s also a quite small kid and doesn’t throw as hard or hit as hard as bigger kids.

So the other day we go to the tryouts for the first team. Here’s what they had the kids do: throw a ball into a net and measure their throwing velocity. Hit a ball off a tee into a net and measure their exit velocity. Run to first base and measure their running speed. Field four ground balls and throw to first. And then throw the ball around the horn.

I was really surprised they never had the kids pitch, hit off of live pitching, or take fly balls.

Next day, my buddy tells me his son made the team. He was a little surprised because his son definitely botched a number of the grounders. I don’t know how my kid did on the throwing and hitting speed, but he fielded all the ground balls cleanly. But apparently he was not chosen for the team.

So we have tryouts for two other teams next week and I’m just a bit at a loss to understand how they’re being evaluated and how I can help him.

We live abroad - no baseball here. And I’ve got a 14yo who, by all accounts, has an unnaturally good arm on him. He is baseball mad, but more playing than watching (he has ADHD, so watching any sport tends to not be for him… he’d rather be playing.)

He does play on the local team, often with the adults, but there’s not much competition and that causes a lot of frustration for him. He’s at the point now where he actually wants to practice and train alone - just to see how good he can actually get. He’s only been playing for 2 years, pitching for less than 1 - and his natural talent is constantly commented on so I don't think this is just me being a doting mother 🥴

What are good things for him to work on? Any training stuff actually worth buying? Or any DIY/low-tech options to try him with? I want to encourage him, because I see his passion. But I haven’t a clue what to tell him! (For context, I’m British - so my baseball knowledge is next to nothing 😂)

Thanks in advance!

This may be the only forum that I can actually talk about some of the things that go on in life and ball, so here goes.

Husband has been a coach since my oldest son was 5, he’s now 22. We have 4 kids and they have all been coached by dad, not exclusively but for large parts of their years on the field. We are closing out year 17 and I am tired and suspect that he is also tired.

He loves developing young athletes and has not taken a dime as a coach although he absolutely could charge for lessons or take on a paid position. He says that he does it to keep the high level of development for our kids, which is so respectable and I cannot express how much ball has shaped and improved our kids’ lives.

This is where I guess things are turning for me personally. Parents on our teams have very high expectations of him (understandably so) but take zero ownership and little contribution as part of a volunteer organization. We went to a big out of state tournament and some of the families that stayed together came back with requests to talk with coach, 4 parents have had hour plus meetings which really go over the same couple of topics. I personally think one of the dads is rallying these parents about minor grievances and telling parents to take it to the coach.

When I say minor grievances, the things being discussed are coaches on field interactions with umps (coach will discuss with umps but it never gets heated, has only ever had one warning), playing time which kids never sit more than a couple of innings and we full roster bat, and positions their kid plays. Also heavy concern about who is being cut and who is being brought in for the next season.

Oh and this whole thing is multiplied by two bc he coaches my daughter also. But for the most part those parents have been good.

My frustration lies with my husband just getting tables flipped on him bc of a parent that has decided to hold court but has zero responsibility for what this behavior actually does. There is such little appreciation or even recognition for the amount of time and effort he puts in to the season. It means so much to him when the players grow up and recount the impact he made on their lives.

I was so close to starting a daily tally of hours spent by our family on team related activities to show how much time we give up to do this for people that don’t seem to get it. I don’t want to come off as petty, but transparent bc I think there is a lot of willful ignorance about this topic.

I’m really rambling but as the wife of a coach, I’ll just start by saying thank you for all that you do for athletes, seen or unseen.

So here’s to day one of my private coach’s wife diary.

I'm curious how youth sports organizations manage sponsorships today.

A few questions:

• What's the hardest part—finding sponsors, renewing them, or proving value?
• What do sponsors ask for that you wish you could provide?
• If one company could bring in local business sponsors and handle the advertising, reporting, and renewals, would that be valuable?
• What would make you trust a company like that?
• What's missing from the sponsorship tools you use today?

I'm researching the space and would really appreciate honest feedback from people who run leagues or sports facilities.

I'm currently coaching a 12u all star team that my son is on. We have 11 on a good day, have to borrow players from neighboring leagues to be able to scrimmage and play in tournaments. Seems like maybe 5 of them show up ready to work and compete and retain the coaching they get. The rest are either randomly there and when they are they seem stuck in rec mode. No focus, lack of energy, laying down in the field during pitching changes, etc. To the point where my parents who are watching their grandson yelled "get up" (I talked to them and told them to relax and enjoy watching their grandson, let me do the coaching). My son gets very frustrated with his teammates and our backup catcher who had multiple pass balls, lacks a sense of urgency behind the plate. Not sure what to do, we have 2 tournaments left and I don't want to just give up and say screw it, I have 15 years of high school coaching experience and want them to realize they are 2 years away from high school ball and be as prepared as possible. My son and a few other kids would benefit greatly from playing with a team filled with kids who want to work and focus on getting better, push each other for playing time, etc. I guess I'm asking for advice on how to manage my expectations, frustrations and next couple weeks so that the kids have fun, learn baseball and are competitive. We played 2 and 2/3 innings of good baseball last night, were down by 3 and 1 error and 1 passed ball turned into a disastrous inning, silent in the field, wheels completely fell off. Help my mental health for the next 2 weeks please. 🙏

I shared a shorter X thread a few days ago, but heres a more detailed written out blog post on the topic.

Looking for advice on team uniforms for a select organization. Last year we went affordable: one dri-fit jersey, one pair of pants, one hat, one pair of socks, and a belt. We had 30 games plus six indoor training sessions in the preseason, with a player fee of around $400 at the 13U age group.

The feedback we got was that the jersey felt cheap, and having only one was tough with back-to-back game days. This year we want to step it up and get more jerseys. What would be a good team package to get decent-quality jerseys while still keeping costs reasonable for families?

Tennis has USTA (United States Tennis Association) and golf has USGA. Does baseball have a similar organization in the US?

When did it become ok for players to mock and laugh at the opposing team, when they make a mistake?
Why has this become the norm in youth 10-17 baseball?

Trying to get a jump on the fall Little League season, because I know they're going to ask me to coach. I've only coached at the 7-8 yr old level, which was player/coach pitch. My son is now 10, and in his last season before majors (12u), and at least one coach is leaving.

Does anyone have any 2-hour practice plans they can point me towards? I have a few ideas from watching for the last two years. I've got Cal Ripken's book. USA Baseball has some good stuff on the app. Ron Polk's Baseball Handbook is awesome, but a little more advanced than the typical 10u level (unless I get a crop of baseball fanatics, which is unlikely).

Coaches, what are some of your favorite resources? I like to look at lots of stuff, and there is plenty of time, so the more the merrier.

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